It’s a very busy time of year. There are parties, shopping and all kinds of other stuff to do. Like most married men in this country, I just kind of do what I’m told this time of year. It is for the best really. The only thing I control is this blog, so I’ll keep it going as long as my wife’s schedule can support that. Putting my marital power struggle aside, it is time for the BO Blogs NFL Picks for Week 14. Before we get there, let’s see how Week 13 shook out.
Week 13 Records:
Blind Owl: 5-10
Concret3Cowboy: 8-7
BrendawnoftheDead: 8-7
Oof. Not a good time of year to have one of my worst weeks. I suppose it’s what I deserve for my smack talking. But, you have to fight with what brought you to the dance, so I have no intention to stop shit talking. I see that the Cowboy left a message below that I haven’t read and I’m sure it has a lot to say about me. I’ll step aside and let him do the ‘post total records” comments. It’ll save me a little time. So here’s that:
Total Records:
Blind Owl: 85-100-7
Concret3Cowboy: 91-94-7
BrendawnoftheDead: 86-99-7
Message from Concret3Cowboy: Well, the Blind Owl was first to something… 100 loses. Usually the first to trash talk as well, even though he’s been the majority leader of last place all season. But what do I know? I’ve only been in first or tied for first all season long but I digress. With Brendawn returning to his early season form, it’s time to pile on the Owl and clip his wings.
LV @ LAR: LV -6.5
Blind Owl: Oh god. I truly hate the Raiders. They just bother me so much. I pick them, they lose by 20. I pick against them, they win in OT. I personally blame them for my tumble down the standings. Although I have only Davante Adams to thank for my undefeated season in fantasy football. If you can’t tell, I’m divided on this one. Unfortunately, I have to start thinking about making up ground in the standings. I have to get inside the minds of the Cowboy and Brendawn. Two very scary places to be. One is filled with first person shooters and blood and guts, the other is just filled with naughty images of Peyton Manning wearing nothing but his jersey and holding a football in a very delicate area. Any who, the Cowboy hates the Raiders so he won’t take them, so I have to ride with them here. But, I’m writing this before either of them make their picks, so I’m sure the Cowboy will go against his morals and pick with me just to stay in the lead. Which is what I want. I’ll get in his head.
Concret3Cowboy: I forgot it was Thursday… currently the Rams are down 13-3… fuck the Raiders? (Editor’s Note: This pick is quite controversial. For starters it was made during the game. But one thing I will do is give the Cowboy some credit, he picked the team that was losing. It paid off for him though which makes it suspect. An internal investigation was done and it was determined that the pick will stand. But he’s on thin ice…)
BrendawnoftheDead: No mind games for me here, just logic. The Rams are broken and dead. The Raiders have shown signs of life the last couple weeks thanks to a certain RB, perhaps they’re regretting declining Josh Jacobs’ 5th year option now (running backs still matter!)? 6.5 is a big spread for this game, but all the Rams talent is on IR. McDaniels doesn’t overthink this one and the Raiders will cover.
KC @ DEN: KC -9.5
Blind Owl: Is it bad that I’m rooting against my Broncos? I’m going to pick KC but I’m sure the Broncos will let me down and lose by exactly 9 by scoring a few touchdowns in garbage time.
Concret3Cowboy: This Broncos team is done. The players are about to give up on each other and this coaching staff. Wilson is a joke but in his defense this team has also had a lot of injuries on the offensive side of the ball. The problem is, when you pay a quarterback $240m the expectations and the bar get raised pretty high. KC is going to pile it on and Melvin Gordan is going to score against this sad Denver squad.
BrendawnoftheDead: Let’s see, the last ranked offense vs KC who has no problem scoring on anyone… Chiefs for sure. They’re coming off a loss that never should have happened (way to go Kelce) and they will be motivated to make an example of the helpless ponies. Is there anyway the once noble steeds can rid themselves of the hardo that is Russell Wilson? Probably not and I feel sorry for the fan base. Being a Patriots fan, I’m well aware of what incompetent offense looks like and my god does it stink to watch.
NYJ @ BUF: BUF -9.5
Blind Owl: The Bills love being sluggish against teams they should beat by a lot. They have the “Play to your opponent” syndrome. Something my baseball coach accuses my team of doing. Now should the Bills beat the Jets by 10? Yeah. But the world isn’t built on “should.” I’m going to pick the Jets to cover the 9.5 points, but I won’t be shocked if they lay an egg.
Concret3Cowboy: The bookmakers know something that we don’t. I don’t know how the Bills are favored by two scores when they lost to this squad earlier in the season. Oh and Von Miller is out for the season. Oh and this is the team that hurt Allen’s elbow, they picked him off twice and sacked him 5 times. This J-E-T-S defense is real, the offense just can’t be stupid and give the ball away. Everyone talks about Sauce but DJ Reed may be a better corner than him. I like the Jets here, which hurts but c’est la vie.
