NFL Week 12 Predictions: Early Projections for Vegas' Odds, Lines and Spreads

Week 11 of the NFL season isn't even fully in the books, but pigskin fans would be forgiven if they are already looking ahead to Week 12.

After all, few things go better with Thanksgiving than football, and the NFL has three high-stakes Thursday games for viewers looking to settle down after a helping of turkey. As if that's not enough, the Sunday and Monday night games feature marquee franchises with playoff hopes in the balance.

On Thanksgiving, the Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings will battle for first place in the NFC North, the Dallas Cowboys will try to move to 10-1 against division rival Washington and the Pittsburgh Steelers and Indianapolis Colts will look to make strides in the AFC playoff picture.

The 7-3 Denver Broncos and 7-3 Kansas City Chiefs square off in a critical AFC West battle on Sunday night, and the Green Bay Packers and Philadelphia Eagles each need wins in the NFC postseason race on Monday night. 

With all that in mind, here is a look at the early spreads for each Week 12 game, as well as some predictions. The lines are courtesy of Odds Shark as of Sunday at 9 p.m. ET.

Date	Matchup	Point Spread	Predicted Winner Against Spread
Thursday, Nov. 24	Minnesota Vikings at Detroit Lions	DET -2.5	Lions
Thursday, Nov. 24	Washington at Dallas Cowboys	DAL -6.5	Cowboys
Thursday, Nov. 24	Pittsburgh Steelers at Indianapolis Colts	PIT -2.5	Steelers
Sunday, Nov. 27	Tennessee Titans at Chicago Bears	Pick	Titans
Sunday, Nov. 27	Jacksonville Jaguars at Buffalo Bills	BUF -6.5	Bills
Sunday, Nov. 27	Cincinnati Bengals at Baltimore Ravens	BAL -3	Ravens
Sunday, Nov. 27	Arizona Cardinals at Atlanta Falcons	ATL -4	Falcons
Sunday, Nov. 27	New York Giants at Cleveland Browns	NYG -6.5	Giants
Sunday, Nov. 27	Los Angeles Rams at New Orleans Saints	NO -6.5	Saints
Sunday, Nov. 27	San Francisco 49ers at Miami Dolphins	MIA -8.5	49ers
Sunday, Nov. 27	San Diego Chargers at Houston Texans	HOU -1	Texans
Sunday, Nov. 27	Seattle Seahawks at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	SEA -6	Seahawks
Sunday, Nov. 27	Carolina Panthers at Oakland Raiders	OAK -4.5	Raiders
Sunday, Nov. 27	New England Patriots at New York Jets	NE -7.5	Patriots
Sunday, Nov. 27	Kansas City Chiefs at Denver Broncos	DEN -3.5	Chiefs
Monday, Nov. 28	Green Bay Packers at Philadelphia Eagles	PHI -3	Eagles

Week 12 Thanksgiving Game to Watch: Minnesota Vikings at Detroit Lions

Thanksgiving gets the "game to watch" treatment heading into Week 12 because it is one of the dates on the calendar NFL fans circle every year.

While there may be higher-quality football when Ezekiel Elliott, Dak Prescott and the Cowboys lace it up against Kirk Cousins and Washington, the showdown between the Vikings and Lions means more. The winner will be in first place alone in the NFC North with only five games remaining in the regular season.

The Lions taking the field is a Thanksgiving tradition. According to the team's official website, it holds an all-time record of 36-38-2 in such games and lost nine in a row from 2004-12. However, the Lions are riding a three-game winning streak on Thanksgiving, and all three victories came in blowout fashion:

Year	Result
2013	Detroit Lions beat Green Bay Packers, 40-10
2014	Detroit Lions beat Chicago Bears, 34-17
2015	Detroit Lions beat Philadelphia Eagles, 45-14

Detroit already beat the Vikings once this season, and it came in Minnesota on Nov. 6. Its defense held the Vikings to 78 rushing yards on 25 carries, and Golden Tate scored in overtime to win it.

That was part of a four-game losing streak for the Vikings, but they snapped it on Sunday with a much-needed 30-24 win over the Arizona Cardinals. The slide opened the door for the Lions to climb to the top of the division and came after an incredible 5-0 start despite serious injuries to quarterback Teddy Bridgewater and running back Adrian Peterson.

Those Lions are 5-1 in their last six games and riding the hot hand in the NFC North. The record is impressive by itself, but it is also a testament to Detroit's ability to come through in the clutch moments. All five wins were by seven points or fewer, including the overtime victory, a one-point win and two three-point wins.

Detroit made some history in the process, as Elias Sports illustrated (h/t ESPN Stats & Info):

Tight end Eric Ebron said, "When you start putting heat on us, man, we start playing better," per Larry Lage of the Associated Press.

If the Lions once again find themselves in a close contest, they will be hard-pressed to make those critical plays against a strong defense for the second time this year. The Vikings defense set the tone all season and came into Sunday's slate first in the league in points allowed per game (16.9) and third in yards allowed per game (308.8).

Minnesota will also get a one-dimensional Detroit offense that was a mere 27th in the league in rushing yards per game before it managed a measly 14 yards on 21 carries during Sunday's contest against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Fortunately for Detroit, quarterback Matthew Stafford bailed it out with 278 passing yards. He has topped 200 yards through the air every game this season but one and has 18 touchdown passes to just five interceptions. If the Lions are going to sweep Minnesota this year, it will be up to Stafford to make plays with his arm.

Despite Detroit's issues on the ground, the Vikings offense is arguably the one with more concerns coming into Thursday's game.

While the Vikings scored 30 points against Arizona on Sunday, one of their four touchdowns came on an interception return from Xavier Rhodes, and another came on a kick return from Cordarrelle Patterson. Minnesota scored an average of 14 points an outing during its four-game losing streak and needed those special teams and defensive plays to beat the Cardinals.

It will face a Lions defense that was a solid 14th in the league in points allowed per game before Sunday's action. The Lions also intercepted Blake Bortles twice and didn't let a single Jaguars running back tally more than 39 yards on the ground on Sunday.

With the home crowd behind it, that defense will slow the Vikings' middling offense and give Stafford opportunities to win another close contest. Even with Minnesota making the Lions one-dimensional, Stafford will make enough plays to win the game and keep his team's Thanksgiving winning streak alive.

Prediction: Lions 24, Vikings 21