Piece by piece, we inch closer to putting together the NFL playoff puzzle with every passing week.

Week 12 could potentially provide us with some key edge pieces.

On Thursday Night Football, the winner of a showdown between the Indianapolis Colts and Houston Texans will at least temporarily take over first place in the AFC South.

Three nights later, the Green Bay Packers and San Francisco 49ers will give us a potential tiebreaker for the NFC’s top seed.

Twelve of the 14 games on the Week 12 schedule feature matchups between teams from the same conferences.

Those matchups will provide us with some key head-to-head, divisional or conference tiebreaker implications.

And what about the remaining two matchups?

One week after doing the Dallas Cowboys a favour by beating the Philadelphia Eagles, the New England Patriots will welcome Dak Prescott and company to Gillette Stadium for an inter-conference showdown with major implications.

Then on Monday Night Football, Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens will need to effectively end the playoff hopes of the Los Angeles Rams just to keep pace with New England atop the AFC.

All of this is by design.

It’s time to separate the contenders from the pretenders.

It all begins on Thursday Night Football.

Back in Week 7, Jacoby Brissett threw for 324 yards and a career-high four touchdown passes in a 30-23 victory over Houston.

Indianapolis has now won four of its last five against the Texans overall.

If they can add to that win total this week, the Colts would technically move two games up on Houston for first place in the AFC South thanks to an additional win and the tiebreaker.

On the flip side, the Texans can move ahead of Indianapolis and earn a crucial head-to-head split with a win at home.

The Colts would still be in decent shape with a loss.

After all, they only have one more opponent with a better than .500 record remaining on their schedule.

As for Houston, it’s a completely different story. 

A loss combined with an Oakland Raiders win over the New York Jets would at least temporarily bump the Texans out of a playoff spot.

Then in Week 13, Houston will host the Patriots.

After that, the Texans will play the Tennessee Titans twice along with games against the Denver Broncos and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

That isn’t to say that Houston can’t rally to make the playoffs if they lose to Indianapolis this week.

It’s just that their path to the postseason could get a lot more difficult if they don’t take care of business on Thursday Night Football.

Meanwhile, the NFC East remains wide-open with six weeks to go.

The Cowboys have a one-game lead on Philadelphia as they head to Foxborough this Sunday.

In many ways, this Dallas team still hasn’t shown us anything yet.

In seven games against opponents that are currently .500 or worse, the Cowboys are 6-1. They averaged 33 points for and 18 points against in those contests.

In three games against opponents that are currently better than .500, Dallas is 0-3 and has been outscored by an average of 25-19.

The Cowboys visit the Patriots this week before hosting the Buffalo Bills on a short week on American Thanksgiving Thursday.

Those matchups should give us a much better idea of whether this Dallas team is a legitimate contender or not.

Meanwhile, after cheering on New England last week, Cowboys fans will throw their support behind the MVP betting favourite Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks this week when they visit Philadelphia.

Just how important is this game for the Eagles?

Philadelphia will get its rematch with Dallas at home in Week 16.

In addition to playing the Seahawks and Cowboys, the Eagles’ remaining four games will be against opponents with a combined 5-25 record: A home-and-home with the New York Giants and road trips to face the Miami Dolphins and Washington Redskins.

It isn’t unrealistic to think that Philadelphia can lose this week and still win the NFC East at 10-6.

Still, the Eagles’ potential path to the postseason becomes much clearer with a win in Week 12.

In the Sunday Night Football main event, Aaron Rodgers and the Packers get the opportunity to take over the top seed in the NFC with a win over Jimmy Garoppolo and the 49ers. 

Both teams missed the playoffs a year ago.

Now, Green Bay and San Francisco lead their respective divisions entering Week 12.

In six career starts versus the 49ers, Rodgers has thrown for 1,927 yards with 13 touchdowns and just two interceptions.

Rodgers also owns an 18-to-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio in his last seven Sunday night games.

How will he fare against a San Francisco defence that has allowed an NFC-best 15.5 points per game?

Well, the truth is the 49ers defence hasn’t looked very dominant at all of late.

San Francisco has allowed an average of 27.0 points per game over the last three weeks.

However, even though the defence has taken a hit, the 49ers are still one missed field goal by a rookie substitute kicker in overtime away from being 3-0 over that span.

How have they done it?

San Francisco has won with offence.

Over the last four weeks, the 49ers have averaged nearly 35 points per game.

That number would lead the NFL over the course of a full season.

Jimmy Garoppolo just threw for a career-high 424 yards and four touchdowns to lead a 36-26 comeback win over the Cardinals last week.

And that was without tight end George Kittle and with wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders hindered by a ribs injury.

San Francisco has proven it can win in more ways than one, which is perhaps the most impressive aspect of their season to date.

But can the 49ers do it against Rodgers and the Packers on Sunday night?

If they do, it will leave little doubt about which teams are the best in the NFC.

Finally, Monday Night Football will feature a matchup that looks like David vs. Goliath on paper, with David trying to keep his NFC playoff hopes alive.

A year ago at this time, the Rams were coming off a thrilling 54-51 win over the Kansas City Chiefs in which Jared Goff went 31-of-49 for 413 yards and four touchdowns.

Fast-forward to this season, and Los Angeles is coming off a 17-7 win over the Chicago Bears in which Goff went 11-of-18 for 173 yards and an interception. 

A lot has changed for the Rams over the last 365 days.

Now they need a win over the hottest team in the NFL just to keep their season alive.

When Baltimore’s offence is clicking on all cylinders, they look even more unstoppable than the Rams and Chiefs did at their heights last season.

After blowing away Brady and the previously perfect Patriots, then dominating Watson and the Texans last week, the Ravens have their sights on Goff.

Now just one game back of New England for the AFC’s top seed, there is no reason to think that the Ravens will let off the gas in prime time this Monday night.

Lamar Jackson should be the MVP frontrunner through 11 weeks.

If he delivers again on Monday night, it could spell the end of the line for the Rams.