NFL Preview: Week 13

As with my college football preview, I'm a little early this week.

GAME OF THE WEEK: Giants at Redskins

A lot has changed since the Redskins were dominated by the defending champions on opening night. Jim Zorn looked clueless in that game, but since has led his team into a position to challenge for a wild-card spot.

Catching the Giants is probably out of the question, but if they pull the upset here, you never know. New York still has Carolina and Dallas on their schedule after all.

Both defenses give up a tad over 18 points per game and hold opponents to approximately 270 yards, so you know this will be a defensive matchup.

Washington's pass protection has been iffy at times. If they allow the Giants to get pressure on Jason Campbell all day, it will be a long game. They must find a way to run the ball to have a chance.

OTHER TOP GAMES

Saints at Buccaneers

The New Orleans offense is really rolling right now. If Reggie Bush comes back this week, it will be even better.

He gives them an added dimension on offense, and special teams as well. The Saints are still only 6-5, a game back in the wild-card picture, and dead last in the South.

They have their work cut out if they hope to make the postseason. They will need the defense to hold their own, as they did last night, to have any chance.

The remaining schedule features all three South foes, but they get Carolina and Atlanta at home.

First up is Tampa Bay. They held the Saints in check back on opening weekend, but still lost 24-20.

The Bucs' offense can keep up if their defense were to somehow not up to par (after all, Brees looks like even the best defenses could not slow him down), but I know Gruden does not want this to turn into a shootout.

Steelers at Patriots

Matt Cassel has been on fire the past two weeks, so let's see how he holds up against the league's No. 1 defense.

I'm sure that Dick LeBeau will have his defense blitzing to force Cassel into making mistakes, thus theoretically giving the Steelers' offense a short field.

Pittsburgh's lack of a running game against Cincinnati has to be concerning, seeing how Big Ben has been hit more than an 88 mph curveball over the heart of the plate this year.

This should be an intriguing game for a Steelers team. The team is looking down at a looming Baltimore in the AFC North and a Patriots squad that remains in a precarious position regarding the playoffs.

I'm sure that Pittsburgh will keep their mouths shut this time around.

Broncos at Jets

The NFL and networks seriously need to get a clue when it comes to this flex scheduling. They moved this contest to 4:15 PM, directly conflicting with Pittsburgh-New England.

Why not keep it the first part of the doubleheader, so people aren't forced to watch games such as Baltimore—Cincinnati at 1:00 PM? I'm sure most Pats and Jets fans want to watch their closest competition in division play as we head into December.

The only conceivable reason I can see for moving the game to 4:15 PM would be to avoid a conflict with the Giants-Redskins game in the NY/NJ markets. But why didn't they think of that when the schedule was made?

Anyways, with the way the Jets offense was rolling against Tennessee's defense, the Broncos porous unit is in trouble. It will be interesting to see ball how effective the Jets are at pressuring Cutler.

New York is near the top of the league in sacks, while the Broncos are close to the top in sacks allowed.

Bears at Vikings (Sunday night)

Minnesota can ill-afford to lose this game, because not only would they fall a game back of Chicago in the standings, they would ultimately need to make up two games over the last four weeks due to the season sweep.

The first meeting at Soldier Field did not feature a lot of defense, with the Bears taking home a 48-41 win.

I don't see two mediocre offenses repeating those numbers. But considering the fact that both teams are staunch against the run, Kyle Orton and Gus Frerotte will likely be forced to put the ball in the air a lot.

If it comes down to a battle of quarterbacks and whomever can fend off the opposing defense, I think I have to take Orton and the Bears. But winning in the Metrodome is never a small task.

AND THE REST

Titans at Lions (Thursday)

We're not going to get to see the meeting of an undefeated team versus a winless one, thanks to Tennessee's blowout loss at the hands of the Jets on Sunday.

That's probably bad news for the hapless Lions, because good football teams rarely play two stinkers in a row. The Tennessee defense will swarm Daunte Culpepper and cause several turnovers in what turns out to be a blowout.

Even the Lions' tradition of Thanksgiving football, where they often play up to their opponents, won't save them. Instead of a bailout for the automakers, maybe we should send one to this franchise.

Seahawks at Cowboys (Thursday)

Seattle played reasonably well against the Redskins, and with Matt Hasselbeck healthy, they cannot be taken lightly. But if they are going to shock the Cowboys, who appear to finally be riding a wave of momentum, the Seahawks will have to score a bunch of points.

