The Tennessee Titans and New England Patriots will do battle in Week 12 at Gillette Stadium in a game that could have serious playoff seeding implications.
The Titans currently sit in the No. 1 seed in the AFC going into this game, but are coming off a disappointing loss to the Houston Texans in Week 11 following what was one of their worst games of 2021.
The Patriots, on the other hand, are the hottest team in the NFL right now after having won five games in a row. New England currently sits in the No. 5 seed in the conference and tied for first place in the AFC East.
Should the Patriots win, they would jump the Titans in the playoff picture, and combined with a Baltimore Ravens loss, New England would sit in the top seed following Week 12.
According to Tipico Sportsbook, the Pats are 6.5-point favorites over the Titans, but do experts see things going differently? Find out now as we take a look at the expert picks for Week 12.
USA TODAY
Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
USA TODAY’s Week 12 picks
Jarrett Bell: Patriots
Nate Davis: Patriots
Jori Epstein: Patriots
Mike Freeman: Patriots
Mike Jones: Patriots
Mike Middlehurst-Schwartz: Patriots
Lorenzo Reyes: Patriots
ESPN
Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
ESPN’s Week 12 picks
Emmanuel Acho: Patriots
Matt Bowen: Patriots
Mike Clay: Patriots
Jeremy Fowler: Patriots
Domonique Foxworth: Patriots
Dan Graziano: Patriots
Rob Ninkovich: Patriots
Laura Rutledge: Patriots
Kevin Seifert: Patriots
Sam Wickersham: Titans
Damien Woody: No pick
CBS Sports
Paul Rutherford-USA TODAY Sports
CBS Sports’ Week 12 picks
Pete Prisco: Patriots 20, Titans 17 – “The Titans looked awful in losing at home to the Texans last week and now must play a big AFC road game against the Patriots. New England has been playing great defense, which will again be the case here. This should be an ugly, low-scoring game, with the Patriots pulling it out with a late field goal but the Titans hanging around.”
Jason La Canfora: Patriots
Will Brinson: Patriots
Jared Dubin: Patriots
Ryan Wilson: Patriots
John Breech: Patriots
Dave Richard: Patriots
Jamey Eisenberg: Patriots
MMQB
Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
MMQB’s Week 12 picks
Gary Gramling: Patriots
Jenny Vrentas: Patriots
Albert Breer: Patriots
Mitch Goldich: Patriots
Conor Orr: Titans
Bleacher Report
Syndication: Nashville
Bleacher Report’s Week 12 picks
Gary Davenport: Patriots
Brad Gagnon: Titans
Ian Kenyon: Titans
Wes O’Donnell: Patriots
Connor Rogers: Titans
Brent Sobleski: Patriots
Score prediction: Patriots 23, Titans 17
NFL.com
Photo by Todd Olszewski/Getty Images
Gregg Rosenthal: Patriots 24, Titans 14 – “The Patriots are on quite a streak of excellence and fortune. They keep catching teams at the right time, with Titans receiver Marcus Johnson now out for the season, just as he was starting to produce. A.J. Brown’s status is also uncertain, and he is so vital to this Titans offense. The big, bad Tennessee defensive line is too good to dismiss, but I like the chances of a cohesive Patriots defense forcing Ryan Tannehill to beat them without a lot of help from his running game or a sneaky bad offensive line.”
Sporting News
Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images
Vinnie Iyer: Patriots 24, Titans 10 – “The Patriots are putting it all together with their defense, special teams, running game and now more from rookie Mac Jones in an efficient downfield passing game. Bill Belchick has been foiled by his former linebacker Mike Vrabel’s team in big spots but Vrabel is dealing with a shorthanded deck, making their once explosive offense easy to defend while they remain a lot of key fundamental holes in the defense. Ryan Tannehill was burned plenty by Belichick in AFC East play and his sudden Henry-less slump doesn’t bode well to put up more points than Jones does.”
Bill Bender: Patriots 24, Titans 19 – “This line seems high given the Titans’ spot in the AFC ranks, but it’s a nod to the Patriots’ lights-out play with rookie quarterback Mac Jones. Mike Vrabel has led Tennessee to victories against the Patriots in the last two meetings, too. That said, we’re going to trust the Patriots’ defense at home, where they have allowed just 10 ppg. in their last two.”
Overall expert tally
Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
No. of experts picking Patriots: 34
No. of experts picking Titans: 5
