We are now diving headlong into the holiday season. With all the stress and nonsense that comes with it, there are a few things that will be consistent. You’ll inevitably receive Christmas cards from random friends and relatives you haven’t spoken to in years. The commercials and Christmas music will have driven us all insane by December 10th. And of course, there will be plenty of football on TV to keep you sane.
Another new consistent that you can count on this season is the Blind Owl Blogs football picks. We won’t be stopping these things hardly anyone reads no matter what we have to be doing this time of year, Whether it Brendawn hiding from his children in the bathroom to type his picks, the Cowboy calling me on Sunday at 11am to scribe his picks for him while he drives to a relatives house, or me writing these while Mrs. Blind Owl is at church being the great person she is, these picks will be out every Sunday.
Now that you’ve got a little peek behind the curtain of how we do things, let’s get into this by first seeing how we did in Week 12.
Week 12 Records:
Blind Owl: 7-9
Concret3Cowboy: 7-9
BrendawnoftheDead: 8-8
Stop the presses. IT WAS AN EARLY CHRISTMAS MIRACLE! Brendawn actually won a week! I taunt him because he’s relatively farther away than he used to be, so if he decides to eviscerate me, I’ll have 15 minutes to at least get my affairs in order. Did that win move him into the thick of the competition? Well, let’s see.
Message from Concret3Cowboy: I’ve let the Owl just ramble on and talk about a fantasy football team in a league that we’re not even in for long enough. It started last year when I won the pick em game in the playoffs and I haven’t looked back. This week is when I push that lead and throw it into 4th and leave this bird with clipped wings and lungs filled with dust. With my fantasy team falling apart, the Broncos being painful to watch and LSU losing to Georgia, this is all I have left for my football sanity. So I’m pushing my chips into the middle of the table to take all the house money.
Total Records:
Blind Owl: 80-90-7
Concret3Cowboy: 83-87-7
BrendawnoftheDead: 78-92-7
BUF @ NE: BUF -3.5
Blind Owl: This is going to be a good game. Both teams are actually doing really well. I didn’t expect the patriots to do this well to be completely honest. It’s certainly not because of their offense. The Bills have been kind of up and down this year, but still are the team to be in the AFC East. It’s going to be another windy one in Foxborough as well. Josh Allen it’s going to run all over the Patriots. Matthew Judon can only do so much. It’ll stay close for a while, but I don’t think New England can keep up.
Concret3Cowboy: Both these teams are coming off a good week of rest after their turkey day games. My question for this game is, how disruptive can that Pats pass rush be? Judon has been leading the league in sacks for some time now. I’m still on the fence with Allen’s health. He’s still running the ball and doing Josh Allen things, but he’s hurting. While hurting he is also making a lot of mistakes when he does throw the ball. I’m gonna reach and actually take the Pats to cover here. I just feel like the Bills are barely hanging onto what their preseason potential was.
BrendawnoftheDead: Per my usual analysis I don't know how the Patriots are going to score points against this defense. The patriots have a hard time forcing punts too… tough combo. I like the bills to cover.
DEN @ BAL: BAL -8
Blind Owl: As I read the first sentence of the Cowboy’s entry, I agree with it 100%. Wilson sucks. Hackett sucks. So I can’t in good conscience pick my Broncos. I’ll go with the Ravens. But I’m sure the Broncos will disappoint me and lose by 7.
Concret3Cowboy: The Broncos stink. Probably the most disappointing team that I can remember, and lucky me.. It’s my squad. Russell Wilson has more bathrooms in his house than TDs this year. The defense is finally starting to crack. I’ve been on a few squads where the defense had to stomach awful offenses, it gets tough when you’re good at your job and the other side can’t get first downs. The Ravens have been super up and down, while they have blown lead after lead this season. I think I’m going to actually take Denver to cover here.. Nevermind, Carolina just rolled these wild north american horses.
BrendawnoftheDead: Picking Denver to do anything is against my religious principles, but desperate times call for desperate measures. Will they win? No, but I don't think they'll lose by 8 with how inconsistent the Ravens have been lately.
PIT @ ATL: PIT -1
Blind Owl: I think this is the first time I’ve seen this. We are all typing our picks at the same time. Kind of funny. Anyway, the Steelers keep covering spreads and beating teams they have no business beating. In this one, they are expected to beat the Falcons. So by that logic, I’ll take the dirty birds.
Concret3Cowboy: The Falcons are a half game out of first for their division, they’ve also lost 3 of their last 4 games. If that doesn’t tell you about the NFC south… It's bad. Both these teams are going to try to play the game on the ground, I’m not sure who that helps more. I’m going to go with the Steelers. Pittsburgh isn’t as limited as Atlanta’s offense, that has more to do with the receivers that these squads house more than the QBs. Mariota is a true dual threat but there isn’t much else happening in the black and red.
