You better really love football, like C-Lo Green “love football” this week because there are going to be a bunch of crappy football games. Crappy as they may be, at least leading up to the Sunday night and Monday nights, NESN.com editors John Beattie and Mike Cole are back at it for their weekly picks. They combined to go 14-14 last week, which is par for the course. Only two games separate the two of them, so business is about to pick up — or something like that.
See their fantastic picks below and enjoy your week of football — or try to, at least.
All lines are from Bovada as of Thursday. If lines are off on Bovada Thursday, Yahoo! lines will be used for those games.
John: Colts
Mike: Colts
Why: Ryan Fitzpatrick. And Indy may be inconsistent this year, but they’re 9-2 ATS against teams with a losing record.-JB
John: Falcons
Mike: Bucs
Why: Because I’m pretty much at a “I’m not taking the Falcons or Texans for the rest of the year” stage. -MC
John: Jets
Mike: Jets
Why: When you wake up from your nap during the Bucs-Falcons game, toss this one on to fall right back asleep.-JB
John: Lions
Mike: Lions
Why: The Steelers’ pass defense is not as good as the stats say. Teams just beat the tar out of them and end up running on them as opposed to slinging it. Did you see the game against the Patriots? As long as that Bane guy doesn’t emerge from the Heinz Field turf or however that pop culture reference goes, I think the Lions will roll. -MC
John: Eagles
Mike: Eagles
Why: Foles. So hot right now. Foles.-JB
John: Ravens
Mike: Bears
Why: I still can’t get over how good Josh McCown looked against the Packers a couple of weeks ago, and I’ve got lofty expectations for him this week. And even if he falls on his face, I still don’t like the Ravens. -MC
John: Browns
Mike: Browns
Why: Dalton’s really looked awful, you guys. I’ll take the points. -JB
John: Raiders
Mike: Raiders
Why: See my reasoning for the Atlanta-Tampa Bay game. -MC
John: Jaguars
Mike: Cardinals
Why: The Jags haven’t lost since Oct. 27! And they’re getting points at home? Sign. Me. Up. -JB
John: Chargers
Mike: Chargers
Why: I was so wrong about the Dolphins last week, and they’re this close to joining the Texans and Falcons in my doghouse. This line feels sketchy, but I’m not looking back. -MC
John: Vikings
Mike: Vikings
Why: Too many points, my friends.-JB
John: Saints
Mike: Saints
Why: Colin Kaepernick is going to have a field day favoriting negative tweets after this one. -MC
John: Giants
Mike: Giants
Why: The Giants have built a nice little three-game winning streak and should be able to handle an undrafted quarterback with a “z” in his name. -JB
John: Chiefs
Mike: Chiefs
Why: Because Peyton Manning can barely walk. And because the Chiefs lead the league in sacks. -MC
John: Patriots
Mike: Patriots
Why: The Pats getting points after a bye week? Sure.-JB
JB: 6-8
MC: 8-6
MC: 61-81-4
JB: 59-83-4