Tommy Hayfield's NFL Week 12 Predictions, Straight Up

Week 12 has three Turkey Day games and the remainder of the games on the usual Sunday and Monday formats. Saturday games aren't yet on the schedule...those will be in December.

The Thanksgiving Day games start out as usual in Detroit where the Lions will be roasted to well done by New England in what looks to be an ugly game. At 4:15 the Saints go to Dallas for the resurgent Cowboys and the Bush-less Saints due to an injury are still the unknowable quantity without him...they've been piling up points, though, without him. At 8:20 pm the Jets entertain the Bengals in what could be an ugly game...the Jets play down sometimes to meet the opposition but this one's important so I think the Jets will exert maximum concentration to details while the Bengals have noticed they are out of the playoff hunt again. Sunday finds the Giants hosting the Jaguars and they'll be focused to regain the division lead they lost to Philly...the Jags are high-scoring , but a shootout will go to the Giants. Pittsburgh at Buffalo will reveal the defensive reality of the Steelers and the game shouldn't be close though the Bills are at home....Hines Ward the Steelers wide receiver suffered a concussion last week so Pittsburgh may be limited in their passing attack. Tennessee and Houston could produce a lot of points though young Vince Young is hampered by his youthfulness it's been suggested and may be sidelined ...but by who. Green Bay goes to the Georgia Dome to face a tough Atlanta team that is hard to beat on their home turf..I don't know how to judge this game but I lean toward the Falcons winning this one. Carolina at Cleveland is a snoozer that the Browns should win and Carolina will score more points than they normally do...I think the Browns win this one rather easily. Minnesota at Washington will reveal the Vikings sliding down hill out of control...Donovan McNabb will put up enough points to win as he often does despite being slowed by a hamstring injury...where does the Vikings offense come from in this game? Kansas City and Seattle is a conundrum as these two Western teams have occasionally been wiped out...the Seahawks are at home and Kansas City will be facing a team that hardly runs the ball at all. Miami goes to the Oakland Coliseum where the Raiders are hiding after being manhandled by the Steelers...Miami was shutout last week with Tyler Thigpen taking live game snaps...he had little prep time to get comfortable for his game against the Bears...the Oakland defense isn't the Steelers but can the perpetual sideline-rider Tyler Thigpen find a seam against the Raiders?..additionally, Brandon Marshall the Dolphins wide receiver is limited by a leg injury... Philly goes to Chicago and the Bears would LOVE to beat the Eagles who are soaring high after two big wins...this is a tough Chicago defense that will suppress Michael Vick, but can they put points on the board against the Philly defense...I lean toward the Eagles in this one but I don't feel good about predicting this game. St Louis at Denver is a conundrum which I think the home standing Broncos will win as their offense has been sorted out...Western teams have confounded me all year as I've had a tough time assessing their momentum and work habits. Tampa Bay at Baltimore is confusing to me since the betting line is a remarkable Tampa Bay (+8) which seems unreasonable to me...Baltimore has shown a good defense this year but I don't know what I missed to see a big point spread like that be revealed to me. Ravens tight end is nursing an injury that will hamper his efforts at blocking effectively. San Diego at Indianapolis is a conundrum and might be the toughest pick of the week since the Colts are so good at home but the Chargers have an unstoppable offense...no betting line has been posted yet for this one though I sense it will start at about Indy (-5)...I'm sure I'm way off...I recently picked the very explosive Chargers to win out without even looking at their upcoming schedule and after considering their injuries. San Francisco is a horrible match up for Monday night based on the two teams lackluster performance this year...will Arizona bring its offense to the University of Phoenix Stadium and will the 49ers offense show up too. Monday night brings out pride in some and reveals bad practice habits in others. Maybe some day the Cardinals won't have to play in a college stadium. Didn't Arizona quarterback Max Hall graduate yet?

Week 11 is done but for the Monday night result and I had a good week...as a matter of fact it was my best week of the year in six weeks of publishing picks. I went 13-2 straight up, 11-4 against the point spread, and 8-7 in the over-under.My yearly totals were greatly improved by this week's picks...I'm approaching a 60% success rate picking games against the point spread. I post picks for the entire NFL schedule so I'm not getting any breaks by opting out of games.

Here are the Week 12 match ups with my straight pick for each...as game time approaches I might adjust some picks as the ebb and flow of my thoughts changes my decision.

Thanksgiving Games
New England @ Detroit New England wins
New Orleans @ Dallas New Orleans wins
Cincinnati @ New York Jets Jets wins

Sunday Early Games
Jacksonville @ New York Giants Giants win
Pittsburgh @ Buffalo Steelers win
Tennessee @ Houston Tennessee wins
Green Bay @ Atlanta Atlanta wins
Carolina @ Cleveland Cleveland wins
Minnesota @ Washington Washington wins
Kansas City @ Seattle Seattle wins

Sunday Late Games
Miami @ Oakland Oakland wins
Philadelphia @ Chicago Philly wins
St Louis @ Denver Denver wins
Tampa Bay @ Baltimore Baltimore wins

Sunday Night Game
San Diego @ Indianapolis San Diego wins

Monday Night Game
San Francisco @ Arizona Arizona wins

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