NFL Predictions Week 12: Dark-Horse Teams That Will Continue Postseason Push

Week 12 of the 2013 NFL regular season will commence on Thursday, Nov. 21, when the New Orleans Saints travel to face the Atlanta Falcons. It will set the tone for a week that features the top teams in action and dark-horse contenders competing for a postseason berth.

Which of those teams will continue their push for the playoffs with a critical win?

Date	Road Team	Prediction	Home Team
Thursday, Nov. 21	New Orleans Saints	35-24	Atlanta Falcons
Sunday, Nov. 17	Pittsburgh Steelers	23-17	Cleveland Browns
Sunday, Nov. 17	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	16-28	Detroit Lions
Sunday, Nov. 17	Minnesota Vikings	20-23	Green Bay Packers
Sunday, Nov. 17	San Diego Chargers	16-21	Kansas City Chiefs
Sunday, Nov. 17	Chicago Bears	17-13	St. Louis Rams
Sunday, Nov. 17	Carolina Panthers	24-14	Miami Dolphins
Sunday, Nov. 17	New York Jets	21-20	Baltimore Ravens
Sunday, Nov. 17	Jacksonville Jaguars	13-23	Houston Texans
Sunday, Nov. 17	Tennessee Titans	17-20	Oakland Raiders
Sunday, Nov. 17	Indianapolis Colts	20-24	Arizona Cardinals
Sunday, Nov. 17	Dallas Cowboys	35-27	New York Giants
Sunday, Nov. 17	Denver Broncos	34-30	New England Patriots
Monday, Nov. 18	San Francisco 49ers	26-17	Washington Redskins

Pittsburgh Steelers (4-6) at Cleveland Browns (4-6)

Date: Sunday, Nov. 24

Time: 1 p.m. ET

TV: CBS

Prediction: 23-17, Steelers

The Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers both enter Week 12 with 4-6 records. Both teams are in the race for the final Wild Card spot in the AFC, and neither can afford to lose a game here.

In the end, it'll be Pittsburgh that emerges victorious.

Since opening the season with four straight losses, the Steelers have won four of their past six games. There's a direct correlation between those wins and the returns of the previously injured running back Le'Veon Bell and tight end Heath Miller.

Now, Pittsburgh is just one game behind the 5-5 New York Jets for the No. 6 seed.

The Browns are in the same position as Pittsburgh, but they have reached this plateau in an entirely different manner. Cleveland opened the season at 3-2 but has since lost four of five. It is fresh off of a 41-20 defeat by the Cincinnati Bengals.

The momentum belongs to Pittsburgh entering this game.

Ben Roethlisberger will out-duel Jason Campbell, and Le'Veon Bell will continue to be a strong goal-line runner. Joe Haden will limit Antonio Brown's availability, but Emmanuel Sanders and Miller will play a major role in pacing Pittsburgh's offense.

It'll be close, but Pittsburgh will hang on to move to 5-6.

New York Jets (5-5) at Baltimore Ravens (4-6)

Date: Sunday, Nov. 24

Time: 1 p.m. ET

TV: CBS

Prediction: 21-20, Jets

Sadly, this game will go a long way toward determining the final spot in the AFC playoffs. The New York Jets, 5-5, are currently the No. 6 seed, while the Baltimore Ravens, 4-6, are one game off that mark.

It's a top-heavy year in the AFC.

The Jets have split wins and losses throughout the year, never once putting together a streak of any kind. New York lost to the Buffalo Bills during Week 11, but it still has the No. 1 rushing defense and the No. 8 rushing offense in the NFL.

Geno Smith won't have it easy against Baltimore, but the Jets shouldn't be counted out.

The Ravens have been exposed to a truth that a Super Bowl ring blinded them from: Joe Flacco has never been an elite regular-season quarterback. He currently has 13 passing touchdowns and 13 interceptions and is on track to finish with a completion percentage below 60 for the third straight year.

Ray Rice finally broke out during Week 11, but that was after he'd previously failed to top 100 rushing yards in a single game this season.

It's fair to favor Baltimore at home, but the Jets have an X-factor in the recently signed Ed Reed. Reed was already blown out by his former team once in 2013, and in his second meeting with the Ravens, he should be expected to make a big play or two.

New York wins another nail-biter.

Indianapolis Colts (7-3) at Arizona Cardinals (6-4)

Date: Sunday, Nov. 24

Time: 4:05 p.m. ET

TV: CBS

Prediction: 24-20, Cardinals

Barring a miracle, the Indianapolis Colts are going to win the AFC South. Indianapolis is 7-3, while the next-best team in the division is the 4-6 Tennessee Titans.

Indianapolis won't take any weeks off, but during Week 12, it will suffer a minor setback.

The Arizona Cardinals have quietly moved to 6-4 on the season and are currently 6-1 against teams that aren't in the NFC West. Furthermore, Arizona is 4-1 at home and has been getting progressively better as the season has gone on.

It doesn't hurt that the Cardinals' head coach, Bruce Arians, was the interim coach for the Colts in 2012.

The quarterback battle in this game will be fun to watch, as Andrew Luck has become the king of the fourth quarter and Carson Palmer is on a roll. Palmer threw for 419 yards in most recent game and has six touchdowns to two interceptions in his past three.

It's rational to give Luck the positional advantage, but Arizona hasn't been losing against teams outside of the NFC West.

This one will be a defensive battle and it will likely come down to which team has the ball last. Luck is the fourth quarter king, but Palmer and the Cardinals are easily the most underrated team in football.

This will be a statement game for Arizona.