Hello readers! Another week of National Football League action is coming upon us soon. Last week was certainly a long week for everyone. Hopefully this week will be free of COVID positives for all 32 teams. The week features a few intriguing matchups. I'll be keeping an eye on the Browns-Titans, Rams-Cardinals and Broncos-Chiefs games. In this post I'll talk about: the latest playoff projection and my picks for the week's action. Let's get to work!
Playoff Picture: Week 13
Starting this season the NFL added an extra wild card team for both the NFC and AFC. So there'll be four division winners that will make up the top-4 seeds and then three wild cards. So in total there will be 14 teams that will be playing January football. Here's the latest playoff projection:
AFC:
1st seed: Pittsburgh Steelers (11-0)
2nd seed: Kansas City Chiefs (10-1)
3rd seed: Tennessee Titans (8-3)
4th seed: Buffalo Bills (8-3)
5th seed: Cleveland Browns (8-3)
6th seed: Miami Dolphins (7-4)
7th seed: Indianapolis Colts (7-4)
Wild card:
Indianapolis @ Kansas City
Miami @ Tennessee
Cleveland @ Buffalo
I assume that the team that is the lowest seed would go onto play the Steelers in the divisional playoff. The major tiebreaker of note is that Tennessee is ahead of Buffalo based on their head-to-head (Tennessee beat Buffalo earlier in the season).
NFC:
1st seed: New Orleans Saints (9-2)
2nd Seed: Seattle Seahawks (8-3)
3rd seed: Green Bay Packers (8-3)
4th seed: New York Giants (4-7)
5th seed: Los Angeles Rams (7-4)
6th seed: Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-5)
7th seed: Arizona Cardinals (6-5)
Wild card:
Arizona @ Seattle
Tampa Bay @ Green Bay
Los Angeles Rams @ New York Giants
You read that right ladies and gentlemen a 4-7 football team could possibly host a playoff game and a team that has a better record will have to go on the road to beat them. An interesting tiebreaker is that the Seahawks is ahead of the Packers based on strength of victory.
Week 13 Picks
Week 13 of the NFL's regular season features a 15-game slate. There will be no Thursday night game this week. The week features seven early games, four late games, a Sunday night game, two Monday games, and a Tuesday night game. CBS will have the doubleheader while FOX will have the single, regional game. Tampa Bay and Carolina are on a bye this week. Let's get to the picks!
Note: TW is me and CV is Cardinal Viking my former roommate
Detroit (4-7) @ Chicago (5-6) (FOX): TW: Bears; CV: Lions
Both teams lost last week as the Lions lost to the Texans and the Bears lost to the Packers. Matt Patricia is gone and the Lions future is unknown. I'm not sure how the Lions will respond. Typically teams that react to their head coach firing is in general good. I feel the Bears will win based on in general better running game and defense. This could be a close one and the sad thing is one of these teams is bound to win.
Cleveland (8-3) @ Tennessee (8-3) (CBS) TW: Titans; CV: Browns
Both teams won last week as the Browns beat the Jaguars and the Titans beat the Colts. Cleveland are at least guaranteed to finish at least at .500 which is certainly a long time coming for them. Unfortunately, they play next a Titans team that destroyed the Colts on the road. The way the Browns rush defense couldn't stop/slow down James Robinson of the Jaguars doesn't really convince me that the Brownies have the means to stop Derrick Henry or at least slow him down. I think the Titans are the better team in this matchup.
Indianapolis (7-4) @ Houston (4-7) (CBS): TW: Colts; CV: Colts
The Colts lost to the Titans and the Texans beat the Lions last week. Momentum seems to be on the Texans side as they destroyed the Lions on Thanksgiving. Indy in general can play well when they don't shoot themselves in the foot via penalties or turnovers. In spite of last week's horrible loss, I do like the Colts in the matchup as they still have a formidable defense that can contain David Johnson enough to make the Texans go to DeShaun Watson more often for offense.
Jacksonville (1-10) @ Minnesota (5-6) (CBS): TW: Vikings; CV: Vikings
The Jaguars lost to the Browns and the Vikings beat the Panthers last week. Jacksonville was close to getting a win last week against the Browns but nevertheless they will finish with double digit losses this season. Any chances of victory are slim but not impossible. Who am I kidding? It would take a terrible Kirk Cousins game for the Vikes to lose this one.
New Orleans (9-2) @ Atlanta (4-7) (FOX): TW: Saints; CV: Saints
Both teams got wins last week as the Saints beat the Broncos and the Falcons beat the Raiders. Not gonna lie, I want to take the Falcons in this game. Taysom Hill's time at quarterback hasn't been exactly Drew Brees-esque (if that's a word) but I like the Saints running game and defense enough to lean toward to New Orleans.
Las Vegas (6-5) @ NY Jets (0-11) (CBS): TW: Raiders; CV: Raiders
Both teams lost last week as the Raiders lost to the Falcons and the Jets lost to the Dolphins. Probably the shortest summary ever. If the Raiders lose to the Jets... just move back to Oakland. Seriously.
Cincinnati (2-8-1) @ Miami (7-4) (CBS): TW: Dolphins; CV: Dolphins
The Bengals lost to the Giants and the Dolphins beat the Jets last week. It is possible that Tua Tagovailoa could return to the fray that is the Miami Dolphins offense. What he or Ryan Fitzpatrick will face is a Joe Burrow-less Bengals team that will likely start Brandon Allen who made the most of his situation. The Bungles will likely not have Joe Mixon back until next week. It seems wise to go with the Dolphins.
