NFL Week 12 Picks: Predicting Sunday's Marquee Matchups

After an exciting matchup on Thursday Night Football between the Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints, the focus has shifted to Sunday’s slate of marquee Week 12 matchups and which teams are picked to win.

Here are the predictions for all of the remaining Week 12 games and full breakdowns of the most important battles on the schedule.

Time (ET)	Away	Home	Predicted Winner
1 p.m.	Pittsburgh Steelers	Cleveland Browns	Steelers
1 p.m.	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Detroit Lions	Lions
1 p.m.	Minnesota Vikings	Green Bay Packers	Packers
1 p.m.	San Diego Chargers	Kansas City Chiefs	Kansas City
1 p.m.	Chicago Bears	St. Louis Rams	Bears
1 p.m.	Carolina Panthers	Miami Dolphins	Panthers
1 p.m.	New York Jets	Baltimore Ravens	Jets
1 p.m.	Jacksonville Jaguars	Houston Texans	Texans
4:05 p.m.	Tennessee Titans	Oakland Raiders	Titans
4:05 p.m.	Indianapolis Colts	Arizona Cardinals	Colts
4:25 p.m.	Dallas Cowboys	New York Giants	Cowboys
8:30 p.m.	Denver Broncos	New England Patriots	Broncos
8:30 p,m. (Mon.)	San Francisco 49ers	Washington Redskins	49ers

Denver Broncos at New England Patriots

The Denver Broncos will square off with the New England Patriots Sunday night in the biggest matchup of the weekend, and it will be the road team led by Peyton Manning that steals the close victory.

Manning and Patriots quarterback Tom Brady have met each other 13 times over their careers, and that familiarity will result in this game staying close on the scoreboard through all four quarters. The battle of the QBs may be a push, but the rest of the Broncos’ lineup is just flat-out more talented than New England’s.

Player	Completion %	Yards	Touchdowns	Int.	QBR	Rating
Peyton Manning	69.9	3572	34	6	82.8	118.3
Tom Brady	58.7	2552	14	7	57.9	83.6

Denver’s rushing attack hasn’t been great, but it hasn’t needed to be with the league’s top-ranked air assault. Led by Manning’s unbelievable stats, the Broncos are No. 1 in the NFL with an average of 455.5 yards of total offense per game.

As seen when the Kansas City Chiefs and their stout defense struggled to stop the offensive onslaught last week, the Broncos are just too strong for most teams. With New England boasting the 28th-ranked pass defense, the Patriots will lose in heart-breaking fashion against their high-powered opponent Sunday night.

Predicted Final Score: Denver 30, New England 24

San Diego Chargers at Kansas City Chiefs

The Kansas City Chiefs and the Broncos are fighting for the divisional crown in the AFC West, but the franchise must be ready to bounce back from its first loss of the season as the San Diego Chargers look to play spoiler.

Kansas City performed admirably against Denver last week. Despite taking the loss, the defense held the dangerous Broncos offense to just 27 points. Philip Rivers and the Chargers' offensive assault is not as talented as Manning’s group, and the Chiefs will be able to stifle their opposition’s pass-first game plan with a unique mixture of pass-rushing off the edge and excellent coverage in the secondary.

Rush Attempts	Yards	Touchdowns	Receptions	Yards	Touchdowns	Fumbles
186	803	6	49	383	2	3

Add in the effective attack of Jamaal Charles in both the rushing and air strategy, and the fundamental strengths of the team will result in yet another big victory over a divisional foe.

Kansas City will be looking to find the remedy for the issues that arose last week in order to ensure a better performance against Denver next time. San Diego is a stepping stone for the more talented Chiefs this Sunday.

Predicted Final Score: Kansas City 30, San Diego 20

Dallas Cowboys at New York Giants

The NFC East has been terrible in 2013, but that doesn’t mean Sunday’s battle between the New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys won’t be one of the best games fans witness all week.

New York lost their first six games of the season and was considered one of the worst teams in the league. After winning their last four and sitting just one game behind Dallas in the standings, there is a chance that the Giants could win the NFC East outright and make the postseason.

Big Blue will have to go through Dallas, though.

Team	Record	Win %	Division	Conference
Philadelphia Eagles	6-5	.545	3-2	5-2
Dallas Cowboys	5-5	.500	3-0	5-2
New York Giants	4-6	.400	1-2	3-4
Washington Redskins	3-7	.300	0-3	1-6

While the Cowboys haven’t found the consistency needed to run away with the division, the raw talent on the team will be too much for New York to hold off Sunday. Led by Tony Romo and the dynamic passing attack, Dallas will have the Giants on the ropes.

If the Cowboys can hold Andre Brown and the New York running game to a minimum Sunday, the Giants will be forced to lean on the gunslinging ways of Eli Manning, and that hasn’t turned out well thus far in 2013.

Predicted Final Score: Dallas 24, New York 20

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