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            <h2>Serge &amp; Brandon’s Totally Official Draft of Thanksgiving Stuff</h2>
            <div><h3>Does turkey go #1? Where do pie, parades, and football fit in? Let’s draft.</h3></div>
            <div><p>grandstandcentral.com</p></div>
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    </div><figure id="c769"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*KOeIA3SOGLaBGYQ6jjADmA.png"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><h1 id="24b4">The Suspiciously High Lines</h1><h2 id="723f">Miami +16.5 at New England</h2><p id="939e">We’re taking four huge road underdogs this week, all of whom are awful football teams, under the premise that no one is particularly good this year and that each of these lines seems three to seven points too high. Miami’s decent has actually been solid this year in games where they aren’t crippled by offensive turnovers and in bad positions all game, and the offense has come around. The Dolphins have scored 20+ in five of their last six games, and this year’s Patriots offense just hasn’t been explosive enough to blow teams out consistently.</p><h2 id="efb7">Buffalo +10 at Kansas City</h2><p id="7ac8">The Bills have lost three in a row including two straight blowouts and the disastrous Nathan Peterman switcheroo at quarterback. They’re a hot mess. But the Chiefs have lost four of five and that early 5–0 start feels like forever ago. Kansas City has only covered this spread twice all season and not since September. It just doesn’t feel like the Chiefs should be 10-point favorites over anyone the way they are playing right now, coming off losses to the Cowboys and Giants teams that stunk up your television on Thanksgiving.</p><h2 id="d18c">Tampa Bay +9.5 at Atlanta</h2><p id="d5f0">Atlanta has only won by double digits twice this season, though Monday night’s victory in Seattle should go a long way to helping the team right the ship after that weird midseason AFC East hiccup. Tampa’s four wins have come against the Bears, Giants, Jets, and Dolphins. That’s not great. But 11 of the past 17 matchups between these divisional rivals have been one-score games, and Tampa has a good backdoor attack if need be too.</p><h2 id="5636">Green Bay +14 at Pittsburgh</h2><p id="075e">Let’s just say you probably won’t be waiting all day for Sunday night. Packers fans should rewatch the Super Bowl XLV matchup instead. Green Bay is 1–4 since Rodgers went down, scoring an average of 13 points a game. Pittsburgh does have four wins this year that would’ve covered this line, but three of them edged into three-score territory late in the game. There’s just no reason at all it makes sense to take Green Bay here. And that’s why we’re doing it.</p><div id="f542" class="link-block">
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            <h2>Week 12 fantasy football buy or sell</h2>
            <div><h3>Why the Carolina Panthers and a pair of young Redskins could swing your fantasy season</h3></div>
            <div><p>medium.com</p></div>
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    </div><figure id="de0b"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*KOeIA3SOGLaBGYQ6jjADmA.png"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><h1 id="bf85">Black Friday ****Need copy and link****</h1><h2 id="8790">Philadelphia -13.5 vs Chicago</h2><p id="ebd3">Time will tell if this game should have fallen into the Suspiciously High Lines category, but the Eagles are the NFL’s one true untouchable so far in 2017. Philadelphia has won by 13 or more five times already, and Carson Wentz and co. are rolling. The Bears are not ready for a shootout. Mitchell Trubisky has only thrown for 180 yards once in six games, and Jordan Howard can’t run the ball if Chicago never has it.</p><h2 id="81c8">Oakland -5 vs Denver</h2><p id="52dd">The Broncos have lost six in a row, and the offense is completely lost. Denver has scored just two touchdowns when the game wasn’t already out of hand during that six-game stretch. That’s an average

