NFL Week 12 Picks: Chris J. Nelson's Predictions

I hope everyone is having a nice holiday weekend. I had the good fortune of spending time with my family, watching the Dolphins finally lose another game to help their draft pick status and got all three Thanksgiving Day picks correct. Hopefully I can continue into Sunday...

Last week's record: 11-3
2011 season record: 108-55 (66.3%)

Falcons over Vikings—The 6-4 Falcons haven't been all that impressive this season, but the Vikings are downright terrible and won't even have Adrian Peterson in this one. Atlanta should win easily.

Bengals over Browns—Cleveland is finally getting their backfield healthy, but the Bengals are playing better football this season and I have to go with Andy Dalton and Cincinnati at home.

Titans over Buccaneers—Both of these teams are fairly mediocre, but I like Tennessee a bit better thanks to Matt Hasselbeck's sound play. I also think Chris Johnson has a bit of a breakout game to help the Titans win this one.

Panthers over Colts—As much as I'd like to see Indy win this one and at least look like they aren't a lock for Andrew Luck, they are just playing abysmal football right now. I have to go with a Carolina team that has at least shown signs of life in 2011.

Rams over Cardinals—I think it's about time Sam Bradford got back on track, so I like him to have a good game in St. Louis against the Cardinals.

Jets over Bills—New York is vastly overrated, but Buffalo is playing terribly right now and has lost Fred Jackson for the season. The Jets will win this game if they play solid, mistake-free football tomorrow.

Texans over Jaguars—The switch from Matt Schaub to Matt Leinart seems like a big one and it probably is, but I still like the Texans' offense overall. If they can still run the ball and Matt Leinart can keep things simple, Houston should be able to pick up the W.

Raiders over Bears—With Caleb Hanie in at quarterback for the Bears, I like this team's chances to win a lot less. Carson Palmer looks like the guy he was in his prime and will lead the Raiders to victory in my opinion.

Seahawks over Redskins—The Redskins held the game close against Dallas this week, but I don't like their chances traveling across the country and still playing without a reliable quarterback.

Patriots over Eagles—New England's defense is still a serious concern, but I like their offense to out-shoot Vince Young and the Eagles.

Chargers over Broncos—Tim Tebow is beyond terrible and I refuse to believe all this crap about him being a "winner." Eventually it's going to catch up with him and I think the Chargers score more points

Steelers over Chiefs—I expect Kyle Orton to be starting by Week 13, but the job this week is Tyler Palko's and I honestly expect him to be torn apart by the tough Steelers' D.

Saints over Giants—The Giants can score and probably have the better defense here, but I like the Saints in a shootout at home.

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Chris J. Nelson majored in journalism at Georgia State University and currently works for Turner Sports in Atlanta. He operates his own Miami Dolphins website, The Miami Dolphins Spotlight, and he can be followed on Twitter here.