2023 NFL picks, score predictions for Week 12

New England Patriots (2-8) @ New York Giants (3-8)

Sunday, November 26, 1:00 PM ET

I’ve got to hand it to Tommy Devito and the New York Giants. I had very little expectations for this team based on what we had seen in the first couple of starts of his NFL career, but Devito had a nice game against the Washington Commanders and has caused me to think that maybe this game won’t be the absolute worst of the week in Week 12.

In terms of teams facing off with the worst records, this game is the dud of the week and there’s really no question about it. The Patriots have played in a number of my “dud of the week” games and that’s because they are borderline unwatchable when it comes to the way their offense has played.

How about the Pats coming off of a bye this week? Does that really matter right now? 

The early betting line has the Patriots favored on the road here by 5.5 points. I tend to think that a Bill Belichick-coached team is going to be able to come off of a bye week and beat Tommy Devito.

But we do have to give Devito his flowers. He somehow threw three touchdowns while also taking a whopping nine sacks against the Commanders on Sunday. I just don’t think that kind of success is going to be sustainable, but I’ve been dead wrong about the Giants before.

I’m going to take the Patriots coming off of a bye in this one, even as horrendous as their offense has been all year.

Prediction: Patriots win 17-10