Week 12 wasn’t a great week for me picking games, but I still managed to stay on the positive side of the ledger with 9 correct and 7 wrong. The record for the season stands at 110 right and 66 wrong. Here are the choices for week 13:
Philadelphia at Seattle – neither of these teams is going to the playoffs, but the Eagles may be playing to save coach Andy Reid’s job. Although the Seahawks are tough at home, Philly has more talent and will pull out a win.
Tennessee at Buffalo – the Titans are 2 games out of their division lead but with Houston down to their 3rd string QB, they are legitimate contenders. Chris Johnson finally looks like he’s on track, and I see Tennessee battling to a hard-fought win over the fading Bills.
New York Jets at Washington – the Jets won the game they had to win last week, and are much better talent-wise than the Redskins. It won’t be easy, but the Jets will win.
Kansas City at Chicago – both of these teams are playing with backup QBs, so any further success they have will be because of their defense. The Bears have the edge there, plus the home field which is huge for them. The Bears win.
Cincinnati at Pittsburgh – the Bengals have a tough defense and rookie QB Andy Dalton has played well, but this is the time of year the Steelers get serious. Pittsburgh wins to stay even with the Ravens in the AFC North.
Atlanta at Houston – the Texans have to try to stay afloat with their third string QB, but Atlanta’s defense is too much of a challenge. The Falcons win on the road.
Denver at Minnesota – Tim Tebow doesn’t really do anything amazing, but he also doesn’t turn the ball over, and allows the running game, which he is a big part of, to keep drives alive to help his defense stay rested. That formula will work again to beat the Vikings.
Carolina at Tampa Bay – Tampa has been disappointing, but this is a home game against a division rival so they’ll find a way to tough out a win.
Indianapolis at New England – when Peyton Manning was playing, these teams played some classic games. Without him, it’ll be over by halftime. The Patriots win in a rout.
Oakland at Miami – both teams have respectable defenses and I expect it to be a low scoring game, but Carson Palmer is getting comfortable in his new surroundings and will make enough plays to give the Raiders the win.
Baltimore at Cleveland – the Ravens are supposed to be one of the AFC’s top contenders and lead the AFC North, but this is the type of game they’ve been blowing all year. I just can’t see an upset here, though, since the season is reaching the point where the top teams have to win to secure the best possible playoff seeding. The Ravens win.
Green Bay at New York Giants – the Packers are solid, and don’t appear to be losing any focus despite basically have their division locked up. The Giants are once again doing their Jeckyl/Hyde act. Green Bay stays unbeaten with a win that pushes the Giants almost out of playoff contention.
Dallas at Arizona – the Cowboys have worked themselves into position to take control of the NFC East race and can’t afford to stumble here. It’ll be close but Dallas wins.
St. Louis at San Francisco – this is a bad matchup between the Rams’ pathetic offense and the tough Niner defense. Looking to get back on track after losing on Thanksgiving night, San Francisco wins easily.
Detroit at New Orleans – the Lions will be missing their top defensive player Ndamukong Suh, against the team they need him for the most. Because it’s at home in their dome, the Saints win easily.
San Diego at Jacksonville – this game is a Monday night clunker. The Jaguars just fired their coach, and the Chargers probably will also very soon. San Diego has underachieved badly but has too much talent to lose here. The Chargers, who started the year 4-1 and are now 4-7, snap their long losing streak with a win.