NFL Week 12 Picks: Matchups Guide, Advice and Early Score Predictions

We've watched 11 weeks of the 2016 NFL season fly by, and the start of Week 12 is just around the corner.

The next round of NFL action will kick off on Thursday with three exciting Thanksgiving matchups. There will be 16 contests in all in Week 12, as no teams are on bye for the holiday slate.

Now we're going to break down the upcoming week of games, along with some early Vegas lines—courtesy of Odds Shark—and our initial score projections. We'll also examine some of the more intriguing matchups of the coming Week.

NFL Week 12 Schedule and Predictions

Day, Time (ET)	Game	Line	Prediction
Thur. 12:30 p.m.	Minnesota at Detroit	DET -2.5	27-24 DET
Thur. 4:30 p.m.	Washington at Dallas	DAL -7.5	31-29 DAL
Thur. 8:30 p.m.	Pittsburgh at Indianapolis	PIT -3	34-28 IND
Sun. 1 p.m.	San Francisco at Miami	MIA -7.5	30-22 MIA
Sun. 1 p.m.	Tennessee at Chicago	TEN -3.5	34-27 TEN
Sun. 1 p.m.	Arizona at Atlanta	ATL -4	27-24 ATL
Sun. 1 p.m.	Cincinnati at Baltimore	BAL -4.5	31-24 BAL
Sun. 1 p.m.	NY Giants at Cleveland	NYG -7	34-24 NYG
Sun. 1 p.m.	Los Angeles at New Orleans	NO -7	28-21 NO
Sun. 1 p.m.	Jacksonville at Buffalo	BUF -7.5	36-27 BUF
Sun. 1 p.m.	San Diego at Houston	Even	30-28 HOU
Sun. 4:05 p.m.	Seattle at Tampa Bay	SEA -5.5	30-27 SEA
Sun. 4:25 p.m.	Carolina at Oakland	OAK -4	28-25 OAK
Sun. 4:25 p.m.	New England at NY Jets	NE -9	36-23 NE
Sun. 8:30 p.m.	Kansas City at Denver	DEN -3.5	30-28 KC
Mon. 8:30 p.m.	Green Bay at Philadelphia	PHI -3.5	28-24 GB

Notable Matchups

Minnesota Vikings at Detroit Lions

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The Minnesota Vikings managed to halt their losing skid over the weekend with a big win over the Arizona Cardinals. Now the team must head into Detroit to face the Lions in a battle for NFC North supremacy.

This matchup is likely to be a good one. The Lions are a vastly underrated team that has won five of its last six games, including one over the Vikings. Minnesota, meanwhile, appeared to get things back on track and will ride momentum into the game.

The problem for Minnesota here is that the offense still seems to be struggling. Even though Minnesota managed to produce 30 points against the Cardinals, only two touchdowns and 217 net yards came via the offense.

The Vikings scored on a Xavier Rhodes interception return and a Cordarrelle Patterson kickoff return.

If the Vikings cannot get their offense rolling, they may have a difficult time matching scores with the Lions, who are averaging 23.1 points per game. The good news is that Detroit carries a defense that is rated just 31st overall by Pro Football Focus.

The last game between these two teams was close, and it took a late rally and an overtime touchdown for Detroit to secure the win. We don't believe this one will go into overtime, but we do think a late Detroit score could be enough to put it away and to keep the Lions atop the division standings.

Washington Redskins at Dallas Cowboys

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The Dallas Cowboys are unquestionably the hottest team in the NFL right now. The team has ripped off nine consecutive wins and established itself as one of the top Super Bowl contenders in either conference.

A win over the Washington Redskins on Thursday would get Dallas to 10-1 and almost guarantee the Cowboys a spot in the postseason.

This isn't going to be an easy one for the Cowboys, though. Washington is playing extremely well, albeit under the radar. Quarterback Kirk Cousins—who has more than 3,000 passing yards and 17 touchdowns—has been slicing through opposing defenses as of late, and the Redskins finally appear to have a reliable running back in Robert Kelley.

This revitalized Washington offense is going to have every opportunity to match scores with the Cowboys on Thursday. This game may well come down to defense, and Washington may actually hold a slight edge there.

When it comes to overall defense, the Redskins are rated 19th by Pro Football Focus, while the Cowboys are rated 23rd. The team that makes the most stops could be the team that wins this pivotal NFC East showdown.

Dallas can definitely steal this one at home, but don't expect the Cowboys to run through the Redskins the way they have other opponents as of late. This one should be close.

Carolina Panthers at Oakland Raiders

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The Carolina Panthers may still be facing an uphill battle to make the postseason, but they continue to hang in the race. The team got a big win over the New Orleans Saints last Thursday and can keep their playoff hopes alive with a win over the Oakland Raiders on Sunday.

Oakland, however, is not going to make things easy.

If the Cowboys are the hottest team in the NFL, the Raiders are right behind them. Oakland has already won eight games and is coming off a major victory over the Houston Texans in Mexico City. The Raiders had to rally in that game, but they never lost confidence.

"There’s never a doubt in our minds," Oakland quarterback Derek Carr said, per Paul Gutierrez of ESPN.com. "There was never a doubt last year, there is never a doubt this year. It’s just, who’s going to make the play?"

The Raiders are playing like a playoff team, and they are carrying the attitude of one. This makes them extremely dangerous, as does an offense that is rated third overall by Pro Football Focus.

This Raiders offense is going to present a significant challenge for a Panthers defense that has rebounded a bit recently. Carolina held the Saints to 20 points last Thursday, but they needed to hold off a late rally in order to actually send the Saints home with a loss.

It's worth noting that the Panthers also needed a blocked field goal that was returned for a touchdown to post 23 points at home against the Saints defense, which is rated 26th by Pro Football Focus.

Our guess is that the Panthers struggle enough both offensively and defensively on the road against the Raiders to give Oakland its ninth win of the year.