BrendawnoftheDead: The Jets were able to beat the Biffalo Buffs with Zach Wilson at the helm, so I’m not sure why the Bills are favored by so much. I think the Bills will win this one, but not by THAT much. The Jets defense is legitimate and Allen hasn’t been quite right since getting that elbow boo boo. On a side note, I can’t believe the Patriots are going to finish behind the Jets this year… how did it come to this!?
CLE @ CIN: CIN -6
Blind Owl: I’m struggling here. The easy pick is the Bengals to cover. But I have to take some chances to get back into it. Can Desean Watson give the Browns enough of a rub to cover? I hope so. The running game will keep it close and the Browns will cover.
Concret3Cowboy: Did I pick the Bengals or Bills as my AFC favorite going into the season? The Bengals looked bad at points this season, they’ve looked alot better as of late. Joe Brrrr is 3-0 against Mahomes so that’s cool. The Browns did absolutely run down and around these Bengals at the end of October. Did Watson rly make this team worse? That was one of the games where this team looked BAD. But like I said, the Bengals have looked alot better as of late. Roll with Joey B.
BrendawnoftheDead: Pound the over! Watson hasn’t played football in 2 years and it showed last week. Cincinnati is getting hot and showing why they were among the preseason favorites to win it all. I love how Nick Chubb runs the ball and Amari Cooper is underrated, but they can’t keep up on their own. Cincy is too deep at the skill positions and the one that really matters.
HOU @ DAL: DAL -16.5
Blind Owl: Is this the biggest spread we’ve seen this year? Somebody look that up. I certainly won’t be doing it. I was the only one to pick Dallas to win the NFC East. I think they’ll do some damage in the playoffs. That being said, I’ve got to make some moves. I’m taking Houston to cover this gigantic spread.
Concret3Cowboy: Is Davis Mills playing? The Owl hasn’t said anything about him.. Maybe because he got benched on the worst team in football, but he is starting this game. Cowboys? I don’t like this huge spread but it is the Texans.
BrendawnoftheDead: The Cowboys were a lot easier to root for with Cooper Rush at the helm. Those were better days in a simpler time. This spread is enormous but Houston is actively trying to lose games and the Cowboys have loads of talent, albeit dysfunctional talent. I guess I’ll pick them boys.
MIN @ DET: DET -2.5
Blind Owl: Alright, what’s the Cowboy’s rule here? If the Lions are underdogs, pick them? Well, they’re favored here so I’ll pick against them? Does that work?
Concret3Cowboy: NOOOO!!! The Lions are favored and ruin my whole thing. The Owl is right, when they are favored you don’t take them. But this isn’t the Lions team of years/decades past. You’re going to tell me the Vikings don’t feel disrespected by this spread though? Do NFL players even look at that stuff? The Vikings did look bad against the Cowboys but the Lions did look bad against the Patriots. Skol.
BrendawnoftheDead: This spread is puzzling but so are the Lions this year. Minnesota is the better team, has the better record, and has the best receiver in football. Detroit has Dan Campbell magic which can’t be discounted. I guess Vegas thinks they know something that the rest of us do not, but I’m betting against the house here. Dalvin Cook & JJ have big days and Minnesota wins by at least a field goal.
JAX @ TEN: TEN -4
Blind Owl: I’ve picked the Jags a few times and I’m done with them. King Henry pounds the Jags into submission.
Concret3Cowboy: Come on.. It’s Jacksonville. Titans all the way, with an interim GM (does that matter at this point of the season?).
BrendawnoftheDead: Tennessee has had a rough couple of weeks, but they are the healthier team. I don’t know if Lawerence will play, but if he does he will be compromised. You know who isn’t compromised? King Henry, who is looking to get back on track and retake the rushing lead. Titans win and cover.
PHI @ NYG: PHI -7
Blind Owl: It’s ok New York. You had a good run, but It’s all over now. The Eagles are just head and shoulders better than the Giants. This will be a decent game. I haven’t really had a chance to watch an Eagles game. Now the big networks obsession with the NFC East is going to pay off. It’s the best division in football. This will be a good game for a while, but the Eagles will pull away late.
Concret3Cowboy: The Giants are firmly back on the ground. What a good season Dabol pulled out of this squad, good things are coming for this team. As a Broncos fan I wish I could say the same for the blue and orange but looks like we’re becoming the Denver Browns. The Giants did cover against the Cowboys in garbage time like a bunch of douche buckets but that doesn’t happen this week.
