Week Twelve -- A Look Ahead

It's one of the best weekends in the NFL -- Thanksgiving weekend!

Three games are on tap on the holiday itself this year, and ours is the first of them. The Packers are back where they belong: in Detroit on Thanksgiving Day.

The Lions' heroic effort to win as time expired last week against the visiting Browns may have been an emotional turning point for the perennial losers. We may be catching them at a bad time.

Green Bay, meanwhile, is coming off a pair of solid performances. The problem, however, is how costly last Sunday's win was. Both Al Harris and Aaron Kampman are reportedly lost for the season. I don't think that will be enough to make us losers on Thanksgiving Day in Detroit. It will likely cost us against some other teams down the road (Pittsburgh and Arizona come to mind).

Meanwhile, the other two Thanksgiving Day match-ups are also of interest to us. Later in the afternoon, the Raiders play the Cowboys. If the game were in Oakland, I might have some hope, for we have seen other good teams go their to die this season. In Dallas, however, I suspect that talent will prevail. Still, our rooting interest is with the Raiders.

Finally, the evening tilt on Thanksgiving features the Giants in Denver. It has been a rare occasion, indeed, when I have found myself cheering for the Broncos, but they'll be my team on Thursday Night. Such is the deal-with-the-devil one makes when playing for a wild card spot.

The Broncos are in the same position that the Giants were two weeks ago: namely, a team that started so strong, only to have the wheels fall off suddenly and inexplicably. New York seems to have gotten back on track. Now the Broncos need to -- badly need to -- but it's going to be a tough assignment on a short week. At least they're playing at home.

Meanwhile, on Sunday afternoon, we'll be cheering for the Redskins as they travel to Philadelphia. Odds are against us in that one.

Likewise, we'll be rooting for the Bucs in Atlanta, but I'm not holding my breath for a victory there, either.

Apart from our own game, therefore, I don't really expect much to go right for us this weekend in terms of the wild card race. On the other hand, if we just keep winning, we're in.

Other games of general interest to football fans...

I wonder if the Bears will be able to upend the Vikings. Anything can happen within the Division. Plus, the Bears are playing for their playoff lives -- and the coaches for their jobs -- while the Vikings may take the foot off the pedal a bit now that they have such a commanding lead in the Division.

It will also be interesting to see what happens when the Cardinals visit the Titans. Arizona is undefeated on the road this season, but Tennessee has suddenly become a force again. Vince Young is undefeated as a starter this season, and people are talking about the mature quarterback and multiple threat that he has become. Should be a fascinating game.

Still more fascinating is the Colts visit to Houston. The Texans are clinging to the slightest of playoff hopes -- they need this win. The Colts, however, are undefeated, and just keep finding a way to win, one game at a time.

Sunday Nights' game is another great match-up: Steelers at Ravens. The defending champion Steelers have been disappointing this season, and now they're looking up at the Bengals in their Division. The Ravens, meanwhile, jumped out to a great start, only to find themselves at .500, in third place, and struggling to stay in the postseason picture.

Meanwhile, however, the very best game of the week is on Monday Night.

After some recent clunkers, the Monday Night crew has hit the jackpot this week: Patriots at Saints. What a beauty! The Saints are undefeated and look amazing. But if anyone on their remaining schedule can keep them from going 16-0, it's the only team that has gone 16-0 in the regular season. This will be a great test to see just how good these Saints are. And with the Vikings right on their heels in the Conference standings, they can't afford to let this one get away.

Bottom line? Packers win, but the current NFC playoff seedings remain basically unchanged. And one of the two remaining undefeated teams goes down this week.