Week 12 capsules

TV GAMES All times Central

Chargers at Chiefs Noon, CBS LINE - Chiefs by 4

LAST MEETING San Diego beat Kansas City 31-13 on Nov. 1, 2012 LAST WEEK San Diego lost to Miami 20-16; Kansas City lost to Denver 27-17 RANKINGS Chargers: offense (7), defense (27); Chiefs: offense (24), defense (12) NOTES San Diego has won four of last five against Kansas City. … Chargers have lost three consecutive by combined 18 points. … QB Philip Rivers needs 11 yards passing for eighth consecutive 3,000-yard season. … Rivers is completing 70.9 percent of passes, just off NFL record of 71.2 set by New Orleans’ Drew Brees in 2011. … Chargers have allowed 19 sacks, tied for fourth fewest in NFL. … Kansas City fell to second in NFL behind Buffalo with 36 sacks after having none last week vs. Denver. … RB Jamaal Charles (7,004) became fifth player in Chiefs history with 7,000 yards from scrimmage with 72 last week. … Alex Smith is 0-2 against Chargers as starter. … Chiefs lead NFL with 5 defensive TDs and plus-15 turnover differential. … Chiefs have scored 84 points off takeaways, third most behind San Francisco and Seattle. … Kansas City leads NFL in third-down defense (27.2 percent).

Cowboys at Giants 3:25 p.m., Fox

LINE - Giants by 2½

LAST MEETING Dallas beat New York 36-31 on Sept. 8 LAST WEEK Dallas had bye; New York beat Green Bay 27-13 RANKINGS Cowboys: offense (18), defense (32); Giants: offense (23), defense (11) NOTES Game has implications in NFC East race with New York riding four-game winning streak after going 0-6 and Dallas playing mediocre football. Philadelphia leads East at 6-5. … Dallas QB Tony Romo has 12 touchdowns and 3 interceptions with 117.7 rating in past four starts in New Jersey. …WR Dez Bryant has 18 touchdowns receiving in his last 18 games. Since 2011, he has 29 TD catches, tied for second among NFL wideouts. … CB Brandon Carr scored on 49-yard interception return and S Barry Church returned a fumble 27 yards for another score against Giants in opener. … New York QB Eli Manning has won six of past nine vs. Dallas. … With victory, the Giants can become only second team in NFL history to lose first six games and win next five games (Tennessee in 2009). Those Titans started 0-6 and won five in a row, finishing with 8-8 record.

Panthers at Dolphins Noon, Fox

LINE - Panthers by 4½

LAST MEETING Miami beat Carolina 24-17 on Nov. 19, 2009 LAST WEEK Miami beat San Diego 20-16; Carolina beat New England 24-20 RANKINGS Panthers: offense (22), defense (3); Dolphins: offense (31), defense (21) NOTES Carolina has allowed 135 points, fewest in NFL. … Panthers lead league with third-down conversion rate of 48 percent. They’re fourth on fourth down at 71 percent. … Carolina has outscored opponents 45-8 in first quarter, and led at halftime in all but one game. … During Panthers’ six-game winning streak, QB Cam Newton has thrown 10 touchdown passes and only 3 interceptions. … Panthers lead NFL with 21 drives of five minutes or more. They’ve had only 16 three-and out possessions, which is tied for fewest in league, and they rank second in time of possession. … Miami QB Ryan Tannehill leads NFL with 41 sacks, two shy of franchise record set by Bob Griese in 1968. … Dolphins rank next to last in NFL in yards at 308 per game. They’re averaging 4.5 yards on first down, also second worst. … Seven of Miami’s 10 games have been decided by four points or fewer.

Broncos at Patriots 7:30 p.m., NBC

LINE - Broncos by 2

LAST MEETING New England beat Denver 31-21 on Oct. 7, 2012 LAST WEEK Denver beat Kansas City 27-17; New England lost to Carolina 24-20 RANKINGS Broncos: offense (1), defense (23); Patriots: offense (11), defense (20) NOTES Peyton Manning is 4-9 in his career against Tom Brady, 0-1 since moving from Indianapolis to Denver last season. Brady is 4-6 against Denver, but won past three meetings. … QB Manning’s 34 TD passes project to 54 for season, which would break NFL record of 50 set by Brady in 2007. … Denver is 20-1 in regular season since losing to Patriots in Week 5 last year. Current Broncos WR Wes Welker had 13 catches for 104 yards and TD for Patriots in that game. … Broncos coming off victory that gave Chiefs first loss. … Denver interim head coach Jack Del Rio, Jacksonville’s former coach, is 0-5 in career against Patriots. He’s filling in for John Fox, who underwent heart surgery … Since Bill Belichick became New England’s coach in 2000, Broncos are only team he doesn’t have winning record against, 5-5. … Patriots’ streak of 36 games with takeaway ended at Carolina.

