And then, there were… none. The last remaining team fell from the ranks of the unbeaten in Week 11 as the Denver Broncos triumphed in one of the most anticipated match-ups of the season, getting the better of the Kansas City Chiefs 27-17 and putting an end to Andy Reid and his team’s nine game winning start to the season.

The Broncos not only beat the Chiefs, but they covered the JustBet point spread of 6.5 points. Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning didn’t throw for a boat load of touchdowns (only one) but he did eclipse the 300-yard passing mark, as the Broncos overcame 13 penalties to get the win.

The Broncos now sit atop the AFC West with the same 9-1 record as the team they just beat in the Chiefs, but by virtue of the tiebreaker advantage, Denver are top dog on that division. Something tells me that the road to the Super Bowl in the AFC will be going through Denver when all is said and done. As for the Chiefs, with that defence and running game, I expect them to bounce back.

The referees were again in the news in Week 11, with two particular calls getting all the attention. Firstly, a 15-yard roughing the passer penalty called on San Francisco 49ers defensive player Ahmad Brooks on Saints quarterback Drew Brees late in the fourth-quarter of their game on Sunday, which negated a sack and a fumble recovery by the 49ers, and kept the Saints drive alive.

The Saints went on to kick a game-tying field goal on that drive and eventually got the win 23-20. In my view, the refs got it wrong, but as we all know, in this age of the quarterback, we’ve seen that the emphasis has been to protect, protect and protect them some more. I just think that with all this protection, the playing field is no longer level and defensive players really don’t have much of a fair chance to make plays.

The second incident came in the big Monday night showdown between the Carolina Panthers and the visiting New England Patriots at Carolina. In what was one of the best games of the season so far, it all came down to a last second pass attempt by Patriots’ quarterback Tom Brady, which was intercepted by the Panthers in the end zone to preserve a 24-20 Carolina victory. But as the play unfolded, a penalty flag was thrown, one which Patriots coaches, players and fans certainly must have thought meant pass interference on the Panthers. TV replays showed that Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski was held by a Panthers defender on the play, seemingly preventing him from making a play on the ball.

What unfolded afterwards stunned many looking on, as the refs picked up the flag, and simply said that there is no foul on the play, and that the game was over — Panthers getting the victory. The explanation which came afterwards was that the pass thrown by Brady was deemed “uncatchable” and so there was no penalty on the play. Now this one is a tricky one. Looking at the replays it’s hard to tell whether Gronkowski would have been able to make a decent attempt at the catch, as the pass was a bit underthrown. But at the end of the day, the Panthers got a deserved win, and now, at 7-3, they must be considered legitimate Super Bowl contenders in the NFC.

As the competition in making predictions against the JustBet point spread continues, things were a bit rough for yours truly last week. I posted a 7-8 record, which by any standard, is below par. Peter Lindo was very solid going 9-6, while Andre Hutchinson had another off week posting a 6-9 mark. Leading the way in Week 11 was Andrei Roper who went 10-5, a rare good week in making picks for the man from JustBet. As you know folks, when we make NFL game predictions week after week, we don’t just pick the outright winner, we pick whether or not teams will cover the JustBet point spread, or not.

Week 12 features another big time showdown as the 9-1 Denver Broncos travel to Foxborough in Massachusetts to face the 7-3 New England Patriots. These are the kinds of match-ups that we live for in the NFL: Tom Brady vs Peyton Manning, the two best quarterbacks of the current generation, playing for two of the best teams so far this season in what could be an AFC Championship game preview.

The Broncos are a road favourite this week, favoured by 2.5 points according to JustBet and I give them edge in this one. Another big Week 12 match-up sees Eli Manning and the New York Giants facing Tony Romo and the Dallas Cowboys, with both teams chasing the Philadelphia Eagles, who sit atop their division, the NFC East.

In other games of interest, the Chargers travel to face the Chiefs, the Dolphins are home to the Panthers, the Colts travel to Arizona to take on the surprising Cardinals (keep an eye on this one folks… should be a good one), and on Monday Night Football, the struggling Redskins are home to the 49ers.

As we head into the winter months, these upcoming games become all the more important as teams jostle for play-off positions, and for many squads, we see injuries beginning to take their toll. Now is when teams will truly be tested and now is when we really begin to separate the men from the boys.

