Week 12 turned out to be the most successful week so far this season as I managed to pick 13 winners out of 16 games, pushing the overall mark for the season so far to 106 games picked correctly and 69 wrong. Here are the week 13 choices:
Houston at Philadelphia – this week’s Thursday night matchup. The Texans rebounded to knock off Tennessee last week but just aren’t good enough to beat an Eagles’ team that will be looking to get back on track after losing to the Bears. Philly wins at home.
Buffalo at Minnesota – the Bills lost an unprecedented third game in overtime last week, all of them 3-point losses. Minnesota’s energy level is much higher with new coach Leslie Frazier, but I think the Bills will pull a mild upset this week and win on the road.
New Orleans at Cincinnati – the Saints are clicking on all cylinders again, while the Bengals are a sham. New Orleans wins big behind a monster game from Drew Brees.
Chicago at Detroit – Chicago continues to rise in the NFC, but the Lions always play them tough. This should be a very close game, but in my opinion the Bears have matured to the point where they’ll win a game they need to against a weaker opponent. The Bears to win in a low-scoring game.
San Francisco at Green Bay – the 49ers kept their division title hopes alive with a win on Monday night, but those hopes will get dashed this week in Lambeau Field. The Packer defense will make QB Troy Smith’s life miserable and Green Bay will win.
Denver at Kansas City – the Broncos have fallen a long way since winning the first 6 games of the Josh McDaniels era last season. Kansas City wins big at home to stay ahead of the red hot Chargers in their division race.
Cleveland at Miami – the young Browns have played some great football at times this year, but Miami’s defense will shut them down and the Dolphins will win at home.
Washington at New York Giants – the Giants helped their cause immensely last week by coming from behind to defeat Jacksonville while the Eagles were losing. They can’t afford to slip up here and won’t. New York to win big at home.
Jacksonville at Tennessee – the Jaguars were written off as having no chance to do anything in their division at the start of the season, but they just won’t go away. With the Titans having QB issues, I believe Jacksonville gets a big division win on the road.
Oakland at San Diego – the Raiders are usually a tough out in division games but San Diego is hitting their stride and needs to win to keep pace in the AFC West race. The Chargers win with another impressive showing by both their offense and defense.
St. Louis at Arizona – are the young Rams good enough yet to steal an NFC West crown? I’m not sure of that yet but they’re certainly good enough to knock off a fading Cardinal team. St. Louis wins on the road.
Dallas at Indianapolis – the Cowboys should have won on Thanksgiving and are a completely different team under interim coach Jason Garrett. This could be an upset considering the battered physical condition of the Colts, but I’ll go with Indy at home to win.
Carolina at Seattle – as terribly inconsistent as the Seahawks have been all year, they really still look like the only team with the chops to win the weak NFC West. This should be an easy win for them at home against the NFL’s worst team.
Atlanta at Tampa Bay – the young Buccaneers have not beaten anybody with a winning record this year, despite a surprising season. I’m going to pick them to finally do it this week against a division opponent at home.
Pittsburgh at Baltimore – the Steelers escaped the noose last week in Buffalo to keep pace with Baltimore in their division. Then again, the Bills should have beaten the Ravens too. The Ravens won the first meeting between these teams, when Ben Roethlisberger was still under suspension. I think they’ll win again at home to take control of the race.
New York Jets at New England – I honestly believe on paper the Jets are the better overall team in this matchup, especially on defense. But Tom Brady just doesn’t fail in these types of games at home. The Patriots win a close game to move ahead in the AFC East.