NFL Football Picks

The narrative during the 2017 Eagles Super Bowl run was that they were the underdogs. It was them against the world and they had to overcome one hurdle after another. Of course, the Eagles rose to the challenge, overcame every obstacle that landed in their way including being home underdogs in both NFC playoff games and beating the GOAT and his infamous Coach in the big game with a backup quarterback. This year the Eagles are the hunted and in turn commonly see sportsbooks setting them as the big favorite.

Despite the Panthers recent struggles, they have a great opportunity to turn things around this week against a weak Buccaneers defense. In fact, Carolina’s offense behind quarterback Cam Newton and running back Christian McCaffrey have won 3 straight against the Buccaneers. If you stretch those trends out further, Newton has won 9 of the last 11 meetings against the Buccaneers as well. Is there strong enough data to show bookmakers got it wrong giving Carolina 3.5?

The 49ers are in rough shape. For them not to be competitive against a spiraling Tampa bunch is a testament to how bad things are going into week 13. Nick Mullens offered some early promise at quarterback, but has thrown two picks in each of his last two games and the luster is long gone. The story of this team has been injuries. Then just this past week, Rueben Foster went from a difference-maker on defense to getting cut after another transgression. Is this the point where the 49ers give up? This idea can make getting even 10 points from your sportsbook seem like not enough.

So far this season, Pittsburgh has responded well to bad situations. After winning only one of their first four games of the season, they were able to alter course dramatically, winning 6 straight and have not failed to cover the spread once in that period. The last few weeks have seen the Steelers slacking off a bit. First came a close win against Jacksonville where they were half-dead for the first three quarters of the game. Against Denver, four turnovers and a general sagging in overall energy was responsible for the defeat. Does the Pittsburgh roller coaster climb back to the win column and so by 4 points?

With almost every NFL team, there are going to be peaks and valleys. The Raiders have been awful—there is no debate. But they managed to beat the Cardinals on the road a few weeks back. They dominated most of the first half against the Chargers the game before. And, against Baltimore on the road last week, they took a 7-0 lead and trailed only 13-10 at halftime. So, it’s not like they’re getting run over every time out. When looking at those efforts the 15 points bookmakers are offering looks a little juicy.

This season hasn’t gone according to script for the Lions, sitting at 4-7 and basically out of contention. Detroit is just a team taking up space. They have jumped up from time to time, with their wins coming against some good teams like New England and Carolina, along with decent teams like Miami and Green Bay. But more often than not, they fall flat as they did at home against the Bears last Thursday. Still, they were in it until the end. The big games have bettors looking at betting the +9.5 at their sportsbook. Should you? Loot makes his prediction.

The one thing the Cardinals have going for them is a nice defense against the pass. After Rivers threw for over 400 yards last week, they will be pushed to their limits. Unfortunately for them, their run-defense is maybe the worst in the conference. Even Oakland was able to feast on this “D,” which is a damning indictment if there ever was one. With the Chargers able to run the ball well, especially with star back Melvin Gordon, it looms as a major matchup problem. But is it a 12 point problem? LL looks at the match up and the 11.5 point spread.

Just like every week, the Seattle Seahawks will attempt to allow their run game to dictate the tempo and success of their offense. Through the entire 2018 season so far, the Seahawks are averaging 154 yards a game on the ground and just under 200 a game passing. Running the read option with Russell Wilson is a huge part of this teams offense and that will not stop come Sunday. How will their predictable game plan play out vs Carolina? Bob Clark has your NFL pick.

The Raiders were up against one of the NFL’s thinnest run defenses, but managed to get the job done with a committee of running backs. Jalen Richard, Doug Martin and DeAndre Washington combined for 152 yards on 33 carries for a 4.6 yards per attempt average and provided the offense with a nearly perfect balance of passing and running plays. They also won the turnover battle with 2 INTs. Can the Raiders build on week 11 and get the cover the sportsbooks have set at +11?

When these two met back in Week 6, Saquon Barkley went off with 229 total yards from scrimmage, 130 on the ground and 99 receiving. There’s no reason to think that the Giants won’t have similar plans for Sunday, particularly after Saints’ running backs Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara combined to gash Philly for 211 yards and 3 touchdowns from scrimmage. Can the Giants run through Philly again? Rick Wise has your NFL pick!