The National Football League does its best to find matchups that will provide excitement for all fans. Sometimes, it simply can’t make it happen.
Week 12 is one of those times.
But it’s not only Week 12. This season has featured a significant number of teams that appear to be worse than their records. Of course, that’s a subjective stance and it might be driven by the lack of offense that has been present throughout the league, but my opinion is not rare. Some of the franchises we normally expect to thrive are floundering while others are taking advantage and sliding up the standings.
What this has done is, again, combine for a weak set of matchups on a regular basis. That’s frustrating for those of us who want to watch good football, but it is actually welcomed for us trying to find the edge where others want to cast aside a game or team.
Below are predictions for each game against the spread. Spreads have been taken from various websites and are subject to change. The spread in parenthesis denotes the selected team. Spread is listed as advertised number and odds at either DraftKings Sportsbook, FanDuel Sportsbook, Caesars Sportsbook, or PointsBet. All efforts were made to provide picks at -110 or better, with some stretching to a -125 if no reasonable advertised spread was found.
*Confidence Picks – 2022 Season: 27-34-3 (Last Week: 2-3-1)
(2021 Season: 55-50) (2020 Season: 53-42-3) (2019 Season: 57-43-3) (2018 Season: 63-48-4) (2017 Season: 53-48-4) (2016 Season: 53-67-3) (2015 Season: 69-45-2) (2014 Season: 61-46-2) (8-Year Total: 464-389-21)
All Picks Against Spread – 2022 Season: 83-74-7 (Last Week: 7-6-1)
(2021 Season: 158-126-2) (2020 Season: 132-128-7) (2019 Season: 142-118-7) (2018 Season: 137-118-12) (2017 Season: 137-119-11) (2016 Season: 123-136-8) (2015 Season: 143-117-7) (2014 Season: 149-114-4) (8-Year Total: 1121-976-58)
Buffalo Bills at Detroit Lions
I always place an emphasis on timing in the National Football League, and the game between the Buffalo Bills and Detroit Lions is another such example. The Bills were snowed out of their home last week and, because of their upcoming trip to Detroit, were allowed to play as the home team in the Lions’ stadium. Obviously, Detroit was on the road last week, so the timing allowed the two to avoid a conflict where, this week, they can meet on Thanksgiving at the same location.
But that’s not the extent of the influence of timing.
The