NFL Predictions Week 12: Forecasting Biggest Inter-Conference Clashes

The 2014 NFL season is beginning to reach the critical stage of the regular season.

Most teams in contention for the playoffs have six games left, which means a poor three- or four-game stretch could make the difference between going to the postseason and sitting at home come January.

By now, the teams with real playoff aspirations have by and large completely distanced themselves completely from the hunt, which makes this week's slate of games somewhat underwhelming. On paper, the majority of the games look one-sided and predictable.

A few matchups are particularly juicy, especially those that pit one conference against another. The stakes are somewhat lowered in those cases because the division standings aren't directly impacted, but they have playoff implications nonetheless.

Time (ET)	Away	Home	Line	Straight Up Pick
Sunday
1 p.m.	Cleveland Browns	Atlanta Falcons	ATL -3	CLE
1 p.m.	Tennessee Titans	Philadelphia Eagles	PHI -10.5	PHI
1 p.m.	Detroit Lions	New England Patriots	NE -5.5	See Below
1 p.m.	Green Bay Packers	Minnesota Vikings	GB -7.5	MIN
1 p.m.	Jacksonville Jaguars	Indianapolis Colts	IND -14	IND
1 p.m.	Cincinnati Bengals	Houston Texans	Even	HOU
1 p.m.	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Chicago Bears	CHI -5	CHI
4:05 p.m.	Arizona Cardinals	Seattle Seahawks	SEA -5.5	SEA
4:05 p.m.	St. Louis Rams	San Diego Chargers	SD -6	SD
4:25 p.m.	Washington Redskins	San Francisco 49ers	SF -7.5	SF
4:25 p.m.	Miami Dolphins	Denver Broncos	DEN -7.5	DEN
8:30 p.m.	Dallas Cowboys	New York Giants	DAL -2.5	NYG
Monday
7 p.m.	New York Jets	Buffalo Bills	BUF -3.5	BUF
8:30 p.m.	Baltimore Ravens	New Orleans Saints	NO -3	See Below

Note: Opening lines are courtesy of Odds Shark.

New England Patriots vs. Detroit Lions

As good as the Detroit Lions defense is, last week proved that the team needs something from the offense in order to beat really good teams. The Lions could only manage 292 yards of total offense against the Arizona Cardinals in a 14-6 loss.

The New England Patriots aren't quite at the Cardinals' level defensively, but they have a unit that sits in the top half of the league. New England's also riding a six-game winning streak, having beaten the Denver Broncos and Indianapolis Colts by 20-plus points apiece.

This game could well be decided by LeGarrette Blount. The Pats signed the veteran running back on Thursday after he was released by the Pittsburgh Steelers.

As CBS Sports' Jason La Canfora tweeted out, the timing of the deal is extremely lucky after Bill Belichick sent Jonas Gray home from practice after Gray showed up late, per Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald:

Now, you just know Blount will revert to his 2013 self and have some sort of crazy performance like he had against the Colts in last year's playoffs, because that's how things go for the Patriots:

The Lions will have their hands full worrying about Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman. Throw Blount into the mix, and Detroit won't stand much of a chance.

Calvin Johnson vs. Darrelle Revis will be an interesting matchup to watch. The early edge arguably goes to Revis, as the Patriots are fourth in the league in defense-adjusted value over average when defending No. 1 wide receivers, according to Football Outsiders.

Patrick Peterson kept Megatron largely in check last week as well, with Johnson catching five passes for 59 yards. While Peterson's the best corner in the game, Revis remains a Pro Bowl-caliber player who should prevent Johnson from having a huge game.

This game will be extremely close, with New England riding a strong performance from Blount to a narrow victory.

Prediction: New England 24, Detroit 20

New Orleans Saints vs. Baltimore Ravens

The New Orleans Saints can't possibly lose three games in a row at home, can they?

The team's been sucked into the vortex that is the NFC South. The entire division is a complete mess, with the 2-8 Carolina Panthers just two games off the lead. Each time you think the Saints can escape the morass, they get dragged down further.

Something has to change. Former NFL veterans Jon Vilma and Chris Simms discussed on Bleacher Report's Team Stream Now whether the answer might be focusing away from Drew Brees and the passing game—long a hallmark of the team.

The Baltimore Ravens, meanwhile, are stuck in the toughest division in the NFL. At 6-4, they're tied with the Cleveland Browns for the worst record in the AFC North.

Looking at this matchup, some are focusing on Brandin Cooks' injury and what it means for Jimmy Graham. The simple analysis is that the Ravens secondary can focus more on the Saints tight end with Cooks out of the picture.

New Orleans head coach Sean Payton analyzed the situation, per the team's website:

"

Well, it falls on, and this has happened with us before with regards to a number of different players, and it falls on the rest of the group picking up his touches. It's the receivers, the running backs candidates that would be doing some of the same thing, mostly the receivers.

"

Bill Haber/Associated Press

Surprisingly, however, Graham's numbers are actually better in the Saints' six losses than in their four wins. When New Orleans lost, he's averaged 6.5 receptions for 65.2 yards and 0.83 touchdowns. Those numbers are 5.0, 58.0 and 0.5, respectively, when New Orleans has won.

The biggest issue for New Orleans is whether it can stop the Baltimore offense. Football Outsiders ranks the Saints 30th in total defense. Jeremy Hill went off for 152 yards last week in a 27-10 win for the Bengals.

Joe Flacco's played well in domes historically, throwing for 1,211 yards, eight touchdowns and an interception in four games. His QB rating is also 12 points better than it is when he plays outdoors. That strong run should continue against New Orleans' questionable secondary.

The Saints don't deserve the benefit of the doubt anymore. They might just be bad.

Prediction: Baltimore 24, New Orleans 17