Thursday, December 7, 2023

2023 COAS Pigskin Pick 'Em: Week 14

The coalition is preparing for the stretch run of the 2023 season... well, most of the coalition is, I'm just playing out the string.

Adam took five of eight from me and Joe took two of three; they had a narrow split where Adam took five of nine disputed games. I continue to call it unsustainable, but Adam's column lead largely continues to stem from his ridiculous pace in hero games. I've at least recovered in recent weeks, but it's too little, too late. You can see how we've all picked in relation to each other here. While Adam leads the column, he is three games back of Geoffrey for the group lead.

As we finish out the bye weeks this week, Adam and I disagree on eight games, Joe and I on just two, and the two of them on a whopping 10 games out of 15. Let's get to it!

Thursday Night

New England Patriots @ Pittsburgh Steelers (-5.5)
Lucas: Steelers. Someone check in on Al Michaels during and after this game. Only way this could be worse is if Matt Canada were still in Pittsburgh.
Adam: Patriots. Oh what a crappy Thursday Night Football this will be with two backup QB's in Zappy and the Biscuit. This may end 7-3.
Joe: Steelers.

Sunday, Early Afternoon

Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Atlanta Falcons (-2.5)
Lucas: Falcons. Line seems about right. Taking the home team. Arthur Smith, you'd better utilize your weapons properly.
Adam: Buccaneers. In this divisional game I like Tampa coming in and maybe tossing the upset.
Joe: Falcons.

Detroit Lions @ Chicago Bears (+3.5)
Lucas: Lions. Detroit has to be righting the ship at some point after three straight clunkers. We saw the Lions at full potential early against the Saints last week, and against Chicago they'll have the same level of leeway if they let off the gas again... not that they should.
Adam: Lions. A game that could have been oh so good at the start of the season has waned a little. Still will be good, but I see an easy Lions win.
Joe: Lions.

Indianapolis Colts @ Cincinnati Bengals (+0.5)
Lucas: Colts. Jake Browning looked good on Monday night. But so have the Colts, and no one's really talking about them. I'll take them in a pick 'em.
Adam: Bengals. Another battle of backup QB's this week. I like what I saw on Monday from Browning; I’ll take that over Gardner.
Joe: Colts.

Jacksonville Jaguars @ Cleveland Browns (-2.5)
Lucas: Browns. Get well soon, Trevor.
Adam: Jaguars. AND Another one featuring backup QB's. I like the Jags' offensive weapons over the Browns, that’s my angle.
Joe: Browns.

Carolina Panthers @ New Orleans Saints (-5.5)
Lucas: Saints. Can we contract the Panthers yet?
Adam: Saints. At least they have something to play for; the Panthers can only play now to ruin the Bears' draft pick this year... not much of an incentive. Talks of them shutting down Young too.
Lucas note: Which... makes zero sense. Give him the game reps unless you're worried about him dying.
Joe: Saints.

Houston Texans @ New York Jets (+6.5)
Lucas: Texans. If it weren't for the Panthers, we'd be talking more about the current fire that is the Jets. Tim Boyle is gone, and after rumblings that he didn't want to, sounds like the MILF Hunter 4000 will be back under center this weekend. Not that that's going to matter against the Strouds, who hopefully haven't blown up any further planetary bodies.
Adam: Texans. Even MILF Hunter 4000 was like no, eff that, I’m staying on the prowl rather than play football.
Joe: Texans.

Los Angeles Rams @ Baltimore Ravens (-7.5)
Lucas: Rams. I probably should stop underestimating the Ravens (something Adam knows something about), but with Stafford healthy the Rams are back in contention in the NFC and I think they'll make this a game.
Adam: Rams. Playing the line here. I think this ends as a game that is decided by a touchdown, so taking that extra half point, thank you very much.
Joe: Ravens.

Sunday, Late Afternoon

Minnesota Vikings @ Las Vegas Raiders (+2.5)
Lucas: Vikings. I'm not sure I should go this route given that the Passtronaut has come back to earth, but if he's getting Jefferson back this week Minnesota should have a bit of a resurgence.
Adam: Vikings. Is Jefferson back? Not sure, but in any case I like Minnesota. And is Jimmy G back? If not, this is yet another battle of backup QB's.
Joe: Vikings.

Seattle Seahawks @ San Francisco 49ers (-10.5)
Lucas: Seahawks. I could legitimately go either way here. I don't want to overreact to the Niners' beatdown of Philly and I worry double digits are a lot to ask for. I'll take the points and hope for a backdoor cover at worst.
Adam: Seahawks. After the whooping the Niners put on the Eagles last week, I was fully prepared to have this line be 14+, but Seattle looked more than capable against Dallas last week and I'll use that as the basis for my cover pick.
Joe: Seahawks.

Buffalo Bills @ Kansas City Chiefs (-2.5)
Lucas: Chiefs. Oh god, the Bills are gonna die this week, aren't they.
Adam: Chiefs. The Swifties are mad their idol’s boyfriend didn’t win last week. But don’t worry, Mahomes and Kelce will... get back together... and they’ll will a win.
Joe: Bills.

Denver Broncos @ Los Angeles Chargers (-2.5)
Lucas: Broncos. Three point loss incoming!
Adam: Chargers. All hail Allen to put up 200 yards and three touchdowns this week.
Joe: Broncos.

Sunday Night

Philadelphia Eagles @ Dallas Cowboys (-3.5)
Lucas: Cowboys. Philly hasn't faced a ton of adversity yet other then getting punched in the mouth this past weekend. I think this will be a good game, but I like the Cowboys at home.
Adam: Eagles. After last week's stomping, you may be tempted to overreact. But Philly is the much more complete team in my opinion, so I have them winning outright.
Joe: Cowboys.

Monday Night

Tennessee Titans @ Miami Dolphins (-13.5)
Lucas: Dolphins. Basically copy-paste last week's rationale. Miami beats up on the bad teams and has trouble with the good ones. I see a beatdown this week.
Adam: Titans. You heard it here first: Tennessee to win outright.
Joe: Dolphins.

Green Bay Packers @ New York Giants (+6.5)
Lucas: Packers. Okay, before all the "The Packers get all the calls!" morons come out to play, remember that not only did the Chiefs benefit from a BS personal foul call when Mahomes was still in bounds, but the officials also gave Kansas City a good 30 extra seconds at minimum on that final drive between a horrific clock stoppage when a receiver's forward progress was stopped and also not running 10 seconds off the clock when Pacheco was ejected. ...okay, soapbox put away, I was bummed for stretches of September and October, but this team is looking like a playoff contender. I hold no delusions about this being a Super Bowl team, but Love is the real deal, and this might be a team no one wants to see come January.
Adam: Giants. Wish I was getting another point here, but I like the idea of a backdoor cover or something like that. Is Tommy D still the QB there?
Lucas note: Yes.
Joe: Packers.

Records So Far
Lucas: 83-110 (6-7 last week)
Adam: 105-88 (8-5 last week)
Joe: 95-98 (7-6 last week)
Geoffrey: 108-85 (7-6 last week)
Jim: 100-93 (7-6 last week) 

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