Free NFL 2021 Picks and Predictions – Prospector Sam's Week 12 Best Bets

Prospector Sam has awoken from his turkey-induced slumber to hit you with the best of the best for Sunday's Week 12 action.

It’s Friday and I foolishly waited to write this article until after Thanksgiving, which was a massive mistake considering the throbbing in my head and sense of regret for the 50 beers I drank yesterday. More or less a standard for the day after family holidays. But I pride myself on consistency and I’m not going to bail on a week of picks just because it’s hard, so here we are. You’re welcome. That said, no clever or funny intro for you because I genuinely don’t have it in me at the moment, aside from taking a second to laugh at the Cowboys for their unwavering determination to let their fans down. It was just two weeks ago when people were talking about this team as a potential Super Bowl contender, and it’s truly impressive how fast they’ve managed to burn down all of that hope.

With that out of the way, picks!

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Free NFL Picks For Week 12, 2021

Titans vs. Patriots: Sun Nov 28, 1 PM EST

Well, turns out the Titans are what everyone expected: not the best team in the AFC. Sure, that’s not exactly a big statement, but this team was sitting on top of the pile until last week when they miraculously got DOMINATED by the Houston Texans, a team previously thought to be incapable of dominating anything besides the race to the #1 pick. And, after that catastrophe, the Titans have a date with one of the hottest teams in the NFL and a defense that’s going to cause this injured Tennessee unit all sorts of issues. Not ideal for getting things back on track to say the least. But, even if that’s true, I think you’d have to be crazy to give up 7 points in this game. The Titans are still 8-3 and have wins over the Rams and Chiefs, two Super Bowl favorites, in the last 5 weeks, while the Pats recent success has largely been beating up on weak opponents. New England likely wins this game and I’m not willing to make any statements about the Titans being destined for glory in the long term, but Mac Jones is still a rookie and putting up points will be tougher on a cold New England day. I think this game ends up being close, especially with Vrabel facing his old coach and mentor, and I’ll take the 7.

⛏️  PICK: Titans +7

MORE: Titans vs. Patriots simulator

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Eagles vs. Giants: Sun Nov 28, 1 PM EST

I’m not gonna sugar coat it, this game has “horrible” written all over it. We’ve got a division rivalry in cold, windy weather with two QBs that can’t really be trusted (I’ll admit, Hurts is getting there, but it’s still a work in progress), and I expect to see a hell of a lot of nothing. The Giants are a pretty safe bet to struggle offensively, since they average a horrendous 19 points per game on the year and just fired their offensive coordinator only to give Joe Judge playcalling responsibility (spoiler, it’s not going to end well). With Barkley back they may move the ball a bit better, but running chips time off the clock and Daniel Jones has a habit of ruining drives by turning the ball over even when he does get them going in the right direction. As for the Eagles, their offense runs through the ground game (see what I did there) and they don’t pose much of a threat for big plays. While they probably find some offensive success against the Giants, I don’t see them scoring a boatload of points either unless this coaching staff figures out how to consistently get Devonta Smith open, which they haven’t been able to do. I see this one ending closer to 40, and 45.5 is too many to expect from these two teams. Bet the under.

⛏️ PICK: Total points UNDER 45.5

MORE: Eagles vs. Giants simulator

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Vikings vs. 49ers: Sun Nov 28, 4:30 PM

Jimmy Garoppolo, you sly bastard. Just when this organization looks ready to turn over the reins to a completely unprepared and overhyped rookie who played FCS football, Jimmy G (an equally overhyped FCS product) pumps the brakes on that plan by winning football games. It’s good news for him and his future when SF inevitably moves on from him for Trey Lance, but I’m not buying it myself. Garoppolo has been consistently inconsistent as a starting QB, and a couple of strong performances don’t paper over the fact that he is more fit to be the strong backup who sits around on benches for 10 more years (a good life, don’t knock it) than he is to lead a team to the playoffs. So, despite the fact that the Vikings are determined to blow up their season on a weekly basis, I have to take the points. Trusting Kirk Cousins is a bit likely playing Russian Roulette with half the chambers loaded, but this offense is lethal and their defense is mostly susceptible to high end QB play. While the Niners have a ton of weapons to work with, I don’t trust Jimmy boy enough to make the plays necessary to keep up and Deebo can only do so much on his own. I think this game will be close and likely finishes with a winning margin of 3 or less, and I’ll gladly take the extra points if that’s the case. If the line drops to 2.5 I would be a bit more hesitant, but as it stands I think the Vikings are the pick with the protection of a push from the 3 point loss.

⛏️ PICK: Vikings +3

MORE: Vikings vs. 49ers simulator

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Browns vs. Ravens: Sun Nov 28, 8:15 PM EST

Welcome back, Cleveland, we missed you. Despite all the optimism and foolish Super Bowl bets being placed on the Browns, things have fallen apart as they always do up in Ohio and this team does not look good. They barely squeaked by Detroit at home coming off a blowout loss to New England, and Baker is struggling to perform as he tries to power through an injury that certainly should prohibit him from playing (shocking how that has an impact on performance, huh?). The Ravens haven’t had a great few weeks either to be fair (and equally mean) to them, but last week they were without Jackson and he should be good to go for this one. That will make things much harder on this Cleveland defense, especially if Marquise Brown is back as well, and the Browns probably need to put up at least 24 to stay in this game. Unfortunately, the Ravens have one of the best running defenses in the League (88.6 YPG against) which means Baker is going to have to do a lot of heavy lifting to get them there. His performances of late don’t suggest he’s capable of doing that with this injury and the issues they have at the receiver position, and I think Baltimore wins this one comfortably at home. Giving up 3.5 is tough to do because you lose the field goal hook, but I think it’s the right play here.

⛏️ PICK: Ravens -3

MORE: Browns vs. Ravens simulator