Arguably the best week of the entire year is upon us — Thanksgiving week.
We’re told at a young age that Thanksgiving is about giving thanks and all of that, but as we get older, we come to realize what Turkey Day is all about. It’s about eating and drinking way too much, and doing whatever it takes to ensure you’re able to watch the most football  possible.
All of that starts Thursday afternoon (well, the drinking part may begin Wednesday night) with a three-game slate to help ease the pain of gorging yourself on way too much turkey, stuffing and mashed potatoes. The NFL has done us all a spade by adding a third game to the Thanksgiving schedule on top of the all-too-often lackluster Lions and Cowboys games earlier in the day.
This year, we get Patriots-Jets in the primetime Thursday night spot. It’s sure to be a doozy, and there are no shortage of storylines between these two teams, which won’t be sharing the dinner table any time in the near future.
NESN.com senior assistant editor Mike Cole and assistant editor Ricky Doyle cover that game and the rest of the games, as well as touch on the madness of Black Friday, in this week’s NESN.com NFL picks podcast.
Check out their picks below, and listen to the breakdown in the podcast at the bottom of the page.
Home teams in caps, and lines are from Bovada.lv.
Editor’s note: At the time of this podcast, three Week 12 games were without spreads, meaning both Cole and Doyle were unable to make their bold (and probably awful) predictions. Check back soon to see what the lines are for those games, and to see who these two animals picked.
Cole
Houston (-3.5) over DETROIT
Washington (-3) over DALLAS
NEW YORK JETS (+7) over New England
Oakland (+8) over CINCINNATI
Pittsburgh (-1) over CLEVELAND
INDIANAPOLIS (-3) over Buffalo
Denver (-10.5) over KANSAS CITY
Tennessee (-3) over JACKSONVILLE
CHICAGO (-5) over Minnesota
Atlanta (-1) over TAMPA BAY
Seattle (-3) over MIAMI
Baltimore (-1) over SAN DIEGO
NEW ORLEANS (+2.5) over San Francisco
St. Louis (+3) over ARIZONA
Green Bay (+3) over NEW YORK GIANTS
PHILADELPHIA (+2) over Carolina
Last week: 6-8
Season: 74-84-1
Doyle
Houston (-3.5) over DETROIT
Washington (-3) over DALLAS
NEW YORK JETS (+7) over New England
Oakland (+8) over CINCINNATI
Pittsburgh (-1) over CLEVELAND
Buffalo (+3) over INDIANAPOLIS
Denver (-10.5) over KANSAS CITY
JACKSONVILLE (+3) over Tennessee
Minnesota (+5) over CHICAGO
Atlanta (-1) over TAMPA BAY
Seattle (-3) over MIAMI
Baltimore (-1) over SAN DIEGO
San Francisco (-2.5) over NEW ORLEANS
ARIZONA (-3) over St. Louis
Green Bay (+3) over NEW YORK GIANTS
PHILADELPHIA (+2) over Carolina
Last week: 9-5
Season: 70-71-3
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