NFL Predictions Week 13: Picks for Full Slate of Games

With how crazy the NFL season has been so far, Week 13 is bound to have some exciting games.

Just last week, we saw the Jacksonville Jaguars win, a tie between the Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings along with a win from the New England Patriots after going down 24-0 in the first half.

The slate of games for Week 13 features some truly great matchups, so let's take a look at a full list of predictions for this week, followed by a breakdown of some of the most interesting games to watch for.

Away	Prediction	Home
Green Bay Packers	17-28	Detroit Lions
Oakland Raiders	20-30	Dallas Cowboys
Pittsburgh Steelers	24-20	Baltimore Ravens
Tennessee Titans	21-24	Indianapolis Colts
Jacksonville Jaguars	10-17	Cleveland Browns
Chicago Bears	31-24	Minnesota Vikings
Miami Dolphins	14-21	New York Jets
Arizona Cardinals	28-27	Philadelphia Eagles
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	13-24	Carolina Panthers
New England Patriots	31-13	Houston Texans
Atlanta Falcons	24-21	Buffalo Bills
St. Louis Rams	24-27	San Francisco 49ers
Denver Broncos	35-27	Kansas City Chiefs
Cincinnati Bengals	28-21	San Diego Chargers
New York Giants	27-20	Washington Redskins
New Orleans Saints	27-24	Seattle Seahawks

Green Bay Packers (5-5-1) at Detroit Lions (6-5)

Date: Thursday, Nov. 28

Time: 12:30 p.m. ET

TV: FOX

Prediction: 28-17, Lions

The NFC North race is wide open right now, but the winner of this game could very well be in the driver's seat for the reset of the season.

While Green Bay Packers fans were hoping that Aaron Rodgers would be ready to go for this Thanksgiving, Tom Silverstein from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that Matt Flynn will be the starter on Thursday.

Flynn played rather well this past week against the Minnesota Vikings, throwing for 218 yards and a touchdown in the tie.  However, he will have a much tougher task against the Detroit Lions, with players like Ndamukong Suh trying the get after him.

Matthew Stafford will be looking to have a bounce-back game after throwing four interceptions against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  He'll be in good position to do so, as the Packers have one of the worst secondaries in the NFL right now.  According to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), the Packers have the fifth-worst pass coverage grade in the league.

That will be the deciding factor in this.  The Packers need Rodgers back in order to get things going, and his absence combined with a struggling secondary will lead to another tough loss as the Detroit Lions stay on top of the division.

Pittsburgh Steelers (5-6) at Baltimore Ravens (5-6)

Date: Thursday, Nov. 28

Time: 8:30 p.m. ET

TV: NBC

Prediction: 24-20, Steelers

Although neither of these teams has a winning record, a win here would potentially move them into a wild-card spot with a Tennessee Titans loss.

Three straight wins and a 5-2 record over their past seven games has the Pittsburgh Steelers back in business.  Ben Roethlisberger has been playing much better, throwing 11 touchdowns and three interceptions over the past four games.

The issue for both teams offensively has been the lack of a running game.  The Steelers are averaging 77.3 yards per game, while the Baltimore Ravens are averaging just 81.7.

The struggles on the ground are a bigger concern for the Ravens because they were expected to do well in that area.  Despite having Ray Rice and Bernard Pierce in the backfield, the team is averaging just 2.9 yards per carry.

With how bad the running game is for the Ravens, they've been forced to rely on Joe Flacco, and that hasn't worked out.  Joe Flacco has 14 touchdowns and 14 interceptions, and he's struggling to help the offense put up points.

That doesn't bode well for the Ravens, as the Steelers are hot right now and should pull off yet another win.

St. Louis Rams (5-6) at San Francisco 49ers (7-4)

Date: Sunday, Dec. 1

Time: 4:05 p.m. ET

TV: Fox

Prediction: 27-24, 49ers

All four teams in the NFC West are hot right now, which makes this a very important game for the San Francisco 49ers.

The St. Louis Rams have won their last two games by a combined score of 80-29, even without Sam Bradford.  Tavon Austin has become a serious playmaker, scoring four total touchdowns during these past two wins.

The 49ers will be getting their own weapon back in this game.  According to the team's Twitter account, head coach Jim Harbaugh said that he believes Michael Crabtree will finally be able to return for this game.

Both defenses have a number of talented players, and that will be very interesting to watch.  The front seven of the Rams has players like Chris Long and Robert Quinn, who have combined for 19.5 sacks this season.  For the 49ers, Ahmad Brooks, Patrick Willis and NaVorro Bowman have led the defense to allow just 311.6 yards and 16.7 points per game.

Both teams are good, but the 49ers are the more complete team, and they should be able to pull out a big win with the return of Crabtree.