BrendawnoftheDead: Don't expect a lot of points in this one. That kind of game favors black and yellow. Pickett might turn out to be a decent quarterback if they could ever protect the poor guy. Steelers win.
GB @ CHI: GB -4.5
Blind Owl: The rules are simple. I can’t pick the Packers. No matter what. I should’ve had an amendment put into the rules about the Bears. But rules are rules. At least the running back that plays QB is back this week. Da Bears.
Concret3Cowboy: In Hacketts defense with the Broncos, this Packer offense sucks. Green Bay is 4-8 to Denver’s 3-8 record, and no one is calling Green Bay a dumpster fire. Now they didn’t trade the house for a QB and pay him $240m before he played a single snap but … nevermind that’s fair. One of Green Bay’s 4 wins was against this Chicago Bears team, and they covered that game too. This week though, we get Jordan Love vs Trevor Siemian? Possibly, I’m trying to find the injury reports. I think Rodgers will play, Fields is a possibility but does that even matter? Go Pack Go.
BrendawnoftheDead:...Packers I guess? Both teams suck donkey balls.
JAX @ DET: JAX -1
Blind Owl: I’ll pick up a game here because the Cowboy has to pick the Lions if they’re underdogs. Give me the Jags.
Concret3Cowboy: Oooo it’s only a point… but you know the rules.
BrendawnoftheDead: This is a tough call. Detroit should have beat the Bills and Jacksonville just beat Lamar. I think Jared Goff has played his best football already but Trevor Lawrence has not. Go Jags?
NYJ @ MIN: MIN -3
Blind Owl: Zack Wilson officially lost his job last week. Mike White went off. Too bad for him the Vikings have had extra time to prepare for him. The Jets’ run has been kind of neat to see. For the first time in like 25 years, the AFC East is a competition and the Patriots are at the bottom. The Vikings are looking like the class of the NFC minus a few hiccups. You’ve got to go with Captain Kirk and Justin Jefferson here. The Jets will hang in for a while though.
Concret3Cowboy: The glorious return of “Magic'' Mike White “Lightning” was pretty glorious. A 154 QBR, 3 TDs and over 300 yards passing. It would be cool if a $240m QB could do that.. Hell, it would be nice if he could throw 2 TDs in a game, but I digress. We’ve seen “Magic'' Mike do this before. We’ve also seen him come back down to Earth. The Jets with a QB producing like that is a pretty scary squad, they’ve got a really good defense and fairly consistent when Zach Wilson isn’t running around in his mom’s friends’ bedrooms. The Jets pass rush isn’t as good as the Cowboys but that's what is going to get this Viking squad, but I see Sauce finally getting called on his PI, so give me the Vikes to win and cover.
BrendawnoftheDead: I dont like picking the Vikings to win tough games but it isn't primetime so Kirk playing well is on the table. The Patriots moved the ball on gang green but have the offensive coordinator that read football for dummies once (the spark notes version). Minnesota will finish the job and score points.
WAS @ NYG: WAS -2.5
Blind Owl: I’m all in on Heinicke. He’ll be crushing some Heinie’s in this one.
Concret3Cowboy: I hope the Commanders get into the playoffs and beat the Cowboys so we can get a movie about a dysfunctional franchise still finding ways to pull it out of their ass. Meh, it would probably turn into a Netflix show and just talk about the front office and use two clips of football play. I am surprised to see Washington favored here. Those black Commander uniforms are pretty sharp, big fan of the “W” on the front of the helmet and numbers on the side. Barkley has fallen off as of late, so give me the Commanders. That defense is playing out of their minds as of late.
BrendawnoftheDead: The G Men have come back down to earth. They have good coaching to cover up their deficiencies but they are too limited offensively. Heinicke's magic continues.
TEN @ PHI: PHI -5
Blind Owl: The Titans have one big offensive weapon. If they can’t get King Henry going, that’s pretty much it. The Eagles are loaded on offense. Weapons as far as the eye can see. For that reason, the Eagles cover here.
Concret3Cowboy: Both these teams like to be physical, the Titans might be the best run defense in the league. On the other side, the Eagles are still bad at stopping the run even after pulling some old guys off their couches to butt heads for them. I don’t need to reach, I have a solid lead, but I like the Titans to cover this one.
BrendawnoftheDead: Philly has an overrated defense but scores a lot of points. Easier to play with a lead. The Titans will be able to control the ball long enough to cover but ultimately fall short of victory.
