NFL Week 12 Picks: Early Predictions for Every Game

Week 11 may have produced the most befuddling Sunday we've seen this season. If someone were to tell you on Saturday that the Denver Broncos would only score seven points on the St. Louis Rams, or that the Atlanta Falcons would be leading the NFC South by the end of the day, you'd probably have that person committed.   

Well, those conclusions—and several others that were just as unexpected—came to fruition after a crazy day on the gridiron. Sometimes we can benefit from our gut reactions following shocking results, so looking ahead to Week 12 seems to be the next course of action.

With just one Monday Night Football contest remaining between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Tennessee Titans, Vegas oddsmakers have already set opening lines for next week's contests. Here's a look at the spread and corresponding pick for each.

Matchup	Spread	Pick ATS	Reason
Kansas City at Oakland	KC -6	Chiefs	Kansas City continues to be one of the league's most complete teams.
Cleveland at Atlanta	ATL -3	Falcons	The Falcons have the momentum and are at home.
Tennessee at Philadelphia	PHI -10.5	Eagles	The Titans don't have the kind of defense the Eagles saw in Green Bay.
Detroit at New England	NE -5.5	Patriots	The Patriots can score points consistently, the Lions can't.
Cincinnati at Houston	Even	Bengals	See analysis below.
Green Bay at Minnesota	GB -7.5	Packers	Not many teams can keep up with Aaron Rodgers right now.
Tampa Bay at Chicago	CHI -5	Bears	Even Jay Cutler can find success against Tampa Bay's secondary.
Jacksonville at Indianapolis	IND -14	Colts	There will be far too much Andrew Luck for the Jaguars to handle.
NY Jets at Buffalo	BUF -3.5	Jets	The Bills' red-zone struggles will do them in again vs. the Jets.
Arizona at Seattle	SEA -5.5	Cardinals	Even without Carson Palmer, Arizona is the league's best all-around team right now.
St. Louis at San Diego	SD -6	Chargers	The Rams are as inconsistent as anyone, and the Chargers are coming off a better defensive performance.
Washington at San Francisco	SF -7.5	49ers	Both of these teams are struggling, but the 49ers have the talent to make up for it.
Miami at Denver	DEN -7.5	Broncos	Expect a huge rebound from Peyton Manning, regardless of injuries.
Dallas at NY Giants	DAL -2.5	Cowboys	See analysis below.
Baltimore at New Orleans	N/A	Saints	The Ravens haven't been consistent, and the Saints won't lose three in a row at home.

All game lines courtesy of Odds Shark and current as of November 16.

Early Odds to Bet

Cincinnati Bengals (even) at Houston Texans

Bill Haber/Associated Press

What a difference a healthy A.J Green can make for the Bengals offense. The All-Pro wide receiver was hampered by a toe injury that appeared to have been lingering even after his return, but in Week 11, he finally looked full speed.

The NFL's official Twitter account seemed to agree:

Green's presence really affected quarterback Andy Dalton, who looked like a completely different player under center. He completed 16 of his 22 passing attempts for 220 yards and three touchdowns for a passer rating of 143.9. With Jeremy Hill looking like a great option out of the backfield following his 152-yard performance, this Bengals offense is well-rounded and full of momentum.

The Texans afforded quarterback Ryan Mallett his first career start against the Cleveland Browns in Week 11. He fared well, completing 20 of his 30 passing attempts for 211 yards, two touchdowns and one interception as Houston opted for a run-heavy offense.

Judging by Cincinnati's defensive performance in Week 11, it may be hard for the Texans to duplicate their performance. New Orleans Saints running back Mark Ingram was held to just 2.9 yards per carry, as the Bengals were flying all over the field.

Cincinnati looks like the clear superior team heading into Week 12, so an even line is a very favorable bet.

Prediction: Bengals 27, Texans 17

Dallas Cowboys (-2.5) at New York Giants

Bill Kostroun/Associated Press

The Giants offense looked hapless against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 11. Eli Manning produced his worst game of the season, completing 22 of his 45 passing attempts for one touchdown and five interceptions for a passer rating of 36.6. Making matters worse, the return of running back Rashad Jennings didn't exactly provide a jolt, as the ball-carrier averaged just 3.3 yards per rush.

Pro Football Talk had to repeat the quarterback's amount of interceptions to let the huge total sink in:

With the Cowboys inactive due to a bye week, rest assured the entire team and coaching staff took in every moment of New York's contest on Sunday. Dallas will have a great advantage coming off the bye, as it can prepare to exploit the Giants' weaknesses while New York scrambles to fix them.

One argument in favor of the Giants could simply be the fact they were still in contention late in the game against the 49ers despite all of the turnovers. While that may be true, San Francisco hasn't exactly had the most prolific offense this season. It's been a different story for Dallas.

DeMarco Murray has been nearly unstoppable this season. In fact, he's rushed for at least 100 yards in every game that quarterback Tony Romo started this season. Considering the Giants allowed an average of 5.0 yards per carry to Frank Gore on Sunday, we should be expecting another big day from the Cowboys ball-carrier.

With Dallas coming off a bye week and boasting an offense that has been steamrolling opponents, and with the Giants continuing to find an identity while riding a five-game skid, the easy money is on the Cowboys with such a minimal point spread.

Prediction: Cowboys 31, Giants 20