None more so than the Kansas City Chiefs hosting the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday afternoon as Patrick Mahomes and company seek to get over the .500 mark. Kansas City is 5-5 and this one really is a must win as they trail the Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Chargers in the AFC West. The Colts are 8-2 and coming off the bye week and they lead the NFL in scoring, averaging 32 points per game. Indianapolis quarterback Daniel Jones has been nothing short of spectacular, but needs to limit the turnovers in this game. He has seven turnovers in the last two games and against the Chiefs that will not bode well for the Colts if they cannot take care of the football. The Chiefs will look to limit Colts running back Jonathan Taylor, who by far has been the best back in the NFL this season.
On Thursday night in Houston, the surging Texans (5-5) will host the Buffalo Bills (7-3), who have had a roller coaster type season and trail the surprising New England Patriots in the AFC East race. Bills QB Josh Allen is coming off a monster game in which he scored three rushing touchdowns and also threw for three touchdowns in a big win over Tampa Bay. The Texans had the huge fourth quarter comeback against Jacksonville two weeks ago and then won on a last second field goal against the lowly Tennessee Titans last week, not to mention they are going with backup quarterback Davis Mills in this one. The one big edge for Houston is their stellar defense, which leads the NFL in scoring, allowing just 16.3 points per game.
Sunday in Chicago, the surprising Bears (7-3), who lead the NFC North, take on the Pittsburgh Steelers (6-4), who lead the AFC North race to this point. The Bears defense gets turnovers and they lead the league with 21 so far in ten games. The Pittsburgh Steelers must protect the football and (if he does play) quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who is nursing a wrist injury to his non throwing hand. The Bears have been living on the edge in recent weeks, with five come from behind victories, including last week against Minnesota on a field goal at the final gun. The Steelers are trying to hold off the Baltimore Ravens in the divisional race and Rodgers has owned the Bears (25-5 record vs. Chicago) during his 21-year career. This game will probably go down to the wire and the question is whether the Bears can do it yet again.
In Dallas, the NFC East leading Philadelphia Eagles (8-2) take on the Cowboys (4-5-1) and with a win, will cement away their second consecutive division crown, which no team has done in that division since the 2004 season, when the Eagles did it. The Dallas offense has been sensational this year, scoring just under 30 points per game. But their poor defense allows just as much and that has been the problem in the 2025 season. On the other side, Philadelphia is a top ten defense in scoring, giving up just over 20 points per game and that will be the difference in this game.
The Sunday night "prime time" game features the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-4) against the Los Angeles Rams (8-2) in Tinsel Town. The Bucs have lost three of their last four games and have struggled to limit opposing offenses. Last week, they allowed the Buffalo Bills to score 44 points and now face Rams QB Matthew Stafford, who has 27 touchdown passes and only two interceptions through the first ten games. The Rams defense has been steadily improving as the season goes along and will look to pressure Tampa Bay QB Baker Mayfield into mistakes. If that happens, look for the Rams to roll in this game.
The rest of the action for Week Twelve is featured in the capsule style format and the Heftyinfo picks for those games follow up.
N.Y. Giants (2-9) at Detroit (6-4) - The Lions need this game and the Giants are just playing out the string of their schedule from now on. Take the Lions.
New England (9-2) at Cincinnati (3-7) - Hunch pick here is the Bengals pull off the upset.
N.Y. Jets (2-8) at Baltimore (5-5) - The Ravens need this game and the Jets are just playing out the string of their schedule from now on. Take the Ravens.
Seattle (7-3) at Tennessee (1-9) - The Seahawks are coming off a tough loss in L.A. last week and now have to travel cross country for this seemingly easy one . . . Beware!
Minnesota (4-6) at Green Bay (6-3-1) - Given the way the Packers have been in 2025, this one could be considered a toss up. The Vikings are pretty much toast, but this is a division game and they recently toppled the Detroit Lions on the road.
Jacksonville (6-4) at Arizona (3-7) - The Cardinals will battle the up and down Jaguars in this one.
Cleveland (2-8) at Las Vegas (2-8) - Flip a coin in this one.
Atlanta (3-7) at New Orleans (2-8) - See above comment.
Carolina (6-5) at San Francisco (7-4) - Two teams battling for wild card playoff positions in the NFC. This game will be close, but take the home team.
The Heftyinfo picks for Week Twelve . . . . . . . . . . . . . (Home teams are listed in bold; Lock of the Week is listed in BOLD CAPS)
Buffalo over Houston
DETROIT over N.Y. Giants
Kansas City over Indianapolis
Chicago over Pittsburgh
Cincinnati over New England
Baltimore over N.Y. Jets
Seattle over Tennessee
Green Bay over Minnesota
Arizona over Jacksonville
Las Vegas over Cleveland
Atlanta over New Orleans
Philadelphia over Dallas
L.A. Rams over Tampa Bay
San Francisco over Carolina
Last Week' s Record - 11-4
SEASON RECORD - 106-57-1
Lock of the Week Record - 10-1
No comments:
Post a Comment