OTHER GAMES

Vikings at Packers Noon

LINE - Packers by 4

LAST MEETING Green Bay beat Minnesota 44-31 on Oct. 27 LAST WEEK Minnesota lost to Seattle 41-20; Green Bay lost to New York Giants 27-13 RANKINGS Vikings: offense (26), defense (30); Packers: offense (3), defense (18) NOTES 106th meeting between teams, Minnesota’s most common opponent in franchise history. … Meeting of two teams in bottom fourth of NFL in turnover margin, with Vikings at minus-8 (tied for 27th) and Packers at minus-6 (tied for 24th). … RB Adrian Peterson needs one TD rushing to have at least 10 in each of first seven seasons. Coach Leslie Frazier said he was “cautiously optimistic” at midweek that Peterson (groin) will play. … KR Cordarrelle Patterson’s 962 kickoff return yards are most by Vikings player through first 10 games of season. Patterson set NFL record last time teams met with 109-yard kickoff return for touchdown. … Green Bay looking to avoid first three-game home losing streak since losing first three games at Lambeau Field in 2006. … RB Eddie Lacy has 645 yards rushing over last seven games, tops in NFL in that span.

Jaguars at Texans Noon

LINE - Texans by 10

LAST MEETING Houston beat Jacksonville 43-37 (OT) in Nov. 18, 2012 LAST WEEK Jacksonville lost to Arizona 27-14; Houston lost to Oakland 28-23 RANKINGS Jaguars: offense (32), defense (29); Texans: offense (8), defense (1) NOTES These teams have two worst records in AFC and Jaguars are only team in NFL with just one victory. … Jacksonville QB Chad Henne had 354 yards passing with four touchdowns in last game in Houston. … RB Maurice Jones-Drew has run for touchdown in two consecutive games and has 10 career TDs rushing against Houston, tied for most against any team. … WR Cecil Shorts needs six receptions to surpass career high of 55 receptions from last season. … Houston DE J.J. Watt has sack in four consecutive games. He leads NFL with 29 sacks since 2012 and has 4 1/2 in last three games against Jaguars.

Bears at Rams Noon LINE - Rams by 1

LAST MEETING Chicago beat St. Louis 23-6 on Sept. 23, 2012 LAST WEEK Chicago beat Baltimore 23-20 (OT); St. Louis had bye RANKINGS Bears: offense (9), defense (24); Rams: offense (27), defense (19) NOTES Chicago is tied for NFC North lead with Detroit. … Bears have won four consecutive in series. … QB Jay Cutler ruled out for second consecutive week with high left ankle sprain. Backup Josh McCown has passed for five touchdowns with no interceptions in four games overall. … G Kyle Long faces brother, Rams DE Chris Long, for first time. … St. Louis RB Zac Stacy has two 100-yard games past four times out and is second among NFL rookies with 537 yards rushing. … DE Robert Quinn leads NFC with 12 sacks. … P Johnny Hekker leads NFL with 43.5 net average.

Steelers at Browns Noon

LINE - Browns by 1½

LAST MEETING Pittsburgh beat Cleveland 24-10 on Dec. 30, 2012 LAST WEEK Pittsburgh beat Detroit 37-27; Cleveland lost to Cincinnati 41-20 RANKINGS Steelers: offense (15), defense (14); Browns: offense (25), defense (5) NOTES Pittsburgh has crept back into playoff picture following 0-4 start. … QB Ben Roethlisberger passed for 367 yards and four TDs last week. … An Ohio native, he’s 15-1 in career against Browns and won last five starts against Cleveland. … Roethlisberger needs five TD passes to pass Hall of Famer Terry Bradshaw (212) for most in franchise history. … Cleveland needs one victory to match total for entire 2012 season. … QB Jason Campbell had three interceptions last week against Cincinnati. … Browns built 13-0 lead vs. Bengals before giving up 31 unanswered points in second quarter. … Cleveland will play three of next four at home.

