Our Week 11 picks and predictions straight up and against the spread can be summed up in one word: Bru-tal. Injury effects and wild last-minute finishes all didn’t go in the right way, leading to the toughest results of the season.
There’s only one way to overcome what just happened — focus on doing better with the next set of pigskin prognostications. It’s time to remain fearless with Sporting News’ weekly pro football forecast, diving headfirst into every upcoming matchup.
Week 12 brings up a lot of close lines, starting with the trio of games on Thanksgiving Thursday. Here’s to your health and here’s to being more feast than famine with the picks. This week, we get a full heaping of 16 games with no teams on bye:
MORE: Week 12 NFL power rankings | Week 12 picks straight up
NFL picks against the spread for Week 12
Sunday, 8:20 p.m. ET, NBC
The Chiefs are coming off a thrilling, emotional last-minute comeback win over the Raiders. The Buccaneers are coming off a short week with a physical Monday night game against the Rams. This game simply comes down to whether you like Patrick Mahomes and his weapons to outperform Tom Brady and his. At this point, counting against Mahomes is a mistake. He’ll be under less pressure than Brady and will come through with another clutch fourth-quarter drive.
Pick: Chiefs win 31-27 and cover the spread.
Thursday, 12:30 p.m. ET, CBS
The Texans have Deshaun Watson cooking with gas with all of his wide receivers and is also feeling it as a runner. They have great confidence offensively after having their way with the Patriots. They draw a weaker defense this week and their run defense will get another break, assuming D’Andre Swift misses another game with a concussion. Houston has been more motivated without Bill O’Brien while Detroit is now going through the motions with Matt Patricia.
Pick: Texans win 27-24 and cover the spread.
- Game of the Midweek II: Washington Football Team at Cowboys (-2.5, 46.5)
Thursday, 4:30 p.m. ET, Fox
Andy Dalton finally played well filling in for Dak Prescott, a far cry from his first effort against Washington. The Cowboys also got their running game going with Ezekiel Elliott to help and also played more inspired defense against the Vikings. Dalton has more weapons than Alex Smith and Dallas evens the season series at home to resurrect its NFC East chances.
Pick: Cowboys win 24-20 and cover the spread.
- Game of the Midweek III: Ravens at Steelers (-3, 45)
Thursday, 8:20 p.m. ET, NBC
The Ravens are going into this short-week road game reeling from the devastating loss to the Titans and have new COVID-19 concerns (Mark Ingram, J.K. Dobbins). Lamar Jackson is coming off a rough home game and the Steelers’ defense won’t make things any easier on the road in this rematch. Pittsburgh found its balance and explosiveness last week while Baltimore’s once nasty defense keeps wilting everywhere.
Pick: Steelers win 27-20 and cover the spread.
Sunday, 8:20 p.m. ET, NBC
The Packers know they will have red-hot Aaron Rodgers at quarterback, trying to make up for the Colts loss by finishing better. The Bears don’t know if they will have Nick Foles, MItchell Trubisky or Tyler Bray at quarterback. Coming off a bye helps for a strong Chicago defense, but the offense will cost the distant second-place team in the NFC North another prime-time division game.
Pick: Packers win 27-20 but fail to cover the spread.
Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, CBS
The Bills are coming off a bye and should have their offense revved up around Josh Allen to attack a Chargers’ secondary that’s really struggling. Justin Herbert will duel him well, but he’s also going into a hostile environment with some weather concerns on a cross-country trip against a Buffalo defense that can dial up some good pressure.
Pick: Bills win 34-17 and cover the spread.
Monday 8:15 p.m. ET, ESPN
The Eagles desperately need this game to hold off the pack of even weaker NFC East teams behind them. They came through with a key win over the 49ers earlier and get that result here at home in prime time. The Seahawks are much more vulnerable on the road defensively. Wentz uses all his weapons and running style to outduel Russell Wilson with some help from his defense, too.
Pick: Eagles win 27-24.
Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, CBS
The Dolphins need to shake off that bad loss against the Broncos and resettle at quarterback with Tua Tagovailoa. The good news is they did pitch a shutout against the Jets the first time. The bad news is New York seems to playing with a little more life to keep from going winless. Miami still wins on the strength of the defense, but it’s another grind offensively to edge a team led by former coach Adam Gase.
Pick: Dolphins win 23-20 but fail to cover the spread.
Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, Fox
The Cardinals profile very similarly to the Texans, who just ripped the Patriots with a running QB and big pass plays all over the field. Kyler Murray is hard to stop and the Patriots’ front seven is not equipped to do so with limited speed. They also will have trouble contaning DeAndre Hopkins downfield. The Cardinals’ defense has a lot of holes, but they pick spots to slow down and stop Cam Newton.
Pick: Cardinals win 27-20 and cover the spread.
Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, Fox
The Vikings’ defense put them in a tough spot again in the loss to the Cowboys. They need to get ahead of the game script and blast Dalvin Cook to a big lead. The Panthers’ run defense is terrible, so you can bet Cook will be fed all day to compensate for the Dallas experience. Teddy Bridgewater, if he returns from his knee injury as expected, has a nice chance for a good “revenge” game, but Cook’s constant chunk running will put this game out of reach in the end.
Pick: Vikings win 31-24 and cover the spread.
Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, CBS
The Titans’ offense woke up with a monster day from Derrick Henry to come back and clip the Ravens. The Colts’ mighty defense is a different story, coming off the confidence of a Week 10 beatdown in Nashville. The Titans’ defense still isn’t very good and slowing down in many aspects, while Philip Rivers is suddenly red-hot. He delivers again as Ryan Tannehill goes back to slumping.
Pick: Colts win 27-20 and cover the spread.
Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, CBS
The Browns won’t mess around in this game where weather won’t be a factor, unlike their past three home games. Look for them to trust in a heavy dose of Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt in the running and short passing games, with a few calculated high-percentage big-play passes from Baker Mayfield. The Browns’ defense rallied around Myles Garrett’s absence last week and does it again this week, facing likely fading Jake Luton.
Pick: Browns win 30-20 and cover the spread.
Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, Fox
The Giants get a massive break after the bye as Daniel Jones has a much better chance of outdueling Ryan Finley on the road than Joe Burrow. The Giants’ defense is well rested and will go hard after Finley, forcing sacks and mistakes. The Bengals’ defense is ill-equipped to stop any of Jones’ versatile weapons.
Pick: Giants win 23-17 and cover the spread.
Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, CBS
The Raiders will shake off that Mahomes magic loss of Week 11 in style with a strong road trip to the NFC South. Derek Carr is playing too well to be contained by the Falcons awful pass coverage with no rush behind it, taking advantage when they blitz. Matt Ryan can’t seem to keep his key receivers healthy and now his offensive line and running game are crumbling at the wrong time for an improving, youthful defense.
Pick: Raiders win 31-27 and cover the spread.
Sunday, 4:05 p.m. ET, Fox
The 49ers will still have Nick Mullens starting at quarterback but they should be healthier in their skill support at running back and wide receiver. Kyle Shanahan and Robert Saleh would have game-planned well during the bye for a team they were able to beat when healthy in Week 5. With the 49ers rested and the Rams tired from Monday night, look for a tighter rematch than expected at SoFi Stadium.
Pick: Rams win 24-20 but fail to cover the spread.
Sunday, 4:05 p.m. ET, Fox
Taysom Hill shined in his home debut as a starting quarterback, but now goes to a hostile road environment in the elements, back in Mountain West country. The Broncos woke up defensively with a good pass rush and more respectable run defense. They tend to play better at home while the Saints, Drew Brees or not, aren’t the best west- and outdoor-traveling team. They still survive with the better running game and the superior run defense.
Pick: Saints win 23-20 but fail to cover the spread.
Stats of the Week
Week 11 straight up: 6-7
Week 11 against the spread: 4-9
Season straight up: 102-57
Season against the spread: 91-66