NFL Predictions Week 12: Last-Minute Picks and Advice for Sunday's Schedule

The previously winless Oakland Raiders already beat the Kansas City Chiefs to start Week 12 of the NFL schedule, so let’s be realistic here—anything can happen in this league, even this late in the season.

Predictions can be made, but there are bound to be upsets, surprises and breakout players every week. That won’t change on Sunday. 

With that in mind, here is a look at some last-minute picks for every remaining game on the Week 12 slate and some brief advice/reasoning for each before digging into the lock of the week.

Matchup	Predicted Winner	Reason/Advice
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Chicago Bears	Bears	Chicago's offense finally turned the corner last game.
Cleveland Browns at Atlanta Falcons	Browns	Cleveland gets Josh Gordon back just in time to face vulnerable Atlanta secondary.
Tennessee Titans at Philadelphia Eagles	Eagles	See below
Detroit Lions at New England Patriots	Patriots	Lions offense continues to struggle and Tom Brady makes them pay on other side.
Green Bay Packers at Minnesota Vikings	Packers	Green Bay is a well-oiled machine right now.
Jacksonville Jaguars at Indianapolis Colts	Colts	Andrew Luck against the Jaguars...enough said.
Cincinnati Bengals at Houston Texans	Texans	J.J. Watt makes life difficult on the inconsistent Bengals offense.
Arizona Cardinals at Seattle Seahawks	Seahawks	The 12th man recognizes the importance of this game and shows up loud and proud.
St. Louis Rams at San Diego Chargers	Chargers	Philip Rivers responds in a must-win home game.
Miami Dolphins at Denver Broncos	Broncos	Bounce back time for Peyton Manning and the Broncos offense.
Washington at San Francisco 49ers	49ers	A lot of issues in Washington now, and traveling across the country won't help.
Dallas Cowboys at New York Giants	Cowboys	Eli Manning is fresh off five interceptions, while Dallas is fresh off a bye.
New York Jets at Buffalo Bills (in Detroit)	Bills	Bills defense is too strong for the Jets attack.
Baltimore Ravens at New Orleans Saints	Saints	Superdome magic returns for one game.

Lock of the Week: Philadelphia Eagles over Tennessee Titans

Mike Roemer/Associated Press

Motivation should not be a problem for the Philadelphia Eagles against the Tennessee Titans on Sunday.

Philadelphia was dismantled by Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers the last time out, 53-20, and it needs to bounce back considering it is tied with the Dallas Cowboys atop the NFC East. Fortunately, it will be at home where it has won nine straight regular-season games against a Titans team that has lost four in a row on the road. 

What’s more, the upset on Thursday could be a wake-up call for the favored Eagles, as Eliot Shorr-Parks of NJ.com pointed out:

The combination of rookie Jordan Matthews and Jeremy Maclin on the outside will be a serious problem for Tennessee. Maclin is turning heads on a weekly basis with a career year and has 921 receiving yards and nine touchdown catches (he has never posted 1,000 receiving yards or more than 10 touchdown catches in a season), but Matthews’ emergence makes this offense even more dangerous.

STATS NFL pointed out the rapport between Matthews and quarterback Mark Sanchez:

The one player who hasn’t performed beyond his typical level for the Eagles this year is star running back LeSean McCoy. McCoy led the league in rushing in 2013, but he is averaging fewer than four yards a carry.

Head coach Chip Kelly discussed McCoy’s struggles, according to STATS LLC, via ESPN.com: "I don't know if there is one thing. I think statistically there is (a drop-off from last year), but I think we're a different team. I think you've got to add everything to it. It's not just one guy."

Fortunately for McCoy, he will be facing a Titans defense that is abysmal against the run.

In fact, Tennessee is 31st in the league in stopping the opposing rushing attack and just allowed Le’Veon Bell to tally 204 yards on the ground in Week 11. Tennessee will have to devote too many defensive resources to slowing down the ground game, which will open up the red-hot Matthews and Maclin for big plays over the top.

Wade Payne/Associated Press

On the other side, the Eagles do not have a particularly impressive defense, but the Titans just don’t have the pieces to exploit it.

Tennessee is 25th in the NFL in passing yards and 26th in rushing yards, and Bishop Sankey is averaging fewer than four yards a carry. The lack of an established running game has made life particularly difficult for rookie quarterback Zach Mettenberger because opposing defenses can simply pin their ears back and attack him.

Connor Barwin has 10.5 sacks for the Eagles and will be a real problem in that regard if he doesn’t have to worry about the rushing game.

Ultimately, the Eagles have the talent advantage, are at home and are motivated coming off an embarrassing loss in Week 11. That combination will be too much for the overmatched Titans, and the Eagles will roll. 

Prediction: Eagles 34, Titans 13

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