The Shenoa Report
November 21, 2023
Regular Season Week 12
Happy Thanksgiving! I’ve got a lot to be thankful for. I hope you do too.
Week 12 will bring football on Thursday, Friday, Sunday, and Monday! Before we talk about the Thanksgiving games I wanted to tell you how great week 11 was for me. Let’s just say there were no “sadness cookies” to make. Week 11 was the first time this season that both the Giants and Bills won handily, I won in fantasy, and I killed it on my picks. I’m not gonna lie, I was really down about football. I was struggling to write the Shenoa Report every week after trifecta losses consistently. I’d lost the joy of football. If you know me, you also know football is life for me. So, Sunday I really needed a win. And, finally, I got one.
Which brings me to my next topic. Tanking. As a Giants fan, I know how bad we are. I know we are going to have one of the top picks in the upcoming draft. I know we need a new quarterback and a myriad of other position players. I don’t like the idea of tanking for a better draft pick. It sucks to lose. I know first hand. So, even though the Giants are having a HORRIBLE season I was so happy for a win, improbable as it was. When I went on my socials after the game to continue my happy winning high I read things that didn’t sit well with me. “If you’re happy that the Giants won today then you are actively rooting against the future of the franchise. This team needs a franchise quarterback and things won’t get permanently better until the team gets one.” First of all I absolutely disagree with this mindset. If NFL history has taught us anything about the draft there might just be too much weight on those first picks. This guy thinks that if we don’t get the first pick in the draft to pick up Caleb Williams we are doomed. I’d like to remind this guy that Tom Brady was drafted in the 6th round, 199th overall and Brock Purdy, Mr. Irrelevant, was the very last pick in the draft. Jalen Hurts was taken in the second round at #53 and Dak Prescot was taken in the 4th round at #135. I really don’t think the draft # matters too much. We got Danny Jones at #6, that really worked out for us. Sure, Eli Manning and Patrick Mahomes we taken #1 but so were Ryan Leaf, Jamarcus Russell, Johnny Manziel and Zach Wilson. I take sports seriously. I won’t even play a sport that I don’t think I can do well in or win. I’m a terrible skater so you won’t see me playing hockey. I’m 5’ 0” you won’t see me playing basketball either. I like to compete. I hate to lose. I am not a professional athlete of any kind, I don’t get paid to play a sport. I can’t imagine what it’s like for professional athletes that have my competitive drive. I’m sure they take losing harder than I do. There’s no, “I just hope everyone has fun.” What I’m trying to say is that you play to win the game. Period. If you lose, you fail. Yeah that's harsh. I know. I’m not sorry. I am so proud of my team for WINNING. The Giants showed pride, grit, and tenacity. Tanking isn’t the answer. Tanking is a copout. Tanking is weak. I do not support tanking.
As you’ve already gathered, I’m happy for the Giants, I won in fantasy, and I went 10-4 on picks. Week 11 was a good week for me. Now, let’s recap it together.
Bengals @ Ravens 20-34
The Bengals lost the game and their starting quarterback. Joe Burrow left the game after hurting his throwing wrist in the second quarter. It was curious that Burrow wasn’t on the injury report before the game after he was photographed getting off the team plane with a brace on his throwing hand. Burrow is most likely out for the rest of the season. The Ravens TE Mark Andrews went out really early with an ankle injury and didn’t return. Lamar Jackson also went out for a while with an ankle injury but was able to return and win the game for Baltimore.
Steelers @ Browns 10-13
Rookie QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson didn’t wow anyone in Cleveland but, because the Steelers offense was just as bad, it didn’t really matter. Not so fun fact for Steelers fans, their offense hasn’t had a single game over 400 yards in 58 straight. During this span, other NFL offenses have gone over 400 yards 462 times in the regular season. The Browns defense was just a little bit better than the Steelers so it wasn’t surprising that the Browns won this game on a last second field goal as time expired to take the win.
Bears @ Lions 26-31
Justin Fields came back and in a big way. I was nervous as I had picked the Lions to win and I didn’t think it would be a close game. In other news Jared Goff had one of his worst days as a Lion. It seemed like he had more passes to the Bears than to the Lions. Goff had 3 interceptions to his 2 touchdowns. He’s pretty lucky that his defense had his back. The Lions shouldn’t have won this game. They got lucky.
Chargers @ Packers 20-23
Stupid Chargers. This game was hella sloppy. Justin Herbert was visibly frustrated with his wide receivers, they kept dropping his passes. Keenan Allen had at least one touchdown pass that he dropped. Oh well, I got the pick wrong but I’d do it all over again.
Raiders @ Dolphins 13-20
The Dolphins are still undefeated at home and that’s because Jalen Ramsey saved the day. Ramsey had two interceptions, both in the endzone, both negating touchdowns for the Raiders, the last one came with just 22 seconds left in the game. Miami’s defense shut out the Raiders in the second half.
