NFL Week 12 Predictions: Early Projections for Vegas Odds, Lines and Spreads

Thanksgiving week is often a memorable time for football handicappers. While most of us enjoy the two-day break at the end of the week to enjoy family, friends and turkey—not necessarily in that order—it's the smorgasbord of football that truly whets the appetite.

Three NFL games on Thanksgiving Day can be too many for some family members who don't have the appreciation for the game that most of us do. So, you make trade-offs, you may skip the early game in Detroit so you can watch the late game in Green Bay and at least half of the second game in Dallas. Everyone has his or her own way, and keeping the peace is vital to enjoying one of the best football holidays of the year.

We recommend giving the second game between the Carolina Panthers and the Dallas Cowboys your full attention. The Panthers have shockingly gotten off to a 10-0 start and are running away with the NFC South division, and well on their way to earning the No. 1 seed in the NFC.

The Cowboys season went sideways in Week 2 when Tony Romo suffered a collarbone injury that didn't allow him to return to the lineup until Sunday. The Cowboys lost all seven games he was out, but he returned to lead Dallas to a 24-14 win at Miami.

They go home to try to knock the undefeated Panthers off their perch. Even with 10 straight wins, it's very difficult to believe the Panthers will go through the season without a loss. They are not a perfect team, and they lack big playmakers at the wide receiver position. Cam Newton has played well this year, but he is not a classic dropback passer, and he has lapses in his accuracy.

The Cowboys are just 3-7 and almost certainly out of playoff contention. However, they play in the NFC East, where the 5-5 New York Giants are in first place.

All the Cowboys have to do is string seven wins together to get back in the race. While that's highly doubtful, there's no reason why they couldn't make it two in a row and hand the Panthers their first loss.

The game is rated as even, according to Odds Shark. The Panthers would love to stay undefeated, but the Cowboys want to show the rest of the league that they are still dangerous, and we think they will outlast the visitors and get the much-needed win.

Game	Line	Selection
Phialdelphia at Detroit	Detroit -1	Detroit
Carolina at Dallas	Even	Dallas
Chicago at Green Bay	Green Bay -9.5	Chicaog
Minnesota at Atlanta	Atlanta -2.5	Minnesota
St. Louis at Cincinnati	No line	Cincinnati
New Orleans at Houston	Houston -3	Houston
Tampa Bay at Indianapolis	Indianapolis -3	Tampa Bay
San Diego at Jacksonville	Jacksonville -4	Jacksonville
Buffalo at Kansas City	No line	Kansas City
Miami at New York Jets	New York Jets -3.5	New York Jets
Oakland at Tennessee	Oakland -1	Tennessee
New York Giants at Washington	Even	New York Giants
Arizona at San Francisco	No line	Arizona
Pittsburgh at Seattle	Seattle -5.5	Pittsburgh
New England at Denver	No line	New England
Baltimore at Cleveland	No line	Cleveland

Vikings have the power game to bounce back

The Minnesota Vikings were on a roll heading into Week 11, having won five games in a row.

They appeared to be ready to stretch their NFC North lead over the struggling Green Bay Packers to two games if they could have gotten the best of the Pack at home in Week 11.

However, Aaron Rodgers and the Packers stopped struggling when they lined up against Minnesota. Green Bay played a sharp game and took advantage of Minnesota's mistakes, and came away with a 30-13 victory.

The Vikings shot themselves in the foot with penalties (eight for 110 yards), but they were not outfought or outworked. There's no reason Mike Zimmer's team should stop believing in itself.

Rising teams often face difficulties on the way up, and losing focus may have hurt the Vikings in that crucial game against Green Bay, but it can be a learning experience.

The Vikings need to get right back to business this week at Atlanta. The Falcons were one of the sharpest teams in the league the first six weeks of the season, but they have lost four of their last five games, and they are making too many mistakes.

The Falcons are 2.5-point favorites, but the wrong team is getting the edge. The Vikings have a power running game led by Adrian Peterson that should knock the Falcons back on their heels, and quarterback Teddy Bridgewater will deliver the knockout blow.

Look for the Vikings to bounce back from the Green Bay loss and pick up the victory as road underdogs.

Gary Hershorn/Associated Press

Giants rate slight edge over Redskins

The Giants have had time to get over their heartbreaking last-second 27-26 loss to the New England Patriots in Week 10.

The Giants traded punches with the Patriots for nearly 60 minutes, and they didn't go down to defeat until Stephen Gostkowski connected on a 54-yard field goal on the game's penultimate play.

Yes, that was painful, but it was also the Giants' best game of the season. Even with that loss, the Giants are in first place in their division. They have a chance to get back on the winning track in Washington.

The Redskins have played well at home, winning four of five games at FedEx Field. Kirk Cousins fired four TD passes in leading the Redskins to a 47-14 win over New Orleans in their last home game. They should be ready to play against New York after getting beaten decisively by the Panthers in Week 11.

But the Giants have Eli Manning, Odell Beckham Jr. and Rueben Randle. That trio is just too formidable for the Redskins.

The oddsmakers have rated this game as even, and we believe the Giants are the more talented and better team, and will find a way to leave the nation's capital with the victory.