NFL Picks Week 12: The Best Situational Matchups for This Week's Games

Week 12 of the NFL season stands to create some pretty interesting matchups on the Thanksgiving menu as well as on the weekend.

With no shortage of good games to watch, there are also several intriguing story lines that will be a must-see for all football fans.

Most teams will be battling for a chance at the playoffs, while others will be trying to ruin their opponents' season without a single thing to gain.

Here's what to watch for.

San Francisco 49ers vs. Baltimore Ravens

The Thanksgiving battle between the San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Ravens is hands down the must-see game of the week.

As far as interesting storylines are concerned, this matchup will pit two brothers against one another who just happen to be the coaches of two of the best teams in the NFL.

Jim and John Harbaugh have their teams playing at a high level, with both sitting atop of their respective divisions. Family bragging rights will be on the line as these two brothers will square off for the first time.

It's a Thanksgiving family get-together of a different kind.

The Niners have one of the best rushing attacks in football with Frank Gore in the backfield, but don't look for him to have too much success this week.

The Ravens should be able to slow San Fran's sixth-ranked rushing attack, forcing Alex Smith to carry his team on his back. He might have been able to lead his team to victory against the Arizona Cardinals with a stellar game in Week 11, but the Cardinals couldn't shine the Ravens' shoes on both sides of the ball.

With a one-dimensional attack, Smith will be exposed and have one of his worst games of the season.

Joe Flacco will have to do more offensively this week as the 49ers' top-ranked run defense should be able to shut down Ray Rice.

With two unreliable quarterbacks being forced to carry their respective teams, this should be an ugly one with the better quarterback, in this case Joe Flacco, slightly coming out on top.

Prediction: Ravens 17, 49ers 10

Green Bay Packers vs. Detroit Lions

The story line of the Green Bay Packers putting their undefeated record on the line against the Detroit Lions is enough to carry this game alone, but it will also be one of the best matchups of Week 12.

On Thanksgiving Day, the Lions will take their eighth-ranked pass offense up against the Packers, who are sporting one of the worst pass defenses in the NFL.

Matthew Stafford just lit up the Carolina Panthers for five touchdowns after a slow start last week and should have no problem putting up similar numbers against Green Bay.

The Pack saw Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Josh Freeman put on a show through the air in Week 11, throwing for 342 yards and two touchdowns.

If there's a way to beat the Packers, it's to stretch the field by throwing the ball and sneaking in a run or two to keep them honest.

This may be one of the best chances for Green Bay to lose this season, but it won't be easy. The defending Super Bowl champs do have the best quarterback in the league with Aaron Rodgers behind center, but the Lions' fifth-ranked pass defense should give him slightly more trouble then he's used to.

Still, I can't logically pick against Rodgers and the Packers until they actually lose a game this season, so clearly I'm riding the Green Bay train until it hits the end of the tracks.

Look for this to be an offensive bloodbath with a ton of yardage being gained through the air without a shred of defense in sight.

Prediction: Packers 41, Lions 34

Dallas Cowboys vs. Miami Dolphins

The Week 12 matchup between the Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins is an intriguing one to say the least.

Both teams find themselves surging late in the season, but only the Cowboys have realistic playoff aspirations.

That's not to say the Dolphins should be taken lightly, as they have proven they can play with a ton of heart and determination when they want to.

The Dolphins are the perfect team to create some upsets during the final six games of the season and contributing to the regular-season failures of some teams down the road.

Last week they deflated the Buffalo Bills' whole season with a 35-8 blowout victory.

Despite their ability to stop the run with the seventh-ranked run defense in the NFL, Miami won't be able to stop Tony Romo, Dez Bryant and Dallas' sixth-ranked passing attack. That alone should be enough to lead the Cowboys to a win.

I still expect this game to be close if the Dolphins continue to bring the same effort that has them riding a three-game winning streak. The Washington Redskins made the Cowboys sweat last week and I feel the Dolphins have the potential to do the same with the game being close going into the fourth quarter.

Prediction: Cowboys 24, Miami 13

Cincinnati Bengals vs. Cleveland Browns

If there's anything that Andy Dalton of the Cincinnati Bengals has proven this season, it's that he can hang in the NFL. The Bengals rookie is making a strong case for rookie of the year honors this season with his consistent, solid play week in and week out.

He will be up against a tough challenge in Week 12 though, facing the Cleveland Browns and their top-ranked pass defense.

Dalton should have a slow go of it in this matchup, and look for the Bengals to lean on their rushing attack a bit more, seeing as how the Browns couldn't stop a pee-wee football team.

The Bengals offense won't have to do much offensively in this game to win. Despite a pleasant surprise of a season from Colt McCoy, the Browns still couldn't move the ball downfield in any aspect of their offense to save their lives.

To add insult to injury, their horrid offense will have to move the ball against the Bengals defense, which is one of the best in the NFL.

This will be an important game for the Bengals after losing two close, but promising games to the Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers the last two weeks.

With serious playoff implications in this one, I expect Cincy to come out motivated and ready to physically beat down the Browns in Week 12.

Prediction: Bengals 20, Browns 6

Denver Broncos vs. San Diego Chargers

Tim Tebow has been riding a wave of success in 2011 since being named the starting quarterback for the Denver Broncos. He hasn't done it in the most conventional of ways, but a win's a win and that's all that matters.

The San Diego Chargers on the other hand have struggled mightily, losing five consecutive close games in a row.

The Broncos can flat-out run the ball so expect the Chargers to cheat on the run, forcing Tebow to throw the ball, which has proven to be a major weakness in Denver's game.

