NFL Week 13 Picks: Predicting the Week's Biggest Winners

A win's a win, and an NFL team will take it any way that they can get it. However, there's nothing more satisfying than handily defeating your opponent, proving not just that they were the better team on any given Sunday but that they were also the most dominant, controlling the game and making big plays at will.

Inevitably, there are a number of big wins every week, including this one. Here are four teams that should thoroughly trounce their opponents and score convincing wins.

New England Patriots (vs. Indianapolis Colts)

If Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning was healthy and active this season, this week's contest against the New England Patriots would be yet another classic meeting between two offensive powerhouses.

Instead, the Colts are 0-11 and rank 30th in the league in scoring offense and 31st in the league in total offensive yardage.

A year hasn't made as much of a difference for the Patriots, who are once again near the very top in the league in both points and yards behind quarterback Tom Brady.

The Patriots have made a seamless transition from a traditional passing offense focusing on throwing the long ball to speedy wideouts to a more varied approach that focuses primarily on tosses to wide receiver Wes Welker and tight ends Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez.

It's worked wonders for the squad who was in danger of becoming predictable without adapting its offense over time.

Clearly, the Patriots are a more complete team with a greater capability of meeting the challenges they come up against. Generally soft on defense this year, the squad was weakened further by a spate of injuries, but they've rallied nicely on the backs of a number of no-name defenders who have managed to make plays every week.

The Colts finally made changes this week, firing defensive coordinator Larry Coyer and  activating Dan Orlovsky in place of Curtis Painter. While both moves are an upgrade, it's too little, too late for a team dangerously close to going 0-16.

It is certain the Colts will be 0-12 after being thoroughly dismantled by the Patriots, a team so much better that it seems almost cruel to face them.

Baltimore Ravens (at Cleveland Browns)

The Cleveland Browns are getting the short end of the lockout-proofed 2011 NFL schedule, drawing two meetings with the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers to close out four of their final five games.

This week, they see the Ravens for the first time this year, with home field the single advantage the Browns have in this game.

Though Cleveland boasts the top passing defense in the NFL and the Ravens have an inconsistent passing game led by quarterback Joe Flacco, this isn't the mismatch it appears to be at first glance.

Nearly every team that the Browns have faced thus far rely more heavily on running the ball than passing it, with two of their four wins coming against the Indianapolis Colts and Jacksonville Jaguars—the two least productive overall offenses in the league.

Flacco has had flashes of brilliance this year, but they've been tarnished by inaccurate throws, fumbles and poor decision making when under pressure. However, Flacco's shortcomings have been easily overcome by the team's exceptional defense.

That defense will be the key to a dominant Ravens victory this Sunday. The Browns aren't far behind the Colts and Jaguars in terms of struggling to produce on offense and quarterback Colt McCoy is susceptible to heavy pressure.

To add on more misery to an already depressed offense, McCoy—who has had problems throwing the ball with much force as it is—is also suffering from a sore (throwing) elbow and shoulder, which won't help matters much when he tries to move the ball down the field.

There's also little chance that Browns running backs Chris Ogbonnaya, Peyton Hillis or Montario Hardesty will be able to get much going on the ground against the NFL's No. 3 rushing defense.

Look for the Browns to not only get blown out on Sunday—they very well could find themselves shut out, as the Ravens extend their narrow lead over their division rivals, the Pittsburgh Steelers, in Week 13.

Dallas Cowboys (at Arizona Cardinals)

The Dallas Cowboys are quickly separating themselves from what was a logjam at the top of the NFC East.

They notched their seventh win of the season on Thanksgiving afternoon over the Miami Dolphins, and while they had a few hiccups on their way to that one-point win, that shouldn't carry over when they travel to Arizona to take on the 4-7 Cardinals this Sunday.

Dallas is on a four-game win streak that has seen them best the Buffalo Bills by 37 points and defeat their division rivals the Washington Redskins in overtime. Injuries have been the Cowboys' best friend this year, surprisingly enough.

Once starting running back Felix Jones went down with an ankle injury, rookie DeMarco Murray stepped up and proved himself quite the talented back, and when wide receiver Miles Austin injured his hamstring, Laurent Robinson quickly made himself invaluable to quarterback Tony Romo.

The help on the ground (and the air) has made things that much easier for Romo, a quarterback prone to errors when forced to throw too much. He has nine interceptions to 21 touchdowns on the year and has thrown just four picks in Weeks 6-12.

Arizona, on the other hand, has all kinds of issues plaguing them on both sides of the ball. Quarterback John Skelton, who has started the team's last three games while Kevin Kolb recovers from turf toe and other foot ailments, has managed just 213 yards, five picks and no scores in the last two weeks.

At the same time, the Cardinals defense isn't doing the team any favors either, allowing an average of 373.6 yards per game. That doesn't bode well for their ability to stop the Dallas offense which is averaging 390 yards per game.

Though Kolb may be healthy enough to return this week (making wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald the big-play threat that he's not had the opportunity to be with Skelton under center), that's not going to be enough to prevent a major loss on Sunday.

San Francisco 49ers (vs. St. Louis Rams)

Though the San Francisco 49ers are coming off of their second loss of the season, it doesn't mean the NFL's only two-loss team has hit a late-season decline.

Rather, they lost quite the defensive battle to one of the league's top teams, the Baltimore Ravens, simply because the Ravens were able to pressure quarterback Alex Smith more than the Niners were able to pressure Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco.

Against two-win St. Louis, San Francisco should have fewer problems and will lock up their divisional title and a playoff berth once they win on Sunday.

The Niners boast a top 10 defense that's No. 1 against the run, as they've yet to allow a rushing touchdown this season. They've allowed the fewest points of any team and also lead the league in takeaways, with 15 interceptions and 14 forced fumbles (and 11 recoveries) thus far this season.

All of this means that the Sam Bradford-led St. Louis Rams offense is in for a serious smothering in Week 13. Bradford has just six touchdowns to five interceptions on the year and has also lost seven fumbles.

That kind of sloppy performance plays right into the hands of that brutal San Francisco defense. On the other end, the 49ers offense is the kind of efficient outfit that manages games well, scores points and confounds their opponents.

If the Rams manage 10 points, I will be surprised. I don't see any reason for San Francisco to be held to anything lower than 23 points and will certainly score more if they can create the kinds of turnovers Bradford has become infamous for.