Week 13 ... Heck, I am already gearing up for playoff time.
And boy, this week offers so many matchups with playoff implications. I can't wait to see
Lions at Saints, for example. If you check out
Detroit's remaining schedule, you'll notice that Jim Caldwell's bunch had better win this Week 13 matchup in the Big
not Easy in order to avoid potentially facing a rejuvenated (and healthier) Pack
in Week 17 for all the NFC North marbles. Of course, Green Bay has to beat the first-place
Texans to keep the pressure on Detroit. A
Packers win also would put the sputtering
Texans in a lurch, with both the
Colts and
Titans hot on their heels. With the
Cowboys on the road (
against the struggling Vikings) and the
Giants facing
a tough matchup in Pittsburgh, count this week as more than relevant when it comes to home-field advantage in the NFC. We could go on and on. On to your thoughts ...
r. @YounggSavv
@HarrisonNFL where are your picks??
2:32 AM - 1 Dec 2016
Dude, when did you send this, like 4:23 AM? I was watching "Two Towers." Sorry.
Jimmy Allen @Jub77_HS @HarrisonNFL chances the eagles run the table and make the postseason?
Same chances as Philly WRs not dropping a ball the rest of the season.
Speaking of the
Eagles, they
travel to Cincinnati to face the Bengals. That's the only game this weekend where I don't see
any playoff implications. OK,
Niners at Bears, too. But we spun some yarn on those matchups below, as well. Feel free to spin your own:
@HarrisonNFL is the place.
Now, let's get to it!
Elliot Harrison went 11-5 on his predictions for Week 12, giving him a record of 116-59-2 thus far this season. How will he fare in Week 13? His picks are below:
Sunday 1 PM ET CBS
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Want to pick the
Chiefs this weekend in Atlanta, but can't get past what
Trevor Siemian was able to do to K.C. in the second half of
last Sunday night's game. The
Falcons did a nice job in protecting
Matt Ryan against both Khalil Mack and Von Miller earlier this season. The rejuvenated
Justin Houston (three sacks
last week) will present a new challenge. If he,
Tamba Hali and
Dee Ford are all healthy, Matty Ice might get defrosted. Ryan has been mostly hot this year, posting a 114.3 passer rating. Would you be shocked to hear that he's never finished a season with a passer rating over 100 before? Don't be. The guy has been a bit overrated for most of his career. Just slightly. Sorry, not sorry. Ryan's been a stud this year, though, and deserves much praise. He's not giving the ball away, especially in the red zone (like last year). Kansas City does lead the league in takeaways, though.
#KCvsATL
Sunday 1 PM ET FOX
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This should be an exciting affair down in New Orleans, holding huge implications for both teams. With the second-place
Vikings hosting the 10-1
Cowboys on Thursday night, the
Lions could have an excellent chance to widen their lead in the NFC North. Meanwhile, the
Saints might have an opportunity to close the gap on the division-leading
Falcons, who are playing no gimme in the
Chiefs. Will Matt Stafford receive
any help from a mostly-absent ground game? Doubtful. Ever since
Sheldon Rankins entered the lineup, this New Orleans run D has tightened considerably. I've gone back and forth on who should win this game, but am having trouble getting past a
Lions secondary that's allowed opposing quarterbacks a 106.4 passer rating this season (that's really, REALLY bad -- muy mal) facing
Drew Brees.
#DETvsNO
Sunday 1 PM ET FOX
34
17
The
Patriots' offense was far from lights-out in MetLife Stadium
against the Jets, but that doesn't necessarily mean New England will fall flat at home vs. Los Angeles. OK, this contest will probably go one of two ways: Either the
Rams will be so ticked off by
their performance in NOLA that they will play with their hair on fire at Gillette OR
Tom Brady will be so motivated from last week's slow start that he will torch the
Rams' secondary. Jeff Fisher's group has drawn two of the best offenses in the league, on the road, in back-to-back weeks. As far as
Jared Goff is concerned ... well ... he should be. Since 2001, the
Patriots are 7-0 against rookie quarterbacks. Those freshmen QBs sported a shiny 4:14 TD-to-INT ratio in those games. In the last two meetings between these two coaches, Belichick's
Patriots have outscored Fisher's team 104-7. The Greatest Slow on Turf.
#LAvsNE
Sunday 1 PM ET CBS
26
14
The
Malik Jackson revenge game. Or something like that. Has anyone outside of Jacksonville heard about Jackson this year? The former Bronco is actually enjoying a much better season than another, more-ballyhooed former Bronco,
Julius Thomas. Jackson has 4.5 sacks, 24 tackles and two pass deflections to his name. His work up front has helped a much-improved secondary in Jacksonville this year, although it's been lost in the swamp of a 2-9 record. Meanwhile, the
Broncos are 6-1 versus non-AFC West teams, with the only loss coming
at the hands of the Falcons in Week 5. The Jags are less biased about who they give in to -- and who they give the ball to! Their turnover differential is minus-11 during this six-game losing streak.