Well that’s it for another week folks. As usual, enjoy the games, and place your bets early and often with JustBet, Jamaica’s number one sports betting game. And just a reminder, JustBet now has half-time betting available on NFL games, so now you can bet on which team will cover the point spread at half-time or at full-time. Yet another way to make some money from sports betting with JustBet. Remember to give us a listen on HITZ 92FM at 6:05pm every Friday, during the NFL Gameday Forecast. And of course, “Just win baby, just win”.

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NFL WEEK 12 SCHEDULE & JUSTBET HANDICAPS

(*JustBet Handicaps for each game in bracket, Under/Over for each game listed)

Thursday Nov 21

ATL FALCONS (+ 8.5) v NO SAINTS, U/O 53.5

Sunday Nov 24

GB PACKERS v MIN VIKINGS (+ 4.5), U/O 43.5

KC CHIEFS v SD CHARGERS (+ 5.5), U/O 41.5

CLE BROWNS v PIT STEELERS (+ 2.5), U/O 41.5

MIA DOLPHINS (+ 3.5) v CAR PANTHERS, U/O 41.5

BAL RAVENS v NY JETS (+ 3.5), U/O 40.5

DET LIONS v TB BUCCANEERS (+ 9.5), U/O 48.5

STL RAMS v CHI BEARS (+ 1.5), U/O 44.5

HOU TEXANS v JAC JAGUARS (+ 9.5), U/O 43.5

ARI CARDINALS v IND COL_S (+ 2.5), U/O 44.5

OAK RAIDERS (+ 1.5), v TEN TITANS, U/O 41.5

NY GIANTS v DAL COWBOYS (+ 2.5), U/O 44.5

NE PATRIOTS (+ 2.5) v DEN BRONCOS, U/O 54.5

Monday Nov 25

WAS REDSKINS (+ 4.5) v SF 49ERS, U/O 47.5

Teams on a bye: Buffalo Bills, Cincinnati Bengals, Philadelphia Eagles, Seattle Seahawks

EXPERTS’ PICKS AGAINST THE SPREAD

Peter Lindo’s Week 12 Picks

FALCONS v SAINTS

PACKERS v VIKINGS

CHIEFS v CHARGERS

BROWNS v STEELERS

DOLPHINS v PANTHERS

RAVENS v JETS

LIONS v BUCCANEERS

RAMS v BEARS

TEXANS v JAGUARS

CARDINALS v COL_S

RAIDERS v TITANS

GIANTS v COWBOYS

PATRIOTS v BRONCOS

REDSKINS v 49ERS

Last week’s record: 9-6

Season record: 84-78

Tony Scott’s Week 12 Picks

FALCONS v SAINTS

PACKERS v VIKINGS

CHIEFS v CHARGERS

BROWNS v STEELERS

DOLPHINS v PANTHERS

RAVENS v JETS

LIONS v BUCCANEERS

RAMS v BEARS

TEXANS v JAGUARS

CARDINALS v COL_S

RAIDERS v TITANS

GIANTS v COWBOYS

PATRIOTS v BRONCOS

REDSKINS v 49ERS

Last week’s record: 7-8

Season record: 84-78

Andre Hutchinson’s Week 12 Picks

FALCONS v SAINTS

PACKERS v VIKINGS

CHIEFS v CHARGERS

BROWNS v STEELERS

DOLPHINS v PANTHERS

RAVENS v JETS

LIONS v BUCCANEERS

RAMS v BEARS

TEXANS v JAGUARS

CARDINALS v COL_S

RAIDERS v TITANS

GIANTS v COWBOYS

PATRIOTS v BRONCOS

REDSKINS v 49ERS

Last week’s record: 6-9

Season record: 76-86

Andrei Roper’s Week 12 Picks 

FALCONS v SAINTS

PACKERS v VIKINGS

CHIEFS v CHARGERS

BROWNS v STEELERS

DOLPHINS v PANTHERS

RAVENS v JETS

LIONS v BUCCANEERS

RAMS v BEARS

TEXANS v JAGUARS

CARDINALS v COL_S

RAIDERS v TITANS

GIANTS v COWBOYS

PATRIOTS v BRONCOS

REDSKINS v 49ERS

Last week’s record: 10-5

Season record: 72-90