NY Giants (4-7) @ Seattle (8-3) (FOX): TW: Seahawks; CV: Seahawks
Both teams got wins last week as the Giants beat the Bengals and the Seahawks beat the Eagles. While the 12th man might not be out in force in this game, the Seahawks should win this game based on their offense alone. The trio of Russell Wilson, Chris Carson, and DK Metcalf is hard to stop and I don't see the Giants putting a lid on it. Ironic that the Seahawks, who had in 2010 a 7-9 record and was in the playoffs, play the Giants a team that is currently leading their division with a 4-7 record.
LA Rams (7-4) @ Arizona (6-5) (FOX): TW: Rams; CV: Cardinals
Both teams lost last week as the Rams lost to the 49ers and the Cardinals lost to the Patriots. Arizona's achilles heel is rearing its ugly head: overall defense. Arizona has lost 3 of its last 4 games. You could make a case that Kyler Murray deserves some of the blame. They're way too good on offense to not have at least 7 or 8 wins. Unfortunately, I feel the Rams seem to be the safer choice in this one as I don't know if they can be stopped with the Cardinals defense. Could be a close game though. NFC West matchups are interesting to watch.
Philadelphia (3-7-1) @ Green Bay (8-3) (CBS): TW: Packers; CV: Packers
The Eagles lost to the Seahawks and the Packers beat the Bears last week. In spite of a 3-game losing streak, the Eagles still have somewhat of a shot to win their division. What stands in their way of a win is the Packers who seem to be a better built team on offense. Sure their defense is suspect but the Eagles offense is just as suspect. Seems like a tall mountain to climb for Carson Wentz and company but I'll take the Packers.
New England (5-6) @ LA Chargers (3-8) (CBS): TW: Chargers; CV: Chargers
The Patriots beat the Cardinals and the Chargers lost to the Bills last week. Even Vegas isn't sure who is going to win this game. Justin Herbert has a been nice story for the Chargers who basically are a trainwreck without him. I think what makes this game intriguing is how well the Patriots pass defense handles him as Bill Belichek has made it a habit to giving rookie quarterbacks nightmares. It's a toss-up but I think the Chargers squeak out a win.
Denver (4-7) @ Kansas City (10-1) (NBC): TW: Chiefs; CV: Chiefs
The Broncos lost to the Saints and the Chiefs beat the Buccaneers last week. Hopefully the Broncos have at least one of their quarterbacks in this one. Kendall Hinton could make another start if none of them are available due to COVID. Otherwise I think Drew Lock will start again for the Broncos. Chiefs will still win because of Patrick Mahomes doing Patrick Mahomes things.
Washington (4-7) @ Pittsburgh (11-0) (FOX): TW: Steelers; CV: Steelers
Both teams won last week as the Football Team beat the Cowboys and the Steelers beat the Ravens. Washington will be riding high as they pretty much pillaged and burned the hopes of the Cowboys making a late run to the playoffs on Thanksgiving. What they face is a Steelers squad that didn't play well against the Ravens on Wednesday. It's to be expected since the game was pushed back so much and the play was pretty sloppy. I think the game will get the Steelers back to form.
Buffalo (8-3) @ San Francisco (5-6) (ESPN): TW: Bills; CV: Bills
Both teams won last week as the Bills beat the Chargers and the 49ers beat the Rams. Game won't be in Santa Clara due to Santa Clara county's ban on contact sports due to COVID. This game will be in Glendale, Arizona. So perhaps the 49ers should be called the Arizona 49ers? Jokes aside, the Monday night game is somewhat of a tantalizing matchup. I like the Bills based on their offense with the multi-talented Josh Allen at the helm. If Buffalo's defense can get into the game and make things happen via turnovers, I like Buffalo in the game.
Dallas (3-8) @ Baltimore (6-5) (FOX/NFL Network): TW: Ravens; CV: Ravens
Both teams lost last week as the Cowboys lost to the Football Team and the Ravens lost to the Steelers. The game was originally supposed to happen tonight (writing this on Thursday night) and got moved to Tuesday because of the Ravens-Steelers contest that took place on Wednesday. Dallas might have some advantage because of the extra rest. Baltimore could see most of its starters return to action which doesn't bode well for the Cowboys who're still trying to get a playoff berth out of their ass. I don't see it happening.
Local TV Schedule (courtesy of 506sports.com, check local listings):
CBS Early:
Jacksonville @ Minnesota
Beth Mowins, Jay Feely
CBS Late:
Philadelphia @ Green Bay
Jim Nantz, Tony Romo
FOX Single:
Detroit @ Chicago
Kevin Kugler, Chris Spielman
Note: Washington @ Pittsburgh will be shown on FOX but my local market won't show it as it is exclusive to NFL Sunday Ticket. Bummer
For more information on which game is being shown in your area, check out: NFL Week 13 Maps
2020 Week by Week Record:
TW's record:
Week 1: 8-8
Week 2: 15-1
Week 3: 9-6-1
Week 4: 11-4
Week 5: 9-5
Week 6: 7-7
Week 7: 12-2
Week 8: 7-7
Week 9: 10-4
Week 10: 10-4
Week 11: 7-7
Week 12: 11-5
Total: 116-60-1
Cardinal Viking's record:
Week 1: 10-6
Week 2: 11-5
Week 3: 8-7-1
Week 4: 7-8
Week 5: 8-6
Week 6: 9-5
Week 7: 11-3
Week 8: 7-7
Week 9: 9-5
Week 10: 11-3
Week 11: 8-6
Week 12: 9-7
Total: 108-68-1
Previous Picking Records:
2017: 167-89
2018: 156-98-2
2019: 151-104-1
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