A turkey day portion of the nfl greek insider week 12
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone here at SBR! Here are one of my top plays for week 12.
NYJ -9 over Cincinnati:
All three of New York's games this month have gone down to the wire even though those opponents have a combined 9-21 record. The Jets (8-2) managed to win them all, including the first two in overtime before a 30-27 victory over Houston on Sunday. New York needed a field goal as time ran out in regulation before winning 23-20 at Detroit on Nov. 7, a week before Sanchez's 37-yard touchdown pass to Santonio Holmes with 14 seconds left in overtime resulted in a 26-20 win in Cleveland. That same connection was the difference Sunday, with Sanchez finding Holmes for a six-yard TD with 10 seconds remaining after the Jets blew a 16-point lead in the fourth quarter. Their last win that wasn't decided in the final minutes was 38-14 over Buffalo on Oct. 3.
Cincinnati (2-8) has lost seven in a row since beating Carolina on Sept. 26, allowing an average of 29.6 points during the slide. The Bengals' run defense may be the biggest culprit of the past two months, surrendering 124.1 yards per game and nine rushing touchdowns, and now faces New York's fourth-ranked rushing attack (145.9 ypg). The competition stiffens greatly after this week for the Jets, who get a 10-day break before visiting AFC East co-leader New England in a Monday night matchup to close Week 13. That showdown precedes a meeting with archrival Miami and road games against first-place teams Pittsburgh and Chicago.
Maybe the biggest plus of the Jets' unsightly three-game win streak is Sanchez and the offense coming up big in key moments. Their vaunted defense has been a bit vulnerable lately, so New York has learned it can also win games via the offense - and a once shaky passing game. Sanchez has thrown for 950 yards and six TDs in the last three games, and the offense totaled more than 400 yards in each.
Darelle Revis, though, continues to perform like an All-Pro, and his latest test will be against Terrell Owens. This month, Revis has limited Andre Johnson to four catches for 32 yards and Calvin Johnson to one reception for 13 yards. Owens has eight touchdowns in the last seven games, but he didn't get one in two matchups against Revis last season while with Buffalo as he totaled six catches for 44 yards. Owens scored in the first half last week as the Bengals built a 17-point lead, but they were outscored 35-0 in the second half in a 49-31 home loss to the Bills. Cincinnati has lost eight of nine versus the Jets and ended last season by losing to them twice, including 24-14 at home in the playoffs.
If there is ever game in which the Jets' offense should be able to execute well for four quarters, this is the one. Cincinnati's secondary is very banged-up and the Bengals surrendered 316 passing yards and four TD throws to Buffalo's Ryan Fitzpatrick in the Bills' comeback victory Sunday. The Jets' defense must do a better job against Cedric Benson than it did in the playoffs, when Benson ran for 169 yards in a losing effort. With Cincy reeling after blowing a 25 point lead to Buffalo, the lost season continues tonight at the Meadowlands as gang green establishes control early and rolls.
I agree... Also going with ne/det under... Im gone lay off my boys bc they look like theyre in payback mode but the saints are starting to catch fire so ill leave that one alone... BOL
As expected, gang green woke up in the second half despite a seemingly uninspired performance. Defense played a lot better but Brad Smith was basically the offense. Onto Black and hopefully profitable college football Friday.
Cleveland -9.5 over Carolina:
The Browns' Jake Delhomme will likely face the team he once led to the Super Bowl in his first start since Week 1, while the woeful Panthers have their own health issues under center heading into Sunday's meeting in Cleveland. Cleveland (3-7) had 15 different starting quarterbacks since the franchise returned to the NFL in 1999 before Colt McCoy got his shot in Week 6 at Pittsburgh. The rookie didn't seem likely to get a chance this season, but injuries to Delhomme and Seneca Wallace forced his debut earlier than expected. McCoy responded impressively, quarterbacking consecutive wins over New Orleans and New England and again playing well in tight losses to the New York Jets and Jacksonville.
