Intro by Sam
Fresh off a pretty good weekend all around, we’re ready to get back to the action today. At first glance, these matchups don’t look great, but we pulled apart the key ones to give our 7 readers a hand.
Week 12 Picks
The Collaboration:
The Detroit Lions-7.5 @ the Indianapolis Colts
Sam: This one is plain and simple. Lions are playing in a game? Bet. Detroit should have no trouble running the ball on the Colts defense and Richardson should be in for a tough one against the knee-destroying Lions defense.
Yank: The plan is simple: step 1) bet the Lions against the spread, step 2) profit. They are tough and physical and mean. They beat lesser teams into submission. Don’t overthink it.
Yank’s Pick: $11.00 on the Lions-7(-110)
Sam’s Pick: $8.00 on the Lions-7.5 (-105)
The Tennessee Titans @ the Houston Texans-7.5
Yank: Houston is in the list of teams we like. Tennessee is on the list of teams we hate. Oftentimes we try to get cute with a game like this and do a tease or ML parlay and give away value. Don’t get cute here. Just like betting on the Lions, bet against the Titans.
Sam: Similar logic to the Lions, but the flip side. The Titans are playing in a game? Bet the other team. In this case, it helps that it’s a team we like in the Texans. Yes, it’s a division game, but we expect them to get the job done.
Yank’s Pick: $11.00 on the Texans-7(-109)
Sam’s Pick: $8.00 on the Texans-8 (-108)
The Minnesota Vikings-3.5 @ the Chicago Bears
The Kansas City Chiefs-10.5 @ the Carolina Panthers
Sam: Vikings-Bears is always a clunker (or defensive battle if I’m trying to be kind). I can see Caleb Williams struggling against the looks Flores will have for him and Sammy D can get a little fidgety in the pocket. Either way, I think the key to success for both teams is running the ball often. It should make for a low-scoring game. In the Chiefs-Panthers game, I don’t see the Panthers having much success against a great Chiefs defense, and we all know that Mahomes’ offense hasn’t been scoring in bunches the way we’re used to. We teased these two total unders up 6 points so that we could get a little extra breathing room.
Yank: This is a fun Captain Underpants teaser. Sam does a great job laying out the case. Caleb Williams has struggled with schemes less complex than the Vikings’. In the other game Carolina has struggled to score on anyone. I expect two games with 24-10 type final scores. For that reason as well I am betting the Chiefs against the spread. Ten and a half feels like a lot of points but a 24-10 type game would cover.
Yank’s Pick: $11.00 on the Chiefs-10.5(-110) and $10.50 on a Vikings-Bears Under 45.5 and Chiefs-Panthers Under 49.5 6-point teaser (-105)
Sam’s Pick: $10.00 on a Vikings-Bears Under 45.5 and Chiefs-Panthers Under 49.5 6-point teaser (-134)
The Confrontation:
No Confrontation this week.
The Isolation:
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers-6 @ the New York Giants
The San Francisco 49ers @ the Green Bay Packers-6
Sam: I wanted to take a shot at two Of the DiNucci’s Law games on the slate. We all remember the Italian Scallion, Tommy Cutlets, the Prince of Pastrami, Mr. Tommy DeVito. I’m not sure this one will hit, but it’s worth a flier. Meanwhile, the 49ers are playing Brandon Allen at QB this week. This feels like it has a better chance than the Giants given the playmakers around him. Maybe this is what the 49ers need to get the offense into a rhythm?
Sam’s Pick: $5.00 on the Giants ML (+210) and $5.00 on the 49ers ML (+205)
Authors: Sam Mattson and Michael Yanckello
One Last Line 