NFL Predictions: Week Thirteen

This week will start a very important month of football that determines a team's fate. That's right, December football is here.

The weather starts to really dip and get cold in areas, especially for me on the East coast, where teams like the Giants, Jets, and Eagles will all have to deal with the northeast winds and cold coming. And so will the Patriots, but they usually get 500 feet of snow dumped into their stadium every year, so it's nothing new to them.

December is also a crucial month to keep players healthy and available for the playoffs, but players are having a hard enough time keeping players on the field as it is, as almost every team in the league has at least one important player injured.

Last week in Week 12, I went 10-6 with losses to the Giants, Panthers, Steelers, Dolphins, Jaguars, and Cardinals, and overall for the 2009 season, I am 124-51 and looking to keep the record going.

Lets take a look at the schedule for Week 13.

Thursday Night Football: New York Jets @ Buffalo Bills

This one will be leaving the country, as this game will be played in the Rogers Centre (Skydome) in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

The Jets had a great week picking off Jake Delhomme four times, twice by Darrelle Revis.

Mark Sanchez continues to struggle, and the Jets even had Yankees manager Joe Girardi brought in to teach Sanchez how to slide, so he won't get killed before the end of 2009.

The Bills won their first game for interim coach Perry Fewell, as they knocked off the Jaguars. Now, they are looking to make it two in a row.

The Bills are finding ways to get Terrell Owens involved in the offense more, which might help the Bills chances in winning some games.

Both teams are not at home, but Buffalo at least knows the area and should find a way to win.

Final Score: Bills 27, Jets 20

Tennessee Titans @ Indianapolis Colts

Someone break up the Titans! They're back to their winning ways.

After starting out 0-6 and virtually dead, the Titans have won five in a row and are now alive and well at 5-6.

Major kudos went out to Vince Young, who lead the Titans on a 99-yard, game-winning drive last week against the Cardinals that ended with a game-winning touchdown pass to Kenny Britt.

The Colts are 11-0 and just find ways to keep winning. They knocked off the Texans to win the AFC South division and basically wrapped up the number one seed in the AFC. Now comes possibly going after 16-0.

As great as the Titans have been over the last five weeks, they are running into a wall with the Colts. Peyton Manning should be able to shred the Tennessee secondary.

Final Score: Colts 34, Titans 23

New England Patriots @ Miami Dolphins

On Monday Night Football, the Patriots were outplayed and outcoached in every aspect of their game with the Saints.

Tom Brady looked horrible, and Bill Belichick looked confused in New Orleans.

Now they must rebound quickly because they still have a division to win.

The biggest problem for the Patriots is playing on the road in 2009; they are 1-4 on the road as opposed to being 6-0 at home, which might cause a problem in the playoffs.

The Dolphins have been up and down all season and can't figure out if they are going to be a playoff contender or not. They should have beaten the Bills last week, but didn't.

Ricky Williams has done a nice job taking over for the injured Ronnie Brown and is showing he has some stuff left in the tank.

The Patriots need to win this game to get some confidence back.

Final Score: Patriots 27, Dolphins 17

New Orleans Saints @ Washington Redskins

The Saints just continue to roll in 2009, as they are also 11-0 and look unstoppable on offense.

When they took the Patriots and manhandled them last Monday night, the NFL really took notice and saw how scary the Saints are when they are almost flawless, especially on offense.

The next potential victim for the Saints is the Redskins, who put up a great fight last week against the Eagles, but fell short.

Clinton Portis will be out again with a concussion, and Washington will still struggle to score on offense.

The good thing for the Redskins fans is the misery of 2009 is almost over.

Final Score: Saints 37, Redskins 14

Philadelphia Eagles @ Atlanta Falcons

The Eagles had to fight to defeat the Redskins last week and will look to try and knock off a potential playoff contender in the Falcons on the road.

On offense, the Eagles have had one of the most explosive squads in the league, racking up points and yards in games.

The Falcons will be playing without Matt Ryan, who will be out with a toe injury. Chris Redman should get the start in place of Ryan.

This will be the first game Atlanta will play without Ryan under center, but Atlanta is still at home, and they are a much better home team than they are on the road.

