2017 NFL Week 12
Thursday Night
New York Giants at Washington Redskins
This isn’t your typical Thursday Night Football action, it’s Thanksgiving Day football. That takes everything to a new level. Out of the 3 games being played on Turkey Day, this NFC East battle is the best of the bunch. Any time two division rivals meet this late in the season playoff implications are on the line on top of bragging rights. And, if neither of these teams is truly contending for the division crown, a wild card spot will be on the line anyway.
Keys to the Game
Giants
New York needs to get Kirk Cousins on the ground and keep him there. Taking Cousins out of the picture (not literally) will make this a much easier game for the Giants to win. Washington’s offense will sputter to a stop without Cousins leading the way. The Giants have all the talent in the front seven in order to bring pressure off the edge and up the middle and they’ll still be okay in the secondary when Cousins is able to get the ball out. As long as OBJ doesn’t blow up and commit a bunch of personal fouls, this will be New York’s game to lose.
Redskins
Washington needs to get under the Giants’ skin and irritate them. Josh Norman will handle that with Odell Beckham, but it can be done with Eli Manning, too. If you annoy him and get him out of his rhythm, he’ll start throwing ducks all over the field and turn into “Bad Eli”. We’ve seen it before and we’ll see it again. If Washington can get Eli to be a little reckless with the football, they can capitalize with a few INTs or fumbles and put some more crooked numbers on the board.
Sunday Afternoon
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Atlanta Falcons
It’s an NFC South divisional matchup down in Atlanta with the division’s two best teams coming into the year. Sorry, Saints and Panthers. Jameis Winston will have the Buccaneers competing for the division title in 2017 and this game will go a long way in helping to decide the winner. After all, we’re just about ¾ of the way through the season already. This should be a high scoring affair with little or no defense. Hope you brought your track spikes today.
Keys to the Game
Buccaneers
Tampa Bay has to find some semblance of a running game in this one. They will lose a track meet with Atlanta and their bevy of offensive weapons. So, they must find a way to control the pace and slow it down by running the football. That’s something they’ve struggled with over the last few seasons, but they’ll need to figure it out here if they want to win. A successful running game will draw one of the safeties into the box to help out and that’s when Winston can go over the top to Mike Evans for the big play downfield. Rinse, repeat and roll on to victory.
Falcons
The Falcons should force Tampa to play their style of football. Play fast, get big chunks of yardage at a time and put points on the board in a hurry. Make the Bucs try and keep up and it will soon become clear that they can’t. Tampa just doesn’t have the firepower to eat up yards like the Falcons can. Then, when Winston is forced to throw the ball 30 times in the second half, the Atlanta pass rushers can really strike and seal the victory for ATL. It’s simple, but effective.
Sunday Night
Green Bay Packers at Pittsburgh Steelers
Sunday Night Football features a terrific matchup across the conferences as the Pack heads south to Pittsburgh. It’s not too often we get to see future Hall of Fame candidates Aaron Rodgers and Ben Roethlisberger go head to head on the same field. In fact, it’s only happened 3 times since each took over as the starter for their respective teams and one of those games was a Super Bowl. So, drink this one in.
Keys to the Game
Packers
Going on the road to tackle one of the league’s best offenses is never easy. Green Bay could certainly hang with Pittsburgh if this game turns into a shootout, but I don’t think it’s the easiest way for them to earn a W at Heinz Field. The Pack is going to want to play a little ball control offense in order to keep the Killer B’s off the field. That will also keep their own defense fresh and ready to put up a stiffer fight against the offensive juggernaut. Ty Montgomery is going to need to bring his A game in order to slow the game down and turn the tide in Green Bay’s favor.
Steelers
I don’t think there’s any one thing that Pittsburgh needs to do to ensure a victory. You can’t shut Aaron Rodgers down, so we’re not even going to go there. What the Steelers must do is the little things. They need to make smart plays, they need to protect the football, they need to make their open field tackles and they need to limit big plays. Limiting Rodgers’ opportunities to beat you is the most important thing you can do. If Pittsburgh can do that en route to dropping 30+ points on Green Bay’s soft secondary, this one will go in the favor of the Steel City.
Monday Night
Houston Texans at Baltimore Ravens
It’s battle of defenses on Monday Night Football in Week 12. Perhaps this game signifies the passing of the torch as the league’s best defensive team from the Ravens to the Texans. For so long, Baltimore dominated that side of the football and wreaked havoc on opposing offenses. However, the times have changed and Houston has usurped that role. And you know what, that’s exactly how it should happen. League’s best defense is a title that is taken by force.
