Trav’s 2023 Week 12 NFL Predictions

Week 11 is in the books as this season is flying by too fast. My record was 5-2 last week and my overall mark goes to 64-35. My winning percentage rises a little from 64.1 to 64.7%. The first loss came when the Ravens defeated the Cincinnati Bengals in the Thursday night game. Of course, Joe Burrow was hurt in the game, and we now know he’ll miss the remainder of the season. The second defeat was when the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Kanas City Chiefs. We all know this was the rematch from last year’s Super Bowl. In a defensive battle, the Cleveland Browns defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers 13-10. Dallas, San Francisco, Miami, and Houston continued their winning ways. I’ll be predicting a total of 13 games with all the Thanksgiving and early games.

The first Thanksgiving Day game will be between two NFC North rivals. The Green Bay Packers will travel to first place Detroit to battle the Lions. If the Packers are going to make a run to the postseason it starts with this one. Green Bay is coming off an impressive win at home over the Chargers. Jordan Love looked great, but they did lose All-Pro running back Aaron Jones. Can the Packers avenge an early season loss to Detroit? Detroit has won three games in a row after being beaten down by the Ravens. The Lions sit atop of the NFC with the Eagles with 8-2 records. Detroit has an easier schedule the remaining of the season and could claim the top seed for the playoffs. They continue their winning ways by beating the Packers. Detroit Win 31-21

We have an NFC East battle between two teams headed in opposite directions. The Washington Commanders travel to Dallas to meet the Cowboys. The Commanders have lost two in a row and 4 of their last 5 games. The defense continues to struggle as expected after trading Chase Young and Montrez Sweat. Sam Howell is coming off a 3 INT performance and it’s not going to help going into Dallas. The offensive line is struggling, and the Cowboys will probably feast on Howell. Dallas has won the two games after losing to the Eagles by a combined score of 82-27. Those games were against the Giants and Panthers, but still impressive. Dak is playing some of the best football of his career now. I’m expecting another Cowboys blowout as they beat down the Commanders. Dallas Win 34-20

The winner of the night game will determine who’s leading the NFC West. The San Francisco 49ers will head up north to Seattle to battle the Seahawks. The Niners have won the two games after their bye week. San Francisco has looked like themselves after entering the bye on a 3-game losing streak. The 49ers will be without All-Pro safety Talanoa Hufanga for the remainder of the season after tearing his ACL. How will the Niners react to losing their anchor? Seattle come into this one a game behind the Niners for the division lead. The Seahawks enter this contest losers of two of their last three games. The Seahawks are unsure if Geno Smith and Kenny Walker III will play in this game. With uncertainties around Seattle, I’m going with the Niners to win. San Francisco Win 26-17

We have a Black Friday game this year in the NFL. We have an AFC East rivalry contest as the Miami Dolphins head up to New York to face the Jets. The Dolphins are in the driver’s seat in the division with a two game lead over Buffalo. The Dolphins returned from their bye week with a win over the Las Vegas Raiders. Tua and Tyreek Hill picked up where they left as they continue their historic season. Can the Dolphins continue to create distance in the division? The Jets season continues to spiral out of control after being blown out by the Buffalo Bills. The loss marked their 3^rd in a row, and it prompted Coach Saleh to pull Zach Wilson in the second half. The Dolphins should win this one easily. Miami Win 27-17

We have the New Orleans Saints traveling to Atlanta to face the rival Falcons for the division lead. Once again, the NFC South is dealing with all their teams without a winning record. The Saints lead the division with a 5-5 record with the Falcons and Bucs a game behind with 4-6 records. The Saints are coming off their bye week with the hopes of getting Derek Carr back. Carr, Michael Thomas, and Marshon Lattimore all exited their last game with injuries. With Atlanta, they’re coming off their bye week also and it was much needed. Atlanta is in the midst of a 3-game losing streak and has lost four of their last five games. The Falcons have decided to go back to Desmond Ridder for the remainder of the season. I’m picking the Falcons to win this one. Atlanta Win 20-17

The Pittsburgh Steelers will head to Cincinnati to face the Bengals. Both teams in the AFC North are chasing the Baltimore Ravens. The Bengals are two games behind in the loss column and the Steelers are one. Pittsburgh is coming off a tough loss against the Browns 13-10. Pittsburgh has one of the worse offenses in the league seeing they score less than 17 points a game. The defense has been phenomenal as they rank 7^th in scoring. Cincinnati is on the brink of having their season become a disaster. They have dropped two in a row, and they lost Joe Burrow for the season with a torn ligament in his wrist. Can Jake Browning lead this team the rest of the season? This will be a low scoring game, but I’m picking the Bengals to win. Cincinnati Win 16-13

