NFL Picks Week 12: Latest Odds, Prop Bets, Over/Under Lines and Predictions

Believe it or not, Week 12 of the 2016 NFL season is right around the corner. The week will kick off with three games on Thanksgiving day—two of which will naturally feature the Detroit Lions and the Dallas Cowboys.

Thursday will also feature an intriguing matchup between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Indianapolis Colts. In all, we will get a full slate of 16 games in Week 12. No teams are on bye and there will be plenty of wagering opportunities ahead.

Today, we're going to take a look at the upcoming slate of games, along with the latest lines courtesy of Odds Shark. We'll be making our predictions against those lines and examining some of the top picks and prop bets for the coming week.

Week 12 Schedule, Lines and Projections

Game	National TV	Line	Projection
Minnesota at Detroit	CBS	DET -2.5	DET
Washington at Dallas	Fox	DAL -7.5	WAS
Pittsburgh at Indianapolis	NBC	PIT -6	IND
San Francisco at Miami	Fox	MIA -7.5	MIA
Tennessee at Chicago	CBS	TEN -3.5	TEN
Arizona at Atlanta	Fox	ATL -4	ARI
Cincinnati at Baltimore	CBS	BAL -4.5	BAL
NY Giants at Cleveland	Fox	NYG -7	NYG
Los Angeles at New Orleans	Fox	NO -7	LA
Jacksonville at Buffalo	CBS	BUF -7.5	BUF
San Diego at Houston	CBS	Even	HOU
Seattle at Tampa Bay	Fox	SEA -5.5	SEA
Carolina at Oakland	CBS	OAK -4	CAR
New England at NY Jets	CBS	NE -9	NE
Kansas City at Denver	NBC	DEN -3.5	KC
Green Bay at Philadelphia	ESPN	PHI -3.5	GB

Top Week 12 Picks

New York Giants (-7) over Cleveland Browns

Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images

The New York Giants haven't been blowing out opponents, but they've been quietly winning games. They have won five games in a row and are battling for NFC East supremacy along with a spot in the postseason.

The Cleveland Browns, meanwhile, are battling just to avoid a winless season.

It's difficult to imagine the Browns being competitive in this game, even while playing at home. The team is a mess defensively—rated 29th in overall defense by Pro Football Focus—and it isn't much better on offense.

Cleveland is averaging just 16.7 points per game. The team may also have to finish out the year without rookie quarterback Cody Kessler, who was knocked out of a game for the third time this season due to injury. Two of those injuries have been concussions.

Unless the Browns find some unexpected way to rally around journeyman Josh McCown, they don't seem likely to gain much ground against a Giants defense that is rated seventh overall by Pro Football Focus.

New York should be able to rack up some points against the maligned Cleveland defense. If they can surpass the 21-point mark, then they should have an excellent chance of winning by a touchdown.

Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens UNDER 40.5

The Baltimore Ravens are built to win low-scoring, defense-oriented contests. While they are averaging just 19.9 points per game, the Ravens are allowing an average of just 18.7 points per contest. This is a big reason why we believe Baltimore's upcoming game with the Cincinnati Bengals will be a low-scoring affair.

We might be inclined to think otherwise if the Bengals offense was at full strength, but it isn't. The team lost both running back Giovani Bernard and wide receiver A.J. Green to injuries this past Sunday.

Bernard should be done for the year with a torn ACL. Green, who suffered a hamstring strain, may return this season, but it won't likely happen against Baltimore.

The Bengals were averaging just 19.9 points per game with Green and Bernard on the field. They may struggle to reach the end zone more than once without them against Baltimore's defense, which is rated fourth overall by Pro Football Focus.

If this game does hit the over, it'll likely be due to a total defensive collapse on the part of Cincinnati.

Indianapolis Colts and Pittsburgh Steelers OVER 50.5

Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

The Indianapolis Colts and Pittsburgh Steelers will do battle on Thursday night. This should be an exciting matchup and a game that features plenty of scoring.

Not only does the contest feature two of the game's most prolific quarterbacks in Ben Roethlisberger and Andrew Luck, but it features a pair of lackluster defenses.

Pittsburgh is rated just 24th in overall defense by Pro Football Focus. The Colts are rated dead last.

The Colts are riding a bit of momentum after winning two games in a row, but they know the defense will have to emerge if they are going to beat the Steelers at home.

"We have our work cut out up front," Colts linebacker D'Qwell Jackson said, per Mike Wells of ESPN.com. "We can’t do like we did [in Week 11]—play well in spurts and then have a big lull. We can’t do that against a Ben Roethlisberger or that team."

Can the Indianapolis defense do enough to get a win against the Steelers? Sure. However, the Colts aren't likely to stop Pittsburgh from finding the end zone multiple times. Winter weather won't be a factor in the dome, and a score in the neighborhood of 34-27 feels incredibly realistic.

New England Patriots OVER 24.5 Points

One enticing prop bet we found over at OddsChecker.com involves the New England Patriots and their upcoming game against the New York Jets. The prop is for the total points scored by New England in the contest and there are a variety of options.

The prop we like here is for the Patriots to score more than 24 points in the game. The odds aren't terrific—at 1-2 to be exact—but it feels like one of the safest props of the week. New England has scored at least 24 points in every game since Tom Brady returned to the starting lineup.

Only once has New England failed to score more than 24 points, and that was against the Seattle Seahawks and a defense that is rated fifth overall by Pro Football Focus. The Jets are rated just 28th in overall defense by Pro Football Focus.

Unless there is a surprise winter storm—or Brady oversleeps and misses the game—the Patriots should have little trouble reaching the 25-point mark by the end of the game.

All betting information unless otherwise noted courtesy of Odds Shark and current as of Nov. 22.