The NFL is closing in on the home straight of its regular season as teams prepare to kick off week 12.

The Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns will get proceedings underway on Thursday Night Football followed by a full slate of fixtures on Sunday.

Rounding off the week, it will be anything but brotherly love when the James Harbaugh-coached Baltimore Ravens take on the Jim Harbaugh-coached LA Chargers on Monday Night Football.

Ahead of the weekend, Joe Osborne was joined by the host of the Bet the Board podcast, Todd Fuhrman, on the latest episode of Covers’ Sharp 600 to break down all the best bets.

Thursday Night Football

All eyes will be on the weather in Cleveland as an initially “apocalyptic” forecast has driven down both team and individual totals. 

However, according to Fuhrman, the conditions are set to be better than first expected meaning there are opportunities to bet the over closer to kick-off and take advantage of the oddsmaker’s weather-adjusted numbers. 

Elsewhere, Osborne predicts that it will be a big week for Pittsburgh’s Najee Harris, backing him to run for over 63.5 rushing yards.

He said: “This is a guy who has a very high ceiling, he’s hit the 100-yard mark in three of his last five games. 

“The [Cleveland] Browns are really bad against the run, they are 26th in yeards allowed per rush attempt and over the last three games they are dead last in that category in all of the NFL.”

Anytime Touchdown

Moving on to who will reach the endzone in week 12, the duo picked out Bucky Irving (+105), running back for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce (+120).

On Irving’s selection, Fuhrman explained that he is coming up against a New York Giants team “in disarray” after falling to a 2-8 record following an overtime defeat to fellow strugglers the Carolina Panthers.

Meanwhile, Osborne is backing Kelce to bounce back after a quiet game in Kansas City’s first defeat of the season to the Buffalo Bills.  

The Chiefs are up against the aforementioned Caroline Panthers who are tied for most touchdowns given up to tight ends and 27th in the league for red zone touchdowns conceded. Kelce, on the other hand, is still second for red zone targets amongst tight ends despite his less-than-stellar season so far.

Playoff outsiders

Straying away from week 12 bets, the duo also discussed their outsiders to sneak into the NFL playoffs.

Fuhrman suggested that the Miami Dolphins, currently at 3/1, could be a dark horse to make it beyond the regular season.

“I don’t love what they have to do going on the road playing in cold weather but I think in the AFC, that bottom of the wild card race is a little bit more open than the odds suggest so I would take a shot at the Dolphins,” he explained. 

The Cincinnati Bengals “aren’t dead yet either” at 5/1 according to Fuhrman, despite falling to their second straight defeat last week at the hands of the LA Chargers.