| Bears |
over |
Lions |
The Bears' dreadful offense should almost cancel out the Lions' equally dreadful defense. Detroit likely won't have Stafford available, so Khalil Mack and the Chicago defense will eat on this early Thanksgiving matchup. |
| Cowboys |
over |
Bills |
Both teams are playoff contenders. While Buffalo certainly won't steal away the division title from the Pats, they are looking great as a Wild Card team. Dallas could have problems against the Bills' defense (Amari Cooper vs. Tre'Davious White looks fun), but Dak will make more game-changing plays than Josh Allen will manage against Dallas' good defense. |
| Saints |
over |
Falcons |
The only consistent thing about Atlanta is their inconsistency. They stomped New Orleans and Carolina in dominant road games, then lay a stinky egg at home against the Bucs. Brees is back to peak efficiency and Payton won't allow a sweep by a terrible division rival. |
| Ravens |
over |
49ers |
Holy crap, this one is a good one. Both teams are blowing out opponents and looking great doing it. I think it'll come down to homefield and that Lamar is marginally better than Jimmy G at the moment. |
| Panthers |
over |
Redskins |
On the heels of two straight maddening losses, Carolina will take out their frustrations on the Redskins. Beyond Derrius Guice against Carolina's struggling run defense, Washington doesn't pose much of a threat to the home team. |
| Jets |
over |
Bengals |
The Jets are on fire, and even though the Bengals have been feisty in their last couple losses, there's no reason to think the NFL's worst team will slow New York's roll. |
| Titans |
over |
Colts |
Toss-up game right here. The Colts are still without Marlon Mack and the Titans have Derrick Henry rolling. Tennessee should have an edge with the better rushing attack and, statistically, the better defense. |
| Jaguars |
over |
Buccaneers |
This game will depend on the unpredictable play of quarterbacks Winston and Foles. The Bucs will try their bad rushing attack against the Jags' bad rushing defense. The Jaguars will try their good rushing attack against the Buccaneers' good rushing defense. The winner will be the team that prevails in those matchups and also commits fewer turnovers. We can't trust Jameis Winston with the latter. |
| Eagles |
over |
Dolphins |
Could be a trap game, but this is a solid chance for Philly to stay in the NFC East and Wild Card races. |
| Packers |
over |
Giants |
Green Bay got curb-stomped last week against a 49ers teams they possibly could have beaten. The Giants keep losing games but giving their opponents legitimate fights, and the Packers' run defense will struggle at times against Saquon. New York's struggling defense, though, won't be able to hold off Green Bay long enough for anything on the other side of the ball to matter. |
| Steelers |
over |
Browns |
I'm sure Steelers players have some emotions they want to let out in the form of giving Baker Mayfield and Co. fits for most of that Thursday night game. For many reasons, Cleveland should win this game. But the Steelers keep pulling off head-scratching wins thanks to good coaching. |
| Rams |
over |
Cardinals |
Usually a team coming off an embarrassing loss typically bounces back the next week, and it doesn't get much more embarrassing than what happened to the Rams against the Ravens. Kyler Murray will give L.A. issues similar to those presented by Lamar Jackson, so it could be a good matchup. |
| Chiefs |
over |
Raiders |
Gruden will have his team fired up after it was embarrassed in New York, and Oakland's offense will give K.C. fits. But the Chiefs are healthy coming out of their bye week, and the Raiders won't have any answers for Mahomes. |
| Chargers |
over |
Broncos |
This has the makings of an ugly, pointless and frustrating-to-watch game for two teams that might be better off looking at the 2020 Draft. The Chargers' defense is actually better than the Broncos' unit, and somehow Rivers will need to win the game with a last-minute drive. (I'm going to this game with a buddy of mine and neither one of us are fans of either team, so it should be fun.) |
| Patriots |
over |
Texans |
New England is 10-1 thanks to its league-best scoring defense capable of containing MVP-caliber quarterbacks not named Lamar Jackson. Deshaun Watson will make his share of plays as usual; just not enough of them. |
| Seahawks |
over |
Vikings |
Another toss-up game here. The Seahawks have a couple advantages as the home team with the better quarterback, but the Vikings, healthier coming out of their bye week, have advantages virtually everywhere else. Dalvin Cook will frustrate Seattle's defense, and Kirk Cousins will almost have enough opportunities to win this one. |