This game could also have the worst fantasy football appeal of any Thursday night game ever. Matt Schaub has been benched, Arian Foster is injured, and Maurice Jones-Drew is a shell of his former self. Outside of Andre Johnson, Cecil Shorts, and Ben Tate, there won't be much to enjoy for fantasy purposes. I'd go as far as to say this game might get the worst rating a Thursday night game has ever gotten.
Survivor Pick of the Week:
BALTIMORE over Minnesota
The Ravens have a definite Jekyll & Hyde issue. The numbers bear it out. Baltimore is 5-1 in home games and 1-5 on the road. You need look no further than Joe Flacco to figure out why. He’s completed over 63 percent of his passes at home with seven touchdowns and only three interceptions. The road is not his favorite place, as is evident by the 57 percent completion percentage and 11 interceptions compared to only 8 touchdowns. This is nothing new for Joe. It’s been something talked about during his whole career. It’s amazing he won a Super Bowl by winning road games in Denver and New England on the way there. Minnesota has quarterback issues, secondary issues, and coaching issues. Baltimore is sixth in the league against the run, so they should be able to handle Adrian Peterson.
There are a few other options if you’re still hanging around in survivor. I don’t mind Pittsburgh at home against Miami despite the fact the Steelers are on their third-string center. They’re not the type of team to quit on their season even though playoff hopes are probably done and dusted. Cincinnati worries me despite being a reasonable home favorite against Indianapolis because they’re not a dominating team. Arizona has played well this year, but do you want to put your hopes in Carson Palmer at home against that St. Louis pass rush? I don’t.
Teams used: Indianapolis, New England, Denver, New Orleans, St. Louis, Seattle, Green Bay, San Francisco, and Dallas, Tennessee, Houston, Detroit, Philadelphia
Thursday Night Pick:
Houston -3.5 over JACKSONVILLE
There's a game to be played and we're here to handicap it. Every part of me wants to take Jacksonville in this game. They're not a good team, but they're fighting hard for their first-year head coach. That was evident last week in Cleveland. Trailing against a team that Jacksonville wouldn't have much motivation to play well against, the Jaguars still fought back and won the game on a late Cecil Shorts touchdown. The fact that the Jaguars are trying to hard when they’d be best suited to tank and draft the best available quarterback is unfortunate for its fan base.
Houston, on the other hand, quit a while ago. They haven’t won a game since Week 2. They lost to some really bad teams including the Jaguars two weeks ago. So why are they favored by three points in a road game? I have no idea. But Vegas does and they’re the ones writing it off.
Reggie: Houston
Last Week: 9-7
Season: 88-103-2
Survivor: 9-4
Locks: 21-19
Reggie’s Picks: 94-97-2
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