It was dangerous to have a big lead in the second half of Sunday's Week 12 games. Sure, the Packers and Rams had no trouble and ended up with comfortable wins. But other teams that took big leads had to fight to hold on for wins. The Falcons allowed the Saints to march up and down the field in the second half, though New Orleans fell apart near the goal line.
The New England Patriots are in the midst of preparing for their Week 12 clash against the Bengals on the road in hopes of continuing their current 8-game win streak. Since beating the Jets last Thursday night, it looked like their upcoming opponent would be without their starting quarterback, and over the last two days, it was made official that they would also be without WR Ja'Marr Chase. Their absences immediately made the Patriots the bigger favorites heading into the game, despite backup QB Joe Flacco impressing while Joe Burrow has been sidelined due to an injury.