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of… punches calculator… oh yeah, that’s really bad. Of course their last win was October 1st against these Raiders, but that was a game Derek Carr left early to injury. Oakland should be fine this time unless that happens again.</p><h2 id="583f">Carolina -4.5 at New York Jets</h2><p id="67f3">The Jets still aren’t good, but they’ve been much more competitive than anyone expected. Every game New York has played since Week 2 has either been a Jets win or a loss by one score. Carolina tends to play close games too, with over half of their seven victories by one score or less. This feels like a game that could be closer than it should be, but Carolina’s defense is really good and the Jets have struggled against mobile quarterbacks so expect the Panthers to come through.</p><figure id="e94e"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*KOeIA3SOGLaBGYQ6jjADmA.png"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><h1 id="1194">The Game of the Week</h1><h2 id="f571">New Orleans +2.5 at Los Angeles Rams</h2><p id="81aa">It’s a throwback to the 80s when the Saints and Rams were NFC West rivals, and it feels like that’s the last time both of these teams were good enough at the same time to make this a game of the week. We’ve been riding the Rams hard all season, but it’s possible they’ve started to get a little overrated. L.A. piled up gaudy stats against some of the league’s dredges, but they’re just 2–3 against teams with at least five wins. The Saints have won eight straight, though they needed a miracle comeback to keep the streak alive last week. Still, that was only the second time during the win streak that the game was even close. The Rams have allowed the third most rushing yards in the league, and that’s exactly the wrong formula against New Orleans right now.</p><div id="4645" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/7-college-football-playoff-contenders-that-control-their-destiny-360c8f640628"> <div> <div> <h2>7 College Football Playoff Contenders that Control Their Destiny</h2> <div><h3>A new top-12 and future playoff rankings if teams win out</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*JpybEGq5Y9KpsZrc5RIfbA.jpeg)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><figure id="5ea8"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*KOeIA3SOGLaBGYQ6jjADmA.png"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><h1 id="ec90">Week 12 Best Bets</h1><h2 id="620f">Los Angeles Chargers -2 at Dallas (Thanksgiving)</h2><p id="c1be">Already 1–0 in this week’s best bets. Thanks America’s Team!</p><h2 id="379e">Jacksonville -5 at Arizona</h2><p id="8e27">The Cardinals have four wins but they’ve eked them out against the Colts, Bucs, and 49ers (twice). The Jaguars have won seven. One of those was that wonky overtime game against the Chargers, but every other victory has been by 12 or more points and a game in which Jacksonville held the opponent to single digits on the scoreboard. When Jacksonville wins, they win big and they win ugly. Welcome back, Blaine Gabbert.</p><h2 id="0521">Baltimore -7 at Houston (Monday)</h2><p id="60c9">What in the world is this line? Baltimore remains one of the NFL’s best home field advantages, and the Monday night crowd will be rocking. Baltimore is like Jacksonville; if they do win, they might well embarrass you. The Ravens have five wins, and all of them are by 13 or more points, with just 27 points allowed between them. They’ve compiled those dominant wins thanks to nasty defensive performances against the likes of E.J. Manuel, Brett Hundley, Andy Dalton, Matt Moore, and DeShone Kizer. Hey, you know who belongs on a list like that? Tom Savage. Let’s go ahead and lock this one in.</p><h2 id="6fb8">Week 11 record: 8–6 Season record: 78–76–7 Best bets: 19–12–1 Locks: 1–1</h2><figure id="1bbb"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*KOeIA3SOGLaBGYQ6jjADmA.png"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><p id="101c"><i>Follow Brandon on Medium or <a href="https://twitter.com/wheatonbrando">@wheatonbrando</a> for more sports, humor, pop culture, and life musings. Visit the rest of Brandon’s <a href="https://readmedium.com/brandon-anderson-writing-archives-6b3ee1a29301#.6cteu050v">writing archives here</a>.</i></p></article></body>

NFL Week 12 Picks against the Spread

Thanksgiving weekend picks for a forgettable slate of games, with Blake Bortles and Joe Flacco as best bets somehow

Thanksgiving has come and gone, so too the bye weeks and your fantasy football trade deadline. All that’s left now are empty Black Friday wallets, a Thanksgiving leftovers hangover, and a Sunday slate of games that feels a lot like leftovers too.

Seven of the thirteen remaining games are two-score lines, so you’re probably better off spending a last few minutes with your family or catching up on everything you didn’t get done over the long weekend. But then a Rams-Saints late afternoon matchup saves the day in a marquee game no one could have seen coming in September. Let’s run through the picks and make some money…

The Thanksgiving Games

Detroit +3 vs Minnesota Los Angeles Chargers -2 at Dallas (best bet) Washington -7 vs New York Giants

A perfect start to the week! Okay fine, only 2–1, but that’s only if you think I’m not riding this Vikings reverse jinx thing all the way to the Super Bowl.

The Stay Aways

Cincinnati -8 vs Cleveland

Even if you live in Ohio, you surely have something better to do than watch this game. The Bengals have won the last six matchups in a row by an average of almost 23 points, never by less than 13. There are a handful of terrible division games this weekend, but this is the worst of them.

Tennessee -3 at Indianapolis

The Titans beat the Colts at home earlier this year to break an 11-game Indianapolis win streak in this rivalry. The Colts have still won 15 of the last 17 matchups. Of course they had Andrew Luck or Peyton Manning for most of those. This year’s Indy squad is only 3–7 and quietly a few bounces away from 0–10, while these Titans look like they’re on their way to a “Wait, Tennessee is the 5-seed??” playoff appearance if they can handle games like this one.

Seattle -6.5 at San Francisco

The 49ers lost five games in a row by three or less, then lost their next three by 63 points combined before beating the Giants. They come off the bye week curiously choosing to stick with C.J. Beathard at quarterback despite their trade for Jimmy Garoppolo. Seattle has not been blowing teams out, even bad opponents. They’ve only won by seven twice this season. Still, it feels like San Francisco needs a good reason to make a quarterback change.

The Suspiciously High Lines

Miami +16.5 at New England

We’re taking four huge road underdogs this week, all of whom are awful football teams, under the premise that no one is particularly good this year and that each of these lines seems three to seven points too high. Miami’s decent has actually been solid this year in games where they aren’t crippled by offensive turnovers and in bad positions all game, and the offense has come around. The Dolphins have scored 20+ in five of their last six games, and this year’s Patriots offense just hasn’t been explosive enough to blow teams out consistently.

