Two games takes place following the Patriots.
After the New England Patriots kick off a Saturday triple-header, two games remain with major playoff implications in both the AFC and NFC.
Check down below to see Pats Pulpit’s picks tonight and head to the comment section to further discussion tonight’s Thursday night action.
Patriots rooting guide
Denver Broncos at Cincinnati Bengals: Go Broncos! While the Bengals need to win to keep their playoff odds alive, a Cincinnati loss would help the Patriots strength of schedule. | 4:30 p.m. ET, NFL Network
Arizona Cardinals at Los Angeles Rams: Go good game! With the Rams needing a win to maintain their lead int he NFC WEST, New England has no major rooting interest after losing to both teams. | 8:10 p.m. ET, NFL Network
Patriots picks
Oliver Thomas: The Bengals didn’t unplug the answering machine after starting 1-4. Or, after falling to 4-8 as the calendar turned to December. Zac Taylor’s side is still sniffing around at 7-8 now, on the heels of back-to-back-to-back wins over teams that will soon be on vacation. The Broncos won’t be. But Chase Brown has given Cincinnati’s offense another dimension. All the while, Joe Burrow already is in one with Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins accounting for 62 catches, 537 yards and a handful of touchdowns during the winning streak. | Bengals 34, Broncos 24
Sean McVay’s Rams hung 44 points on the Bills and haven’t been in a barnburner since, winning by elementary school basketball scores of 12-6 and 19-9 instead. Up next is a Cardinals team that can only play spoiler. The problem for Kyler Murray, who runs in circles through the good times and the bad times, is that he’ll have Kobie Turner, Byron Young, Braden Fiske and Jared Verse chasing after him. | Rams 27, Cardinals 17
Brian Hines: Somehow the Bengals playoff odds hang on by a thread, but things get serious if they can take down Bo Nix and the Broncos this week. Speaking of Nix, we still aren’t major believers in the rookie quarterback — although that Bengals defense will present him plenty of opportunities to put up points. Joe Burrow will have a more challenging task against the Broncos defense, but nobody seems capable of slowing down him and Ja’Marr Chase. | Bengals 30, Broncos 23
Outside of a win over New England, the Cardinals have been in a free fall of late. The opposite is true for Sean McVay’s Rams, who are winners of five-out-of-their-last-six to jump atop the NFC West. We like those trends to continue in LA. | Rams 26, Cardinals 17
If you’re looking to make your own pick on the game, head over to FanDuel.