NFL Picks Week 12: Thanksgiving Day Schedule Favors Dallas Cowboys, Pittsburgh Steelers
Week 12 NFL picks begin Thursday morning (Nov. 24) with a packed Thanksgiving Day schedule of games. It’s a short week for the Dallas Cowboys, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Detroit Lions, but those are the three teams favored to win in the updated expert picks. An updated report by CBS Sports only has one unanimous prediction, though, with the Steelers favored to easily beat the Indianapolis Colts. The Colts might be without starting quarterback Andrew Luck, which puts them in a tough position to keep up with the Steelers offense.
The Week 12 NFL picks by ESPN.com unanimously favor the Steelers as well. ESPN also has selected Dallas unanimously to beat the Washington Redskins, although there are two analysts at CBS Sports who disagree. Jason La Confora and Ryan Wilson are siding with the Redskins on Thursday afternoon. As for the Detroit Lions vs. Minnesota Vikings game, the NFL analysts are a bit split, but slightly favor the Lions to maintain their division lead in the NFC North.
Thanksgiving Day NFL Schedule
Minnesota Vikings at Detroit Lions, 12:30 p.m. ET (CBS)
Washington Redskins at Dallas Cowboys, 4:30 p.m. ET (FOX)
Pittsburgh Steelers at Indianapolis Colts, 8:30 p.m. ET (NBC)
There are 12 more games on Sunday (Nov. 27), with several that will have a huge impact on the overall NFL standings. The biggest game is on Sunday night on NBC, as the Denver Broncos host the Kansas City Chiefs in a game that is sure to provide a lot of cold weather. The Week 12 expert picks favor the Broncos to win this extremely important game within the AFC West. The updated NFL standings have both teams at 7-3; one game behind the first-place Oakland Raiders (8-2) in the division.
The Oakland Raiders play the Carolina Panthers late on Sunday, with a majority of the experts siding with the Raiders. ESPN is unanimous on this pick so far, but three CBS experts (Jason La Confora, Will Brinson, Jared Dubin) are siding with the Panthers. Carolina is in a must-win situation to stay in the playoff race, while Oakland has a shot to emerge from the weekend with the best record in the AFC.
There are two games on the Week 12 NFL schedule where the experts are split right down the middle. The first game is the San Diego Chargers vs. Houston Texans. Though the Texans currently lead the AFC South at 6-4, the experts aren’t confident they can stop the offense of the Chargers. This is one game to keep a close eye on because as Sunday draws a bit closer, some of these NFL analysts might submit updated picks for which team is favored to win.
The other game that has the analysts split is the Monday night contest (Nov. 28). It’s the Green Bay Packers vs. Philadelphia Eagles, with both teams currently on the outside of the NFL playoff picture. The Packers would basically be eliminated from playoff contention with a loss, while the Eagles are trying to get back into the race for a Wild Card slot. Struggles on defense for both teams could mean that this is going to be a high-scoring game that should please fantasy football owners.
Week 12 NFL Picks And Predictions
Detroit Lions beat Minnesota Vikings (Nov. 24)
Dallas Cowboys beat Washington Redskins
Pittsburgh Steelers beat Indianapolis Colts
Tennessee Titans beat Chicago Bears (Nov. 27)
Buffalo Bills beat Jacksonville Jaguars
Baltimore Ravens beat Cincinnati Bengals
Atlanta Falcons beat Arizona Cardinals
New York Giants beat Cleveland Browns
New Orleans Saints beat Los Angeles Rams
Miami Dolphins beat San Francisco 49ers
San Diego Chargers vs. Houston Texans (EVEN)
Seattle Seahawks beat Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Oakland Raiders beat Carolina Panthers
New England Patriots beat New York Jets
Denver Broncos beat Kansas City Chiefs
Green Bay Packers vs. Philadelphia Eagles (EVEN)
[Featured Image by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images]
