Whew, the NFL schedule makers probably wish they could flex out specific matchups this week. Of the 13 games, only one – Baltimore at the Los Angeles Chargers – features teams with winning records, and seven games have a spread of at least five points.
On to the picks:
Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert has 13 touchdown passes and only one interception this year.
Game of the week
Baltimore at L.A. Chargers
The Harbaugh Bowl – John coaching the Ravens and Jim coaching the Chargers – is contested Monday night for the third time. John has won both previous matchups, including the Super Bowl after the 2012 season. The 7-4 Ravens are a three-point favorite over the 7-3 Chargers. Baltimore didn’t allow a touchdown last week at Pittsburgh and lost 18-16. Watch out for the Chargers, folks. They are entering Team You Don’t Want To Face In The Wild-Card Round Territory. The Chargers have won four consecutive games, have allowed more than 21 points just once in 10 games, and quarterback Justin Herbert has 13 touchdown passes against only one interception. Chargers 23-17.
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Record: 6-5.
Upset of the week
Tampa Bay at N.Y. Giants
We’re going to with New Jersey guy Tommy DeVito to provide the Giants with a post-bye, quarterback change bump. The woeful Giants (2-8) are a 5½-point home underdog and have lost their last five games. The Daniel Jones Error mercifully ended when he was benched earlier this week by coach Brian Daboll. DeVito isn’t great shakes by any means, but he will do enough to help a Giants offense that is averaging an NFL-low 15.6 points per game. Tampa Bay (4-6) is in a bad way, too, entering with four consecutive losses in which it has allowed 41, 31, 30 and 23 points. Giants 17-12.
Record: 4-7.
Lock of the week
Dallas at Washington
This is how bad the 3-7 Cowboys are: We’re picking Washington despite being a 10-point favorite in a division game. The Commanders (7-4), currently the seventh seed in the NFC, come in off the mini-bye after their loss at Philadelphia in Week 11, giving rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels time to heal his rib injury. Look for a course correction by offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury after receiver Terry McLaurin was targeted only twice (one catch) against the Eagles compared with 66 times (47 catches) in the first 10 games. Commanders 35-20.
Record: 6-5.
BUFFALO NEWS STAFF PICKS
Week 12 selections against the spread by staff reporters Jay Skurski, Katherine Fitzgerald, Mark Gaughan and Ryan O’Halloran (*best bet):
Game Jay Skurski Katherine Fitzgerald Mark Gaughan Ryan O’Halloran
Pittsburgh (-3.5) at Cleveland Pittsburgh Pittsburgh Pittsburgh Pittsburgh
Tampa Bay (-5.5) at N.Y. Giants Tampa Bay Tampa Bay Tampa Bay N.Y. Giants
Minnesota (-3.5) at Chicago Minnesota Minnesota Minnesota Minnesota
Detroit (-7.5) at Indianapolis Detroit Detroit Indianapolis Indianapolis
New England (+7) at Miami Miami Miami New England* New England
Dallas (+10) at Washington Washington Washington Washington Washington*
Kansas City (-11) at Carolina Kansas City* Kansas City Kansas City Kansas City
Tennessee (+8.5) at Houston Houston Houston Tennessee Houston
Denver (-5.5) at Las Vegas Denver Denver Denver Denver
San Francisco (+2.5) at Green Bay Green Bay San Francisco Green Bay Green Bay
Arizona (-1) at Seattle Arizona Arizona* Arizona Seattle
Philadelphia (-3) at L.A. Rams Philadelphia Philadelphia L.A. Rams Philadelphia
Baltimore (-3) at L.A. Chargers L.A. Chargers Baltimore L.A. Chargers L.A. Chargers
Last week (season) 8-6 (93-70-3) 9-5 (87-76-3) 8-6 (82-81-3) 3-11 (82-81-3)
Best bet (season) 0-1 (8-3) 1-0 (8-3) 1-0 (7-4) 0-1 (5-5-1)
