Colin pocketed another winner with a 3-2 in Week 11, and sits at a formidable 32-21-2 on the season. Instead of dropping the picks on a Friday, Colin is giving them out on a Wednesday before the Thanksgiving bird is in the oven. Nothing goes better with a turkey coma than winning gambling covers.
Here are Colin’s Week 12 Blazin’ 5 plays:
- Bears at Lions (+3.5) Thanksgiving Day – Colin is all over the Lions getting 3.5 at home on Thanksgiving Day. The Bears are creating a buzz, but they’re just 2-2 on the road this season, and 0-5 in Detroit since 2013. The Lions have won 4 of last 5 Thanksgiving Day games, and in those 5, Matt Stafford has 13 TD’s, only 3 INT, and is averaging 300+ Pass Yards/Game.
Mitchell Trubisky is now officially out, and the Bears could struggle to put up points on the road with Chase Daniel stepping in. Take Detroit, the points and outright. 27-26.
2. Seahawks at Panthers (-3.5) – Colin has been impressed by the Seahawks turnaround, but he’s taking Cam and Panthers as 3.5 home favorites. The Panthers are 1 of only 4 teams undefeated at home this season (Rams, Chiefs, Patriots), and have the NFL’s best home turnover differential (+10). Carolina is averaging 31.6 PPG at home as opposed to 20.4 PPG on the road, and have the NFL’s 3rd-best red zone offense this season (TD on 74% of RZ drives).
Colin also likes the Panther defensive front to get after Russell Wilson who’s been sacked 32 times this season (T-4th most NFL). 28-23, Carolina wins and covers.
3. Browns (+3) at Bengals – Colin likes Baker and the Browns getting a field goal on the road against Cincinnati with Hue Jackson patrolling the sidelines as an Assistant to the Regional Manager. The Bengals have lost 4 of their last 5 after starting the year at 4-1, and are on pace to have one of the worst defenses in NFL history.
The Bengals rank last in YPG (449.4), Rush YPG (153.6), opponent 3rd Down % 55.5 and allowing an eye-popping 31.2 PPG (31st). Baker Mayfield has 9 TD, 2 INT with a 107.85 passer rating in his last 4 starts and should carve up the Cincy secondary. The Browns defense also has has 2nd-most takeaways in NFL this season (25). 27-26 Cleveland covers and gets the win.
4. Giants at Eagles (-6) – Colin isn’t a fan of giving up big points, but he feels confident taking the Eagles -6 at home against Eli and the Giants. Philly’s won 4 straight games against the Giants, haven’t lost at home to them since 2013, and just smacked down New York 34-13 in Week 6 in a game where Carson Wentz threw for 278 yards and 3 TD.
The Giants enter the game on a fool’s gold two-game win streak with wins over the Bucs and Niners, don’t buy it. Eagles cover the 6 and then some. 28-10.
5. Packers (+3) at Vikings – Colin likes the Packers getting a field goal against the Vikings in a must-win game to keep any playoff chances alive. Green Bay isn’t known for their defense, but have the 3rd-most sacks in NFL this season (34), and should get to Kirk Cousins who has been pressured on a league-high 182 dropbacks this season. In his career, Cousins is a Andy Dalton-like 4-12 in his career as a starter in primetime games, and 0-3 this season.
Packer RB Aaron Jones has 4 TDs (T-most in NFL) and 275 scrimmage yards (5th in NFL) over last 2 weeks, and Aaron Rodgers has the best 2nd-best TD-INT ratio in the NFL (19/1). Take Green Bay to cover and win outright, 24-23.
Make sure you download and subscribe to Colin’s Blazin’ 5 Podcast with RJ Bell at TheHerdNow.com,iHeart Radio, Google Play, or iTunes to find out what the wiseguys say about his Week 9 picks. Don’t miss it!