NFL picks, predictions, odds for Week 12: Shanahan tree and Harbaugh Bowls

NFL Week 12 starts with another division rivalry on Thursday Night Football between the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers. The Browns have nothing left to play for at 2-8, so the best their fans can hope for is that they can ruin the weekend for the supporters of an NFC North rival. And even though Russell Wilson has the Steelers winning games, there is a solid chance this turns into an unwatchable field goal fest.  So, on that sunny note, let’s get into the ClutchPoints NFL Week 12 picks, predictions, and odds column.

Week 11 delivered the goods with a dramatic late field goal block in the Green Bay Packers win over the Chicago Bears, a terrific quarterback duel between Joe Burrow and Justin Herbert, a surprising Steelers upset over the Baltimore Ravens, and a Game of the Year candidate between the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs.

Can we expect more of the same in Week 12? No.

While the matchups last week were excellent, and Week 13 brings some super cross-division contests, Week 12 pretty much stinks. Of the baker’s dozen games on the schedule, there are five touchdown-plus spreads and just three games predicted to come down to less than a field goal margin. This may not make for the most intriguing week of NFL action, but there is still money to be made!

Week 12 is the second-to-last bye week of the season, and as such, this and Week 14 will be bye-magedon slates with a whopping six teams off each weekend. So, while we welcome back the Arizona Cardinals, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Carolina Panthers, and New York Giants, we say goodbye to the Bills, Atlanta Falcons, Cincinnati Bengals, Jacksonville Jaguars, New Orleans Saints, and any of the New York Jets who haven’t been fired yet.

On the condensed NFL Week 12 calendar, we get just 13 games spread over a Thursday contest, seven 1 p.m. ET games, three games in the late Sunday window, a Sunday nighter, and a Monday night affair.

This past week, we continued our winning ways straight up, going 8-6, and left with a push against the spread, finishing at 7-7. So, we are continuing to grow our margin by simply picking winners, moving to 99-67, and staying just a shade below .500 on the season at 78-87-1 versus the number.

With that, let’s get right into the NFL Week 12 picks, predictions, and odds.

Previous Weeks: Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8 | Week 9 | Week 10 | Week 11

Courtesy of DraftKings, here are the NFL odds.

Pittsburgh Steelers (-3.5) at Cleveland Browns

The Pittsburgh offense seems like it does just enough to win every week, whether that means hitting a few long bombs or kicking enough field goals to get the victory. That makes it a little scary to lay the look here as a field goal win in a division game still gets the job done.

All that said, the official stance of the NFL Week 12 picks, predictions, and odds column is that the Browns stink, and as stinky stinkers, they will roll over and play dead for the Steelers on Thursday just like they did for the Saints on Sunday. This spread could have been a touchdown, and it’s still a Steelers pick here (plus, take the Najee Harris over 80 or even over 90 rushing yards at +140 or +210, respectively).

Pick: Steelers 23-6

Minnesota Vikings (-3.5) at Chicago Bears

The Bears have been in games and have suffered two of the three most heartbreaking losses of the season (with the Broncos Chiefs loss somewhere on that list). However, after the second last-second L, the Bears are done. It seems as though the coaches have completely lost the locker room, and the team is done under Matt Eberflus.

This is a division game, so there is a chance that the Bears will hang around and make it a game like they did last week against the Packers. However, Chicago got skunked by Arizona after their Hail Mary loss to Washington, so look for that again against Minnesota.

Pick: Vikings 21-14

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-6) at New York Giants

It’s Tommy Cutlets Time!! The Daniel Jones Era is officially over, and it seems like the Giants players aren’t happy about it. There is a solid chance that means the team is completely over and ready to move on, but scheme lord Brian Daboll may have something to say about that as he auditions for a prime offensive coordinator spot next season.

The Buccaneers have lost four straight and five of the last six, but coming off the bye, they may have a little extra juice. Ultimately, DeVito is 3-3 as a starter and a little better than most give him credit for. In the NFL Week 12 picks, predictions, and odds column, we see Cutlets saying, “How you doin’?” early before being told to “fuggedaboudit” by Baker Mayfield, who will leave Jersey with some gabagool, some fresh mutz, and a narrow W to take back to all the Tri-State retirees down in Tampa.

Pick: Buccaneers 19-16

New England Patriots at Miami Dolphins (-7.5)

Since their Week 6 bye, the Dolphins have three losses by a total of just 10 points and back-to-back wins over the (pretty good) Rams and the (pretty bad) Raiders. They’ve also put up at least 23 points in four straight games after failing to crest 20 in their first six. All that is to say, the Dolphins are starting to look like the team many expected to challenge the Bills for the division.

The Patriots have also come on as of late, with rookie quarterback Drake Maye looking like the real deal. He still doesn’t have the talent around him to truly challenge better teams every week, but in a division game, when scores are often closer, look to the rook to at least keep it close, although not pull off the upset.

Pick: Dolphins 24-22

Tennessee Titans at Houston Texans (-8.5)

The Texans are still not the team we thought they'd be at the beginning of the season, and they may never reach that with Stefon Diggs out for the season, and the injury bug continues to bite. But overall, the Texans are the way better team, and at home, they should be able to take care of the Titans, who always have a puncher's chance with Will Levis but haven't figured out how to consistently win. Still, in a tough AFC South matchup, it seems like the Titans will at least be able to keep this a little closer than expected, so in the NFL Week 12 picks, predictions, and odds column, we'll take a Houston win but a Tennessee cover.