The Eagles will keep this one close, but Atlanta should squeak by at home.

Final Score: Falcons 24, Eagles 21

Oakland Raiders @ Pittsburgh Steelers

There is good news and bad news for the Raiders fans.

Good news: JaMarcus Russell finally was benched. Bad news: the Raiders still lose games.

Even with Bruce Gradkowski now as the starter, the Raiders are still awful, and they got the chance to show everyone on Thanksgiving how bad they were on national TV.

The Steelers are skidding and need to get a win badly before they really fall out of the AFC playoff race.

They should have Ben Roethlisberger back from a concussion and should be able to take care of the Raiders rather easily.

Final Score: Steelers 28, Raiders 7

Denver Broncos @ Kansas City Chiefs

The Broncos won a much-needed game on Thanksgiving over the Giants to end their four-game losing streak.

Now they will continue their quest for a spot in the AFC playoffs with an AFC West matchup on the the road against the Chiefs.

The Broncos looked dead until Josh McDaniels started his tirade of the team on the sideline, then they finally woke up and remembered how to play football.

The Chiefs, on the other hand, would need more than a yelling to get them to play well.

They are not a good team, and Matt Cassel has had a really rough 2009 season.

But this is year one in Kansas City's rebuilding plan. For Christmas, Cassel and Todd Haley should ask Santa Claus for some talent to help them for 2010.

Final Score: Broncos 27, Chiefs 10

Houston Texans @ Jacksonville Jaguars

How do you define disappointment in the NFL this season? The Houston Texans.

Many people picked Houston to be a playoff team this year, but instead, they are 5-6 and lost both games to the Colts this year.

People in Houston are fed up with Gary Kubiak. If they miss the playoffs, Kubiak will probably be ousted.

The Jaguars have been winning lately and find themselves in the middle of the AFC playoff race, which might save Jack Del Rio's job at the end of the season.

Jacksonville is a much better home team, and Houston is too inconsistent to trust, so Jacksonville may be the safe bet this week.

Maurice Jones-Drew should run all over that horrid Texans defense.

Final Score: Jaguars 34, Texans 27

Detroit Lions @ Cincinnati Bengals

Well, the Lions seem to have their future set up on offense. That's good news. But they sure are going to need a ton of help on defense for next year.

Jim Schwartz has done all he can to rebuild the Lions after the 0-16 season from a year ago. So has Matthew Stafford.

The Bengals have been playing very well this year and will look to continue being on top of the AFC North.

They have even added a new factor into the offense in Larry Johnson, who was productive in his first game.

If Johnson can keep his mouth shut and play football without any trouble, the Bengals just became an even more dangerous team down the stretch for 2009.

Final Score: Bengals 34, Lions 13

St. Louis Rams @ Chicago Bears

What more can you say about the Rams? They're bad.

And if they stay bad enough, they're likely going to get the first pick in the NFL draft and use that on a new quarterback.

Marc Bulger is out for the season and, likely, his era in St. Louis is over.

Kyle Boller is just keeping the future quarterback's place warm.

The Bears? Yeah, they're another disappointment.

People think Jay Cutler is mentally weak and soft. People are calling for the firing of Lovie Smith. It's been bad in 2009.

Despite how bad the Bears have been, they're at least good enough to beat the Rams at home.

Final Score: Bears 24, Rams 10

Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Carolina Panthers

One year ago, this was a battle between two teams competing for the NFC South division.

One year later, these two will likely miss the playoffs.

Tampa Bay is nowhere near the contender it used to be, and it's been a long year for first year head coach Raheem Morris. But he does at least have one win.

Carolina, on the other hand, nobody saw this coming. This was a 12-4 team from 2008 and the number two seed from the playoffs.

But somehow, Jake Delhomme just forgot how to be a decent quarterback, and it's carrying over in every game. Many wonder when Matt Moore will get his chance to start.

Carolina has been a shocking disappointment, but they should at least get the win against their divisional opponents.

Final Score: Panthers 27, Buccaneers 14

San Diego Chargers @ Cleveland Browns

Nobody is playing better football than the Chargers have been.

