AFC Top 3 Matchups – Week 12
There are six more weeks left in this year’s NFL regular season and everything remains up for grabs in the AFC. New England and New York both won last week and are on top of the East at 8-2. The North is all knotted up with Pittsburgh and Baltimore both sitting at 7-3. A surprising Jacksonville team keeps finding ways to win, while a banged-up Indianapolis team is simply trying to hang on, as both teams are tied atop the South at 6-4. The wild, wild West is wide-open with Kansas City at 6-4 with Oakland and a surging San Diego right behind at 5-5.
Here is a look at my top three matchups in the AFC for Week 12 of the NFL season. All odds are provided by betED.com.
Tennessee @ Houston (-7) Over/Under: 45
It remains to be seen how much a distraction the whole Vince Young mess will be for this team, but the greater concern has to be the fact that the Titans now have an un-drafted rookie Rusty Smith as Young’s replacement for this game with Kerry Collins still out with a leg injury.
Houston’s defense continues to plague this team as breakdowns week after week have the Texans on the verge on yet another lost season. Last week it gave up a touchdown to Jets with just 10 seconds left on the clock in a 30-27 loss. It was Houston’s fourth loss in a row, dropping the team to 4-6 on the year.
The Titans are 6-2 ATS in their last eight games against the Texans and 4-1 ATS in the last five games in Houston. The total has gone ‘over’ in six of the last eight games between these two. Tennessee finds a way to put all the distractions aside and gets back to winning ball games.
Miami @ Oakland (-2 ½) Over/Under: 39 ½
Miami is another team whose season is on the brink because of a couple of bad losses. The Dolphins defense remains solid, but injuries at the quarterback position have all but ground this team to a halt. They hope to have QB Chad Henne back for this game, but it remains to be seen how much that will even help.
Oakland needs to quickly get last week’s 35-3 disaster in Pittsburgh out of its system or the Raiders could find themselves the odd team out in the AFC West. Head coach Tom Cable is sticking with QB Jason Campbell as his starter, but Campbell’s play has exhibited the same inconsistencies that plagued him in Washington.
The Dolphins are 4-1 ATS in their last five games in Oakland and 6-1 ATS in their last seven road games. The Raiders are 5-1 ATS in their last six games overall. The total has stayed ‘under’ in five of the last seven games between these two teams. Stick with Miami and the points in this one.
San Diego @ Indianapolis (-3) Over/Under: 51 ½
San Diego has become a creature of habit with slow starts and fantastic finishes. The Chargers have now won three straight games and appear to be on the verge of taking control of the AFC West. Their offense has averaged 32.3 points per game in those three wins despite battling through numerous injuries to the starting lineup.
Indianapolis is another team that can be considered among the walking wounded of the league. Despite having a depleted receiving corps, Peyton Manning came very close to knocking off the Patriots last Sunday. Unfortunately, he will be without WR Austin Collie for this game, making things even tougher this week.
The Chargers are 5-1 ATS in their last six games against the Colts and the total has gone ‘over’ in seven of their last eight games following an ATS win. The road team is 5-2 ATS in the last seven games between these two. Manning’s magic is starting to wear thin for the banged-up Colts, opening the door to a San Diego win.
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