NFL Week 12 picks

Thanksgiving Day didn't go quite as planned, did it?

The Dallas Cowboys lost to the Washington Redskins, and now find themselves with their backs against the wall, with six losses to their record already.

On top of that, I went a meager 1-2 picking. Had Jim Schwartz not botched a challenge and Jason Hanson made a field goal in overtime, I would have been 2-1 -- but no excuses here.

With no more bye weeks remaining around the league, we're into the home stretch of the NFL season, and there's still plenty of picks still left to make for Week 12.

Minnesota Vikings (+6.5) at Chicago Bears -- Jay Cutler will be back, but Adrian Peterson will cause some problems for the Bears. Chicago wins, but Minnesota covers.

Oakland Raiders (+9) at Cincinnati Bengals -- Neither team here is particularly good, but the Bengals are a whole lot better than the Raiders. Cincinnati wins with a strong game from the ginger quarterback, but Oakland covers.

Pittsburgh Steelers (-1.5) at Cleveland Browns -- I really like Trent Richardson, and I don't really know what to make of Charlie Batch starting. Wait, yes I do -- it's not good. Browns in the upset.

Buffalo Bills (+3) at Indianapolis Colts -- Indy was smoked and embarrassed last week by the Patriots, and they'll come out strong and take out the Bills on Sunday. Colts win, and cover.

Tennessee Titans (-3.5) at Jacksonville Jaguars -- Let the Chad Henne era begin? Yikes. The five Jags fans in the world must be depressed. Titans win, and cover.

Denver Broncos (-11.5) at Kansas City Chiefs -- Poor Chiefs fans. Poor Matt Cassel. I legitimately feel bad for Cassel. A bad season will get worse in KC, Broncos win, but Chiefs manage to cover. Somehow. I'm not sure how, but they will.

Seattle Seahawks (-3) at Miami Dolphins -- Tough game here. Seattle is a west coast team playing an early game, but Miami isn't good. Still, Seattle isn't great. Dolphins pull off the upset.

Atlanta Falcons (-1.5) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers -- Man, the Falcons haven't really looked good lately, have they? Julio Jones might be limited as well. Buccaneers have been rolling -- so naturally, the Falcons will win. And cover.

Baltimore Ravens (-1) at San Diego Chargers -- How fired is Norv Turner right now? So, so fired. Phillip Rivers should be fired, too. I'm not sure what to make of either team. I shouldn't take the Chargers, but I will.

St. Louis Rams (+1) at Arizona Cardinals -- The Rams were disappointing last week, and Sam Bradford took a step back. Rams bounce back and upset the hapless Cards.

San Francisco 49ers (-1) at New Orleans Saints -- I don't think San Francisco scores enough even on New Orleans' crappy defense to stay in this. Saints win, and get some revenge for last year's playoffs.

Green Bay Packers (+3) at New York Giants -- I'm really surprised the Packers are three-point underdogs. They're the better team. Aaron Rodgers does his Discount Doublecheck dance, annoys many, but Packers win.

Carolina Panthers (-2.5) at Philadelphia Eagles -- Everything that could go wrong for Andy Reid this year did. I can't in good faith pick Nick Foles to win. Panthers take this, despite being on the road on Monday night.