However, McCoy hurt his left ankle against the Jaguars last Sunday and isn't practicing this week. Coach Eric Mangini said Wednesday he'll likely turn to Delhomme, who went 53-37 as a starter in seven years with Carolina (1-9) and led the team to Super Bowl XXXVIII. The Browns could certainly use a pick-me-up after a pair of disheartening losses. They followed a 26-20 overtime defeat to the Jets on Nov. 14 by losing 24-20 in Jacksonville despite six Jaguars turnovers. The Browns are nearly 10-point favorites, and it's not hard to see why. The Panthers have their own issues at quarterback. Rookie Jimmy Clausen suffered a concussion in a Week 10 loss to Tampa Bay, forcing Carolina to scramble for a replacement last Sunday. Brian St. Pierre got the call just a week after joining the team, and he had the Panthers within 10 points of Baltimore in the fourth quarter. But St. Pierre threw interceptions on consecutive passes with just under five minutes to go, turning a relatively close game into a 37-13 loss.
Cleveland, has 10 interceptions and 10 sacks in its past four games, and the inaccurate Clausen has been sacked 12 times in his last four. Both teams will look to establish the run behind a pair of unheralded backs. While the Browns' Peyton Hillis had his lowest average against Jacksonville - 2.3 yards per carry - since taking over the starting job, Carolina rookie Mike Goodson had his second straight 100-yard game in place of the injured Jonathan Stewart and DeAngelo Williams. Their offense however hasn't shown much lift all season due to numerous changes at QB and a line that hasn't shown much protection nor resilience against the pass rush. Delhomme would love nothing better to beat his former team in his new home, and we believe the dog pound will rebound in convincing fashion against arguably one of the worst teams in the league.
Pittsburgh -6.5 over Buffalo (bought half):
The Steelers try to keep pace atop the AFC North on Sunday in Buffalo, where the Bills return looking for a third straight win a week after an astounding comeback. The Steelers trailed 3-0 heading into the second quarter last Sunday against Oakland, but the struggles stopped there. Pittsburgh overcame a franchise-record 163 yards in penalties by scoring the game's final five touchdowns in a 35-3 win that kept it tied for first place with Baltimore. The Steelers, however, won't be the only team on the field Sunday at Ralph Wilson Stadium that's scored 35 consecutive points.
Buffalo (2-8) did the same last Sunday in Cincinnati, though it took a while to get going a week after knocking off Detroit for its first win. The Bills trailed 28-7 in the middle of the second quarter and 31-14 at halftime before Ryan Fitzpatrick threw three touchdowns to Steve Johnson and Buffalo turned its 17-point deficit into an unlikely 49-31 win. The Bills can't stop the run; they are last in the league with 163.5 yards per game. While the Steelers are not where they'd like to be running, they'll go to it Sunday in what is expected to be some cold weather in Buffalo. On defense, Pittsburgh, as usual, will gear up to stop the run and that is what Buffalo does best. Their passing offense ranks just 23rd in the league and should not pose much of a threat. The Steelers will welcome back a few players who have missed the past two games and are in relatively good shape. DE Brett Keisel, out four of the past five, will return to start. S Will Allen also is back after missing two games with a concussion. C Maurkice Pouncey (bruised thigh) and S Troy Polamalu (Achilles strain) will play. However, WR Antonio Brown (knee) will not play and TE Matt Spaeth (concussion) is questionable. DE Aaron Smith (triceps) remains out indefinitely with Ziggy Hood again taking his spot.
The Pittsburgh Steelers defense has allowed a grand total of 630 yards rushing through 10 games. How good is that? Well, the Buffalo Bills defense has allowed 1,005 yards more on the ground. Buffalo has every reason to feel good after stringing together two wins after an 0-8 start, but Pittsburgh represents a much stiffer test than Detroit and the Bengals. The Bills' offense has turned into a high-flying act under coach Chan Gailey, who will try and spread things out with four- and five-wide looks rather than pound the ball against Pittsburgh's No. 1-ranked run defense (63 yard per game). But that comes with a risk; the Steelers have compiled 30 sacks and keeping Fitzpatrick off his back against their elaborate zones won't be easy. The Bills can't afford to forget about RB Fred Jackson totally. While the Steelers need this game to keep pace in the AFC North, Buffalo is approaching the rest of the season with a nothing to lose type attitude despite postseason elimination. Big Ben and company should dominate and outscore Fitzpatrick and company in a valiant convincing fashion. Best of luck however you play!
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A turkey day portion of the nfl greek insider week 12
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