NFL Week 12 bold predictions: Bryce Young's career day lifts Panthers to second win

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Throughout the 2023 season, NFL Network analysts will provide one bold prediction heading into each week’s slate of games (see the full Week 12 schedule).

Bryce Young has thrown for 200 or more yards just four times this season — he last did it in Week 8. We’ve been waiting for the No. 1 overall pick to break out, and we will finally get it 12 weeks into the season. Young has his best outing by a mile against the Titans, with 300 pass yards and a trio of TDs. Oh, and the Panthers win!

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On Sunday, it will be four years, two months and 10 days since Odell Beckham Jr. had a game with 100-plus yards and a touchdown. It came back in Week 2 of 2019, with Baker Mayfield at QB for the Cleveland Browns. I think it’s about time for that to happen again. In the absence of Mark Andrews and against a Chargers secondary allowing the second-most yards and seventh-most touchdowns per game to wideouts, OBJ pops off for 125 and a score in a vintage performance.

The last couple of weeks haven’t been great for Stefon Diggs. He has just 61 total receiving yards over the past two games and had to answer questions about his brother’s tweets. That changes this week against an Eagles secondary that has had its own issues. The Bills will feed their main playmaker enough to make you think it’s Second Thanksgiving. It might not be enough to win, but Diggs will be satisfied statistically, with 125 receiving yards and a touchdown.

The Steelers have a new offensive play-caller in Mike Sullivan, and it could (should) lead to Jaylen Warren getting a much larger share of the backfield workload. In a favorable game script against the Bengals, Warren breaks off multiple big runs and tops his 145 scrimmage yards from last week with an impressive 200-yard performance. 

Arizona’s secondary has been much more successful against the slot than against outside wide receivers. Adjusted to the offense, the Cardinals rank fifth on the inside but 29th out wide, where rookie Rams wide receiver Puca Nacua lines up. His quarterback has been most vulnerable when under pressure. Against the blitz, Matthew Stafford is 24th in yards per pass, while he ranks inside the top 10 against more conservative defensive calls. It’s no surprise Stafford put up his best passer rating of the year against Jonathan Gannon’s defense in Week 6, since the Cardinals are a bottom-three team in blitz rate. That said, Nacua will record 10-plus receptions, 100-plus receiving yards and at least one touchdown Sunday in Arizona.

The Pittsburgh Steelers unleash their full potential on offense against division-rival Cincinnati, with interim OC Eddie Faulkner and new offensive play-caller Mike Sullivan replacing Matt Canada. The move pays off for Kenny Pickett, who goes for 300-plus yards and a trio of touchdowns in a Pittsburgh win.

Full NFL Week 12 schedule

Thursday, November 23

  • Green Bay Packers 29, Detroit Lions 22
  • Dallas Cowboys 45, Washington Commanders 10
  • San Francisco 49ers 31, Seattle Seahawks 13

Friday, November 24

  • Miami Dolphins at New York Jets (3 p.m. ET on Prime Video)

Sunday, November 26

  • New Orleans Saints at Atlanta Falcons (1 p.m. ET on FOX)
  • Pittsburgh Steelers at Cincinnati Bengals (1 p.m. ET on CBS)
  • Jacksonville Jaguars at Houston Texans (1 p.m. ET on CBS)
  • Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Indianapolis Colts (1 p.m. ET on CBS)
  • New England Patriots at New York Giants (1 p.m. ET on FOX)
  • Carolina Panthers at Tennessee Titans (1 p.m. ET on FOX)
  • Los Angeles Rams at Arizona Cardinals (4:05 p.m. ET on FOX)
  • New York Giants at Washington Commanders (1 p.m. ET on FOX)
  • Cleveland Browns at Denver Broncos (4:05 p.m. ET on FOX)
  • Kansas City Chiefs at Las Vegas Raiders (4:25 p.m. ET on CBS)
  • Buffalo Bills at Philadelphia Eagles (4:25 p.m. ET on CBS)
  • Baltimore Ravens at Los Angeles Chargers (8:20 p.m. ET on NBC/Universo/NFL+)

Monday, November 27

  • Chicago Bears at Minnesota Vikings (8:15 p.m. ET on ABC/ESPN/ESPN Deportes/NFL+)

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