Pittsburgh Steelers versus Baltimore Ravens looks like the game of the week although it has been moved from to the weekend due to COVID reasons. Instead the Thanksgiving games will be the slightly less exciting Houston Texans at Detroit Lions and Washington Football Team at Dallas Cowboys.
Here are my NFL Week 12 predictions:
Houston Texans @ Detroit Lions
Both of these teams are sitting with similar records going into this game. Texans are 3-7 while Lions are 4-6. Play-offs are not out of the question yet but for the Texans especially, this is a make or break game. Houston will be on a bit of a high after a nice win over the Patriots last time out. The Lions meanwhile are coming off a horrendous 20-0 defeat to the Panthers. With the Texans being the more confident team going into this, I fancy them to win it.
Texans 30 Lions 24
Washington Football Team @ Dallas Cowboys
Washington and Dallas are both sitting at 3-7 going into this game but amazingly still have more than a small chance in NFC East where all teams have had a tough year so far. Both teams also enjoyed nice wins last week. If the Cowboys put in a similar performance to last weeks win over the Vikings then I fancy them to do the business here.
Washington 24 Cowboys 27
Los Angeles Chargers @ Buffalo Bills
The Bills will be hoping to come back fresh from a bye week after losing a tight game to the Cardinals the week before. They still top AFC East with a 7-3 record and with Josh Allen art quarterback they have a chance to do big things the year. The Chargers edged past the Jets last week but just don’t have the consistency to put the wins together.
Chargers 31 Bills 34
Tennessee Titans @ Indianapolis Colts
When these two teams clashed just back in Week 10, the Colts came out on top with an emphatic 34-17 win. The Colts continued to impress last week with a win over the Packers to take them to 7-3 for the season. Tennessee meanwhile bounced back with a great victory over the Ravens. Last weeks scores make this a tough one to predict even though the Colts were so much better in Week 10. But I think it will be a similar outcome albeit with a tighter scoreline.
Titans 28 Colts 36
Carolina Panthers @ Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings were just starting to grab everyones attention with some great wins, until last weeks shock defeat to the Cowboys. Kirk Cousins is still doing his job but the same can’t be said for the defense and this has to improve against the Panthers. Having said that, the Panthers do have offensive injury problems and had to rely on a tight defense (who gave up zero points) to get their win last week. The Vikings should return to form in this one.
Panthers 13 Vikings 21
Cleveland Browns @ Jacksonville Jaguars
The Browns continue to have their doubters but nobody can argue with their 7-3 record going into this. Sure they have inconsistencies in their play from week to week but when they are good they are really good. The Jaguars meanwhile have lost 9 straight and it’s hard to see where that next win is going come from.
Browns 28 Jaguars 17
New York Giants @ Cincinnati Bengals
Losing Joe Burrows to a nasty knee injury is a huge blow to the NFL as a whole but devastating for this Bengals team. He has made them a decent outfit despite their 2-7 record. The Giants are not exactly pulling up trees but have won their last two outings. I never though I would here myself say it this year but I think New York can make it three in a row.
Giants 20 Bengals 13
Arizona Cardinals @ New England Patriots
Kyler Murray is holding up his end of the bargain but his defense are letting this Cardinals team down. They sit third in a tough NFC West division and have to pick things up this week. This week is a good chance for them to do just that as they face a Patriots side who just kind find any kind of rhythm. They were poor in their defeat to the Texans last week and although they still have enough quality to win some games, I can’t see them winning here.
Cardinals 20 Patriots 13
Miami Dolphins @ New York Jets
The Dolphins were enjoying a nice run until it all crashed back down to earth against the Broncos last week. Still, Miami are sitting 6-4 for the season and should pick things back up easily against a Jets side still looking for a first win of the season.
Dolphins 28 Jets 17
Las Vegas Raiders @ Atlanta Falcons
The Raiders were impressive again despite just being edged out by the Chiefs last week. They still sit 6-4 and are a good shout for the play-offs. The Falcons are bottom of NFC South with a 3-7 record and only managed 9 points against the Saints last week. They are not a bad team though and will undoubtedly rack up more points this week but it won’t be enough to beat the Raiders.
Raiders 34 Falcons 31
Baltimore Ravens @ Pittsburgh Steelers
Ben Roethlisberger has been throwing touchdowns for fun this season and the Steelers are still undefeated. The Ravens should cause them some problems this week but they are going through a bad spell largely due to the poor form of star quarterback Lamar Jackson. Two defeats on the bounce sees them just third in AFC North and I can’t see that improving this week.
Ravens 22 Steelers 28
New Orleans Saints @ Denver Broncos
Despite Drew Brees injury, the Saints still looked good in their won over the Falcons last week with Tayson Hill stepping up to the challenge. That’s seven straight wins for Saints now. The Broncos are 4-6 for the season but did have a surprisingly impressive win over form team Miami last week. It will be much tougher for them this week though.
Saints 38 Broncos 17
San Francisco 49ers @ Los Angeles Rams
49ers have had a nightmare with injuries this year and that has had a major impact on their 4-6 record including three straight defeats. The good news is they are starting to see some of their start players coming back for this week. The bad news is they are playing a Rams team full of confidence and sitting top of NFC West with a 7-3 record. This will be a close call but 49ers are still a little short of firepower.
49ers 24 Rams 30
Kansas City Chiefs @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers
New kid on the block faces the legend in Tampa Bay as Patrick Mahomes comes up against Tom Brady. It’s fair to say Mahomes is the man on better form right now and the Chiefs have still only lost once all season. The Buccaneers had a narrow loss to the Rams last week and will run Kansas close but not close enough.
Chiefs 31 Buccaneers 28
Chicago Bears @ Green Bay Packers
The Bears are on a worrying four game losing streak after a bright start to the season. Nick Foles injury is definitely having an impact on their play off chances. The Packers still top NFC North despite a close loss to the Colts last week. I can only see the Bears problems mounting this week with a straight forward win for the Packers.
Bears 13 Packers 22
Seattle Seahawks @ Philadelphia Eagles
Russell Wilson has had an inspired season for the Seahawks and they can thank their lucky stars for that. The defense is still having problems against most teams but at least they can out score most teams as well. The Eagles are top of NFC East but don’t let that fool you, they are not in good form and have lost their last two to take them to 3-6 for the season. The Seahawks should have too much offensively in this one.
Seahawks 34 Eagles 21
