NFL Picks Week 13: First Look Predictions for Every Game
The NFL Week 13 picks are here as the Week 12 games have concluded.
The week gets off to a big start with Houston taking on Philadelphia on Thursday Night Football. Michael Vick and the Eagles are going to be looking to exploit the Texans' defense to avoid losing two in a row.
But the two biggest games of the week are definitely the matchups between Pittsburgh and Baltimore, and New England and the New York Jets.
Neither of those games are an easy pick to make—don't fool yourself if you're a fan of any of these teams.
We have another NFC West battle, but thankfully that's not on Monday Night Football.
So, let's get to the picks.
Last Week: 11-5
Overall: 114-62
Houston Texans v. Philadelphia Eagles
1 of 16
The Eagles were pummeled by the Bears on Sunday, and Andy Reid chewed out DeSean Jackson for not giving 100 percent and looking bad in pregame warm-ups and drills.
The Eagles are going to be motivated to play this game.
The Texans are a contradiction with a great offense and a horrible defense. Last week they faced a Titans offense that Jeff Fisher never wants to put on the field again, so it's safe to say the Texans defense hasn't "all of a sudden" gotten better.
Vick and the Eagles offense is just going to be too much for the Texans defense to handle.
Eagles 28, Texans 20
Jacksonville Jaguars v. Tennessee Titans
2 of 16
Whether Kerry Collins or Rusty Smith starts, the Titans are reeling and their offense isn't what it was six weeks ago.
The Jacksonville Jaguars have Maurice Jones-Drew and David Garrard. Depending on which Garrard shows up, this could be a good or bad thing.
The Titans defense is ranked 26th against the pass and 17th against the rush.
I just can't go with the Titans on those numbers and the questions on their offense right now.
Jaguars 21, Titans 10
Chicago Bears v. Detroit Lions
3 of 16
All of a sudden the Chicago Bears have an offense that can score points without getting the quarterback killed.
This is an honest observation, and Bears fans should agree there have been too many questions about the line and Cutler's decision-making this year to feel good about their playoff chances.
There's no question the defense is elite, though, so if this offense now is for real, the Lions won't stand a chance on Sunday.
The Lions are a feisty team on the right track, but Shaun Hill can only do so much, even with Calvin Johnson.
I expect Calvin Johnson to have a good day. The Bears are ranked 17th against the pass, but that's going to be about it.
Bears 27, Lions 17
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Cleveland Browns v. Miami Dolphins
4 of 16
Peyton Hillis will continue to run through and over people, rushing for another 100 yards and at least one touchdown.
Other than that, if Jake Delhomme gets another start you're going to see at least two more picks on the day.
Also, the Browns defense has forgotten how to tackle, and until proven different, you have to assume Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown are going to bust out a few big runs.
Calling the game as the Browns are currently playing, the Dolphins have a good chance to win this game with Chad Henne behind center.
It'll be close, though.
Miami 17, Browns 14
Washington Redskins v. New York Giants
5 of 16
The battle of the inconsistent quarterbacks will commence on Sunday. Eli Manning has been good more than he has been bad, but when "Bad Eli" shows up, look out.
Donovan McNabb is the poster child for inconsistency, and now he has no running game to fall back on.
The Giants rank in the top 10 of all the major offensive categories. The Redskins rank dead last in yards allowed and near the bottom in pass defense.
As long as "Bad Eli" doesn't show up, this should be an easy victory for the Giants.
Giants 35, Redskins 17
Denver Broncos v. Kansas City Chiefs
6 of 16
With everything going on in Denver, it's hard to pick them in any game the rest of the season. That being said, Kyle Orton seems completely unaffected by what's going on around him.
The Chiefs define the phrase "on a mission," and with the talent on the sidelines, coupled with the talent on the field, it again is difficult to pick against the Chiefs.
So I'm going with the big picture.
Chiefs 38, Broncos 28
San Francisco v. Green Bay Packers
7 of 16
If anyone expects a rational human being to pick an NFC West team against the Green Bay Packers this year, they aren't paying attention.
Green Bay 102, San Francisco 3
Buffalo Bills v. Minnesota Vikings
8 of 16
Picking a game like this is a bit of a trap because the Buffalo Bills put up a lot of points and still lose. But they have lost to a lot of good teams like the Steelers, Ravens, Patriots and Jets.
The Vikings haven't put a lot of points on the board, but now they have a new head coach and it is difficult to say how they'll do, or what the stats mean anymore.
As Bill Belichick would say, though, "Stats are for losers."
So I'll go with the Bills because I know they can score, as long as they don't throw to Steve Johnson.
Buffalo 28, Vikings 24
New Orleans Saints v. Cincinnati Bengals
9 of 16
I really want to break some of these games down more, but seriously?
The Bengals are an absolute mess. The defense can't stop anybody, Carson Palmer makes bad decisions and doesn't throw the ball like he did before his elbow injury, and the Bengals have two great wide receivers that just don't seem to matter anymore.
The Saints had a bit of a Super Bowl hangover at the beginning of the year, but they've rebounded enough now to think this won't be a trap game.
Saints 24, Bengals 13
Oakland Raiders v. San Diego Chargers
10 of 16
Here's a game that has real potential for drama. The Chargers have rallied over the last month, like they usually do, and now are challenging for the lead in the AFC West.
