Chicago Bears to cover -3 (-115) vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
New York Giants-Detroit Lions to go OVER 50.5 points (-105)
Jacksonville Jaguars-Arizona Cardinals to go OVER 47.5 (-115)
Buffalo Bills-Houston Texans to go UNDER 43.5 (-110)
Week 12 gets underway with the Buffalo Bills (-4.5) visiting the Houston Texans as road favorites on “Thursday Night Football.”
Sunday afternoon gives us several intriguing games, with the AFC North-leading Pittsburgh Steelers visiting the NFC North-leading Chicago Bears (-3) and the Indianapolis Colts hitting the road to face the Kansas City Chiefs (-3.5) in the early round of games. The late window features a matchup of NFC East rivals when the Dallas Cowboys host the Philadelphia Eagles (-4.5).
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Los Angeles Rams (-6.5) close out the slate on “Sunday Night Football,” and the week wraps up with the Carolina Panthers visiting the San Francisco 49ers (-6.5) on “Monday Night Football.”
Matt Bowen, Eric Karabell, Pamela Maldonado and Ben Solak looked at the early Week 12 odds and identified which ones are worth jumping on now before potential shifts later in the week.
Maldonado: Both defenses tell on themselves every week. The Jags give up chunk plays and fold in the red zone, while the Cardinals defense has been a turnstile against anyone with a functioning offense. Pair that with two offensive units that can put together drives, convert on third downs and hit explosive plays, and you’re looking at a game script that naturally tilts high. Jacoby Brissett is steady enough to keep Arizona on schedule, and Trevor Lawrence has consistently produced in shootout environments against soft fronts. Neither defense matches up well with the other’s strengths, making the number simply too low for two teams routinely landing the high-scoring range. Last week: Bears-Vikings under 48.5 (Bears won, 19-17)
Solak: The Falcons are an automatic fade this week, having played consecutive overtime games (with an overseas trip in the middle) and now staring down a divisional road contest potentially without their starting quarterback and top receiver. Michael Penix Jr. will almost certainly be out for this game, and if Drake London can’t go, I struggle to see how the Falcons find any success through the air. Having lost five straight and fallen out of the NFC playoff picture, the Falcons are on quit watch.
Note: Odds at time of publication, courtesy of ESPN BET Sportsbook.