Broncos-Patriots Preview and Week 12 Picks!

Last Week's Record: 7-5-2
Thanksgiving Record:1-2
Overall Record: 73-82-8
(HOME TEAM IN CAPS)

Sunday Night Football on NBC features a highly anticipated matchup between the Broncos and the Patriots. What was originally scheduled as Brady vs. Manning now turns into Brady vs. Brock. The Broncos young QB gets his second career start as Peyton Manning will take at least two more weeks to heal his injured foot. Osweiler did a nice job last week in his first start at Chicago, and now he gets a chance to take down Bill Belichick, Tom Brady, and the defending Super Bowl champs, and stop their undefeated season at 10 wins. If Brock wins this game and plays well, then their might be "Brock Mania" to deal with in Denver. Let's not get ahead of ourselves, but Osweiler has a chance to play well because he has solid weapons, and he has the best defense in the NFL in his own building. You know Belichick will find a way to confuse him and get after him. The real key to this game is going to be the Broncos defense. I don't care that Julian Edelman is hurt or that Danny Amendola is questionable. The Broncos defense has to step to the plate once again and somehow find a way to shut down Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski and the Pats offense. Maybe this is the week that they are due for a loss. The Broncos crowd will be loud and out of control, and if the Broncos defense wants to really be considered elite, then this is the moment that have to rise up and show it. It is a tough game to call, and I'm torn. On one hand, I can see Brady finding a way to pick apart the Broncos defense just enough to allow Belichick to go to work on Osweiler and pull out the victory. On the other hand, I could see the Broncos defense rising up to the challenge and Osweiler leaning on a running game and playing mistake free to pull the upset. I'm not sure how this game plays out, but I'm going to take the Broncos and hope I'm right on the upset pick.

DENVER (+4) over New England
Final Score: Broncos-23 Patriots-22

Now, onto the picks for Week 12...

New Orleans (+3) over Houston: The Saints are 4-6 but still alive in the NFC wild card picture. They fired Rob Ryan as their defensive coordinator during the bye week, and now they head to Houston to take on the 5-5 Texans. Houston gets Brian Hoyer back this week, and how they are 5-5 and in the hunt is amazing considering how awful they have played at times. I'm not totally ready to give up on the Saints and Drew Brees, and I think they pull the upset on the road this week.

ATLANTA (-1) over Minnesota: The Falcons are in a freefall after starting the season at 5-0. They are now 6-4 and fighting for their playoff lives. The Vikings come to town at 7-3 and battling for first place of the NFC North. The Vikes are a better team, but I think the Falcons will get their act going and win a close one at home.

St. Louis (+9) over CINCY: The Bengals have lost two in a row, but I still think they are going to be fine once the playoffs start. They will get back on track this week at home, but I just think the Rams will keep it closer than the spread indicates. Jeff Fisher has to be on the hot seat as the Rams come into this game on a three-game winning streak and 4-6 overall. Look for a Cincy win, but something in the range of 27-19.

Tampa Bay (+3) over INDY: Can the Colts win another game without Andrew Luck at QB? Matt Hasselback is 3-0 as a starter last week including last week's improbable win over the Falcons in Atlanta. I think that his due for a rough performance, and I have been pretty good at backing the Buccaneers. Tampa Bay comes in a 5-5 and I like how Jameis Winston is playing.

New York Giants (-3) over WASHINGTON: With the Eagles getting crushed on Thanksgiving to the Lions, and the Cowboys getting crushed by the Panthers and losing Tony Romo once again to injury, this game becomes a huge game for both of these teams in the race to the win the putrid NFC East. The 5-5 Giants head to DC to take on the 4-6 Redskins, and you would think that the Giants have the inside track to win the division. With that said, the Giants have lost so many games this year in some of the most improbable ways, so why would this week be any different? I'll take them here because I want them to win and would like to see them make the playoffs, but I'm not sold on this pick at all because the Redskins are a dangerous team at home.

NY JETS (-3) over Miami: The Jets come in at 5-5 and struggling after their 4-1 start. Things are starting to fall apart around Gang Green, but luckily for them the Dolphins are an even bigger mess, and this might be just what the Jets needed to get going again.

Oakland (-2) over TENNESSEE: All the talk about the Raiders revival when they were 4-3 has quieted a bit here down the last three weeks as the Raiders have lost three in a row and now stand at 4-6. They travel to Tennessee this week to take on the 2-8 Titans. The only thing that Tennessee has to worry about this season is developing Marcus Mariota these last six games. That is all that matters for them. I think the Raiders snap out of their funk and get a road win here.

Buffalo (+7) over KANSAS CITY: The Chiefs have turned around their season and now stand at 5-5 after starting 1-5. They have a very favorable schedule the last six games. The records of the teams that they play down the stretch is 24-40. One of their toughest games left is this week at home against the Bills. The Bills come in at 5-5 as well, so this game will have major ramifications in the AFC playoff picture. I think the Chiefs will probably get the win here, but this line seems way too high for me. I feel like this is a 20-17 game either way.

San Diego (+4) over JACKSONVILLE: The Jags are 4-6 and only one game out of the lead in the pathetic AFC South. They host the 2-8 Chargers this week, and the San Diego has to win another game at some point this season. Why not this week? This would be very typical of the Jags to blow all of their momentum and lose this game at home to a 2-8 team.

Arizona (-9) over SAN FRANCISCO: The Cardinals are 8-2 and continue their dominant run through the NFC. They travel to San Francisco to take on Blaine Gabbert and the 49ers. I can't see Arizona losing focus this week, and I think Carson Palmer continues his hot streak and takes down the Niners fairly easily.

SEATTLE (-3) over Pittsburgh: At 5-5, the Seahawks are not out of the woods yet in their pursuit of getting back to where they were the last two years. They host the Steelers, and they have already lost two games at home this year in front of the 12th Man. Although it is tempting to take Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers, I just think that Seattle will find a way to get to 6-5. This will be a very fun and entertaining game, but look for the Seahawks to get it done.

Baltimore (+3) over CLEVELAND: Last week, ESPN was trying to hype this game as a showcase for Browns QB Johnny Manziel. Then, a video surfaced this week of Manziel partying and drinking during his bye week, so the Browns decided to bench Manziel and demote him to the third QB for this week. With Joe Flacco out for the year with a torn ACL, we get the pleasure of the 2-8 Ravens with Matt Schaub at QB heading into Cleveland to take on Josh McCown and the 2-8 Browns. This is one of those nights where you catch up on old TV shows or a holiday movie.