NFL Picks Week 12: The Patriots' hot streak, the Rams at Lambeau, and Falcons-Jags at the horizon of the apocalypse

Thanksgiving has come and gone, leaving the NFL officially in the home stretch of the regular season. Week 12 won’t be a dividing line between the league’s haves and have-nots as foundations are laid for the postseason — there’s way too much parity and unpredictability for that — but it should provide a basic map for the final third of the 2021 campaign.

Just like Thanksgiving dinner itself, the leftovers that linger into the weekend are superior to Thursday’s offering. Sunday brings a solid chaser after an underwhelming slate on turkey day.

The AFC, tangled mess that it is, could see the Tennessee Titans extend their time on top by derailing the New England Patriots and their five-game winning streak. The Los Angeles Rams and Green Bay Packers will do battle in a game that will shape NFC playoff seeding. The Minnesota Vikings and San Francisco 49ers will spar to see whose midseason postseason push stays afloat and who sinks outside the Wild Card race.

Below you’ll find the picks I like, picks I don’t, one very dumb upset this week — and of course — the now infamous Rhody Scumbag Lock of the Week (now on a one-game winning streak thanks to Kirk Cousins!). Want the full lineup? Those can be found here.

Here are my breakout picks, all of which have been … eesh, pretty underwhelming this year. Let’s try and get back on track or at least do poorly enough for y’all to confidently fade me. All odds via Tipico.