We have a battle between a pair of teams looking to find a way to make a playoff push. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will head to Indianapolis to battle the Colts. The Bucs have dropped five of six after starting the season 3-1. Despite their woes, they’re only one game behind the Saints in the NFC South. If the Saints were to lose to Atlanta, the division could have a three-way tie atop of the division. The Colts have won two games in a row going into their bye week. Jonathan Taylor is starting to get his feet under him and will be needed to continue their winning ways. The defense looked great the last two weeks, but it was against the Panthers and Patriots. I’m picking the Colts to make it 3 in a row. Indianapolis Win 24-23

We have a battle for supremacy in the AFC South division. The Jacksonville Jaguars will travel to Houston to face the Texans with first place up for grabs. Jacksonville has already tasted defeat at the hands of the Texans back in Week 3. The Jaguars hold a one game lead over Houston going into this game. The Jaguars blew out the Titans last week, which came after the 49ers beat them down. Trevor Lawrence played like we thought he had the potential to do last week. Houston is on a 3-game winning streak themselves and C.J. Stroud is in the MVP conversation. The Texans rank 2^nd in passing yards while scoring almost 24 points a game. Can they repeat their performance against the Jaguars from earlier in the season? This is a tough one, but I’m picking the Jaguars for revenge. Jacksonville Win 31-27

We have two of the hottest teams in the AFC in this matchup. The Cleveland Browns will head to Mile High Stadium to face the Denver Broncos. Cleveland have won three in a row and 5 out of their last 6 games. Deshaun Watson is out for the season and just had shoulder surgery, so they’ve turned to Dorian Thompson-Robinson. Thompson-Robinson came to life in the final drive last week against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Denver is riding a 4-game winning streak after starting the season with a 1-5 record. They come into this game with the longest win streak in the AFC. Denver rebounded nicely on the defensive side of the ball. Russell Wilson has been great all season and taking care of the ball in the process. I’m going with the Broncos to win their 5^th in a row. Denver Win 20-17

We have a pair of AFC West rivals coming off heartbreaking losses. The Kansas City Chiefs will travel to Las Vegas to battle the Raiders. The Chiefs are coming off a tough loss at home against the Eagles in the Super Bowl rematch. With the loss, Kansas City are losers of two of their last three games. The loss has dropped the Chiefs from atop the AFC standings. Las Vegas dropped their first game under Antonio Pierce. They fell to the Dolphins but held the top ranked offense to only 20 points. The two previous wins came against the Jets and Giants, but they will go against tougher competition. Las Vegas will need to start winning games if they want to make a playoff push. With the Chiefs coming off a loss I’m picking them to win. Kansas City Win 31-20

We have a matchup between two early season Super Bowl favorites from their respected conferences. The Buffalo Bills will head to Philadelphia to face the Eagles. The Bills ended their 2-game losing streak in a major way by blowing out the New York Jets. Buffalo fired offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey and replaced him with Joe Brady. In his first game, Josh Allen looked like his old self as he was picking apart the Jets defense. Philadelphia defeated the Chiefs in the Super Bowl rematch on the road on Monday. The Eagles offense struggled for most of the game but was awakened in the 4^th quarter. This will be their 4^th game in the tough 7-gasme stretch. This will be another tough, close game for the Eagles but I’m picking them to win. Philadelphia Win 26-21

We head to the AFC for this Sunday Night game involving two of the best quarterbacks in the league. With the Kansas City loss, the Ravens now take over the top seed in the AFC. Baltimore has won five of their last six games and still has one of the best defenses in the league. The absence of Mark Andrews will affect this team moving forward. Can their running game help control the game and help the offense? Los Angeles has lost two in a row and four of their last six games. The Chargers started the season as one of the favorites to make the playoffs. They need to start winning games immediately if they think the postseason is in their future. I’m picking the Chargers to upset the Ravens in a close one. Los Angeles Win 24-23

We have the Monday Night game between a pair of NFC North rivals. The Chicago Bears will head to Minnesota to take on the Vikings. The Bears have lost three of four but saw the return of Justin Fields. The Bears are playing better, and Fields had the offense looking great. Fields is playing for his future seeing Chicago could have the top pick in the upcoming draft. Can the Bears pull off the upset against Minnesota? The Vikings had their 5-game winning streak snapped last week in Denver. The Vikings only lost by a single point and Joshua Dobbs continues to play well. Minnesota was hoping to have Justin Jefferson back, but it seems like he’s not playing. This should be another good game and I’m picking the Vikings to win. Minnesota Win 24-20

There we are my predictions for the 2023 Week 12 NFL season. What games intrigue you the most for the 2023 Week 12 NFL weekend? What do you think about my picks? Check out my top 5 teams in both conferences below. Leave some feedback below about anything NFL related or my 2023 Week 12 NFL predictions.