Welcome to Week 12 of the NFL season! We waited it out, and the San Francisco 49ers are finally back from their bye week. Some might prefer they just stay on their bye, but I’m down for some more 49ers football this week. The Thanksgiving triple-header is now behind us, which means there is even less football to watch later today. So, some 49ers football is a plus.
The 2018 NFL season is officially in full swing, which means regular season betting is back. I’m back for another year of picks in the Westgate SuperContest. SB Nation’s partners over at Odds Shark are sponsoring my entry again. The contest requires selecting 5 games each week and picking them against the spread. I went 1-4 in Week 11, falling to 23-28-4 for the season. Overall for last week, I finished 5-8. It’s an ugly struggle right now.
This week, I decided to include the 49ers on my card. They travel to face the Tampa Bay Bay Buccaneers, and are currently a field goal underdog. The SuperContest line is set on Wednesday, and at that point I could still get the 49ers at 3.5 points. I grabbed them not only because of that half point, but because I think the 49ers win this game outright.
The Bucs offense could (and probably will) give the 49ers defense fits, but I think we finally see San Francisco get a couple takeaways in a game. The defense has struggled to force turnovers with any consistency, but if they’re ever going to do it this season, it will be this week against Jameis Winston.
On offense, the 49ers face an atrocious Bucs defense, and they do so with Kyle Shanahan getting some more time to prepare his gameplan. Nick Mullens regressed some in Week 10 against the Giants after an explosive debut in Week 9 against Raiders, but this matchup sets itself up well for a solid performance. If Mullens can avoid turnovers, the 49ers offense will be in position to do some damage. I’ll take the points!
Here are my five SuperContest picks for Week 12:
Jaguars (-3) over BILLS
49ers (+3.5) over BUCCANEERS
Seahawks (+3.5) over PANTHERS
Packers (+3.5) over VIKINGS
TEXANS (-6.5) over Titans
Here are all my picks for Week 12 (home team in caps):
LIONS vs. Bears (-3): Bears — WIN
COWBOYS vs. Washington (+7): Washington — LOSS
SAINTS vs. Falcons (+13): Falcons — LOSS
BILLS vs. Jaguars (-3): Jaguars
RAVENS vs. Raiders (+10.5): Ravens
BUCCANEERS vs. 49ers (+3.5): 49ers
EAGLES vs. Giants (+6): Eagles
BENGALS vs. Browns (+3): Bengals
JETS vs. Patriots (-9.5): Patriots
PANTHERS vs. Seahawks (+3.5): Seahawks
COLTS vs. Dolphins (+7.5): Dolphins
CHARGERS vs. Cardinals (+12.5): Chargers
BRONCOS vs. Steelers (-3): Steelers
VIKINGS vs. Packers (+3.5): Packers
TEXANS vs. Titans (+6.5): Texans