NFL Week 12 Picks: Final Overview of Consensus Picks

Undoubtedly, most bettors are already behind the 8-ball when it comes to Week 12. A vast majority of the public really liked the Kansas City Chiefs to overcome the Oakland Raiders, and a 7.5-point spread, on Thursday Night Football. Well, that didn't happen.

Luckily, the week's remaining 14 contests will provide plenty of opportunities to get some of your well-earned cash back in your pockets. The public is already favoring several key matchups, so delving into some analysis for those games seems appropriate.

Will the consensus be right this time around, or will we see more betting tragedies on Sunday? Here's a look at the public's picks for each Week 12 contest.

Matchup	Spread	Consensus Pick
Cleveland at Atlanta	ATL -3	Browns, 55%
Tennessee at Philadelphia	PHI -11	Titans, 62%
Detroit at New England	NE -7.5	Patriots, 60%
Cincinnati at Houston	HOU -1	Bengals, 52%
Green Bay at Minnesota	GB -8	Packers, 61%
Tampa Bay at Chicago	CHI -5.5	Bears, 53%
Jacksonville at Indianapolis	IND -13.5	Colts, 52%
NY Jets at Buffalo*	BUF -2.5	Bills, 55%
Arizona at Seattle	SEA -7	Cardinals, 56%
St. Louis at San Diego	SD -5	Even
Washington at San Francisco	SF -9	49ers, 53%
Miami at Denver	DEN -7	Broncos, 52%
Dallas at NY Giants	DAL -3.5	Cowboys, 69%
Baltimore at New Orleans	NO -3	Ravens, 53%

All game odds courtesy of Odds Shark and current as of November 22.

Public Consensus Analysis

Dallas Cowboys (69 percent) at New York Giants

A majority of picks in Dallas' favor is no surprise here. The Cowboys have been one of the league's most dominant teams this season and already defeated the Giants by a 10-point margin back in Week 7.

Trends are extremely important in the NFL, and New York isn't riding a good one right now. In fact, the Giants have dropped their last five games dating back to an October 12 contest against the Philadelphia Eagles. During that span, quarterback Eli Manning has thrown seven touchdown passes against six interceptions—five of which came in Week 11 against the San Francisco 49ers.

Making matters worse, the Giants are dealing with uncertainty along the offensive line, highlighted in a tweet from Jordan Raanan of NJ.com:

On the other hand, Tony Romo has been the catalyst for the Dallas offense. The quarterback was injured against the Washington Redskins in Week 8 and was forced to miss the team's Week 9 contest against the Arizona Cardinals. The Cowboys lost both games as a result.

When Romo returned in Week 10 against the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Cowboys won by a two-touchdown margin. DeMarco Murray leads the league in rushing, and part of that is due to efficient quarterback play on a well-balanced offense. Murray has eclipsed the 100-yard rushing mark in all but one game this season—the one game Romo missed.

With the Cowboys offense rolling along nicely, and the Giants struggling to regain their form, the public appears to have this pick correct. Dallas will win by a substantial margin.

Prediction: Cowboys 30, Giants 21

Tennessee Titans (62 percent) at Philadelphia Eagles

The Eagles were favored by Vegas by a double-digit margin here. Taking the recent performances of both teams' quarterbacks into consideration, those odds appear to favor Tennessee.

Rookie quarterback Zach Mettenberger is just getting his feet wet in the NFL, but he showed some progress in Week 11 against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Dick LeBeau's defense generally isn't too kind to rookie signal-callers, but Mettenberger held up against the pressure, completing 15 of his 24 passing attempts for 263 yards, two touchdowns and one interception for a passer rating of 110.2.

The Titans have some speedy playmakers on the outside, making life easier for the strong-armed quarterback. Quick passes and bubble screens allow these receivers to get the ball in space and create yards after the catch, and when the defense cheats forward, Mettenberger can use his arm to take the top off the secondary. That strategy worked nicely against Pittsburgh, and that should continue in Week 12 against Philadelphia's 28th-ranked pass defense.

ESPN's Adam Caplan tweeted noticeable improvements made by the quarterback lately:

Meanwhile, Eagles quarterback Mark Sanchez reverted to his turnover-prone ways in Week 11 against the Green Bay Packers, throwing two interceptions (one returned for a touchdown) and losing two fumbles (one returned for a touchdown). The Titans have a very underrated pass defense, ranking ninth in the league, and the team's secondary is talented enough to give Sanchez some problems.

Philadelphia is still the superior team all the way around; however, Mettenberger should be able to keep this game close against the enigmatic Sanchez.

Prediction: Eagles 27, Titans 24

Green Bay Packers (61 percent) at Minnesota Vikings

Remember what happened the last time these teams met? Aaron Rodgers lit up the scoreboard early and often, leaving the game in favor of backup Matt Flynn because Green Bay jumped out to an enormous lead. The Packers wound up winning 42-10.

Things have continued to go very well for Green Bay's offense since. Following that Week 5 clash against the Vikings, the Packers accumulated a 4-1 record and have put up more than 50 points in each of their last two contests.

Meanwhile, the Vikings offense hasn't exactly been as dynamic. Since their last meeting against Green Bay, the team has gone 2-3 and has scored fewer than 20 points in four of those five contests. That's not a good sign, considering the Packers currently lead the league, averaging 33.0 points per game.

At least there is some silver lining for the Vikings, via NFL Network's Albert Breer:

Minnesota's pass defense is very good this season, ranking eighth in the league. However, it's been difficult for any team to contain Aaron Rodgers lately. Rookie Teddy Bridgewater hasn't thrown more than one touchdown pass in any game this season, and that trend is likely to continue against Green Bay's 13th-ranked pass defense.

To put it simply, the Vikings just don't have the firepower to keep up with the Packers. Green Bay may not put up a 50-point showing on the road, but it will score enough to beat the spread.

Prediction: Packers 35, Vikings 20