CLE @ HOU: CLE -7
Blind Owl: Now that Davis Mills is out, I’ll pick anyone against the Texans. Brownies all the way.
Concret3Cowboy: I’ve heard a lot of chatter about Mike Vick’s return compared to Watson’s time off from playing. A) Vick didn’t come in mid season. B) Watson is not Vick. C) It’s the Browns, not a loaded Eagles team. Personally, I think Watson is going to stink but he gets a favorable matchup to come back to. Houston just stinks.
BrendawnoftheDead: Forget about Watson, Chubb will dominate this matchup. Houston is actively trying to lose and Cleveland still has an outside shot to make the playoffs. Browns win and cover.
SEA @ LAR: SEA -7.5
Blind Owl: The Rams are proof of the Super Bowl or bust mentality. They sold their souls for that ring last year. Was it worth it? Yeah probably. But what a difference this year is. They’re going to get their butts whooped by Geno Smith.
Concret3Cowboy: I look pretty good with my pick of the Rams being NFC champs again… Seahawks here.
BrendawnoftheDead: The Rams went all in last year and reaped the benefits. They are now dealing with the consequences of their own actions. Totally worth it but they're getting smoked today. Seattle wins by multiple scores.
MIA @ SF: SF -4
Blind Owl: Game of the week potential here. Tua and the Dolphins have been on a roll. The 49ers and their defense has been shutting trams down left and right. Laugh if you want, but this could be a Super Bowl preview. This is old school, offense versus defense kind of stuff. The only question that comes up is if the 49ers can kind of keep up with the Phins. Miami is going to score. It’ll come down to having the ball last. In a close game, I have to pick the underdog just because of the points.
Concret3Cowboy: Miami is a pretty finesse team, the 49ers are the opposite. Both teams have solid defenses with the 9ers having a dominant one. Miami has a more explosive offense but it’s not by much. I’m going with the 49ers and home field, traveling across the country and playing a game isn’t the easiest thing to do.
BrendawnoftheDead: I'm not on the San Francisco hype train, but the city's murder robots probably have me on some kind of list now. Also Miami is really good and has more weapons that aren't on the injury report. Miami covers
KC @ CIN: KC -2
Blind Owl: Well the Cowboy left me a nice message asking me to fornicate with my chart on this one. He’s just mad cause LSU got their dicks kicked in by Georgia and Alabama may slide into the CFB playoff. Anyway, like it or hate it, the Chiefs are the class of the AFC. Despite Joe Burrow’s miracle, flukey season last year, it’s not going to be the same now. KC by 10.
Concret3Cowboy: The Bengals did get a good win over the Titans when a lot of people thought it was going to go the other way. If this was a 4 point spread I’d like the Bengals but I have to go with KC.
BrendawnoftheDead: I don't know about this Cincy. Your offense will need to absolutely light it up and you haven't done that lately. Playoffs are a different story but right now KC is just better.
LAC @ LV: LAC -1.5
Blind Owl: Screw the Raiders. And Brendawn picked them which is bad mojo.
Concret3Cowboy: fuck the raiders.
BrendawnoftheDead: Picking the Raiders to do anything is also against my religious principles, but times are still desperate. Feed Josh Jacobs.
IND @ DAL: DAL -11
Blind Owl: KInd of the same deal here. The Colts stink. Dallas is really good. Also, Brendawn is reaching and picking the Colts. So I’ll take them Boys. I still think they’ll win the NFC East.
Concret3Cowboy: The Cowboys steamrolling the Vikings has messed up my head a bit. I wasn’t high on the Cowboys but then they beat my favorite NFC squad this season. It would be common for Dallas shipoopi to blow this game. Does the Jerry Jones photo do anything to this game? I’d like to say no but the Cowboys like the spotlight so maybe it does distract them. Give me Dallas though, the Colts went back to being the Colts last week.
BrendawnoftheDead: too big of a spread and I don't believe in Dallas. Indy covers on some late game bs.
NO @ TB: TB -3.5
Blind Owl: I know the Saints have had the Bucs number since Brady got there. But the Saints can’t score. This has “Boring MNF game” written all over it. I’ll give Brady one more chance. If he doesn’t do what he should and beat the piss out of a team that can’t score, then I’ll be done with him like I’m done with the Packers.
Concret3Cowboy: Something about the Saints defense and Tom Brady being a butthead. The Bucs offensive line has been garbage so I will watch this just to see Brady cry a bit.
BrendawnoftheDead: don't watch this game unless you like pain. NO always gives Tampa issues and I don't see it changing. Tampa wins… but by 2.
