Sports Gab Editor Matt Loede’s NFL Picks for week 12

Last Week: 11-4
Season: 93-64

Thursday:

New England at Detroit – The Pats are playing as well as any AFC team right now, and they have the decided advantage in this Thanksgiving matchup. Look for Tom Brady and the Pats to pick apart the Lions, and the New England D to lower the boom on the banged up Cats. New England 34 Detroit 17

New Orleans at Dallas – Jason Garrett has the Cowboys at 2-0 after taking over for Wade Phillips, and this week is another stern test. Remember it was Dallas who stopped the Saints from keeping up their undefeated streak last season, leaving the Saints to want some revenge. Dallas is playing confident for the first time all year, and will treat this like their Super Bowl. Why do I sense that the Cowboys have one very good game left in them? Dallas 31 New Orleans 28

Cincinnati at New York Jets – 2-8 vs 8-2. Seems like a blowout on paper, and it will be even more on the field. Marvin Lewis is on borrowed time in Cincy, and unless he can find a way to motivate his team to get a few more wins before January 3rd, this will be his last season in the Queen City. Won’t happen. The Jets will watch their rivals in the Pats win earlier in the day, and know they can’t slip up here, and won’t. New York Jets 27 Cincinnati 13

Sunday:

Minnesota at Washington – The Vikings are hoping that Leslie Frazier will do what Jason Garrett has done in Dallas, and that’s with a coaching change inspire his new team to get a few wins. Can’t see it, as the Vikings are just a complete mess, and Brett Favre is a shell of even what he was last season. Look for the Skins defense to step up like they did vs the Titans, and pull out a home win to stay in the race. Washington 21 Minnesota 13

Tennessee at Houston – Two AFC South teams that sorely need a win do battle in Houston. The Titans are falling apart, just like the Vikings, and now there’s drama with the QB and the coach, as Vince Young will sit the whole year with a thumb injury. Rusty Smith gets the start, and the Texans will lift up and pound him and move to 5-6, the same record as the Titans after this one. Houston 33 Tennessee 14

Green Bay at Atlanta – A great NFC game that could be an early NFC Title game preview. The Pack slammed the Vikings last week, and are making a run at the NFC North title, while the Falcons pulled out a huge win over the Rams, and seem to be on the same path. The Falcons are more balanced, and they will be just a few points better than a still banged up Pack team that will learn what they need to do to play with the best team in the NFC. Atlanta 27 Green Bay 24

Carolina at Cleveland – ZZZZZZ. That’s the best way to describe this awful mistake by the lake game between a 1-9 team and a 3-7 team. The Browns are 11 point favs, and I have no idea why. They got 6 turnovers last week, and STILL lost to the Jags. Now they may have to turn to either Seneca Wallace or Jake Delhomme as Colt McCoy is hurt with an ankle sprain. The Panthers hung for three quarters with the Ravens, but are a mess and have a lame duck coach with John Fox waiting for the ax to drop on Black Monday after the season ends. Cleveland 24 Carolina 12
Pittsburgh at Buffalo – Last week vs the Raiders the Steelers got their season back on track, and know they can’t have a slip up in Buffalo like they did in KC last year. The Bills can score, but haven’t played a D like the Steelers since they played the Jets earlier this year. Look for the Steelers to put their foot on the Bills throat around the third quarter, and for James Harrison and Troy Polamalu to both have a big play on defense. Pittsburgh 37 Buffalo 17

Jacksonville at New York Giants – The Giants are smarting after a loss to the Eagles, and while the Jags are somehow in first place in the AFC South, they are not in the class of the G-Men. Look for the Giants pass rush to get to David Garrard, and the turnover prone Jags, who had 6 turnovers vs the Browns, to make way too many mistakes to beat the Giants on the road. New York Giants 23 Jacksonville 10

Miami at Oakland – The Raiders were beaten by 32 last week in Pittsburgh, and want to show that their earlier muscle on offense wasn’t a fluke. They will take some frustration out on the Dolphins, who are beat up and looked terrible a week ago Thursday vs the Bears in losing 16-0. The Raiders are the better team right now, and the Dolphins are on the way down when it comes to trying to sneak into the playoffs. Oakland 20 Miami 7

Kansas City at Seattle – The Hawks at 3-1 at home, while the Chiefs are not very good on the road at 1-4. Kansas City needs to keep winning to hold off an improving Chargers team, but the Hawks seem to have mojo at home, and will find a way in a tough game to pull out a win to stay in the race in the NFC West. Seattle 17 Kansas City 13

St.Louis at Denver – The Broncos started red hot vs San Diego Monday night, but then shut down and were beaten badly by their rivals. Now they play a Rams team that is 0-4 on the road, and while Sam Bradford and St.Louis can stay in games and hang around, look for Kyle Orton to pick on the Rams secondary enough to get the ball to Brandon Lloyd for two TD’s and a win going away. Denver 27 St.Louis 20

Tampa Bay at Baltimore – The Bucs are the surprise team in the NFC, sitting at 7-3 in a season some felt they would only win 3-4 games. Now they look to lay the upset of the week in Baltimore vs a Ravens team that let the Panthers get to 20-13 before two defensive scores sealed the deal last week. I think the Bucs are going to give Baltimore all they can handle, and will score the upset of the week in a win to keep them in the race for a playoff spot. Tampa Bay 23 Baltimore 17

Philadelphia at Chicago – A great game that is going to be a brawl. The Eagles will look to stay hot with Michael Vick avoiding the Bears rush, and should be able to keep the Bears D off guard. Chicago wasn’t great, but was more than good enough to beat the Dolphins a week ago Thursday. Chicago needs to run the ball to win this game, but I think in the end it will be too much Vick. Philadelphia 28 Chicago 20

San Diego at Indianapolis – The Colts are reeling a bit after their loss to the Pats, and need to rebound in the Sunday night game at home. Problem is they are playing the red hot Chargers, who get Vincent Jackson back in a game they need to possibly tie the Chiefs in the West. Look for San Diego to challenge the Colts secondary, and in the end Rivers will outduel Manning to get a huge road win. San Diego 34 Indianapolis 27

Monday Night:

San Francisco at Arizona – Two reeling teams in the NFC West end week 12. The Niners are back to playing sloppy, and while the Cards are not much better, they should be able to generate enough offense to get the job done to get a win and stay somehow in the race in the NFC West. Arizona 24 San Francisco 14

Matt Loede

Matt Loede has been in the sports media for over 16 years, with experience covering the MLB, NBA, and NFL. On Sunday’s during football season, you can hear Matt on national networks like Fox Sports Radio, Associated Press, and others. Born and raised in Cleveland Ohio, Matt studies and talks football inside and out, and is anxious to share his thoughts and comments with readers on a daily basis.