Below is the Week 12 Pick 'em Against the Spread Pool. The printable sheet will be updated with the current point spreads as the prior week comes to a close. We also have the normal Week 12 Pick 'em Sheets and the Week 12 Confidence Pool available. Please read the bottom of this page for complete directions on running this pool and check out our Football Pools page for many unique office pool ideas.
Spread Em: Week 12
What is a Spread 'Em Pool? Our Spread 'Em pool is also known as an ATS or Against the Spread Pool. Every week, on either Sunday or Monday, we will update the next week's sheet with the current Point Spread for each game. You will then pass copies out to potential participants of your pool, having each participant try to correctly pick which team will cover the spread.
Due to not knowing whether a key player will be able to participate in a game, there are some instances where the linesmakers may delay releasing the spreads until later in the week. If this is the case we will come up with the spread ourselves, this will ensure you have the full week to get your pool entries in.
What is the Spread? Beside each team's name you will see something like -4.5 or +4.5. The team that has the minus sign is favored by 4.5 points and the team with the plus sign is the underdog by 4.5 points. In this example, for a pick to be correct, the favorite must win by 5 or more points. We will always use half-point-spreads so that there will never be any pushes/ties. Keep in mind that if a person picks the underdog, that team does not have to win, but instead can not lose by more points than the point spread.
Each participant should put a check mark in the box provided beside the team that they think will "cover the spread". Each person should also write their name and their guess for the total points scored in the Monday night game in the spaces provided. The tiebreaker is to be used, if after every game(including the Monday night game) 2 or more people have picked the same amount of games correctly. I prefer to use the person that is simply the closest to the total points scored, as opposed to the closest without going over.
Variation My favorite way to run this pool is to allow the participants to choose half of the games against the spread and the other half as a straight pick 'em pool. The pool administrator does not say which games will be picked ATS, but instead each participant has the option of picking which games they are most confident will cover the spread and which games they are most confident in just a team winning.
The Week 12 NFL schedule for the 2022 season is stacked with great matchups, and we got you covered with what you need to know heading into the weekend following Thanksgiving. Our NFL Nation reporters bring us the biggest keys to every game and a bold prediction for each matchup.
Additionally, ESPN Stats & Information research provides a big stat to know and a betting nugget for each contest, and our Football Power Index (FPI) goes inside the numbers with a game projection. ESPN researcher Kyle Soppe hands out helpful fantasy football intel, as well. Finally, Seth Walder and Eric Moody give us final score picks for every game. Everything you want to know is here in one spot to help you get ready for a loaded weekend of NFL football.
Bold prediction: This is the week the Bucs' No. 32-ranked ground game will hit a season-high of 175 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns. The Browns have struggled stopping the run all year, surrendering 299 fantasy points to opposing running backs through 10 weeks -- second-most in the NFL. Their 16 rushing touchdowns surrendered are also third-worst in the NFL, and over the past four games, they've surrendered an average of 140.5 rushing yards per game. They are most vulnerable up the middle, which caters towards offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich's playcalling quite well. -- Jenna Laine
Stat to know: Brady is 15-5 (.750) in his career off the bye week, tied with Troy Aikman (9-3) for the fourth-best win percentage off a bye since it was instituted in 1990 (among 28 QBs with 10-plus starts). He trails only Donovan McNabb (11-1, .917), John Elway (8-2, .800) and Peyton Manning (13-4, .765).
What to watch for: Tennessee insists this week against the Bengals isn't a revenge game even though Cincinnati snatched a golden opportunity away from the top-seeded Titans in last year's AFC divisional playoff game. The Titans will have a fully healthy Derrick Henry this time around, so Cincinnati's focus will be on stopping the NFL's leading rusher, which should open up opportunities for quarterback Ryan Tannehill to get some redemption after last year's three-interception postseason performance. Tannehill is coming off of his best passing day of the season, having posted 333 yards and two touchdowns in last week's win over the Packers. -- Turron Davenport
Betting nugget: The Ravens have seen six of their past seven games go under the total, a trend that was never more clear than in last week's 13-3 win over the Panthers, which had a 41.5-point over/under. Read more.
