I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! It’s good to be back…probably 15 pounds heavier, but good to be back.
I know I didn’t release my picks for last week because I was traveling for the holiday, but I can tell you I went 11-4, and two of the four I got wrong were Thanksgiving Day games. Yeah, I’m not sure why I went with the Falcons upsetting the Saints; that was pretty stupid by me. That was easily my worst pick last week.
The Best (and Worst) Pick
My best pick last week is a pick I am actually not too happy about, because it involved my team losing. That’s right, I nailed the Broncos over Steelers upset. I picked the Broncos, because they are always tough at home, and I thought it was probably that time for the Steelers’ winning streak to end at six games.
Broncos LOVE Playing Steelers
By the way, did you know the Broncos pretty much own the Steelers? (Sorry Rooney Family) And they especially own them when the game is played in Denver.
The Broncos are 20-11-1 against the Steelers in the franchise’s history, and are actually 13-5-1 when the two teams play at Denver.So yeah, let’s just say the Steelers don’t like playing in the Mile High City.Pittsburgh hasn’t won there since November 9, 2009. Crazy.
Anyway, this Thursday Night game is an intriguing one. I really believe the NFL put forward a tremendous effort to make Thursday Night Football better. As a matter of fact, why don’t we have Roger Goodell issue some MTNFB hats: Make Thursday Night Football Better. Oh my God, genius!
But seriously, just look at some of the Thursday Night games that have been played this season thus far:
Eagles 18, Falcons 12
Bengals 34, Ravens 23
Rams 38, Vikings 31
Steelers 52, Panthers 21
Seahawks 27, Packers 24
And this week we have the Saints at Cowboys and, don’t forget, Week 15 we have Chargers at Chiefs. That will be a good one.
But for now, we have this Saints-Cowboys matchup, and I think it will be a good one. Both defenses have been great against the run, but the Saints have especially been very good. They’re actually 1st in the league against the run this year, and that might be a difference-maker when going up against an offense that runs on Ezekiel Elliott.
Also, I think Dallas has a solid defense, but I am still not completely sold on their secondary, and that can’t be a good thing going up against Drew Brees who is having an MVP-Caliber season.
So Who Wins?
I think the Cowboys will hang around a bit, but the Saints have been an absolute train on fire running through everyone in this league, so why would they stop now? Dallas is an average team who could sneak into the playoffs by default, and I just don’t think they have enough to take down New Orleans. Ezekiel Elliott will be neutralized and Brees will pick apart this secondary. That’s why I’m taking the Saints in this one. Saints win 34-21.
Enjoy the game and stay tuned for my Sunday and Monday picks!
