Week 12 was pretty much a disaster, as I picked only 7 winners out of the 16 games played. The overall record for the season is now 97 correct picks and 50 incorrect. Here are the week 13 choices:
New Orleans at Atlanta – the Saints completely revived their season in recent weeks and have climbed back into the playoff hunt, but took a major blow in losing to the 49ers last week. They need this win much more than the Falcons do, so I’ll take them to win on the road and complete a season sweep of their NFC South rivals.
Jacksonville at Buffalo – the Bills’ playoff hopes were all but extinguished last week, and now they are in a 2-week no-win situation with games against the Jaguars and Rams. If they lose, it’ll be disastrous, if they win, well, they are games they are expected to win. Although they are inconsistent and capable of losing to anybody, they have enough left in the tank to defeat their former coach, Mike Mularkey, in this game.
Seattle at Chicago – two teams fighting for NFC playoff positions. The Bears usually have a great home field advantage, while Seattle struggles on the road. With Jay Cutler back, I’ll pick the Bears.
Indianapolis at Detroit – Indy is one of the season’s big surprises, but the Lions are overdue for a win, and they’ll get one here after losing a heartbreaker on Thanksgiving.
Minnesota at Green Bay – the Vikings are going through a real gauntlet in their schedule, and after a fast start have been slowly coming back down to earth. The Packers will continue that grounding with a big win at home.
Carolina at Kansas City – there won’t be many fans at this game, and it figures to be a flat contest between 2 teams going nowhere. Carolina wins its’ second straight.
New England at Miami – the Dolphins always play New England tough, but the Pats have been on a roll in all 3 phases of the game recently. They’ll stay on that roll with a win on the road.
Arizona at New York Jets – the Jets may be the NFL’s most disappointing team this year, but they’re not so bad that they can’t beat a weak Cardinal team at home. New York wins.
San Francisco at St. Louis – since this a division matchup, it’ll probably stay close, but I expect the 49ers to pull it out in the end.
Houston at Tennessee – the Texans are the class of the AFC South this year, and they’ll continue their terrific 2012 season with another division win.
Tampa Bay at Denver – the Bucs will put up a good fight, but Denver is a legitimate title contender this year with Peyton Manning at the helm. The Broncos win a close one.
Pittsburgh at Baltimore – the Steelers just can’t compete with Baltimore without Ben Roethlisberger, and I expect the Ravens to win easily and continue their stranglehold on the AFC North division.
Cleveland at Oakland – the Raiders are in disarray, and I expect a game Browns’ team to battle hard and win a close one on the road.
Cincinnati at San Diego – the Chargers are just too good to continue playing as bad as they have. I’ll pick them to regroup at home and upset the Bengals, putting a crimp in Cincy’s playoff hopes.
Philadelphia at Dallas – another battle of disappointing teams, but the Cowboys are still playing hard while the situation in Philly has come totally unraveled. Dallas wins.
New York Giants at Washington – it’s the time of year when the Giants start to get serious. Although they’ll face a tough test, New York squeezes out a division win.