Matchup must-reads: Lamar mad about Stanley injury: 'I hurt him' ... What to expect from the Jaguars post-bye week? ... It felt like Ravens football': Baltimore channeling its great defenses of the past
What to know for fantasy: The tight end position is as ugly as it has been in recent memory, thus making the widely available Logan Thomas (five catches for 65 yards last week at Houston) a viable option in this matchup with a poor pass defense. See Week 12 rankings.
Betting nugget: Four of five Washington home games this season have finished within six points of the spread (most recently was a push in Week 9 as a three-point underdog to Minnesota). Read more.
Bold prediction: Though logic would dictate otherwise -- starting running back Javonte Williams is on injured reserve and backup Melvin Gordon III was waived this week -- the Broncos will join the 30 club and be the seventh team this season to run the ball at least 30 times against the Panthers, who give up 137.0 rushing yards per game. The Panthers have a high pressure rate in their pass rush, and the only way for the Broncos to try to keep Wilson out of harm's way behind a patchwork offensive line will be to hand the ball off and utilize play-action to throw. -- Jeff Legwold
Betting nugget: The Panthers have covered three home games this season, and the total has gone under in each of those instances. It's a low number this week, and it might not be low enough! Read more.
What to watch for: The Cardinals are in a state of utter disarray at the moment. Facing another good quarterback in Justin Herbert won't help settle the situation. The Cardinals can't get their offense moving, and their defense hasn't forced a quarterback to have a completion percentage under 61.1%. With all the issues Arizona is facing already, having to play a playoff contender on a short week isn't an ideal situation. -- Josh Weinfuss
What to know for fantasy: Both Mike Williams and Allen were active last week, but neither was quite right. Those limitations left the door open for Joshua Palmer to have his best game of the season with 30.6 fantasy points (his fifth game this season with at least 13 fantasy points). See Week 12 rankings.
Betting nugget: Arizona enters this week on short rest, and that means one of two outcomes: cover and over, or no cover and under. That might sound simple, but it's held for each of their past six games played on a short work week. Read more.
What to know for fantasy: Don't let the bye week allow you to forget that Geno Smith leads the league in completion percentage, especially not when he gets to face the worst defense in terms of opponent completion percentage this season. See Week 12 rankings.
What to watch for: The 49ers are on a roll, having won three in a row, but they enter this game off a long trip that included almost a week in Colorado Springs and a Monday night game at altitude in Mexico City. Long road trips haven't been kind to the Niners in the past, as they've gone 1-4 following lengthy stays elsewhere. Even after beating the Cardinals on Monday, multiple players immediately cautioned against a potential trap upon returning to the Bay Area. -- Nick Wagoner
Bold prediction: The Saints' offense will see a regression from last week when going up against the 49ers' top-ranked run defense. Before last week's win over the Rams, the Saints scored a total of 23 points combined in losses to the Ravens and Steelers, both of whom have top-10 run defenses. Expect another low-scoring game for the Saints against a team that hasn't allowed more than 67 rushing yards in each of its past three games. -- Katherine Terrell
Bold prediction: Jalen Hurts will only hurt the Packers with his arm, not his legs. Green Bay has had more than a full week to prepare for the dual-threat starter, who is only the third quarterback with 30 touchdown passes and 20 touchdown runs in a 30-start span since the 1970 merger. Even though their defense has been abysmal this season, the Packers won't let Hurts score on the ground. -- Rob Demovsky
What to know for fantasy: Allen Lazard has more targets and more routes run than Watson, who has been the Packers receiver lighting the fantasy world ablaze over the past two weeks (five touchdowns). It's OK to be encouraged by the production of the rookie, but be careful in assuming Lazard is an afterthought. See Week 12 rankings.
Everything you need this week:• Full schedule Standings • Depth charts for every team • Transactions Injuries • Football Power Index rankings More NFL coverage 2ff7e9595c
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