Their defense is 29th in the league, and will have trouble slowing down Romo and company. Marcus Trufant should keep TO in check, which the 49ers epically failed in doing, but Dallas is just too deep on offense for the Seahawks to stand much of a chance.

Cardinals at Eagles (Thursday night)

A couple weeks ago, this looked like a big time match up of two potential playoff teams. Since, the Eagles have played two really poor offensive games on the road, Donovan McNabb has been benched, and the team's playoff hopes have all but evaporated.

It will be interesting to hear the holiday cheer (or lack thereof) toward Reid and company at the Linc on Thanksgiving night. The Cardinals have struggled with these east coast trips in 2008, so don't bag that division title just yet, Arizona fans.

Colts at Browns

Along with the New York Bretts, the Colts have to be considered one of the AFC's hottest teams. They are on a roll, and with the schedule shaping up the way it does, 11-4 heading into the finale against Tennessee is a distinct possibility.

But this has the makings of being one of those trap games. Cleveland struggled badly against Houston, but I think that could mostly be contributed to Brady Quinn's broken finger. The kid, if healthy, has the ability to torch a suspect Colts' defense.

Dolphins at Rams

Hopefully the Dolphins saved a little bit of that anger displayed in the fourth quarter against New England for the Rams.

I wasn't watching the game, but apparently it got pretty intense with the Matt Light vs. Channing Crowder hair-pulling donnybrook and village loudmouth Joey Porter committing two personal fouls/sequentially refusing to come out of the game.

If there is one reason to watch, 2008 No. 1 overall pick, OL Jake Long of Miami, faces off against No. 2 overall pick, DL Chris Long of the Rams for the first time.

Ravens at Bengals

I'll tell you something: The Ravens' defense was a sight to be seen against the Eagles.

It's too bad I didn't start Ed Reed on my fantasy team after his NFL record 108 yard interception return for a touchdown (I still scored the most points in the league for the week).

The Bengals failed to do much of anything offensively against the Steelers, and against another tough unit, will probably have to hope their defense keeps them in the game.

Limiting mistakes such as turnovers and penalties will be key if they hope to have any shot.

49ers at Bills

Buffalo took out their frustrations on the Chiefs in Week 12, scoring 54. Considering the 49ers' issues defending the pass in Dallas, they could be poised for another big Sunday.

Give Mike Singletary credit:  his team appears to be playing hard. Although all I've seen of them since he took over was about five minutes of the Monday night game.

The Bills should roll, but cannot afford to look ahead to next week's key game in Toronto against Miami.

Panthers at Packers

Green Bay was torched by the Saints' prolific offense, and as a result, they find themselves a game back in the NFC North battle. At 5-6, every game is now a must-win, and frankly, I don't know if this team will be able to recover.

Their season continues with a visit from Carolina on Sunday. Like the Packers, the Panthers left a lot to be desired on defense against Atlanta.

Plus, Tampa Bay erased their lead in the NFC South. Look for Carolina to bounce back.

How will Aaron Rodgers be greeted, with Favre in New York leading an 8-3 football team, while their Packers struggle along a game below .500?

We'll have to see if it turns negative at any point this week.

Falcons at Chargers

San Diego pissed away a perfect opportunity to cut the Broncos' lead in half versus the Colts. They gave up an Adam Vinatieri field goal from 51 yards as time expired to lose.

This team has really failed in close games this year, and that is why they are 4-7. Atlanta is riding high after tearing apart the Panthers' defense at home, but they will have a battle on their hands against Philip Rivers, LaDainian Tomlinson, and a football team that is so close, yet so far away from being a winner.

Chiefs at Raiders

At least for one week, Oakland looked like a competent football team. They ended a four game streak without an offensive touchdown (how is that even possible?!), and proceeded to add two more before the game was over.

Whoa, boys. Save some for this week.

They also ended a streak that stretched back to Week Two against these Chiefs of not having a rushing touchdown. With 1-10 KC coming to town, there's no stopping the Raiders now!

I'm being sarcastic, of course.

Jaguars at Texans (Monday night)

This contest looked like it had the potential to be a meaningful football game back in the preseason, but both teams are at 4-7 and going nowhere (Jacksonville seems to have thrown in the towel, judging by their performance against Minnesota). This will be must-miss TV.

However, for those of you history buffs out there, this will be the first time MNF has aired in Houston since 1994, when the Oilers took on the Giants in the Astrodome. That's the last time too that Houston actually had a good pro football team.

Ironically enough, the Oilers/Titans and Giants are arguably the league's two best teams in 2008.