Keys to the Game
Texans
The key for Houston is going to be putting points on the board. We know their defense can handle Joe Flacco and company, but even if they pitch a shutout, Houston can’t when unless they score points of their own. You can’t put that job on the defense, too. It’s going to be important to run the ball effectively against that Baltimore D-line in order to open the passing game for DeAndre Hopkins and Will Fuller. If they can’t get the ball to those two effectively, it’s going to be a long night in Baltimore.
Ravens
The Ravens really need to focus on one guy and one guy only: Hopkins. If they’re able to truly eliminate him from Houston’s offense, they might not score a single point.. That’s how meager they’ve been recently. Will Fuller can’t be counted on as a go-to target and the running game leaves a lot to be desired. Do that and Joe Flacco can take his time and pick his spots as the Ravens find ways to put a few points on the board. It will be a relief that they’ll only need a score or two to win this one.
Monday Night – Houston Texans at Baltimore Ravens
It’s battle of defenses on Monday Night Football in Week 12. Perhaps this game signifies the passing of the torch as the league’s best defensive team from the Ravens to the Texans. For so long, Baltimore dominated that side of the football and wreaked havoc on opposing offenses. However, the times have changed and Houston has usurped that role. And you know what, that’s exactly how it should happen. League’s best defense is a title that is taken by force.
Keys to the Game
Texans
The key for Houston is going to be putting points on the board. We know their defense can handle Joe Flacco and company, but even if they pitch a shutout, Houston can’t when unless they score points of their own. You can’t put that job on the defense, too. It’s going to be important to run the ball effectively against that Baltimore D-line in order to open the passing game for DeAndre Hopkins and Will Fuller. If they can’t get the ball to those two effectively, it’s going to be a long night in Baltimore.
Ravens
The Ravens really need to focus on one guy and one guy only: Hopkins. If they’re able to truly eliminate him from Houston’s offense, they might not score a single point.. That’s how meager they’ve been recently. Will Fuller can’t be counted on as a go-to target and the running game leaves a lot to be desired. Do that and Joe Flacco can take his time and pick his spots as the Ravens find ways to put a few points on the board. It will be a relief that they’ll only need a score or two to win this one.
Sunday Night – Green Bay Packers at Pittsburgh Steelers
Sunday Night Football features a terrific matchup across the conferences as the Pack heads south to Pittsburgh. It’s not too often we get to see future Hall of Fame candidates Aaron Rodgers and Ben Roethlisberger go head to head on the same field. In fact, it’s only happened 3 times since each took over as the starter for their respective teams and one of those games was a Super Bowl. So, drink this one in.
Keys to the Game
Packers
Going on the road to tackle one of the league’s best offenses is never easy. Green Bay could certainly hang with Pittsburgh if this game turns into a shootout, but I don’t think it’s the easiest way for them to earn a W at Heinz Field. The Pack is going to want to play a little ball control offense in order to keep the Killer B’s off the field. That will also keep their own defense fresh and ready to put up a stiffer fight against the offensive juggernaut. Ty Montgomery is going to need to bring his A game in order to slow the game down and turn the tide in Green Bay’s favor.
Steelers
I don’t think there’s any one thing that Pittsburgh needs to do to ensure a victory. You can’t shut Aaron Rodgers down, so we’re not even going to go there. What the Steelers must do is the little things. They need to make smart plays, they need to protect the football, they need to make their open field tackles and they need to limit big plays. Limiting Rodgers’ opportunities to beat you is the most important thing you can do. If Pittsburgh can do that en route to dropping 30+ points on Green Bay’s soft secondary, this one will go in the favor of the Steel City.
Sunday Afternoon – Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Atlanta Falcons
It’s an NFC South divisional matchup down in Atlanta with the division’s two best teams coming into the year. Sorry, Saints and Panthers. Jameis Winston will have the Buccaneers competing for the division title in 2017 and this game will go a long way in helping to decide the winner. After all, we’re just about ¾ of the way through the season already. This should be a high scoring affair with little or no defense. Hope you brought your track spikes today.
Keys to the Game
Buccaneers
Tampa Bay has to find some semblance of a running game in this one. They will lose a track meet with Atlanta and their bevy of offensive weapons. So, they must find a way to control the pace and slow it down by running the football. That’s something they’ve struggled with over the last few seasons, but they’ll need to figure it out here if they want to win. A successful running game will draw one of the safeties into the box to help out and that’s when Winston can go over the top to Mike Evans for the big play downfield. Rinse, repeat and roll on to victory
Falcons
The Falcons should force Tampa to play their style of football. Play fast, get big chunks of yardage at a time and put points on the board in a hurry. Make the Bucs try and keep up and it will soon become clear that they can’t. Tampa just doesn’t have the firepower to eat up yards like the Falcons can. Then, when Winston is forced to throw the ball 30 times in the second half, the Atlanta pass rushers can really strike and seal the victory for ATL. It’s simple, but effective.
