Sunday, November 29th, 1:00 pm ET
Arizona Cardinals (-2.5) @ New England Patriots (+2.5)
The New England Patriots abandoned the ground game against the Houston Texans, allowing Cam Newton to air it out to the tune of 365 yards. They may want to revisit the run game against an Arizona Cardinals unit that gave up 165 yards at 5.6 yards per play in defeat to the Seattle Seahawks in last week’s Thursday Night Football game.
Kyler Murray had a quiet game against the Seahawks by his 2020 NFL season standards, but he should be able to utilize his abilities as a mobile quarterback against a Patriots defense that has allowed the ninth-most rushing yards in the NFL. I would expect to see bounce-back games for both Murray and running back Kenyan Drake.
Patriots 27 Cardinals 24
Las Vegas Raiders @ Atlanta Falcons
The Las Vegas Raiders have one of the best rushing attacks in the NFL with Josh Jacobs, but this game will be an opportunity for the receiving options to shine against an Atlanta Falcons defense that has been awful this season.
The Falcons have been particularly poor against the tight end position, allowing the second-most receiving yards and most touchdowns to tight ends this year. Watch out for Darren Waller, who should continue to build his resume as one of the best pass-catching tight ends in the whole of the NFL.
Although the Raiders have given up an average of 246.9 passing yards per game, they have been relatively successful in limiting passing touchdowns, and that could be a difference-maker on Sunday.
Raiders 28 Falcons 20
Los Angeles Chargers (+5.5) @ Buffalo Bills (-5.5)
After being played closer than expected by the New York Jets, the Los Angeles Chargers travel to Orchard Park for a clash with a Buffalo Bills team that comes off a bye and fired up by their defeat to the Arizona Cardinals in Week 10.
Although rookie quarterback Justin Herbert has been impressive so far this season, and his connection with Keenan Allen should give them a good chance to put up points once again, they lack the explosive rushing offense that has exposed the Bills defense in their three defeats this season. The Tennessee Titans had 139 rushing yards, the Kansas City Chiefs racked up 245 rushing yards, and the Cardinals rushed for 217 yards when beating the Bills.
Stefon Diggs should feature prominently against a team that had allowed 18 passing touchdowns prior to NFL Week 11 and is my fantasy football WR1 for Week 12.
Bills 30 Chargers 23
New York Giants (-5.0) @ Cincinnati Bengals (+5.0)
The New York Giants come off a bye week to face a Cincinnati Bengals that were rocked by the season-ending knee injury suffered by rookie quarterback sensation Joe Burrow. With Ryan Finley set to start for the Bengals, this Week 12 clash takes on a very different complexion. The Giants have been relatively effective against the run this year, so leaning on Gio Bernard won’t be very effective either.
The Giants have a good shot at victory if Daniel Jones can take care of the ball, and they utilize his ability on the ground to take advantage of the Bengals’ deficiencies in the ground game.
Giants 23 Bengals 17
Tennessee Titans (+3.5) @ Indianapolis Colts (-3.5)
Just two weeks after the first clash between these two AFC South divisional rivals, we have the second edition with the Tennessee Titans looking to avenge their 34-17 Thursday Night Football home defeat.
Both teams are coming off big wins in NFL Week 11 with the Titans taking care of Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens and the Indianapolis Colts emerging victorious from an overtime thriller against Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers.
The same keys to the game remain. The Colts have the defense to limit Derrick Henry and Ryan Tannehill. Can the Titans defense step up and shut down the Phillip Rivers led Colts offense this time around? If it does come down to a close battle, which kicker can you trust the most between Stephen Gostkowski and Rodrigo Blankenship?
Colts 26 Titans 21
Miami Dolphins (-6.5) @ New York Jets (+6.5)
Despite a surprise defeat to the Denver Broncos, the Miami Dolphins will go into this AFC East rivalry game as the favorite. The New York Jets played the Los Angeles Chargers closer than expected in Week 11 but still head into this Week 12 matchup without registering a victory in the 2020 NFL season.
The Dolphins’ defense has been the key to their success in a five-game winning streak prior to the Denver defeat. They are holding teams to an average of 20 points per game and now face a Jets team averaging just 13.4 points and less than 300 yards of offense per game.
The first fixture between the two this season finished 24-0 to the Dolphins, and although I expect the score to be closer this time around, the result should remain the same.
Dolphins 27 NY Jets 23
Cleveland Browns (6.5) @ Jacksonville Jaguars (+6.5)
The Cleveland Browns have emerged as the main challenger to the Pittsburgh Steelers’ dominance of the AFC North after Week 11 and face off against a Jacksonville Jaguars team that is in free fall.
Although Baker Mayfield has been far from impressive in this 2020 NFL season, the Browns can lean on running backs Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt against a Jaguars defense that has allowed 12 rushing touchdowns and 131.7 rushing yards per game. Chubb ran for 114 yards in the win over the Philadelphia Eagles and is averaging 6.1 yards per carry.
Jaguars 25 Browns 21
Sunday, November 29th, 4:05 pm ET
New Orleans Saints (-6.0) @ Denver Broncos (+6.0)
The New Orleans Saints surprised everyone by starting Taysom Hill in relief of Drew Brees against the Atlanta Falcons. The gamble paid off against a weak Atlanta defense, but can Hill be as instrumental against the Denver Broncos?
There’s no denying that the Denver defense poses a more significant challenge, allowing just 231.2 passing yards per game compared to the Falcons allowing 310.3 passing yards. The Falcons allowed the Saints backfield to combine for 168 yards, whereas the Broncos limited the Miami Dolphins to just over 50 total rushing yards in their 20-13 win.
Although the Broncos should pose a more difficult challenge, the Saints will have enough on offense combined with their top 10 defense in the NFL to get the win and solidify their claim to the number one seed in the NFC.
Broncos 31 Saints 26
San Francisco 49ers @ Los Angeles Rams
By the time this game kicks off, it will be almost six weeks since the San Francisco 49ers beat the Los Angeles Rams 24-16 to inflict just the second defeat of the season on their NFC West rivals. It will feel like a lifetime ago to a 49ers team that has been riddled with injuries to key players and has won just one game since.
With so many players still missing, including quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, it’s difficult to see a way that the 49ers will win this game. The Rams have arguably the best defense in the NFL and a top-10 offense in terms of rushing yards per game (134.2) and average yards per play (5.8).
Rams 24 49ers 23
