NFL Picks Week 12: Expert Predictions, Odds Guide and Over-Under Lines

Thursday is an overstuffed day of NFL action thanks to the welcome tradition of football on Thanksgiving Day. 

There are three games on the slate for Thanksgiving, which means those fans making picks or bets have been under a little extra pressure to do their research early for Week 12.

While the traditional feast is being prepped, fans can watch the Detroit Lions host the Minnesota Vikings. The afternoon will see the Dallas Cowboys play the Washington Redskins, and fans looking to enjoy a post-meal game will take in the Indianapolis Colts hosting the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Even with a couple of extra games on the midweek docket, the Sunday lineup of games shouldn't seem barren. The bye weeks are in the past, so all 32 teams are suiting up this week. 

For a primer on Week 12, here's a look at the latest odds, over-under lines and expert predictions from around the web.

Matchup (w/ spread)	Over-Under	Andrew Lynch, Fox Sports	Joel Thorman, SB Nation	K.C. Joyner, ESPN	Elliot Harrison, NFL Network
Minnesota Vikings at Detroit Lions (-1)	41.5	Vikings	Lions	Lions	Vikings
Washington Redskins at Dallas Cowboys (-7)	52	Cowboys	Cowboys	Cowboys	Cowboys
Pittsburgh Steelers (-9) at Indianapolis Colts	48	Steelers	Steelers	Steelers	Steelers
Los Angeles Rams at New Orleans Saints (-7)	45	Saints	Saints	Saints	Saints
San Diego Chargers (-1.5) at Houston Texans	46	Chargers	Chargers	Texans	Texans
Tennessee Titans (-4.5) at Chicago Bears	42	Titans	Titans	Titans	Titans
Jacksonville Jaguars at Buffalo Bills (-7.5)	44.5	Bills	Bills	Bills	Bills
San Francisco 49ers at Miami Dolphins (-7.5)	44	Dolphins	Dolphins	Dolphins	Dolphins
Arizona Cardinals at Atlanta Falcons (-4)	50.5	Falcons	Cardinals	Falcons	Falcons
Cincinnati Bengals at Baltimore Ravens (-3.5)	40.5	Ravens	Ravens	Ravens	Ravens
New York Giants (-7) at Cleveland Browns	44	Giants	Giants	Giants	Giants
Seattle Seahawks (-6) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	45	Seahawks	Seahawks	Seahawks	Seahawks
Carolina Panthers at Oakland Raiders (-3)	49	Raiders	Panthers	Raiders	Raiders
New England Patriots (-7.5) at New York JEts	47	Patriots	Patriots	Patriots	Patriots
Kansas City Chiefs at Denver Broncos (-3)	39.5	Broncos	Broncos	Broncos	Broncos
Green Bay Packers at Philadelphia Eagles (-4)	47.5	Eagles	Packers	Eagles	Eagles

Washington Should Cover Against Dallas (-7)

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The Dallas Cowboys beat the Washington Redskins 27-23 in Week 2 of this season, and the NFC East rivals could be in store for a similarly close battle on Thursday. Both teams are led by bright young stars on offense and have been playing excellent football for most of the season.

The Cowboys own the best record in the league at 9-1, with their only blemish a one-point loss to the New York Giants in the season opener. Rookies Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott have been revelations in the backfield, propelling the Cowboys to 28.5 points per game. 

Working behind a brilliant offensive line, Elliott leads the league in rushing with 1,102 yards, and Prescott has looked wise beyond his years with 17 touchdown passes against just two interceptions. 

The Cowboys may appear nigh unstoppable, but the Redskins aren't looking too shabby themselves these days. Washington is 6-1-1 after dropping the first two games of the season. Rookie Rob Kelley has energized a long-dormant running game, racking up 321 yards and four touchdowns over the past three games. 

Quarterback Kirk Cousins (17 TDs, 7 INTs) is busy making waves on Vine again, which means the passing game is in fine working order as well. Cousins threw for 375 yards and three scores in a Week 11 shredding of the Green Bay Packers. 

Patrick Smith/Getty Images

Two offenses led by bright young stars should mean fans are in store for a back-and-forth thriller on Thursday. The Cowboys' lack of a pass rush will allow Cousins to keep his recent string of fine performances intact. He has a reliable target to move the chains in tight end Jordan Reed and an emerging big-play machine in wide receiver Jamison Crowder. 

