Week 12 NFL Picks: Guaranteed Winners for Sunday's Key Matchups

Huge Week 12 matchups like the Denver Broncos squaring off against the New England Patriots and the Dallas Cowboys taking on the division-rival New York Giants have the NFL world ready to make its picks for Sunday’s intriguing slate of games.

With so many divisional battles and playoff implications, football fans can’t miss all of Week 12’s action.

Here are the predictions for all of this week’s remaining games and a full breakdown 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 (9-1) at New England Patriots (7-3)

The matchup that is stealing all the headlines this week is the AFC battle between potential Super Bowl contending Denver Broncos and the New England Patriots.

Each franchise boasts a future Hall of Fame quarterback in Peyton Manning and Tom Brady.

While Manning has been dominating defenses all season and is a serious favorite to win the MVP award, Tom Brady has been the polar opposite in 2013.

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

Manning will continue to put up his gaudy offensive numbers against the Patriots’ average pass defense, but the big story in this game will be Brady’s inability to keep pace with his longtime foe.

These two veteran quarterbacks have gone head-to-head 13 times in their career. On Sunday night, Manning and the talented Broncos offensive unit will walk out of Foxborough as the unquestioned favorites to win the Super Bowl.

Predicted Final Score: Denver 30, New England 24

Dallas Cowboys (5-5) at New York Giants (4-6)

The NFC East could be the worst division in all of football this year, but the battle between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants on Sunday will be a clear determination of which team is the class of the field.

Dallas has more talent than New York and will win Sunday’s matchup.

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

Led by Tony Romo, the Cowboys have played consistent football on the offensive side of the ball—excepting last week’s game against the New Orleans Saints—and will look to put up big points on the porous Giants defense.

Dallas boasts a mediocre defense of its own, but the lack of consistency from Eli Manning and the entire New York offense this season lends credence to the notion that Big Blue won’t be able to take advantage of the situation.

If the Cowboys defense can stiffen up in key moments, New York will be handed a bitter loss.

Predicted Final Score: Dallas 24, New York 20

Carolina Panthers (7-3) at Miami Dolphins (5-5)

The Miami Dolphins are trying to find any kind of chemistry possible at this point, but they will be the latest victim in the Carolina Panthers' surprise run at a wild-card berth—or even possibly a division win if the Saints falter.

Miami is a talented team, but Carolina will be looking to send a message to the rest of the NFL that it is a serious Super Bowl contender.

Not only is young quarterback Cam Newton continuing to develop into the dual-threat weapon the franchise thought it was drafting initially, but the running game is also continuing to find consistency week after week.

The offense is talented, but this team’s real strength is on the defensive side of the ball. The Panthers are fifth against the pass, allowing just 209.5 yards per game, and are third against the run, allowing a stingy 84.5 yards.

If the Dolphins aren’t 100 percent focused on the task at hand, Carolina will win in lopsided fashion.

Predicted Final Score: Carolina 24, Miami 10

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