They've won six in a row, taken control of the AFC West again, and are cruising at 8-3 on top.

If they continue to win and do well in the playoffs, maybe they will end up saving Norv Turner's job instead of getting him fired like what was once rumored.

The Browns? OK, maybe they are the worst team in the NFL.

They need help in so many places. Nobody feels Eric Mangini is the right guy for this job, and some feel he might not last after 2009.

Jamal Lewis was also placed on the injured reserve with a severe head injury, so Cleveland loses another key player.

Just another typical day for the Browns in 2009.

Final Score: Chargers 44, Browns 7

Dallas Cowboys @ New York Giants

The Cowboys have been playing very well in 2009 and have surprised a lot of people in 2009.

Tony Romo hasn't been distracted by any blonde women, yet. Wade Phillips is looking like a smart coach, so far. And Terrell Owens is in Buffalo. So life has been good in Dallas.

The Giants have been up and down in 2009. They started out 5-0, then lost four in a row, won one,  and then lost on Thanksgiving.

They lost Antonio Pierce for the rest of the season with a neck injury. Eli Manning may have a more severe injury in his foot. Apparently, he's still going to play, but how effective he will be is the question.

This is a game the Giants need to win to stay alive in 2009. They always fight the Cowboys and in a must-win situation, I'll pick the Giants in a close one.

Final Score: Giants 28, Cowboys 24

San Francisco 49ers @ Seattle Seahawks

The 49ers have been hanging around in 2009, and they're not as bad as they used to be.

Alex Smith is back as the starting quarterback, and Michael Crabtree has been as great as advertised since finally signing his rookie contract.

The 49ers are getting closer to being a really good team but just need a couple more players to get over.

The Seahawks at one time were one of the top teams in the NFC and a constant playoff contender. But Seattle lately has fallen on hard times, and it's been a rough one for Jim Mora in his first year.

Seattle's running game has been bad and at times, virtually non-existent. It was bad enough to where they cut Edgerrin James a few weeks ago because he had no use on the team. That's a former top running back who lead the league in yards at one time.

At home though, Seattle is more competitve and could be good enough to win over their division opponents, but barely.

Final Score: Seahawks 20, 49ers 17

Sunday Night Football: Minnesota Vikings @ Arizona Cardinals

The NFL used the flex schedule and moved this game from normal time into prime time on Sunday night. Why? Brett Favre.

Favre equals ratings. And in 2009, Favre has equaled winning, as Minnesota is 10-1 and has been one of the most complete teams in the league.

The Cardinals have been much better in 2009 than they were a year ago when they were the runner-up in the Super Bowl, and they'll likely see the playoffs again.

Kurt Warner's status for the game is uncertain with a concussion, so if Warner still can't go, Matt Leinart will make his second start of the year.

Even if Warner can or can not go, I can't see the Cardinals defense trying to slow down Minnesota's offense, and god help any quarterback with Jared Allen running after them.

Minnesota should be the favorites in this game, but it should be fun to watch with both of the offenses.

Final Score: Vikings 35, Cardinals 27

Monday Night Football: Baltimore Ravens @ Green Bay Packers

For the second week in a row, the Ravens are on national TV playing in a prime time game.

They started out 3-0 but have been up and down since then, especially because of their defense. They don't look the same since Rex Ryan left to coach the Jets.

Things are looking up for the Packers in 2009. Despite losing both games to the Vikings, Green Bay has the makings of a playoff team.

When he isn't getting sacked, Aaron Rodgers is throwing for a ton of yards and a lot of touchdowns for the Packers, making people forget that Favre person.

Another win for Green Bay, and they are a serious playoff contender who will at least finish over .500. But Green Bay is looking for more than that in 2009.

Final Score: Packers 34, Ravens 20

That does it for the games and schedule of Week 13.

As the days get colder and the calendar pages turn in December, it also gets closer to Christmas time and all of the holiday season.

Will your team bring you a happy holiday, or will it bring disappointment?

Hope everyone enjoys the rest of their week, and we'll all be back shortly for more football games this weekend.