NFL Week 13 Picks: Home Teams That Don't Stand a Chance

Being the home team in an NFL game is normally a huge advantage, but that isn't the case this week as some hosts will be unable to defend their home turf against their road-warrior foes.

A divisional matchup between the Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears draws a terrible matchup problem for the Vikings this week.

The Denver Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs will do battle for what will decide supremacy in the AFC West and the conference as a whole with first place being up for grabs along with the No. 1 seed.

Week 13 is the latest game in what has been a nightmare season for the Houston Texans, whose struggles and astounding losing streak will continue against a New England Patriots team that is riding high after Week 12.

Let's break down each of these games and find out why the home teams will lose.

Away	Home	Pick w/ Score
Dolphins	Jets	Dolphins 17-12
Rams	49ers	49ers 24-19
Giants	Redskins	Redskins 28-20
Jaguars	Browns	Browns 16-10
Titans	Colts	Colts 27-24
Bears	Vikings	Bears 27-13
Cardinals	Eagles	Cardinals 24-14
Bucs	Panthers	Panthers 21-14
Patriots	Texans	31-17
Falcons	Bills	Bills 23-20
Broncos	Chiefs	Broncos 31-21
Bengals	Chargers	Chargers 28-27
Saints	Seahawks	Seahawks 21-20

Minnesota Vikings (vs. Chicago Bears)

The Bears' defense has a very favorable matchup with the Vikings this week, and the first thing that needs to be mentioned is Minnesota's propensity for turning the ball over. The Vikes rank No. 14 in the NFC in giveaways, which plays right into the hands of the Bears' defense that is tied for fifth in takeaways in the same conference.

The biggest weakness the Bears possess on the defensive side of things is their rushing attack that ranks dead last in the NFL. What is normally a major issue for teams going up against Minnesota's run-heavy offense led by superstar Adrian Peterson is negated because the Vikings don't have much of a passing attack to speak of (No. 25).

That will allow Chicago to focus extra defenders on stopping Peterson in his tracks and Chicago has more than enough to keep Minnesota's lackluster air attack grounded.

Offensively, it's take-your-pick for the Bears as they can attack both on the ground and in the air. Backup quarterback Josh McCown has been stellar in place of Jay Cutler, and the veteran QB has not only eclipsed the 200-yard mark in four of his five games this season, but he also has thrown for a score in each while compiling just a single pick.

Even if McCown is off, which is highly unlikely against a defense allowing the fourth-most yards per game through the air, the Bears will have no issue moving the ball on the ground against the No. 24 run defense.

Extra possessions for the Bears and the lack of critical plays by the Vikings' defense will create a myriad of problems for this lowly 2-8-1 squad.

Houston Texans (vs. New England Patriots)

New England comes into this game on a momentum high after beating one of the best teams in the NFL last week, the Denver Broncos. Meanwhile, the Texans are likely as dejected as a team can get after dropping a game against a horrid Jacksonville Jaguars team, 13-6.

Quarterback Case Keenum was largely ineffective for his team and the Texans were only able to muster up 218 total yards against a Jags defense that is No. 18 versus the pass and second to last against the run.

If the Texans have a repeat of last week, it's going to be a long day for their offense. The Pats are stellar against the pass with a No. 9 ranking and if Houston can't get its air attack off the ground, it'll have a hard time exploiting New England's No. 31 run defense as head coach Bill Belichick will have his unit cheat against the run.

Houston has proven to be extremely tough against the pass with the best unit in football, but this is Tom Brady coming to town this week and the Hall of Fame quarterback will be a major step up from Chad Henne, who just so happens to have had some success against the Texans' pass defense after throwing for 239 yards last week.

Offensive success will start on the ground for the Pats, who feature numerous running backs to spread the wealth to and tire out the Texans' No. 22 run defense.

Once the ground game is established for New England, Brady will be able to take shots down field and burn what is a suspect Houston defense overall.

Kansas City Chiefs (vs. Denver Broncos)

The weather forecast at Arrowhead Stadium is looking like a big positive for the Broncos in this game. Weather.com lists the temperature at around 50 degrees and partly cloudy with a zero percent chance of precipitation.

Denver leaned heavily on its rushing attack last week, which proved to be successful after Knowshon Moreno gained over 200 yards by himself, but don't expect the same to happen this week as weather conditions will be much more favorable to the passing game.

Peyton Manning will be a huge factor this week and judging from his 323-yard, one touchdown performance from a few weeks ago, Manning is no stranger to burning a Chiefs pass defense that ranks No. 15.

Furthermore, KC has already shown it can't get to Manning after not recording a single sack or even QB hit against Manning last time around. That is a recipe for disaster as the only way to slow down Manning is weather and putting pressure on him. Both of those keys to victory will escape Kansas City on Sunday.

The Chiefs need to be able to move the ball on the ground and get big plays from Jamaal Charles if they hope to emerge victorious, but that scenario isn't likely considering the Broncos own a top-five ground defense.

That will leave the game in the hands of game manager Alex Smith, who doesn't possess enough firepower in his arm to match what Manning will bring.