Let's get to the picks...
Week 13 Picks
Dallas (-3.5) at Minnesota
I'm going to pick the Cowboys, with the caveat that I really don't feel good about it (do I EVER feel good about a pick?). It's a Thursday night game, so weird crap happens. The Vikings have struggled mightily since their hot start. The Cowboys can seemingly do no wrong. Ezekiel Elliott is completely unstoppable. And Dez looks to be fully healthy. What's more, Dallas' second-string quarterback is one of the greatest players in the history of the league. All signs point to a Cowboys blowout win. Which is why they'll probably lose on a last second field goal. But I just can't get off the train until the Cowboys slip. They're just too hot.
Pick: Cowboys
Atlanta (-3.5) vs. Kansas City
Arguably the game of the week, it's kind of a poor man's Super Bowl preview. If everything breaks JUUUUST right for these two, ya never know. That being said, Atlanta has been extremely impressive all year in their consistency while Kansas City just fails to show up for entire halves at a time. That's a poor recipe in a game that Julio Jones is likely going to bounce back with the greatest individual performance in NFL history. Please? Maybe? For fantasy's sake? Cmooooonnnnnn!
Pick: Falcons
Green Bay (-4.5) vs. Houston
The Packers have found something recently, and I think it's called a Davante Adams. Whatever it is they're doing, it's happening and the Texans are barely a speed bump this week. I watched them play San Diego last week, and they have absolutely nothing. There's just nothing there.
Pick: Packers
Chicago (-2.5) vs. San Francisco
The Bears have got to be demoralized at the loss of their fearless leader Jay Cutler. Or they're just kinda "meh" about it. Either way. Either way. I don't have a whole lot of hope that this game is even moderately entertaining and we'd probably all be a lot better off if they just didn't play it. Can't wait.
Pick: Niners
New Orleans (-4.5) vs. Detroit
Something tells me this is the week Matt Stafford goes over 300 yards. Maybe over 400 yards. Figure on this one being a lot of points, and yards, and all kinds of goodness. And at the end, it'll come down to a measley field goal.
Pick: Lions
Baltimore (-3.5) vs. Miami
The Ravens have been all over the map this year (at least in my brain) as to whether they're any good or not. Miami is a team that I believed in a lot last year, felt let down so was down on them, then they proved me wrong with a series of good wins, then looked unimpressive in victories over San Diego and San Francisco, and now I don't know what to make of them again. Flip a coin.
Pick: Ravens
New England (-13.5) vs. Los Angeles
A Gronk-less Pats team with a hobbled Brady looked pretty rough against a bad Jets team. I can't imagine they'll fare a whole heck of a lot better against a Rams team with well...um...SOME talent right? Dickerson talked his way into the starting lineup, right?
Pick: Rams
Denver (-4.5) at Jacksonville
The Broncos are still very good, and Jacksonville is a very big suck. Sometimes it's best to not overthink things.
Pick: Broncos
Philadelphia (-2.5) at Cincinnati
I hate continuously backing the crummy Bengals, but I really don't want to lay points on the road with a rookie quarterback in December. Cmon Bengals, help me out one time will ya?
Pick: Bengals
Oakland (-3.5) vs. Buffalo
I've not only been on the "Oakland isn't as good as their record indicates" bandwagon for weeks, I've been on the "I've been telling you Oakland isn't as good as their record indicates a lot lately" bandwagon almost as long. Don't try to make sense of that last sentence. It works best if you only read it once. So yeah, do I think the Raiders are really the third-best team in the NFL? Not quite. But they just keep finding ways to get it done. And the Bills take another step back this week with the Sammy Watkins saga. That's got to be deflating. On top of traveling 3,000 miles to play the best team in the conference. And Amari Cooper is gonna wake up one of these weeks. Could get ugly.
Pick: Raiders
Pittsburgh (-5.5) vs. New York Giants
A possible Super Bowl preview (I'm saying that to jinx it btw), I think these two are just about as evenly matched as you can get, so this line feels several points too high to me.
Pick: Giants
Arizona (-2.5) vs. Washington
Huh?!?
Pick: Washington
San Diego (-4.5) vs. Tampa Bay
In case you haven't noticed by now, the Chargers play close games. A lot of close games. So I know it's tempting to think this will be another one, especially with Tampa hot coming off some big wins lately. But they'll take a step back here traveling all the way back across the country and taking on a team that can quickly turn them one-dimensional. Chargers by a TD.
Pick: Chargers
Seattle (-6.5) vs. Carolina
It's getting REALLLLLY annoying trusting Seattle lately, and Carolina feels like they have one more big win in them. That being said, the Panthers almost scored that big win last week and Seattle is coming off one of the most embarassing losses of the Pete Carroll era (aside from the Super Bowl they should have definitely won, but I digress). Think things reverse themselves a bit this week, and Seattle actually plays a complete game for a change. This will show us a lot about whether they're legit Super Bowl contenders, or just a team with a good record that will crumble down the stretch.
Pick: Seahawks
Indianapolis (-1.5) at New York Jets
The Colts are a wretched, miserable team. I realize the Jets are too, but at least they're home. Indy should be favored on the road against exactly nobody.
Pick: Jets
BEST BETS: Packers, Giants, Washington, Chargers
LOCK: Green Bay Packers
LAST WEEK
Overall: 10-6
Best Bets: 4-0
Lock of the Week: 1-0
YEAR TO DATE
Overall: 91-86 (51%)
Best Bets: 23-25 (47%)
Lock of the Week: 5-7 (41%)
POWER RANKINGS
Team Name W/L (Prv)
1. Cowboys 10-1 (1)
2. Patriots 9-2 (3)
3. Raiders 9-2 (4)
4. Seahawks 7-3-1 (2)
5. Falcons 7-4 (5)
6. Giants 8-3 (6)
7. Chiefs 8-3 (8)
8. Broncos 7-4 (7)
9. Steelers 6-5 (11)
10. Redskins 6-4-1 (9)
11. Ravens 6-5 (13)
12. Lions 7-4 (14)
13. Dolphins 7-4 (15)
14. Vikings 6-5 (10)
15. Packers 5-6 (16)
16. Saints 5-6 (20)
17. Chargers 5-6 (21)
18. Texans 6-5 (12)
19. Bills 6-5 (19)
20. Bucs 6-5 (24)
21. Eagles 5-6 (17)
22. Cardinals 4-6-1 (18)
23. Bengals 3-7-1 (22)
24. Panthers 4-7 (23)
25. Colts 5-6 (25)
26. Titans 6-6 (27)
27. Rams 4-7 (26)
28. Jets 3-8 (28)
29. Bears 2-9 (29)
30. Jaguars 2-9 (30)
31. 49ers 1-10 (31)
32. Browns 0-12 (32)
