NFL Week 12 Picks: Road Teams with No Hope of Winning

Like the Green Bay Packers on Thursday, several of the NFL’s top teams are looking for victories away from home this weekend. This trio, on the other hand, is far from the top of the league and will stay that way with another loss in Week 12:

Cleveland Browns (at Cincinnati Bengals)

Just as the Browns backfield is starting to get healthy again, they find themselves in the teeth of a ferocious closing schedule that will see them play five divisional games (two each against Pittsburgh and Baltimore) in six weeks. The gauntlet begins with a visit to Cincinnati, the team that topped Cleveland 27-17 on opening day.

The Browns’ dreadful run defense hasn’t improved since the first meeting, so there’s no reason to expect Cedric Benson to fail to control this game for the Bengals. Even with a healthy Peyton Hillis, meanwhile, the Browns are unlikely to make a dent in the NFL’s sixth-ranked D for total yards allowed.

Minnesota Vikings (at Atlanta Falcons)

Adrian Peterson has been the entirety of the Minnesota offense this year, but he’s out of action with an ankle injury. Backup Toby Gerhart isn’t awful, but he’s certainly not going to make much headway against a Falcon defense that’s allowing just 85 yards a game on the ground.

On the other side of the ball, Matt Ryan’s speedy (and now, healthy) receiving corps is licking its chops at the prospect of facing the Vikings’ disappointing secondary. Without Peterson to keep the ball out of Ryan’s hands, the Vikings won’t be able to stem the offensive tide here.

Washington Redskins (at Seattle Seahawks)

Since QB Rex Grossman’s implosion back in Week 6, the Redskins haven’t won a game. The strong-armed Grossman is back at the helm, but he’s just too erratic to keep the chains moving against a stout Seattle defense.

The Seahawks, of course, have QB woes of their own, but at least Tarvaris Jackson has been getting help from a rising Marshawn Lynch in the backfield. The Redskins have no such rushing threat, and no real options for putting points on the board at CenturyLink Field.