Containing Elliott is going to be key to this game, as Washington can't rely on the rookie Prescott to make mental errors. Prescott has been preternaturally calm and collected in his debut season, so it's up to the defense to bend but not break and give the high-powered offense time to operate.

Toss in the madness and mistakes that are likely to come with the two teams playing on a short turnaround late in the season, and it's hard to imagine either team building up a huge advantage over the other. Washington should have no problem covering the spread in this one.

Tennessee (-4.5) Will Have Little Trouble Against Banged-Up Chicago

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The Tennessee Titans are a young team on the rise and will be looking to get back to .500 in Week 12 with a road win over the Chicago Bears. At 5-6, the Titans already have as many wins as they managed in the previous two seasons combined. Though the offense stumbled in a 24-17 loss to the Colts in Week 11, it's emerged as a pretty powerful unit.

Veteran running back DeMarco Murray leads a bruising running game, which has allowed second-year quarterback Marcus Mariota to take advantage of overeager defenses with play-action passes to tight end Delanie Walker and wide receiver Rishard Matthews.

Despite the recent cool down, the Titans are averaging 31.2 points over their past seven games and should be well-prepped to take advantage of the reeling Chicago Bears.

The Bears have suffered more than their fair share of injuries on both sides of the ball and have struggled to win games as a result. SB Nation's Harry Lyles Jr. has a quick rundown of the damage: 

"Since their first unofficial depth chart was released, the Bears have lost three quarterbacks, two wide receivers, a tight end, right guard, center, inside linebacker, outside linebacker and a cornerback."

Add in suspensions to wide receiver Alshon Jeffery and linebacker Jerrell Freeman, and the Bears are simply toothless on both sides of the ball. 

Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images

The latest blow is to quarterback Jay Cutler, who is dealing with a shoulder injury. Initially thought to be a season-ending knock, head coach John Fox has refuted those reports and told the Chicago Sun-Times' Mark Potash that Cutler could play against the Titans.

If he does suit up, Cutler will almost surely be less than 100 percent, and he's been underwhelming to begin with. Understudy Matt Barkley is in line to start if Cutler is unavailable, but he's no great threat to the Titans. Without a first-rate wide receiver in Jefferey or injured tight end Zach Miller, the Bears offense is likely to be dormant no matter who is leading the huddle. 

The Bears defense has done well despite the adversity to keep the Bears close in some games, but the Titans have weapons all over the field, from Murray's thunderous running to Mariota's scrambling to emerging rookie wideout Tajae Sharpe, who has scored in each of the last two games. The Titans should have no problem winning by at least a touchdown.

Take the Under in Rams-Saints

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The New Orleans Saints have been in plenty of high-scoring affairs this season, but if there's any team that can drag them into a murky, low-scoring plodder of a game, it's the Los Angeles Rams.

The over-under sits at 45.5 points, a fairly low hurdle to clear but still one the Rams have ducked under plenty of times this season. The Rams have scored 39 points in their last four games while holding opponents to a combined 50 points in that same span. 

Rookie quarterback Jared Goff did little to impress in his debut against the Miami Dolphins in Week 11, throwing for 134 yards without a touchdown or interception. The Saints have a paper-thin secondary, but there's little reason to expect a breakout game from a rookie who needed 11 weeks to finally take the starting job from the mediocre-at-best Case Keenum. 

Goff also didn't give the Saints any reason to abandon stacking the box and keying in on running back Todd Gurley, who has had little room to run all season. He broke through for a 24-yard touchdown run against the Dolphins but managed just 52 yards on his other 19 carries. The Saints are giving up 28.6 points per game this year but should be able to hold the Rams to well below that mark.

As for New Orleans' offense, it has a legitimately tough test against the Rams, whose defense ranks ninth in defense-adjusted value over average (DVOA) this season, per Football Outsiders. 

Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images

They held a red-hot Miami team to 14 points in Week 11 (though the soggy weather helped), and the disruptive defense has held opposing quarterbacks to an 87.8 rating and 216 passing yards per game, per ESPN.com. Drew Brees is always good for a couple of touchdowns at home, but  he might not get much more than that against the Rams this week.

If the Saints get an early lead, they can also chew clock with capable veteran running backs in Mark Ingram and Tim Hightower. With the Rams offense plodding but the defense doing well to pick up the slack, a 21-14 scoreline that fits in just under the over-under line for the game feels like a distinct possibility.
   
   
Note: Odds are courtesy of Odds Shark and updated as of Thursday, Nov. 24 at 12 p.m. ET. Expert picks are straight up, not against the spread.