Thursday Night – New York Giants at Washington Redskins
This isn’t your typical Thursday Night Football action, it’s Thanksgiving Day football. That takes everything to a new level. Out of the 3 games being played on Turkey Day, this NFC East battle is the best of the bunch. Any time two division rivals meet this late in the season playoff implications are on the line on top of bragging rights. And, if neither of these teams is truly contending for the division crown, a wild card spot will be on the line anyway.
Keys to the Game
Giants
New York needs to get Kirk Cousins on the ground and keep him there. Taking Cousins out of the picture (not literally) will make this a much easier game for the Giants to win. Washington’s offense will sputter to a stop without Cousins leading the way. The Giants have all the talent in the front seven in order to bring pressure off the edge and up the middle and they’ll still be okay in the secondary when Cousins is able to get the ball out. As long as OBJ doesn’t blow up and commit a bunch of personal fouls, this will be New York’s game to lose.
Redskins
Washington needs to get under the Giants’ skin and irritate them. Josh Norman will handle that with Odell Beckham, but it can be done with Eli Manning, too. If you annoy him and get him out of his rhythm, he’ll start throwing ducks all over the field and turn into “Bad Eli”. We’ve seen it before and we’ll see it again. If Washington can get Eli to be a little reckless with the football, they can capitalize with a few INTs or fumbles and put some more crooked numbers on the board.
Green Bay Packers at Philadelphia Eagles, 8:30p.m. EST
The second half of the season is where Green Bay started to show cracks in the armor last season. This matchup will be deceivingly difficult for them. The Eagles will have had time to gel under their new head coach and will be looking to make a statement with a win of one of the NFC’s best.
Keys to the Game
Green Bay
The Packers can’t let their guard down here. It’s one of those weeks where they could easily get caught looking ahead on the schedule to their division matchups, looming just a week or two away. Keeping focused on the task at hand will be a necessity while they weather everything the Eagles have to throw at them. Eddie Lacy’s effectiveness will tell the story of the game, if he can get rolling, Rodgers won’t have to shoulder the load alone.
Philadelphia
The Eagles should look to pick Green Bay apart where they can. Stopping the run will make the Packers one dimensional and allow Philly’s all or nothing defense focus on the pass. If they can convert one or two mistakes into a big play, be it a turnover or a pick six, it will swing the momentum in their favor, big time. We saw what happened last year when Green Bay’s running game fell apart, the Eagles would be wise to replicate that.
New England Patriots at New York Jets, 8:30p.m. EST
This game was even more exciting when Rex roamed the sidelines, but it’s still exciting nonetheless. Bowles and Belichick will each stare down opponents with a silent, stoic demeanor while their teams fight it out. With the AFC East and the playoffs on the line, we’ve got another great chapter in the Boston vs. New York storybook.
Keys to the Game
New England
Running the ball will be much more beneficial than usual. The Jets lost one of their key run defenders in the offseason and New England can take advantage of that to keep pass rushers from locking in on Brady. The Pats will obviously need to find success in the passing game, but a balance run attack will open up some bigger windows to throw through for Brady as he takes on former teammate Darrelle Revis, who is still a factor.
New York Jets
Getting to Brady and forcing New England into obvious passing situations will help the Jets get a victory here. The combination of their solid pass rush and experienced secondary gives them a good shot at throwing Brady off his game. Offensively, they will need to utilize all their weapons in Matt Forte, Eric Decker and Brandon Marshall in order to keep the Patriots off balance and get in the endzone.
Kansas City Chiefs at Denver Broncos, 4:25p.m. EST
A good old-fashioned AFC West matchup. Late in the season like this, this game will have a strong bearing on the outcome of the division. Teams can’t afford to lose division games down the stretch, but someone is going to have to walk away with an “L”. Who’s keeping their division title hopes alive?
Keys to the Game
Kansas City
Above all else, the Chiefs will need to run the ball effectively. Denver still maintains one of the most talented defenses in the entire league, headlined by a suffocating secondary. If they want to have success, they can’t leave it up to Alex Smith and the passing game. Denver will bring pressure and their corners simply outmatch anyone KC will line up to catch passes. Jamaal Charles and company will need to shoulder the load this week.
Denver
The Broncos will need everything they can get out of their offensive line. The Chiefs have a ferocious pass rush and Denver will have a difficult time overcoming negative plays against this stout defense. Running the ball effectively will help to keep rushers from jumping the snap, but the line is still going to need to perform to get the job done. The best news for Denver is that KC “only” has Marcus Peters at corner now since Sean Smith moved on to Oakland.