NFL Week 12 Picks: Thanksgiving Day Predictions

Traditionally, Thanksgiving is all about good food and bad football.

This year, things promise to be a little different. As always, the NFL is showcasing the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys, but this is the first time both teams have been worth a darn in a long time.

As a bonus, we also get to watch an outstanding matchup between the San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Ravens, which is known as the Harbaugh Bowl in some circles.

So for once, we could get some good football to go with our good food. The only question is who's going to win said football games?

Well, here are my picks.

Note: all spreads according to Bodog.

Green Bay Packers (-7) at Detroit Lions

The Lions are 7-3 and still very much alive in the NFC North, but they haven't been tested against the Packers yet. The Lions can either walk away with a huge statement win or suffer through a harsh reality check.

My money is on the latter eventuality. The Lions are a good team, but they've been exposed by better teams in recent weeks. It just so happens the Packers are the best team in the league, and I think they're going to be able to handle the Lions.

We know that Aaron Rodgers and the Packers' offense is going to be just fine, but what worries me about the Lions is how Matthew Stafford is going to fare against Green Bay's opportunistic defense. He has a tendency to throw the football to the wrong team, and that doesn't bode well for him against a Packers team that leads the league with 19 interceptions.

If Stafford makes bad throws, the Packers will make him pay.

All of this being said, I do think this is one of those games that is going to end up being tight at the end, and I don't think the Packers are going to cover because of that.

Packers 27, Lions 21

Miami Dolphins at Dallas Cowboys (-7)

The Dolphins have gone from being one of the worst teams in the league to being one of the hottest teams in the league, but you shouldn't take that to mean that they're a good team. Truth be told, they're still bad.

We're going to be reminded of this when they take on the Cowboys. The Cowboys have plenty of flaws, but they've been very tough at home this year, winning by double digits in each of their last three home games.

I think they're going to make it four in a row. Tony Romo is playing some pretty great football right now, and Miami's patchwork offense is due for a long day against a Dallas defense that can be pretty tough.

Long story short, the Dolphins will soon go back to sucking for Luck.

Cowboys 28, Dolphins 17

San Francisco 49ers at Baltimore Ravens (-3)

The 49ers have proven a lot during their eight-game win streak, but I think it's fair to say that this is the toughest game they're going to play all season.

However, I think you can say the same of the Ravens. They've played some pretty tough opponents this year, but the 49ers are as tough as they come. Not much gets through San Francisco's defense, and the Ravens don't have the kind of offense to change that.

Because Baltimore's own defense is quite excellent, I have a feeling we're going to see a tough, physical game in which points are going to be at a premium. Picture the "Game of the Century" between LSU and Alabama, except better and more exciting.

It's a game that could go either way, but I'm going to go with the 49ers to win it by a nose.

49ers 13, Ravens 10