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Old School Meets New School
The Houston Texans once again proved they aren’t ready to compete with the big boys. And in the process they allowed competition in the AFC South a chance to move closer to the top spot. The Texans had that signature win they’ve been looking for within their reach until they couldn’t stretch far enough on a fourth down play. Houston’s four losses this season have come against teams with a combined .725 winning percentage. None of their remaining opponents currently have a winning record and that includes Week 12 foe San Diego Chargers....
The Cincinnati Bengals are still mathematically alive for a playoff berth, but even in a weak division the reality is that they are most likely done after another lackluster performance in a loss to the Bills. They can make things interesting in the AFC North, however, and deal a blow to the Baltimore Ravens when the teams hook up in Week 12 in the first of two meetings over the final six weeks. Cincinnati also has a game with Pittsburgh in a few weeks and their postseason hopes could be revived with a victory....
Instead of just passing time while the turkey and stuffing are cooking, there will be an interesting early game on Thanksgiving Day to watch with plenty at stake when the Minnesota Vikings visit the Detroit Lions in Week 12. The teams are tied for the top spot in the NFC North and the surprising Lions could take control with their second win of the season over the visitors. Detroit has staged a fourth quarter comeback in each of its six wins and at some point we expect the magic to run out....
The Tennessee Titans have alternated wins and losses over their past six games and if the trend continues they’ll get a victory in their Week 12 showdown with the Chicago Bears. It’s not just about trends, however. Another reason why the Titans are favored is that the Bears have been ravaged by injuries and might be one of the unluckiest teams in the NFL when it comes to time missed. They also have Jay Cutler, who thwarted another possible comeback with one his patented turnovers in a loss to the Giants on Sunday....
It’s rare that a game featuring a pair of 5-5 teams would have such an impact as the Thanksgiving night Week 12 matchup between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Indianapolis Colts. Pittsburgh ended its four-game slide and got back on top of the AFC North by keeping the Browns winless while the Colts still have visions of an AFC South crown after winning two straight and three of their past four games. Both divisions are up still for grabs and one of these teams will keep moving in the right direction with a victory....
Are the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for real? Just when we started to count them out of the playoff race, they get pulled back into it with a couple of victories. The Bucs knocked off AFC power Kansas City on the road Sunday to get to .500 and within a game of the Falcons in the NFC South. Now they get another test against the juggernaut Seattle Seahawks in a Week 12 contest. Winning at home would help the Bucs’ cause, beating the Seahawks would be an even bigger help....
With another loss the Jacksonville Jaguars were denied the chance of finishing the year with a winning record, extending their streak of such seasons to nine straight. The Jags will be hard pressed to match last season’s win total of five, but they’ll give it a shot in Week 12 against the Buffalo Bills. However, it’s likely just a matter of time before Gus Bradley becomes their former coach after compiling just a 14-43 record in his tenure....
The Arizona Cardinals are a team built to win right now. And when they aren’t winning it makes the future look awful bleak. It’s been a sharp decline for a team that was one win away from playing in the Super Bowl last season and the biggest drop-off has come from Carson Palmer. An MVP candidate last season, Palmer has looked ordinary and the Cards are suffering because of it. He’ll get another crack to prove that he’s not done yet when facing the Atlanta Falcons in a Week 12 contest....
The Miami Dolphins are the hottest team in the NFL. And after mounting a fourth quarter comeback on Sunday to win their fifth straight game, maybe we can start calling them a good team as well. The run of success has the Fins right in the thick of the AFC playoff picture and adding to the misery of the San Francisco 49ers in Week 12 will keep the Dolphins on their upward swing as they look to end their seven year playoff drought....
Thanksgiving Week is always a special one in the NFL, and this year, bettors are going to have a little bit more to be thankful for on Turkey Day. For the first time in quite some time, all three of the games on Thanksgiving really mean something and could be incredibly impactful in the playoff race, and that's just the beginning of what we've got on hand on the Week 12 NFL odds....
The reeling Green Bay Packers visit the Washington Redskins on Sunday night in a game that can be seen on NBC. This Week 11 matchup has the Packers coming in at 4-5 and below .500 this late in the season for the first time since 2013 while the Redskins are 5-3-1 and very much in contention for a Wild Card playoff spot in the NFC. This game is a rematch of last year’s playoff game that the Packers won 35-18....
The Oakland Raiders haven’t lost a road game this season, which is a big reason why they are tied for the best record in the AFC and off to their best start since 2001. The Raiders will look to continue that mastery away from home when they travel south of the border to battle the Houston Texans in Mexico City in the first Monday night game outside the U.S. The Texans broke the seal on their road woes and go for a third straight win in this Week 11 matchup....
Dak Prescott has pretty much silenced any talk of a quarterback situation with the Dallas Cowboys, leading the club to a team record-tying eight-game winning streak. The Boys are likely to have one of the oldest and highest-paid backups when Tony Romo is activated and that could be as early as this week. Both players and management say the scenario won’t cause a problem, but one has to wonder what direction the Boys take when Prescott has a hiccup. That could come against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 11....
