NFL Picks Week 13: Predicting Sunday's Marquee Matchups

With the NFL season winding down, Week 13 provides a number of big games that could determine the playoff standings by the end of the year.

While Thanksgiving Day has some exciting games as well, Sunday features some of the biggest matchups of the year.  The AFC South could be locked up after this week, while the AFC West and NFC North races are closer than ever.

Below is a full list of predictions of Sunday's games, followed by a breakdown of the biggest ones to watch for.

Away	Prediction	Home
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

Tennessee Titans (5-6) at Indianapolis Colts (7-4)

Date: Sunday, Dec. 1

Time: 1 p.m. ET

TV: CBS

Prediction: 24-21, Colts

While it may not seem like an important game at first, the Indianapolis Colts will have a chance to essentially clinch the AFC South title with a win over the Tennessee Titans.  

However, the Colts just haven't been the same without Reggie Wayne.  Over the past four games, they've scored just 12 points in the first half while being blown out by the St. Louis Rams and Arizona Cardinals.

Still, the Colts were able to beat the Titans in Week 11, but they had a number of lucky breaks.  They were down 17-6 at halftime, but some big plays by Andrew Luck and Donald Brown, along with a key turnover, helped them pull out the win.

For the Titans, they just won a close game against the Oakland Raiders, with Justin Hunter and Kendall Wright stepping up at the receiver position. 

This should be a close game, but the Colts have to find a way to turn things around.  If they don't, they'll be in serious trouble heading into the playoffs.  For as bad as they've been, I don't see that happening, and they should be able to come away with a win in this one.

Arizona Cardinals (7-4) at Philadelphia Eagles (6-5)

Date: Sunday, Dec. 1

Time: 1 p.m. ET

TV: FOX

Prediction: 28-27, Cardinals

Two of the hottest teams in the NFC, besides the Carolina Panthers, will be going head-to-head on Sunday, and with how well both teams are playing, there's a chance that these two teams could meet once again in the playoffs.

With four straight wins, including that dominating performance against the Colts, the Arizona Cardinals have quietly gone 7-4 and are tied with the San Francisco 49ers for second in the NFC West.  Football Outsiders has the Cardinals as the No. 1 defense in terms of weighted defense-adjusted value over average, or DVOA.

That top-tier defense will have one of its more interesting tests going against Chip Kelly's defense.  Nick Foles has been on fire, throwing 16 touchdowns and zero interceptions this season, but that could change this week going against players like Patrick Peterson and Tyrann Mathieu.

However, it will be the Eagles defense that could be the deciding factor in this game.  The unit ranks last in the NFL in pass defense, giving up 300.1 passing yards per game.  That will give Carson Palmer the opportunity to make big plays and find players like Larry Fitzgerald and Michael Floyd.  While Foles is doing a great job, that defense will keep the Eagles from winning their fourth straight game.

Denver Broncos (9-2) at Kansas City Chiefs (9-2)

Date: Sunday, Dec. 1

Time: 4:25 p.m. ET

TV: CBS

Prediction: 35-27, Broncos

In a rematch from just two weeks ago, the Denver Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs will be fighting for the top spot in the AFC West.  Considering what's going on around the rest of the AFC, the winner of this division will likely have home-field advantage, while the other team will probably have to play all of its playoff games on the road.

For as great as Peyton Manning has played this season, he's slowed down over the past two games, throwing for three touchdowns and one interception while completing less than 60 percent of his passes.

Still, there's a good chance that Manning will be able to have a better game this week against the Chiefs.  According to Ian Rapoport from NFL.com, Justin Houston could be out for two to three weeks, which will take a lot of the pressure off of Manning.

Meanwhile, the Broncos have gotten a big help defensively with the return of Von Miller.  Although he's played in just five games, Pro Football Focus (subscription required) has him as the highest-graded 4-3 outside linebacker in the league.

Alex Smith is good, but he's not at the same level as Manning.  Miller will be able to get after Smith, while Manning won't have to worry about Houston, and that should lead the Broncos to a big bounce-back win while the Chiefs lose their third straight game.