Then there are the Oakland Raiders, who looked like the "same ol' Raiders" coming out of the gate before suddenly becoming a good team. They did this without having a reliable starting quarterback.
Bruce Gradkowski is injured again and Jason Campbell will get the start, not that it really matters. The team has won games with both quarterbacks.
The Chargers offense is ranked first in yards, second in the pass and third in points.
The Raiders defense is ranked fifth against the pass, so this could be a problem for the Chargers. However, the Raiders don't have a good run defense, so the potential is there for Darren Sproles to have a good day. If Ryan Mathews returns from his ankle injury, that also could help the team.
With the Raiders suddenly having problems again, and the Chargers pulling things together, plus home field advantage, I'm going to take the Chargers in this one.
Chargers 24, Raiders 17
Carolina Panthers v. Seattle Seahawks
11 of 16
So we have an NFC West team facing a non-NFC West team. Seems like an easy pick, right?
Wrong.
The Seahawks face the minor-league team Carolina Panthers. The Panthers' only win this year came against an NFC West team, the San Francisco 49ers.
So now we have something to chew on, because the Seahawks quite clearly are a bad team this year, and the Panthers should be placed in the NFC West for the remainder of the season just to keep things fair.
Since it looks like the Panthers will have to start Jimmy Clausen, though, I'm going with Seattle. Clausen looked like a boy among men in Cleveland last week, and that's not going to change overnight.
Seahawks 17, Panthers 9
St. Louis Rams v. Arizona Cardinals
12 of 16
I don't know about anyone else, but I just can't get enough of "Sad Derek" here. I may make this my Christmas card.
After Derek Anderson's meltdown after the Monday Night Football game, you think he might pull himself together and have a career game.
Don't bet on it.
The Cardinals season is over, and there isn't much they can do about it. They have no defense, and whatever offensive weapons they have are neutralized by Anderson's erratic play. Anderson does not respond well under adverse conditions, and the sight of Sam Bradford having a good day early on should be enough to get Max Hall or John Skelton in the game.
Seriously, at this point, I'd throw Skelton in just to see how he responds—it's not like the Cardinals have anything to lose at this point.
As for the Rams, Bradford is the real deal, Steve Jackson knows how to run, and the defense is good enough to contain whichever quarterback takes the field for Arizona.
Rams 30, Cardinals 6
Atlanta Falcons v. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
13 of 16
Last week, I broke the game down between the Buccaneers and the Ravens, and then I went with my gut that the Bucs would pull out a victory.
Yeah, that went well.
The only stat that matters at this point: The Buccaneers are 0-4 against teams with winning records.
Falcons 20, Buccaneers 10
Dallas Cowboys v. Indianapolis Colts
14 of 16
Another tough game to call because Dallas is suddenly better and the Colts are suddenly worse.
Injuries have decimated the Colts offense, and Peyton Manning has been pressing in an effort to make things happen. This has resulted in a drastic increase in interceptions.
The Cowboys still have a pass-first offense, but they're playing better.
Still, never underestimate Manning.
Colts 21, Cowboys 20
Pittsburgh Steelers v. Baltimore Ravens
15 of 16
This is a big game and to think otherwise would be ignorant. This game determines who controls their destiny in the AFC North, and who has to hope they can get a Wild Card.
The Steelers are 5-0 against the Ravens when Ben Roethlisberger is starting, and he's expected to start Sunday despite his foot injury.
The Ravens are playing well and Joe Flacco has a lot of targets to throw to, which will keep the Steelers defense busy.
As a Browns fan, there are no winners in this game to me, but I suppose I'll have to go with one of these teams and hope the ground opens up and swallows the field some time in the fourth quarter.
The stats show you just don't run on the Steelers because they're ranked first. But you can pass against them, which teams start doing in the second half, and that probably skews the stats somewhat.
The Ravens are middle-of-the-road in all offensive stats, which suggests they've got a balanced attack, and they do. Between Flacco, Anquan Boldin, Ray Rice, Todd Heap and Derrick Mason, the Ravens have a lot of options.
The Steelers are a little banged up right now, and their offense isn't scoring a lot of points. So between the two defenses, I don't expect this to be a high-scoring game.
The Steelers edge out the Ravens in a great game, balancing out the loss earlier this year.
Steelers 13, Ravens 10
New York Jets v. New England Patriots
16 of 16
The Jets beat the Patriots earlier this season, but the Patriots offense now is working much better, and Bill Belichick very rarely loses to the same team twice in a season.
Rex Ryan has his team fired up, though, and Mark Sanchez has been having a great year, improving by leaps and bounds almost every week.
Darrelle Revis still is in the Jets defensive secondary, and he won't be wasting time covering Randy Moss this time.
The Patriots, though, have been getting good production out of BenJarvus Green-Ellis in their running game, and rookie CB Devin McCourty is once again proving Belichick knows how to scout, evaluate and develop talent.
Without going into a 3,000-word breakdown of this game, the opposite problem of some of the other games this week, I'm going to go with the Patriots because of the very first sentence of this slide.
Bill Belichick doesn't lose to the same team twice in the same year.
Patriots 34, Jets 27
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