NY Giants @ Commanders 31-19
I don’t even know where to start. When I sit down to recap games I’ve come very accustomed to procrastinating and dreading any Giants recap. I’ve boohoo cried enough this season over my team. I was prepared to bake all the things during this game. Then Tommy Touchdowns showed up. Tommy DeVito, a kid who still lives with his parents, had 3 touchdown passes in this win over Washington. The last time a Giants quarterback had 3 passing touchdowns in a game was Daniel Jones in 2019 against the Redskins. I guess the Giants are Washington’s kryptonite. The Giants looked like a completely different team this game. We scored a touchdown in the first quarter for the first time this season. DeVito had ZERO interceptions and Saquon had 2 receiving touchdowns! Our defense forced SIX turnovers, picking off Sam Howell 3 times. DeVito was sacked 9 times but that didn’t stop him from moving his team down the field. The Giants never trailed and won for the first time since Oct. 22, when they beat the Commanders 14-7 at the Meadowlands. WOOT WOOOOOOOOOOOT! G-MEN!!!!!
Cowboys @ Panthers 33-10
I mean, I would’ve been much more shocked had the Panthers won. Like the Giants, the Panthers are really bad. Like bad bad. But it’s ok Panthers fans, at least you put up some points against the Cowboys. The Giants couldn’t say that after week 1.
Titans @ Jaguars 14-34
The Jags got the bounce back they wanted. I would’ve liked Trevor Lawrence to target Christian Kirk more but it was Calvin Ridley who got the two touchdown passes. I didn’t start DeHop so of course he scored a touchdown. Oh well. I still won in fantasy and I got this pick right.
Cardinals @ Texans 16-21
CJ Stroud was the only quarterback to not have thrown an interception this season a few weeks ago. He threw 3 this game and it’s amazing that the Texans were able to shake off those turnovers and win. This was Stroud’s mindset when he said, “Steph Curry don’t ever stop shooting, you know, I mean, I don’t have no shame in my game. I've definitely got to be smarter, but no confidence is taken away from me and I’m going to keep letting it fly.” I like this kid and I like that he mentioned Steph. On the other side of the field it was nice to see Kylar Murray and James Conner back in action. The Cardinals have potential they just have to play a few more games together to get things to meld better.
Buccaneers @ 49ers 14-27
Brock Purdy had an almost perfect game. He went 21-25 attempts, 333 passing yards, and threw 3 TD passes. He did, however, have a perfect passer rating. The last time that happened for the 49ers was in 1989 with Joe Montana and Steve Young. Don’t tell me you need a high draft pick to get a good quarterback. The Bucs tried to keep up but the 49ers were just the better team.
Jets @ Bills 6-32
Hooray! Bills win! I guess Josh Allen and the rest of the Bills had had enough of the bad football they were playing. Although Allen did have an interception he also had 3 passing touchdowns on the day. The game started out slowly with Bills kicker Trevor Bass scoring the only points until late in the second quarter. Then things really got going for Buffalo. The Bills defense shut out the Jets in all but the second quarter. It was awesome, if you’re a Bills fan. It was good to see them right their path.
Seahawks @ Rams 16-17
The Rams won the game but there were losses on both sides. Cooper Kupp is considered day to day for LA after suffering an ankle injury. Kenneth Walker of the Seahawks left the game and didn’t return with an oblique injury. I’m salty because I have Walker on my fantasy team and I picked the Seahawks to win. Booo.
Vikings @ Broncos 20-21
I had picked the Broncos to win this game but I was so tired Sunday night that I couldn’t stay up for its entirety. I went to bed when the Vikings had the lead. I was happy to see Monday morning that the Broncos pulled off the win. I knew they could do it!
Eagles @ Chiefs 21-17
Well the Chiefs came out swinging and looked like they were going to crush the Eagles. The problem with that was they forgot how to score in the second half and ended up losing to the Eagles. It was dumb. Travis Kelce did not have a good game, he was dropping passes or fumbling left and right. It was not fun to watch. Thankfully we had the Manning Cast, though the first guest was very underwhelming. It was Mark Walberg and he seemed disinterested to be on at all. The next guest was Caitlin Clark who plays college basketball for Iowa and she’s a huge Chiefs fan. She was knowledgeable and entertaining and most of all engaging. Lastly was Mike Vick. I had forgotten that he had played for the Eagles. I think the best part of Vick’s time on the show was when he was asked if he played as himself when he was on the cover of Madden and he said he always picked Peyton.
WEEK 12
Thursday, November 23rd
Packers (4-6) @ Lions (8-2) (12:30pm FOX)
The Detroit Lions have played on Thanksgiving 83 times so far, the most in Thanksgiving history. Their record on this day is 37-44-2. The Packers have played 36 times and their record on this day is 14-20-2. The Packers haven’t played on Thanksgiving since 2015. I’m rooting for and picking the Lions to win this game.