Buffalo +10 at Kansas City

The Bills have lost three in a row including two straight blowouts and the disastrous Nathan Peterman switcheroo at quarterback. They’re a hot mess. But the Chiefs have lost four of five and that early 5–0 start feels like forever ago. Kansas City has only covered this spread twice all season and not since September. It just doesn’t feel like the Chiefs should be 10-point favorites over anyone the way they are playing right now, coming off losses to the Cowboys and Giants teams that stunk up your television on Thanksgiving.

Tampa Bay +9.5 at Atlanta

Atlanta has only won by double digits twice this season, though Monday night’s victory in Seattle should go a long way to helping the team right the ship after that weird midseason AFC East hiccup. Tampa’s four wins have come against the Bears, Giants, Jets, and Dolphins. That’s not great. But 11 of the past 17 matchups between these divisional rivals have been one-score games, and Tampa has a good backdoor attack if need be too.

Green Bay +14 at Pittsburgh

Let’s just say you probably won’t be waiting all day for Sunday night. Packers fans should rewatch the Super Bowl XLV matchup instead. Green Bay is 1–4 since Rodgers went down, scoring an average of 13 points a game. Pittsburgh does have four wins this year that would’ve covered this line, but three of them edged into three-score territory late in the game. There’s just no reason at all it makes sense to take Green Bay here. And that’s why we’re doing it.

Black Friday ****Need copy and link****

Philadelphia -13.5 vs Chicago

Time will tell if this game should have fallen into the Suspiciously High Lines category, but the Eagles are the NFL’s one true untouchable so far in 2017. Philadelphia has won by 13 or more five times already, and Carson Wentz and co. are rolling. The Bears are not ready for a shootout. Mitchell Trubisky has only thrown for 180 yards once in six games, and Jordan Howard can’t run the ball if Chicago never has it.

Oakland -5 vs Denver

The Broncos have lost six in a row, and the offense is completely lost. Denver has scored just two touchdowns when the game wasn’t already out of hand during that six-game stretch. That’s an average of… punches calculator… oh yeah, that’s really bad. Of course their last win was October 1st against these Raiders, but that was a game Derek Carr left early to injury. Oakland should be fine this time unless that happens again.

Carolina -4.5 at New York Jets

The Jets still aren’t good, but they’ve been much more competitive than anyone expected. Every game New York has played since Week 2 has either been a Jets win or a loss by one score. Carolina tends to play close games too, with over half of their seven victories by one score or less. This feels like a game that could be closer than it should be, but Carolina’s defense is really good and the Jets have struggled against mobile quarterbacks so expect the Panthers to come through.

The Game of the Week

New Orleans +2.5 at Los Angeles Rams

It’s a throwback to the 80s when the Saints and Rams were NFC West rivals, and it feels like that’s the last time both of these teams were good enough at the same time to make this a game of the week. We’ve been riding the Rams hard all season, but it’s possible they’ve started to get a little overrated. L.A. piled up gaudy stats against some of the league’s dredges, but they’re just 2–3 against teams with at least five wins. The Saints have won eight straight, though they needed a miracle comeback to keep the streak alive last week. Still, that was only the second time during the win streak that the game was even close. The Rams have allowed the third most rushing yards in the league, and that’s exactly the wrong formula against New Orleans right now.

Week 12 Best Bets

Los Angeles Chargers -2 at Dallas (Thanksgiving)

Already 1–0 in this week’s best bets. Thanks America’s Team!

Jacksonville -5 at Arizona

The Cardinals have four wins but they’ve eked them out against the Colts, Bucs, and 49ers (twice). The Jaguars have won seven. One of those was that wonky overtime game against the Chargers, but every other victory has been by 12 or more points and a game in which Jacksonville held the opponent to single digits on the scoreboard. When Jacksonville wins, they win big and they win ugly. Welcome back, Blaine Gabbert.

Baltimore -7 at Houston (Monday)

What in the world is this line? Baltimore remains one of the NFL’s best home field advantages, and the Monday night crowd will be rocking. Baltimore is like Jacksonville; if they do win, they might well embarrass you. The Ravens have five wins, and all of them are by 13 or more points, with just 27 points allowed between them. They’ve compiled those dominant wins thanks to nasty defensive performances against the likes of E.J. Manuel, Brett Hundley, Andy Dalton, Matt Moore, and DeShone Kizer. Hey, you know who belongs on a list like that? Tom Savage. Let’s go ahead and lock this one in.

Week 11 record: 8–6 Season record: 78–76–7 Best bets: 19–12–1 Locks: 1–1

Follow Brandon on Medium or @wheatonbrando for more sports, humor, pop culture, and life musings. Visit the rest of Brandon’s writing archives here.

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