NFL Week 13 Predictions
It is crazy that the NFL season is about to enter the final few weeks of the regular season. The Thanksgiving games were all good last week and the rest of week 12 was alright. The playoff picture is getting more clear week by week.
The Cleveland Browns are still looking to win a game. The New York Giants have decided to bench quarterback Eli Manning in favor of Geno Smith. Manning's 210 consecutive games started will come to an end. It sent shock waves throughout the NFL. I went 11-5 with my picks last week and my record is 107-69 on the year.
Washington Redskins 27 Dallas Cowboys 20: Kirk Cousins has been playing well as of late. He is going to have to keep playing at a high level and the Redskins have an outside shot to make a run at the postseason. They probably won't, but the Dallas Cowboys chances are done because of no Ezekiel Elliott and the defense has been awful.
Minnesota Vikings 27 Atlanta Falcons 24: The Falcons had a nice three game-winning streak, but at the end of the day, they played no one that special and the Falcons have the toughest schedule down the stretch. The Vikings defense will frustrate the Falcons offense. Case Keenum continues to play turnover free football.
Detroit Lions 21 Baltimore Ravens 24: The Lions had a tough time stopping the run last week against the Vikings. I think Alex Collins and Buck Allen will be a wrecking crew in the backfield for the Ravens. Detroit will have a tough time stopping it. Matthew Stafford will be a turnover machine against a ferocious Ravens defense.
New England Patriots 35 Buffalo Bills 21: Whenever you think the Patriots might be on upset alert, Tom Brady usually shuts that down early and often. He continues to play at a high level at his age. Buffalo got a much needed win on the road last week against the Chiefs. Tyrod Taylor has been good for them and LeSean McCoy needs to run the ball effectively on Sunday.
San Francisco 49ers 28 Chicago Bears 20: Jimmy Garoppolo will start for the 49ers on Sunday. He played well in a short amount of time on Sunday when Beathard got hurt. I think Garoppolo will shred the Bears defense. Chicago has been getting destroyed lately.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 20 Green Bay Packers 23: Brett Hundley continues to have a connection with Davante Adams and it will continue against a horrendous Tampa Bay defense. The thing is can the Packers defense stop anybody when it matters the most? Ryan Fitzpatrick will be prone to turnovers when it matters most.
Indianapolis Colts 14 Jacksonville Jaguars 21: Jacksonville's defense didn't have its greatest game last week on the road against the Arizona Cardinals. They will get back to business against the Colts. Blake Bortles will play well for the second straight game.
Denver Broncos 24 Miami Dolphins 17: Both of these teams have been on a bad losing streak and one of them will break it this weekend. Paxton Lynch got hurt for the Broncos and Trevor Siemian will be the starter once again for Denver. The Broncos defense will tee off of Jay Cutler.
Kansas City Chiefs 14 New York Jets 17: As long as Alex Smith is in at quarterback for the Chiefs, they will continue to not move the football and teams will continue to stack in eight in the box. Patrick Mahomes should be the starter and give this offense a boost. The Jets will play hard and pull off the upset.
Houston Texans 17 Tennessee Titans 28: Tom Savage has played decently for the Texans, but he continues to be a turnover machine for the Texans. The Titans defense will be ready to force turnovers and sack him. Marcus Mariota needs to look sharp this week against a suspect Texans secondary. Derrick Henry and DeMarco Murray will continue to bulldoze in the backfield.
Cleveland Browns 14 Los Angeles Chargers 42: The Browns won their only game last season against the Chargers. I don't expect that to happen this season though. The Chargers are playing in rhythm right now. The defense is ball hawking and the offense is on track. Josh Gordon will return for the Browns after being out of the NFL for a couple of years.
Carolina Panthers 35 New Orleans Saints 28: I don't think Cam Newton will have bad accuracy two weeks in a row. He will be up to the challenge this week in a dome. The Saints defense is banged up right now and Cam will take advantage of it. Drew Brees and Alvin Kamara will show up but will the rest of the team? This is a pivotal NFC South showdown.
Los Angeles Rams 20 Arizona Cardinals 27: The Rams had a big win last week against the Saints, but they will be let down on the road against division rivals Arizona. Jared Goff will get roughed up a little bit, but they will score points. Arizona will have a big day on offense with Adrian Peterson and Blaine Gabbert. Yeah I said that.
New York Giants 0 Oakland Raiders 21: Geno Smith will be starting for the Giants on Sunday and it will be a total disaster for the Giants offense. It will be a total laughing stock. The Raiders defense will force turnovers by default. Derek Carr will ball out for the Raiders.
Philadelphia Eagles 28 Seattle Seahawks 20: Carson Wentz will have a tough test on the road, but he will pass it with flying colors once again. Anytime you think he will be slowed down, Wentz isn't going to be. Russell Wilson will not get the help necessary for Seattle.
Pittsburgh Steelers 20 Cincinnati Bengals 24: These two teams hate each other. Pittsburgh struggled with Green Bay but found a way to win the game. They have owned the Bengals in Cincinnati as of late, but Andy Dalton will for once get the job done in a big game. The Bengals still have a shot to make it to the postseason.