Pick: Texans 21-16

Kansas City Chiefs (11) at Carolina Panthers

Look, there is a chance that this is a matchup between the best team and the worst team in pro football right now, last week’s Chiefs loss notwithstanding. And as such, maybe KC will come out and beat the breaks off Carolina.

However, throwing last week out, the Chiefs racked up an undefeated record by doing just enough to win every week, spread be damned. So, as this is the Panthers’ Super Bowl this season, they’ll pull out all the stops and keep this close but still do what they do best: Lose.

Pick: Chiefs 27-20

Dallas Cowboys at Washington Commanders (-10.5)

For years, the Commanders have been the NFC East punching bag, and the Cowboys have often taken advantage of that. Now, with the Washington team ascending with a stellar rookie quarterback and the Dallas squad sliding with Dak Prescott out for the season, the shoe is on the other foot,

Division games are always tricky, but this feels like a chance at a real revenge beatdown for the Commanders. Cowboys star WR CeeDee Lamb could barely hide his contempt for QB Cooper Rush last week, and this week shouldn't be much better. It seems like taking Commanders big here makes sense.

Pick: Commaners 35-15

Related NewsArticle continues below

Cardinals vs. Phillies Game 2 prediction, odds, pick – 5/14/202515m

Warriors vs. Timberwolves Game 5 prediction, odds, pick, spread for NBA Playoffs 20256h

2025 PGA Championship prediction as Xander Schauffele aims to repeat8h

Rockies vs. Rangers prediction, odds, pick – 5/14/202511h

Subscribe To Our NFL Newsletter

Detroit Lions (-7.5) at Indianapolis Colts

This spread could be double-digits, and we’d still take the Lions here in the NFL Week 12 picks, predictions, and odds column. The Colts are an intriguing team, with Anthony Richardson doing what he does (when he’s not too tired to do it), but they are not an overly good one. Detroit is the class of the NFC right now and an absolute wagon, so they’ll win this one by at least two touchdowns and maybe more.

Pick: Lions 38-16

Denver Broncos (-5.5) at Las Vegas Raiders

Every week, it seems like there are reasons that the opposing team may not cover the spread against the Raiders. Then (nearly) every week, the Raiders get smoked. This is a division game, with a rookie QB and a team playing a little over its head with playoff pressure on them. So, it would stand to reason that the Broncos might get a little tense and at least let the Raiders hang around.

Until we see Vegas do that, though, we just can’t put money on it anymore. The Raiders are terrible. The Broncos are pretty good. Therefore, we’ll take any team to cover against the Silver and Black until further notice.

Pick: Broncos 20-10

San Francisco 49ers at Green Bay Packers (-1.5)

Both of these teams are a little underwhelming right now, although the Packers keep finding a way to win through the struggles, while the 49ers did not look good at all last week.  But with the Niner alternating wins and losses most of the season and Christian McCaffrey finally back, almost 80% of the public money is on San Francisco.

The 49ers have to travel to Wisconsin — where it is currently snowing on Thursday — and take on a legitimately good team. And while Matt LaFleur struggles against his old boss, this seems like a perfect week to take some revenge. We’ll take the Packers here in the NFL Week 12 picks, predictions, and odds column.

Pick: Packers 28-23

Arizona Cardinals at Seattle Seahawks (-1)

Last season, we made a lot of money by believing in the Buccaneers week after week when Vegas oddsmakers seemingly refused to do so. The 2024 Bucs are the Cardinals, who are still getting no respect from the sportsbooks.

The Seahawks’ home-field advantage isn’t what it used to be, and the defense isn’t ready for the Cardinals' dominant power run game and shifty, play-making QB. So, with the Cards getting a point here, we’ll take it and pick them to win straight up.

Pick: Cardinals 20-17

Philadelphia Eagles (-2.5) at Los Angeles Rams

The Rams are in an interesting spot because they have an impressive young team that is a year or two away from truly contending. The problem is that their star quarterback is a year or two away from the retirement home. I want to like the Rams this season. I really do. They just don’t have all the pieces at the right level to contend.

On the other hand, the Eagles are a wagon right now, and Saquon Barkley is making a legitimate case for MVP, or at least Offensive Player of the Year. While Joe Schoen may have thought the RB was done, no one told Saquon. The Eagles should win comfortably here, especially with SoFi sounding like The Vet on Sunday.

Pick: Eagles 31-25

Baltimore Ravens (-2.5) at Los Angeles Chargers

The Harbaugh Bowl is here, and we’ll all be around our TVs on Monday night for it! Not only is this a brother vs. brother matchup last seen in Super Bowl XLVII, but it’s a matchup of two AFC playoff teams that we may see again in the postseason.

What may make this game interesting — outside of the Ravens slumping of late and the Chargers coming on — is that Jim has had years of watching John, Lamar Jackson, and the Ravens, while the Chargers are all new to everyone this season. That said, the Ravens know Greg Roman all too well, so maybe it’s all a wash. This should be a good game, so we’ll take the points and a Chargers win and hope to at least get a split.

Pick: Chargers 33-32

Establish the Pass Podcast Week 12 Predictions