Stampede Blue’s NFL Week 12 staff picks

Week 12 is here, and the Stampede Blue staff is back to picking game winners for the upcoming 14 games. We finally have a change at the top of the leaderboard, as Elliot Denton has claimed a one-game lead over Chris Blystone and Greg Rader after a 12-2 showing in Week 11. The top six pickers are within two percentage points of each other, with everyone still hitting at least 57 percent of their picks.

Let’s look at this week’s breakdown, some weekly awards, the updated standings and the game picks for Week 12.

Can’t miss contests:

Colts @ Texans

Panthers @ Saints

Cowboys @ Patriots

Packers @ 49ers

Ravens @ Rams

Could be surprisingly fun:

Dolphins @ Browns

Seahawks @ Eagles

Buccaneers @ Falcons

Hit the snooze button:

Lions @ Redskins

Raiders @ Jets

Giants @ Bears

Broncos @ Bills

Steelers @ Bengals

Jaguars @ Titans

Now for the weekly awards ...

The boldest upset award: Chris Shepherd (MIA over CLE)

Cleveland hosts the 2-8 Dolphins this week, with Miami entered the game as double-digit underdogs. With the clunky season Cleveland has had, Shepherd sees the hard-fighting ‘Fins to come out on top.

The Chucky Chalk award: Mateo Caliz & Brett Mock

Mr. Caliz and Mr. Mock sided with the majority of the staff on every game this week, as both aim to move further up the ladder.

The road warrior award: Matt Danely & Chris Shepherd

Matt and Chris have nine road teams stealing wins in enemy territory, including some surprises like the Buccaneers beating the Falcons (Matt) and the Jaguars beating the Titans (Chris).

Take a look at the updated standings and picks for Week 10 ...

Elliot Denton: 108-53 (67.1%) / Chris Blystone: 107-54 (66.5%) / Greg Rader: 107-54 (66.5%) / Mateo Caliz: 106-55 (65.8%) / Josh Hudgens: 88-46 (65.7%) / Blake Pace: 105-56 (65.2%) / Matt Danely: 83-51 (61.9%) / Brett Mock: 104-57 (61.2%) / Stephen Reed: 95-66 (59.0%) / Chris Shepherd: 85-61 (58.2%) / Andrew Aziz: 93-68 (57.8%) / Zach Hicks: 83-62 (57.2%)

Thursday 8:20 pm ET

Colts @ Texans

Sunday 1:00 pm ET

Dolphins @ Browns (9) | Contrarian: Chris Shepherd

Lions @ Redskins

Raiders @ Jets

Giants @ Bears (8) | Contrarians: Stephen Reed, Shepherd

Panthers @ Saints

Seahawks (8) @ Eagles | Contrarians: Blake Pace, Reed

Buccaneers @ Falcons (8) | Contrarians: Andrew Aziz, Matt Danely

Broncos @ Bills (8) | Contrarians: Greg Rader, Reed

Steelers (9) @ Bengals | Contrarian: Elliot Denton

Sunday 4:05 pm ET

Jaguars @ Titans (8) | Contrarians: Danely, Shepherd

Sunday 4:25 pm ET

Cowboys @ Patriots

Sunday 8:20 pm ET

Packers (6) @ 49ers | Contrarians: Chris Blystone, Rader, Reed, Shepherd

Monday 8:15 pm ET

Ravens @ Rams

Who do you have coming out on top in Week 12?