Commanders (4-7) @ Cowboys (7-3) (4:30pm CBS)
The Cowboys have played on Thanksgiving 55 times so far, the second most in Thanksgiving history. Their record on this day is 32-22-1. Washington has played 12 times and their record on this day is 4-8. Washington hasn’t played on Thanksgiving since 2020. I’m rooting for Washington, but would be happy with a tie, but I’m picking the Cowboys for the win.
49ers (7-3) @ Seahawks (6-4) (8:20pm NBC)
9 years ago the Seahawks beat the 49ers 19-3 in their first Thanksgiving matchup. The 49ers have played on Thanksgiving 5 times so far. Their record on this day is 2-2-1. Their last appearance was in 2014. The Seahawks have played 4 times and their record on this day is 2-2. The Seahawks haven’t played on Thanksgiving since 2014. I’ll be rooting for my fantasy players but picking the 49ers to win this Thanksgiving.
Friday, November 24th
Dolphins (7-3) @ Jets (4-6) (3pm PRIME VIDEO)
What? A Friday afternoon game? Black Friday brings weird things to the NFL. I’m picking the Dolphins to win this game.
Sunday, November 26th
Steelers (6-4) @ Bengals (5-5) (1pm CBS)
The Steelers fired their OC Matt Canada this past week and running backs coach Eddie Faulkner is expected to take over as offensive coordinator. I’m pretty sure all Steeler fans are happy about this. I think that the Steelers are going to win this game and I’m picking them to do so. I mean I’m going to have to look up who the Bengals starting quarterback is going to be this week with Burrow out. Right. Jake Browning. Jake says he doesn’t lack confidence so we’ll see.
Jaguars (7-3) @ Texans (6-4) (1pm CBS)
I’m predicting that this is going to be a high scoring game. I need touchdowns from wide receivers on both teams so it’s tough for me to pick a winner. I think I’d like to see the Texans win though. I’m going to pick Houston to win this game.
Buccaneers (4-6) @ Colts (5-5) (1pm CBS)
I feel like both of these teams are sneaky. Like you can’t count either of them out. The Colts have lost 4 of their 5 home games already this season but they were all pretty close. The Bucs are 2-3 on the road but they’ve also played pretty close games as well. Man. I think I’m going to pick the Bucs to win this game.
Saints (5-5) @ Falcons (4-6) (1pm FOX)
The Falcons have lost 3 in a row so they need to win this game and I think they will. I’m picking the Falcons to bounce back and get the win.
Patriots (2-8) @ NY Giants (3-8) (1pm FOX)
I’m picking the Giants to win this game because tanking isn’t the answer. We have a good defense and we have Tommy Touchdowns. The Patriots don’t even know who they are going to start at quarterback. At least we know that DiVito will get the start. Go G-MEN!
Panthers (1-9) @ Titans (3-7) (1pm FOX)
The Panthers haven’t won on the road yet this season and as bad as the Titans are, all their wins have come at home. I’m picking the Titans to win this game.
Rams (4-6) @ Cardinals (2-9) (4:05pm FOX)
Just because I refuse to pick the Rams again this season I’m picking the Cards to win this game. Also, I think I’m going to have to start James Conner and Trey McBride in fantasy so I need them to put up a lot of points for me and the Cards.
Browns (7-3) @ Broncos (5-5) (4:05pm FOX)
I actually don’t think that the Browns are going to win this game. Although the Browns have won their last three the Broncos have won their last 4. I’m picking the Broncos to win this game.
Chiefs (7-3) @ Raiders (5-6) (4:25pm CBS)
I hope Taylor Swift is at this game because Tavis Kelce hasn’t been great without her in attendance. I also hope that the Chiefs wide receivers help their quarterback out by actually catching Mahomes’ passes rather than dropping them. That would be swell. I’m picking the Chiefs to win this game.
Bills (6-5) @ Eagles (8-1) (4:25pm CBS)
Obviously I’m rooting for the Bills. But because I take pride in my picks I’m going to have to pick the Eagles to win. I HOPE I’M WRONG! GO BILLS!
Ravens (8-3) @ Chargers (4-6) (8:20pm NBC)
I’m picking the Ravens to win this game. I’m playing my mom in fantasy and she has Keenan Allen and Austin Ekeler so I need the Ravens to have a good game and not the Chargers. Sure she is starting Zay Flowers too so that’s a problem. But I’m sticking with my pick.
Monday, November 27th
Bears (3-8) @ Vikings (6-5) (8:15pm ABC/ESPN)
A divisional matchup to end week 12. I’m picking the Vikings to win this game.
GO G-MEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks for the edit Eric!
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