NFL Picks Week 12: Updated Lines and Final-Score Predictions for All Games

If Week 11 taught us anything, it's that anything can happen on any given Sunday in the NFL. Injuries mounted for the Denver Broncos, and they couldn't overcome the underdog St. Louis Rams as a result. The Arizona Cardinals notched a big win by completely shutting down All-Pro wide receiver Calvin Johnson. The Green Bay Packers let the league know they're virtually unbeatable at home.

Whether you expected all or none of those scenarios, it's difficult to argue the NFL's unpredictability.

We should be in store for more of the same in Week 12. We're nearing the final stretch of the season, and playoff contenders are looking to emerge from the pack. That can make life difficult for bettors, so it's important to know which lines to avoid and which to wager.

Before we take an in-depth look at some of the week's most favorable odds, let's first check out the full Week 12 slate of games, their corresponding lines and final-score predictions.

Matchup	Spread	Prediction
Kansas City at Oakland	KC -7.5	Chiefs, 30-10
Cleveland at Atlanta	ATL -3	Falcons, 27-23
Tennessee at Philadelphia	PHI -11	Eagles, 31-26
Detroit at New England	NE -7.5	Patriots, 27-16
Cincinnati at Houston	HOU -1	Bengals, 27-20
Green Bay at Minnesota	GB -9	Packers, 38-20
Tampa Bay at Chicago	CHI -5	Bears, 24-20
Jacksonville at Indianapolis	IND -13.5	Colts, 34-16
NY Jets at Buffalo	BUF -4.5	Bills, 23-17
Arizona at Seattle	SEA -7	Seahawks, 16-13
St. Louis at San Diego	SD -4	Rams, 23-21
Washington at San Francisco	SF -9	49ers, 28-10
Miami at Denver	DEN -7	Broncos, 30-20
Dallas at NY Giants	DAL -3	Cowboys, 27-23
Baltimore at New Orleans	NO -3	Saints, 31-24

All game lines courtesy of Odds Shark and current as of November 18.

Week 12 Odds Analysis

Kansas City Chiefs (-7.5) at Oakland Raiders

Wesley Hitt/Getty Images

Remember when the beginning of the season featured all of those Thursday Night Football blowouts? Well, get ready for another one.

It's really simple in this case: The Chiefs are good at everything the Raiders are bad at and vice versa. Perhaps the best way to hammer this point home is with a visual aid:

Team	vs. Run	Run Offense	vs. Pass	Pass Offense
Chiefs	25th	4th	1st	31st
Raiders	27th	32nd	12th	26th

So, here's the big takeaway. The Raiders are a terrible running team. Their small amount of offense comes in the passing game, and they're about to face the league's top-ranked unit. While Oakland fares well against the pass, it can't stop the run, and Kansas City utilizes a run-heavy offense.

The Chiefs were able to get Jamaal Charles going against a stingy Seattle Seahawks defense in Week 11. Riding Charles and playing stout defense earned Kansas City the win. Expect bigger things from the same strategy against a hapless Raiders team in Week 12.

Prediction: Chiefs 30, Raiders 20

Green Bay Packers (-9) at Minnesota Vikings

Mike Zarrilli/Getty Images

It's actually pretty amazing this line hasn't reached the double-digit mark yet. After all, remember what happened the last time these teams met? Aaron Rodgers lit up the Vikings early and often. He was pulled from the game due to a lopsided scoreboard that resulted in a 42-10 Packers win.

Sure, Rodgers isn't playing at Lambeau Field this time around, but he will be nice and comfortable in a dome setting. Green Bay's signal-caller has thrown 28 touchdown passes against just three interceptions this year, and that fantastic ratio is set to improve in a pass-friendly climate.

Rodgers has been playing so well that he's been laughing at opponents, via Around the NFL:

On the other hand, you have the Vikings offense. Rookie quarterback Teddy Bridgewater is going through the motions and getting his feet wet in the NFL. This team has struggled to get points on the board throughout the season and has eclipsed the 20-point mark just three times.

The Packers defense hasn't been very good against the run this season, but that may not matter if Rodgers comes out of the gate with guns blazing. An early Green Bay lead will force Minnesota's hand and require more passing than it would like. That was the case when these teams met in Week 5, as the Vikings rushed just 25 times.

Don't expect the outcome to be much different this time around.

Prediction: Packers 38, Vikings 20

Washington Redskins at San Francisco 49ers (-9)

Bill Kostroun/Associated Press

Here's another big spread that will wind up benefiting bettors who opt for the favorite. The 49ers have won by more than nine points just twice this season, but there's every reason to believe they'll do it again in Week 12 against a reeling Redskins team.

Colin Kaepernick hasn't been very good this season, but he is quietly keeping pace with his 2013 numbers. He's simply been plagued by a little more inconsistency than usual. One big reason for that is San Francisco's change to a pass-first offense. According to TeamRankings.com, the 49ers are passing 54.48 percent of the time, up from 47.77 in 2013.

That began to change against the Giants in Week 11. Kaepernick recorded 29 pass attempts, but the team ran a total of 37 times. The end result was 35 minutes of possession and a road victory. Here's why that strategy will pay off in Week 12.

Robert Griffin III is playing some very bad football right now. He completed 23 of his 32 passing attempts for 207 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions for a passer rating of 73.3 against a porous Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense in Week 11. He hasn't been able to get any kind of a rhythm going since returning from injury, and that was apparent due to his terrible accuracy on the deep ball.

Making matters worse, the quarterback's poor play led to some scrutiny from Hall of Fame signal-caller Steve Young, via NFL on CBS:

If San Francisco continues to run the ball and chew up clock, Griffin won't be able to get into any kind of a groove. That will lead to more inaccurate passes against a secondary that just picked off Eli Manning five times. Roll with the home team in this one.

Prediction: 49ers 28, Redskins 10