Buccaneers at Lions Noon LINE - Lions by 9

LAST MEETING Detroit beat Tampa Bay 27-20 on Sept. 11, 2011 LAST WEEK Tampa Bay beat Atlanta 41-28; Detroit lost to Pittsburgh 37-27 RANKINGS Buccaneers: offense (28), defense (15); Lions: offense (4), defense (25) NOTES Tampa Bay has won two consecutive after opening 0-8. … Rookie QB Mike Glennon completed 20 of 23 passes for 231 yards and 2 touchdowns without interception. … Undrafted rookie and former Browns RB Bobby Rainey ran for 163 yards and two TDs and caught pass for score last week, first player since Edgerrin James in 1999 to have at least 150 yards rushing, 2 scores rushing and 1 TD receiving within first 10 games of NFL career. … Detroit looking to avoid first two-game losing streak of season. … QB Matthew Stafford threw for 350-plus yards for fifth time this season at Pittsburgh to surpass 16,000-yard mark for career, breaking Hall of Famer Bobby Layne’s franchise record of 15,710.

Jets at Ravens Noon LINE - Ravens by 3½

LAST MEETING Baltimore beat New York Jets 34-17 on Oct. 2, 2011 LAST WEEK New York Jets beat Buffalo 37-14; Baltimore lost to Chicago 23-20 (OT) RANKINGS Jets: offense (20), defense (8); Ravens: offense (30), defense (13) NOTES New York S Ed Reed returns to Baltimore for second time this season. He was previously with Texans, who cut him before New York scooped up 35-year-old. Reed starred for Ravens from 2002-2012 and won Super Bowl last season. … Baltimore is 9-1 in November at home under Coach John Harbaugh.

Titans at Raiders 3:05 p.m.

LINE - Titans by 1

LAST MEETING Tennessee beat Oakland 38-13 on Sept. 12, 2010 LAST WEEK Tennessee lost to Indianapolis 30-27; Oakland beat Houston 28-23 RANKINGS Titans: offense (21), defense (10); Raiders: offense (16), defense (17) NOTES Tennessee has lost five of six following 3-1 start to season. … Oakland QB Matt McGloin was first undrafted rookie since start of common draft in 1967 with three TD passes, no INTs in single game, filling in for injured Terrelle Pryor.

Colts at Cardinals 3:05 p.m.

LINE - Cardinals by 3

LAST MEETING Indianapolis beat Arizona 31-10 on Sept. 27, 2009 LAST WEEK Indianapolis beat Tennessee 30-27; Arizona beat Jacksonville 27-13 RANKINGS Colts: offense (13), defense (22); Cardinals: offense (19), defense (9) NOTES Indianapolis is 2-1 against NFC West (beat Seattle, San Francisco; lost to St. Louis). … Colts have trailed at halftime in past three games but came back to win two of them. … Arizona 2-0 against AFC South (beat Houston and Jacksonville). Arizona’s 22 takeaways are tied for third in league, behind Seattle (26) and Kansas City (24).

NOV. 18 GAME Carolina 24, New England 20

THURSDAY’S GAME New Orleans 17, Atlanta 13

TODAY’S GAMES All times Central Minnesota at Green Bay, noon Jacksonville at Houston, noon San Diego at Kansas City, noon Chicago at St. Louis, noon Pittsburgh at Cleveland, noon Tampa Bay at Detroit, noon NY Jets at Baltimore, noon Carolina at Miami, noon Tennessee at Oakland, 3:05 p.m.

Indianapolis at Arizona, 3:05 p.m.

Dallas at NY Giants, 3:25 p.m.

Denver at New England, 7:30 p.m.

MONDAY’S GAME San Francisco at Washington, 7:40 p.m.THURSDAY’S GAMES Green Bay at Detroit, 11:30 a.m.

Oakland at Dallas, 3:30 p.m.

Pittsburgh at Baltimore, 7:30 p.m.

DEC. 1 GAMES Chicago at Minnesota, noon New England at Houston, noon Tennessee at Indianapolis, noon Jacksonville at Cleveland, noon Tampa Bay at Carolina, noon Arizona at Philadelphia, noon Miami at NY Jets, noon St. Louis at San Francisco, 3:05 p.m.

Atlanta vs. Buffalo at Toronto, 3:05 p.m. Cincinnati at San Diego, 3:25 p.m.

Denver at Kansas City, 3:25 p.m.

NY Giants at Washington, 7:30 p.m.

DEC. 2 GAME New Orleans at Seattle, 7:40 p.m.