NFL 2019 Week 12 results and Week 13 picks

Houston retook their division lead, the Jets are in the midst of a winning streak, and Washington won their second game of the season.  Cincy is now two games back from the next worst team and definitely seems destined to have the Number One pick in the draft.

I am picking nearly all the visiting teams this week.  Normally that would concern me, but not in this season, where road teams have been doing very well.  As an indication of this, Seattle has a perfect road record! 

Power Rankings [Last week's rank]
1.  Baltimore Ravens (9-2) [3] : A couple of huge victories recently has boosted this team's position
2.  San Francisco 49ers (10-1) [2]
3.  New England Patriots (10-1) [1] : Recent close games have dropped the Patriots out of the top spot for the first time all season
4.  Minnesota Vikings (8-3) [4]
5.  Dallas Cowboys (6-5) [5] : They looked bad against the tough Patriots defense, but their defense held well, and there is a large gap to the next position
6.  New Orleans Saints (9-2) [8]
7.  Buffalo Bills (8-3) [9]
8.  Kansas City Chiefs (7-4) [7]
9.  Seattle Seahawks (9-2) [10]
10. Green Bay Packers (8-3) [6]
11. Tennessee Titans (6-5) [14]
12. Houston Texans (7-4) [13]

Division Ranks [Last week's rank]
1.  NFC North [2] : Despite losses by Green Bay and Detroit, the division crept back to the top spot
2.  NFC West [1] : Big losses by the Rams and Cardinals slip them just below the NFC North
3.  AFC South [3] : Now the only division with only one team that has a negative point differential, they spent this last week only playing each other, so they held firm
4.  AFC East [5] : The Jets winning streak is boosting this division
5.  AFC North [6] :  Huge win by the Ravens, plus a Browns win, bolstered this division for a week
6.  AFC West [4] : Half the division had a bye week and the others lost big
7.  NFC South [8]
8.  NFC East [7] : Washington had their second win, but the rest of the division lost, and Dallas lost big

Thanksgiving Day games
I'm picking all visitors today, which hasn't happened for a few years.

Chicago Bears at Detroit Lions : The Lions are starting a rookie QB today.  To start on Thanksgiving Day is an honor, but to start your first game against the tough Bears secondary is asking too much.  BEARS, 20-9

Buffalo Bills at Dallas Cowboys : The Cowboys often play above themselves on Thanksgiving Day, and that's the only way they could upset the Bills, you are playing excellent ball.  BILLS, 23-20

New Orleans Saints at Atlanta Falcons : Atlanta lost their first division game last week.  Looks like this one will be their second.  The Saints get to avenge the embarrassing "no touchdown" loss of a couple of weeks ago.  SAINTS, 27-20

Sunday early games
Cleveland Browns at Pittsburgh Steelers : Quarterback issues are hurting the Steelers.  Yes, they won last week, but sixteen points against the pathetic Bengals is nothing to be proud of, and Mason Rudolph was pulled in the middle of the game for poor play.  Furthermore, Rudolph continues to try to deny any wrongdoing in the brawl from two weeks ago.  The more he denies, the more evident that he actually did something wrong.  If you are truly innocent, you don't need to keep denying it -- that's the sign of a guilty conscience.  His constant denials will start to distance himself from his team, and that will affect the play on the field.  We'll see that this week.  BROWNS, 20-13

Green Bay Packers at New York Giants : At least the Pack get an easy opponent as they try to figure out what went wrong last week.  PACKERS, 23-20

New York Jets at Cincinnati Bengals : The Jets extend their winning streak to four games as they trounce the increasingly pathetic Bengals.  JETS, 23-13

Philadelphia Eagles at Miami Dolphins : Speaking of another pathetic team, the Eagles get a breather against the struggling Dolphins.  Good thing, as the Eagles need to figure out some things, too.  EAGLES, 27-20

San Francisco 49ers at Baltimore Ravens : Whoa, here's an exciting game!  The Ravens just assumed the top spot on the Power Rankings.  Can they keep it?  Lamar Jackson and the amazing Ravens offense face off against the toughest defense in the league.  In those battles, defense usually wins, so I'll pick the 49ers, but this game really could go either way.  49ERS, 27-24

Tampa Bay Bucs at Jacksonville Jaguars : The Bucs are inconsistent, but the Jags are in a slump right now and ripe for the picking.  BUCS, 27-24

Tennessee Titans at Indianapolis Colts : Here I also defy Power Rankings a bit, as I favor #13 Colts over the #11 Titans.  Why?  This one is really more of a hunch, as the Titans are the better team on paper.  Something tells me that the Colts want to bounce back from their loss to the Texans, and two consecutive division losses would be something they would avoid at all costs.  COLTS, 23-21

Washington Redskins at Carolina Panthers : The Panthers are looking poorly right now, but I cannot pick the upset, as even in victory Dwayne Haskins struggled.  PANTHERS, 24-20

Sunday late games
Los Angeles Chargers at Denver Broncos : The Chargers got a bye week to get themselves together to battle their divisional opponent.  That will help.  CHARGERS, 20-16

Los Angeles Rams at Arizona Cardinals : Pity the Cardinals for poor timing.  The face a Rams team desperate to erase an embarrassing loss last week.  This won't go well.  RAMS, 27-16

Oakland Raiders at Kansas City Chiefs : The Raiders were smothered by the Jets last week, and now they face a rested Chiefs team fresh off a bye.  Not a good combination.  CHIEFS, 27-20

Sunday night game
New England Patriots at Houston Texans : The Patriots are slipping, which just means they aren't wiping away opponents.  They still have a stiff defense that keeps them ahead of their opponents.  PATRIOTS, 27-20

Monday Night Football
Minnesota Vikings at Seattle Seahawks : Both of these teams are unbeaten on the road, which gives the Vikings the edge.  The Seahawks play well at home, though, so watch for the upset.  VIKINGS, 24-20