Denver will need another dominant performance from its defense this week, but that will be considerably more difficult against a much better offense than it faced in Week 11 against the New York Jets.

In fact, the last good passing attack the Broncos faced was against Detroit in Week 7, which ended in a 45-10 blowout in favor of the Lions.

The Chargers have what the Jets didn't: a good quarterback. Expect Philip Rivers to throw the ball all over the place, gaining a ton of yards and scoring a ton of points in the process.

This won't be another low-scoring affair that seems to be the types of games the Broncos need to play in if they want to win with Tebow behind center.

Eventually this losing streak has got to end and being that the Broncos are the worst team San Diego has played in over five weeks, the Chargers should have no problem winning this one and moving into second place in the wacky AFC West.

Prediction: Chargers 30, Broncos 10

Philadelphia Eagles vs. New England Patriots

There is no other way to say it: the New England Patriots defense is horrendous. On the other side of the spectrum, Tom Brady leads one of the best offenses, and specifically passing attacks, in the NFL.

Putting that aside for a second, let's concentrate on New England's defense going up against the league's best rushing attack in LeSean McCoy and the Philadelphia Eagles.

McCoy has had a monster season in 2011, which has been the exact opposite of what his team has done. Still, McCoy should be able to start a new touchdown streak against the Pats after scoring a touchdown in each of his first nine games this season.

We should get a good idea of just how good the Eagles' beefed-up secondary is when Brady starts to throw the ball downfield.

If the Eagles are smart, they will try and make New England beat them on the ground, allowing Nnamdi Asomugha, Dominic Rodgers-Cromartie and Asante Samuel do their thing in the secondary against the Pats' top-ranked passing attack.

Expect the Eagles to move the ball well down the field on the ground, with their success through the air, depending upon the return of Michael Vick which at this point, looks like a real possibility.

Prediction: Eagles 24, Patriots 21

Houston Texans vs. Jacksonville Jaguars

Just when it looked like the Houston Texans were going to cruise to the playoffs, they lost quarterback Matt Schaub to a season-ending injury.

In his first start of the season, Matt Leinart will find himself trying to keep the Texans on track to not only make the playoffs, but win their division as well.

He will have his work cut out for him this week, going up against a tough Jacksonville Jaguars team that is the fourth-ranked pass defense in the NFL.

The Texans have a unique advantage though, sporting a two-headed rushing attack with Arian Foster and Ben Tate that can take a ton of pressure off Leinart and require less work from the former USC Trojan.

The Jags rush defense isn't as impressive as their pass defense and that should be enough to spring Houston's running game, ultimately propelling them to victory.

Not to mention, Blaine Gabbert and the Jags passing attack is still a work in progress as the worst in the NFL. And just when you thought Maurice Jones-Drew might bail out Jacksonville's offense, the Texans are coming into this game with the fourth-best run defense in all of football.

Prediction: Texans 26, Jaguars 3

Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Kansas City Chiefs

This is a game with division-winning implications for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Being that I already have the Ravens winning on Thanksgiving, the Steelers will need to win this game to keep even with Baltimore.

The Kansas City Chiefs have been the most inconsistent team in football this year, and don't expect that to get any better with the loss of Matt Cassel to a season-ending hand injury.

The Steelers defense is ranked third and sixth against the pass and run, respectively, making it a nightmare scenario for Cassel's replacement, Tyler Palko. If the rookie thinks he had a tough time with the Pats' amateur defense, just wait until he has to see Pittsburgh.

Even with Cassel, the Chiefs had one of the worst passing attacks in the NFL.

Pittsburgh's offense should have no problem moving the ball down the field in any aspect it chooses, whether running or passing, making every possession a long and grueling one for the Chiefs' horrid defense.

Expect a ton of pain and turnovers for the Chiefs injured offense and a big day from the Steelers' good all-around attack, making it abundantly clear that this game will be one of the biggest blowouts of Week 12.

Prediction: Steelers 40, Chiefs 0

Chicago Bears vs. Oakland Raiders

The Chicago Bears and Oakland Raiders are on opposite sides of the map, but they have one very important thing in common: they both lost their starting quarterback for the season.

The only difference is that Oakland finds itself in a better position having traded for Carson Palmer before the Week 6 trade deadline.

Instead, the Bears must go with a total unknown in Caleb Hanie in hopes he can save their season and get them to the playoffs.

I can see this being a Jay Cutler injury hangover game for the Bears, and the Raiders taking full advantage. The Raiders will have to make Hanie beat them in this game and make sure they lock down Matt Forte, who is having a Pro Bowl season himself.

Chicago plays great defense, but with the Raiders offense more in sync than the Bears, they should be able to put more points on the board. Both teams will be able to run the ball, but the difference will be behind center.

Besides, Mike Martz's offense is tough to run for a veteran; just imagine what it could be for an inexperienced quarterback like Hanie.

Prediction: Raiders 21, Bears 13

New York Giants vs. New Orleans Saints

Last week against the Eagles, the New York Giants were expecting to get a break in their tough schedule but got something different instead.

They got outplayed.

Now they find themselves going on the road against the New Orleans Saints, who have one of the top offenses in the NFL. Drew Brees is right there with the best of them in this league and to make it worse, he will be helped by his rushing attack against the G-Men's 21st-ranked run defense.

The Saints are nothing defensively either, so the Giants should be able to move the ball with the pass and score some points. The G-Men's running game is so bad this season that they will make the Saints' run defense look like the Steel Curtain.

In the end, the Saints' explosive offense will be too much.

This might be the start of what we all said would be a tough run for New York, and it seems maybe their lack of expectation before the season is beginning to take shape.

Prediction: Saints 34, Giants 23