Tom Brady will enjoy a homecoming and he and the New England Patriots will be welcomed by one of the worst defenses in the NFL. A Bay Area native, Brady will play on the San Francisco 49ers home turf for the first time in his career when the teams tangle in Week 11. The Niners would like nothing better than to spoil the festivities against the best team in the AFC, which would also end an eight-game losing skid....
The rumblings got louder in Wisconsin after the Green Bay Packers suffered another embarrassing loss. After so much success can Mike McCarthy be on the hot seat? Aaron Rodgers has put up decent numbers, but the defense has abandoned the team allowing at least 31 points in each contest during a three-game losing streak. Thankfully the Pack resides in the NFC North and with the Vikings plummeting the Packers are a win away from solving many of their problems. They’ll get a rematch of last season’s Wild Card game with the Washington Redskins in Week 11....
Rookie Carson Wentz has made quite the splash as the Philadelphia Eagles starter. But it’s a good bet that he never encountered an environment during his days at FCS North Dakota State quite like what he’ll see on Sunday. The Seattle Seahawks are coming off an emotional win at New England, getting a small amount of revenge for their Super Bowl XLIX loss that denied them a chance to repeat as league champions. And the Seahawks have found their offense, just in time for another charge at a division title and the postseason....
When it rains it pours, and right now the Minnesota Vikings are getting drenched. The last NFL team to lose a game, they may now be the last team to win a game. The Vikings lost their fourth straight, falling in Washington on Sunday, and were hit again by the injury stick. While we expect Sam Bradford to go down one of these weeks, he’s the guy attempting to hold the team together as it goes through a brutal stretch. Trying to break the slide doesn’t get any easier with the Arizona Cardinals up next in a Week 11 clash....
The way the season has unraveled for the Cincinnati Bengals, Marvin Lewis may not have to hear all the talk about his postseason failures. Because with another loss on Monday night, Cincy fell further off the pack in the AFC and is in danger of missing out on the postseason for the first time in six seasons. The Bengals aren’t completely out of the picture in the mediocre AFC North, but wins need to come in a hurry with time running out. They’ll have a chance to get that elusive win when they host the Buffalo Bills in Week 11....
Don’t count the New York Giants out of the NFC East race just yet. While it seems like everybody is anointing Dallas as the division champs, there are still several games to be played and the G-Men have already knocked off the Boys, handing them their only loss of the year. New York extended its winning streak to four with another narrow victory on Monday night, turning the tables on what they couldn’t do last year. With the Chicago Bears an absolute mess, there’s a good chance the Giants extend the run during their Week 11 tilt....
Winning football games has been difficult for the Tennessee Titans, but the club has made a turnaround this season. The Titans matched their win total from the previous two seasons combined by thrashing the Packers on Sunday to move to 5-5. The AFC South is wide open and if the Titans run their offense like they did last week, the division could be turned upside down. A big step toward the top of the division could take place with a Week 11 win over the Indianapolis Colts on the road....
Who would have thought the Week 11 matchup with the Pittsburgh Steelers would be the best opportunity for the Cleveland Browns to get their first win of the season? One team playing equally as bad as the Browns over the last month, the Steelers enter the contest mired in a four-game losing skid that has them below .500 and in jeopardy of missing out on the postseason. The Steelers have never lost five consecutive games under Mike Tomlin and the chances of that happening are very slim....
The two teams that suffered the most gut-wrenching losses last week will hook up in what could be a playoff elimination game. The New Orleans Saints found a new way to lose a game with a defensive extra point off a blocked kick snatching a potential victory away from them. The Carolina Panthers literally had a victory ripped out of their grasp in a stunning loss to the Chiefs. Both teams are below .500 and need plenty of help and a lot of wins to get back in the playoff picture. If nothing else, their Week 11 matchup should be fun to watch....
It turned out to be a pretty good week for the Detroit Lions. Not only did they enjoy their bye with a chance to heal some bumps and bruises, the Lions moved into a first place tie in the NFC North with Minnesota and Green Bay losing. And coming out of the chute, the Lions can keep the pressure on their division mates with a Week 11 contest with the hapless Jacksonville Jaguars, who continue to employ Gus Bradley despite his 14-43 record....
It’s tough to win football games when you don’t score touchdowns, but the Los Angeles Rams are bucking the trend. For the second time this season the Rams won a game without the benefit of a touchdown, beating the Jets 9-6 on Sunday behind three field goals. While fans in L.A. continue to clamor for No. 1 draft pick Jared Goff to see some playing time, as long as the team can win games with little or no offense, we’ll probably continue to see Case Keenum under center. And that’s the likely scenario in Week 11 against the Miami Dolphins....
The way the Kansas City Chiefs have pulled out a few improbable victories this season, they might be considered a team of destiny. Even after their comeback win over Carolina on Sunday, the Chiefs are still overlooked in their own division with the defending champion Broncos and the upstart Raiders, but K.C. could be the best of the bunch. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers do have a defense and it showed up in a win over the Bears. They’ll try to slow the Chiefs when the teams meet in Week 11....