BrendawnoftheDead: As much as I like Brian Dabol, the Giants have been exposed as pretenders. They just don’t have the offensive talent other than Barkley to compete with the better teams in this league. Philly is looking for a shootout and the G-MEN can’t keep up in that kind of game. Philly wins by multiple scores.
BAL @ PIT: PIT -2.5
Blind Owl: Ugh. Baltimore wasn’t doing so hot with Lamar Jackson. Now he’s out, so why would they do any better with a backup QB? The Steelers have been hanging in there with a lot of teams. I’ll take the Steelers because the Ravens annoy me.
Concret3Cowboy: I still like the Ravens in this one. Huntley is a very good back-up and can fill in for Lamar pretty well when he has too. Denver’s defense shut them down until the last minute of the game last week but I like Baltimore to score in this game and even win this one.
BrendawnoftheDead: Oh dear this is going to be ugly. No Lamar, so the Ravens won’t be able to score consistently. The Steelers aren’t exactly the greatest show on turf, but they are the healthier squad. They will be able to capitalize on the Ravens misfortunes and cover here.
TB @ SF: SF -3.5
Blind Owl: Brock Purdy vs. Tom Brady and Brock Purdy’s team is favored. Strange when you put it that way. The 9ers defense is just that good and Tampa has been that bad. But I have to think Brady will out duel Purdy. I’ll take the Bucs and the points.
Concret3Cowboy: Brady’s offensive line has been a rotating door this season, and like all the top QBs were doing a few years ago Brady gets the ball out in a split second. The problem with facing this 49er defense is, they can cover for a few seconds and have the front 4 to do damage by themselves. Brady is going to be on the ground a few times this game, so I’m excited to watch it. Take the Purdy team.
BrendawnoftheDead: The Raiders are Blind Owl’s kryptonite, the 49ers are mine. I pick them and they get smoked, I pick against them and they win by a zillion but I digress. Picking a backup QB to beat Tom Brady feels like heresy, but we live in strange times. I’ll be a heretic and pick San Fran, I’ll probably regret this.
CAR @ SEA: SEA -3.5
Blind Owl: Addition by subtraction? It’s a real thing. Baker Mayfield is gone and the Panthers keep hanging around with teams. Seattle has kind of taken a step back, but they’re still doing much better than they should have. I don’t like them, but I have to take them over the Panthers. Pete Carroll may be the most annoyingly smug coach in the NFL right now.
Concret3Cowboy: If Seattle was going across the country I would probably take the Panthers in this one, but I have been pretty high on the Seahawks this season. I do like this Carolina squad as well, they play tough and play pretty clean ball. I am not high on Darnold though, so give me the league leader in Geno Smith.
BrendawnoftheDead: Seattle has also come down to Earth but Carolina stinks and has no QB. Seattle has too much for Carolina and Sam Darnold stinks. I wouldn’t recommend watching this one, but Seattle will cover here.
MIA @ LAC: MIA -3
Blind Owl: I’m taking the Dolphins. The Chargers are going to do Chargers things and blow it. Miami continues to roll.
Concret3Cowboy: Phins. The Chargers freaking stink man, they are the only AFC West team that the Broncos can actually beat in the last 4 years (yes, the Broncos have a 13 game losing streak to the Chiefs but I’m more hurt by the losing streak to the Raiders).
BrendawnoftheDead: The Chargers are not an elite team by any stretch. The Dolphins have looked the part at times, but have had a few stinkers sprinkled in too (last week). I don’t see the Chargers pulling off the upset with a mostly healthy Dolphins offense. Fish avoid the squish and win by a TD+.
NE @ ARI: NE -1.5
Blind Owl: Both of these teams are just flailing with incompetence. Kliff Kingsbury is an incompetent head coach and whoever is calling the offense in New England is an embarrassment to football. Never thought I’d say this, but the Cardinals have more firepower than the Patriots. Mac Jones’ only chance is if the Raiders fire Josh McDaniels and he comes back to call the offense. Any who, I’ll take the Cardinals with the point and a half. Hopefully Brendawn picks the Pats so I can make up a game on him quickly.
Concret3Cowboy: I like the Pats more than the Cards. At least the Pats have a defense, traveling to Arizona isn’t a hard road game and Murray is a baby. So I guess the Pats here, I will not be following this game at all as it plays out… if that tells you how exciting this game will be.
BrendawnoftheDead: The battle of putrid offense vs incompetent coaching. I genuinely feel bad for Mac, he’s been set up to fail. Belichick allowing Matt Patricia to call plays is the second worst football decision he has made for the Patriots since 2000 (spygate is 1st). I mean, why wouldn’t you want to hire a failed head coach who used to work for you to call plays without any offensive experience? I mean, it’s not like Bill O’Brien was right there and available… Tangent over, Patriots win because the Cardinals are a disaster.
