Five Best NFL Week 12 Games
Which teams are favored in the NFL on Thanksgiving Day? Here are the five best matchups for Week 12, coupled with the odds for each of those games.
Saints at Rams, 4:25 p.m. ET, Sunday
New Orleans has won eight in a row and are taking on a Los Angeles team coming off a loss to Minnesota. According to oddsmakers from online sports book Bovada.lv, the Rams are 2.5-point home favorites against the Saints, but there’s no doubt New Orleans will have its backers. The Rams have struggled against the couple of top defenses they’ve faced this year, including the Vikings, who held L.A. to just seven points in their win in Week 11.
Vikings at Lions, 12:30 p.m. ET, Thursday
The first of three Thanksgiving Day games is also the best. The Vikings are rolling right now, leading the NFC North with an 8-2 record after thumping the Rams on Sunday. The Lions, meanwhile, hung on to a 3-point victory against the Bears in Chicago on Sunday. The Bears missed a late field goal that would have pushed the game into overtime. Thursday’s game opened as a pick’em but the line has now moved to Minnesota -1.5.
Chargers at Cowboys, 4:30 p.m. ET, Thursday
The second game of the triple-header on Thanksgiving Day is also intriguing. Dallas is struggling, having lost two games in a row due to the injuries of left tackle Tyron Smith and linebacker Sean Lee, not to mention the suspension of Ezekiel Elliott. But at 5-5, the Cowboys aren’t dead in the water yet. The same could be said for the Chargers, who at 4-6 remain in the playoff mix in the AFC due to the conference being horrendous this year. If the Cowboys don’t get healthy quick, the Chargers could take advantage on Thursday afternoon. After hitting the board as a 4-point favorite, the Cowboys are now just -1 against the Chargers for Thanksgiving Day.
Dolphins vs. Patriots, 1:00 p.m. ET
Miami is likely done after losing to woeful Tampa Bay on Sunday but the Patriots are currently battling with the Steelers for the top spot in the AFC. Both the Steelers and the Patriots are 8-2 but Pittsburgh wins the tie breaker over New England based on best win percentage in conference games. That’s why Miami-New England is important on Sunday. The Patriots, who are a whopping 16.5-point home favorite against the Dolphins, can ill-afford to slip up.
Bills at Chiefs, 1:00 p.m. ET, Sunday
If you’re groaning because this is one of the five-best matchups in Week 12, I don’t blame you. But look at the rest of the slate: Most playoff contenders are playing non-contenders and the very few games with playoff implications are listed above. At least this game will have some impact on the AFC playoff standings. The Bills are a 9.5-point road underdog versus the Chiefs, who lost outright to the Giants as a 10-point road favorite in Week 11. Buffalo is currently on the outside looking in after getting crushed by the Chargers in Nathan Peterman’s (five picks) disastrous debut. With their loss to the Giants, the Chiefs now hold the fourth seed in the AFC, one game behind the Jaguars.