Down go the Patriots! Down go the Patriots!
That was the H-Bomb (favorites of 6.5 points or more) theme for Week 12 as both Jess Root and I went down with the Patriots.
After losing by only six points to the Rams in Week 11, we both believed New England could at least hang in and cover the 7.5-point spread at Miami. It wasn’t to be, as the Patriots lost by 19.
Who would have thought that the Panthers would not only cover the 11 points against the Chiefs, but come close to winning the game? Perhaps it shouldn’t have been a surprise because that three-point Kansas City win was their eighth one-score victory this season and third by a total of six points.
Meanwhile, the 8-point underdog Titans did defeat the Texans. The other favorite that covered was the Lions (7.5 points), which beat the Colts by 18.
The 2-2 tally entering Week 13 has the HBomb underdogs with a 33-19 record and 18 outright wins.
So, here we are the three eligible games, but actually only two to pick from because we failed to do our picks in advance of the Thanksgiving Day game between the Lions and Bears that had Detroit favored by 9.5.
The Bears ended up covering, but that doesn’t help us!
That leaves only two other games, including the Black Friday AFC West game between the Chiefs and Raiders.
Here are the two eligible games to pick from this week:
- Chiefs -13 vs. Raiders (Friday)
- Bills -7 vs. 49ers (Sunday night)
Clearly, both leave something to be desired. Most notably with the 49ers because of the uncertainty about injuries, especially quarterback Brock Purdy.
Jess was bold two weeks ago, hoping the Jaguars would cover the 14 points against the Lions. That didn’t turn out well, but he’s going to that double-digit well again and dropping the bomb on Kansas City.
For some crazy reason, even after seeing the 49ers lose in Green Bay by 28 points last Sunday, I’ll say San Francisco will rebound and at least keep the game close against the Bills.
STANDINGS AFTER 12 WEEKS
Howard: 8-4 (3 direct hits)
Jess: 7-5 (3 direct hits)
Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.