Dawg Pound Daily bettor’s guide to the NFL: Week 12

Nov 22, 2015; Baltimore, MD, USA; St. Louis Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald (99) sacks Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco (5) during the second quarter at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

Be wary of betting NFL games on Thanksgiving, but if you must here are some tips along with the rest of the weekend’s action.

Since I’m cooking for a house full of visiting family from California, there’s little time for post-mortems or holiday handicapping … and I never won my Thanksgiving Day bets when I was gambling anyway.

It was a mediocre Week 11 as the Detroit Lions and Cincinnati Bengals won, and the San Francisco 49ers and Washington Redskins lost in straight plays. My Green Bay, Carolina, New England and Baltimore teasers won, while Miami and my “guaranteed” Philadephia bet lost. (Memo to Cleveland Browns fans: whatever you think of head coach Mike Pettine, how does passing on Chip Kelly look now?)

I hope you have as much as I to be thankful for – family, faith, health – and not feeling compelled to bet Thanksgiving games “just because they’re on” – but if you must, here’s some leftovers to chew on Sunday:

• Two crummy home underdogs: Washington (+2.5) hosting the New York Giants, and hold your nose Tennessee Titans (+2) against an equally weak Central Time Zone Oakland Raiders.
• A slight home dome lean toward the Atlanta Falcons (-2) to take advantage of the Minnesota Vikings in a post-Packer hangover.
• Don’t look now, but the Pittsburgh Steelers might catch the Bengals. Pittsburgh (+4.5) in Seattle – a “must watch” late Sunday afternoon.
• I was right about New England not losing Monday night to the Buffalo Bills, but they could fall Sunday night in Denver (+3.5) against the Broncos.
• The Arizona Cardinals are due for a letdown and the 49ers (+ 10.5) can’t lose big again at home, can they? They should have never moved out of The Stick.

More from Dawg Pound Daily

• 3 Cleveland Browns players who don’t deserve another season in 2023
• How the Browns could maximize Nick Chubb in 2023
• Can Deshaun Watson get to Patrick Mahomes level for Cleveland Browns?
• 3 Cleveland Browns who should see an expanded role in 2023 and 1 who should not
• Is Marcus Davenport on the Browns radar in 2023?

As for teasers where you get to add an additional six points:

• No Joe Flacco, no Justin Forsett, and now no Johnny Manziel – no problem for Baltimore. Just add six to whatever the Ravens are getting or giving to kickstart your Christmas gift fund.
• Don’t bet either of the traditional Thanksgiving home teams straight, but I like the Detroit Lions to keep it close with the Chip Kelly-Mark Sanchez visiting Eagles, and Dallas will stay within a touchdown and might even upset the unbeaten Carolina Panthers.
• Miami doesn’t quit, and the Dolphins will stay within double digits of the J-E-T-S, as will Buffalo in Kansas City.

Season Record: Straight 22-22-2 (play that lottery number) Teaser 31-13 (and box that one, too)