#DENvsJAX
Sunday 1 PM ET CBS
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If you feel the score above represents a lack of confidence in the
Texans, you would be correct.
Brock Osweiler will see a secondary that many quarterbacks have taken advantage of thus far this season. In a related -- and highly pertinent -- note: Many quarterbacks are playing better than
Brock Osweiler this season. Osweiler's 72.2 passer rating is the lowest among 32 qualifying quarterbacks. If he is to not be characterized as a complete free-agent bust, Osweiler must take advantage of a
Packers' secondary that is allowing opposing quarterbacks over a 100 passer rating. Green Bay's never finished a season with that happening. Never in franchise history. Oh, by the way: Green Bay boasts a very looong franchise history. Also worth mentioning is how dominant the
Packers have been at Lambeau in December during the Mike McCarthy era. #19-3
#HOUvsGB
Sunday 1 PM ET FOX
30
24 (OT)
The
Eagles' defense has been far less intimidating on the road than at home, so this might be a rebound game for a struggling
Andy Dalton. Cincy needs the Red Rifle to take this one over, with no
A.J. Green and a running game that's been more of a power-walking game of late. Picking Philadelphia to win here would take some guts, though, as Doug Pederson's group is 1-5 on the road and has lost six of the last eight.
#PHIvsCIN
Sunday 1 PM ET CBS
20
17
Guessing the winning streak stops here for the
Dolphins, although this will be anybody's contest.
Joe Flacco must be effective (no turnovers) for the
Ravens to prevail. Meanwhile,
Ryan Tannehill won't really have
Jay Ajayi to lean on, with a banged-up offensive line facing
the league's top-ranked run defense. Both of these ballclubs are gearing up for an important stretch run -- especially the
Dolphins, given that they are behind the
Patriots and
already lost the first head-to-head matchup. An AFC wild-card slot is going to require
at least 10 wins, considering the strength of the West. FYI: Miami hosts the
Patriots in Week 17.
#MIAvsBAL
Sunday 1 PM ET FOX
24
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If someone told you two months ago that this game would feature
Colin Kaepernick vs.
Matt Barkley, you might have expected, oh, uh, 300 yards passing and two touchdowns combined.
Football will surprise you sumptimes, Sean. [Said in my best Jon Gruden voice.] Kaep just tossed three touchdown passes
in Miami, while
Barkley's 54 pass attempts vs. Tennessee fell one short of the record for throws by a quarterback making his first career start. Speaking of great quarterback play,
Blaine Gabbert delivered a win for the
49ers last year in Chicago. Think the
Bears' defense, a solid unit which unfortunately has been linked to the poor record, will have much to say about that. And there is no way the guys on offense can drop as many balls as they did last week. There is no way the guys on offense can drop
half as many balls as they did last week. Let's be real here: Both of these teams have been mostly awful since the start of the 2015 season (49ers: 6-21, Bears: 8-19) and are playing for draft positioning.
#SFvsCHI
Sunday 4:05 PM ET CBS
29
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Can
Derek Carr pull off the win in
the "Return of the Jedi" glove for a second straight week? Yep. Buffalo's pass defense has been viable (
eighth in the NFL), but that doesn't mean Carr won't be able to exploit the unit. His offensive line protects him better than any other quarterback in the league, save for maybe
Dak Prescott in Dallas. Not to mention, the
Bills have benefitted from facing
Jacoby Brissett,
Case Keenum, and
Colin Kaepernick (in his first start in a year). If tight end
Clive Walford shows up like he did
versus the Panthers, Dennis Thurman's unit could find itself searching for answers. Spoke with #BillsMafia superfan
@PECrawleyNFL. He thinks Buffalo wins this West Coast deal based on matchups (... before losing next week
versus the Steelers). As you can see, I respectfully disagree. Who you got? (
@HarrisonNFL)
#BUFvsOAK
Sunday 4:25 PM ET FOX
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The
Giants' win streak stops here. Big Blue has been getting away with a much-hyped offense that's really
not putting up points in bunches. Rather, it's been an in-game struggle almost every week, where Ben McAdoo's attack either explodes for short bursts or sleepwalks through 2.5 quarters. The fact remains that it's the
defense that keeps New York winning. The front seven, in particular, consistently thwarts opposing running games.
Lev Bell presents a completely different kind of monster than
Isaiah Crowell,
Jeremy Hill or any of the running backs New York has faced this season (save for maybe
Ezekiel Elliott, though
that was the rookie's first NFL game). One other interesting note on the G-Men: They've been escaping by the hair of their chinny chin chin, earning all but one of their wins by seven points or less. Do you give them credit for doing what it takes? Or are they a middling team canvased by an 8-3 record?
#NYGvsPIT
Sunday 4:25 PM ET FOX
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Seeing a high-scoring game in the desert. Well, maybe not by today's standards, but certainly not a defensive struggle. For Washington, the key will be not letting drives fail on the opponent's side of the field, something that happened too much
in Dallas. Which is why the
Redskins piled up over 500 yards of offense with no turnovers and
lost. Arizona isn't much different in this regard: Bruce Arian's offense is
ninth in yards per game, yet the
Cardinals are
20th in points per game. As far as the Washington offense is concerned,
Kirk Cousins has been hell on wheels recently on throws of 10-plus yards: 153.8 passer rating over the last two games. A perfect passer rating is 158.3. Put in laymen's terms, he's lit on those deep throws. Sorry, been on Instagram and Snapchat too much lately.
Redskins win.
#WASvsAZ
Sunday 4:25 PM ET FOX
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23
People are hot on the Bucs right now. The defense, which is allowing 24 points per game, is improving. Yet, this is one long road trip across the country for a team coming off of
its most emotional win in years. While I don't see
Jameis Winston losing focus, it wouldn't surprise me if Tampa came out flat in the first quarter. The key matchup will be
Philip Rivers' pass protection versus a suddenly legit (we think) Tampa pass rush. Was last week's pummeling of
Russell Wilson a product of the Bucs' front seven, or a talent-optional
Seahawks offensive line? Considering Rivers has been sacked 26 times this year, the Bucs' pass rush might not need to be legit.
Melvin Gordon, meanwhile, is a different beast entirely from the RB-by-committee Tampa saw last Sunday. Gordon will be the difference.
#TBvsSD
Sunday 8:30 PM ET NBC
20
17
The
Panthers are a desperate football team. The
Seahawks are an embarrassed football team. Well, at least the offense anyway. The Sunday night game should be every bit as physical as
the Chiefs-Broncos classic last Sunday night, albeit with a hair less scoring. Carolina must make the tough catches for
Cam Newton, who was under siege from a Mack truck late
in Oakland. Ditto
Russell Wilson, who, one week after getting sacked over and over again in Tampa, faces a defense that is
tied with the Seahawks for most sacks in the NFC. That's why this feels like a
Thomas Rawls contest, finally. Seattle definitely would be catching a break if
Luke Kuechly were to miss another game, although
A.J. Klein has fared well as Kuechly's replacement. Don't be surprised if Wilson takes advantage, as the fifth-year pro always picks it up during the winter months. His career 109.2 passer rating in the second half of the season is the highest in pro football since the merger.
#CARvsSEA
Monday 8:30 PM ET ESPN
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One of Week 13's toughest games to call. It looks like
Andrew Luck will suit up for the Colts on Monday -- and he should benefit from facing a weak
Jets secondary.
Ryan Fitzpatrick will get the nod from Todd Bowles, despite the disappointing ending in
the loss to the Patriots.
Matt Forte hit the skids in that game, but will find the
Colts' front seven far more forgiving. Indy's run defense allows opposing running back's a robust 4.6 yards per carry. That should keep Fitzpatrick in favorable situations -- so, in theory, he could go a second straight week without an interception.
Not fun note: Gang Green is 1-7 this season when they've lost the turnover battle. Don't think the lovable
Jets lose either battle this week.
#INDvsNYJ
[h=3]THURSDAY'S GAME[/h]
Thursday 8:25 PM ET NBC/NFLN
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The
Cowboys win their 11th in a row, extending a franchise record while putting them further
in the driver's seat for home-field advantage in the NFC.
Ezekiel Elliott will find this
Vikings front almost as challenging to run on as
the Ravens' unit was, but the Minnesota defense needs help from a punchless offense that refuses to go downfield. If safety
Barry Church is out for the
Cowboys again, that should at least help
Sam Bradford test the waters. The
Vikings quarterback has impressed with a 134.2 passer rating on throws that travel at least 15 yards past the line of scrimmage. Super cool, except he never attempts passes that travel at least 15 yards past the line of scrimmage any more.
One more thing ... I've followed Mike Zimmer's career since he was a defensive assistant on the early-'90s
Cowboys teams. He's always been highly thought of in league circles -- thus, the respect he's receiving from the masses now is hardly a surprise. Just hope that he's back on the sideline fully healthy sooner than later.
Side note: You have my pick for Thursday night, but be sure to make yours, as well. Go to
NFL.com/budlight to vote for "Which Team Will Win" or use #GoCowboysTNF or #GoVikingsTNF on Twitter.
#DALvsMIN
