NFL Week 13 predictions
Wednesday 2 December 2015 16:27, UK
Predictions for the latest round of NFL fixtures, by Sky Sports News HQ's Richard Graves.
Green Bay Packers @ Detroit Lions
In contrast to Green Bay who have now lost four of their last five games, the Lions are on a three game winning streak. Hanging 45 points on the Eagles certainly caught the eye but it's the improvement in their defence which has gone almost unnoticed. That same defence which was shredded at Wembley by the Chiefs in October and was ranked last in the NFL is now the 18th ranked unit and has already held the Packers to just 16 points this season.
It's worth remembering though, as poor as the run is which Green Bay are enduring, they've been in a position to win three of those games.
Pick: Green Bay Packers
Houston Texans @ Buffalo Bills
The Texans are on a roll, recording four straight wins! In three of those four games they've kept their opponents out of the end zone. In fact, the Texans have conceded just 35 points in this run - a run which gives them a 6-5 record and puts them ahead of this week's opponents in the race for the play-offs.
Houston's defence is now ranked sixth in the NFL and has climbed into the top 10 with 29 sacks - JJ Watt leads the league with 13.5 sacks. Their offence is ranked 13th and they're comfortably ahead of the Bills in all three categories. However, this game is being played in Buffalo, exposed to the elements. With the stakes so high and in front of a raucous home crowd, this is the game where the Bills have to get the job done!
Pick: Buffalo Bills
San Francisco 49ers @ Chicago Bears
Blighted by some costly penalties, San Francisco's offence struggled to make plays last week. With their top two running backs injured, Shaun Draughn carried the load and was limited to just 51 yards. Quarterback Blaine Gabbert was able to manage the offence but not provide a spark to fire it.
In contrast, Jay Cutler is a quarterback transformed in Chicago. He'll still occasionally try to do too much and turn the ball over but no one can deny the magnitude of the victory he steered the Bears to at Lambeau Field. The Bears now have a 5-6 record and victory over the 49ers this weekend will keep them on the edge of the play-off race.
San Francisco's offence remains the worst ranked unit in the NFL, averaging just 13.8 points per game and, as witnessed last Sunday, even if they play good defence that record isn't going to help them win many games - fewer still on the road.
Pick: Chicago Bears
Cincinnati Bengals @ Cleveland Browns
Whether it's a collarbone injury to quarterback Josh McCown, the benching of Johnny Manziel less than a week after him being named the starter or a bizarre ending to a game, there's an element of farce about what is happening in Cleveland right now.
Possibly the last team they'd want riding into town are the Bengals. Cincinnati returned to winning ways last weekend with an emphatic victory over the Rams - a game which saw wide receiver AJ Green find the end zone twice and quarterback Andy Dalton completing 20 of 27 passes and throwing three touchdowns.
Pick: Cincinnati Bengals
Baltimore Ravens @ Miami Dolphins
The Ravens have lost their best wide receiver, best running back and franchise quarterback for the season... but were still able to pull out a win on Monday night. Neither they nor the Dolphins have a realistic chance of making the play-offs but it's fair to say everyone at Miami is now playing for their job after a hugely disappointing season. The truth is, they've lost every game they've played against a division rival this year!
Baltimore are playing on empty with a tremendous amount of fight. However Matt Schaub is Matt Schaub and when Karlos Dansby returned an interception, that gave Schaub an unwanted record - four straight games with a pick six. Gifts even Miami won't turn down!
Pick: Miami Dolphins
Seattle Seahawks @ Minnesota Vikings
This is a good match-up - two good defensive units going up against two good running games. It's strength versus strength. The longer the season goes on, the stronger Adrian Peterson appears to get as he had another big game last week, running in two touchdowns and finishing with 158 rushing yards.
The key to winning this game is stopping the run. The Seahawks have the sixth ranked run defence, giving up just 92.9 yards per game. The Vikings are ranked 20th, giving up 110.6 yards per game. However, as impressive as Thomas Rawls has been this year, he's a rookie - he's not Peterson, who leads the league with 1,164 rushing yards. Minnesota have the No 1 ranked running game, averaging 146.4 yards per game but Seattle are right behind them, averaging 144.2 yards per game.
Pick: Minnesota Vikings
Carolina Panthers @ New Orleans Saints
Quarterback Cam Newton has become a hugely impressive leader of this team and is a leading contender for this season's MVP award. This is a team playing well on both sides of the ball. They have the No 2 ranked defence, they're third in points allowed (18.6 per game), third in sacks (33), they lead the league in takeaways (28) and control the ball with the fourth ranked rushing attack (138.9 yards per game). It's tough to see how New Orleans snap Carolina's unbeaten record this weekend.
Pick: Carolina Panthers
New York Jets @ New York Giants
A big derby in the Big Apple. Both teams are second in their respective divisions. The combination of Brandon Marshall and fellow wide receiver Eric Decker is a potent one, aligned with Chris Ivory at running back. The Jets defence is ranked third overall but they'll have their hands full containing Odell Beckham. Should Darrelle Revis clear concussion protocol, that will be a fascinating match-up.
The Giants have the worst ranked defence in the NFL. Last Sunday, Eli Manning threw three interceptions and this is not the recipe for success.
Pick: New York Jets
Arizona Cardinals @ St Louis Rams
The Cardinals have only lost twice all season - one of those came to the Rams when rookie running back Todd Gurley burst onto the scene.
While they bounced back from that defeat, the Rams have trended downwards. Arizona's offence is No 1 in the NFL and they lead the league in scoring with 32 points per game. In contrast the Rams have the 31st ranked offence, only scoring 16 points per game.
St Louis have lost four games in a row and Gurley's production has tailed off. His highest rushing total in any one game is 66 yards during that stretch. Quarterback Case Keenum is surely not the answer to their problems. The Cardinals have issues of their own - rookie running back David Johnson could get the start this weekend. This game may turn out to be tighter than most expect but it would be a surprise if Arizona don't avenge that early season loss.
Pick: Arizona Cardinals
Atlanta Falcons @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Falcons appear to be in free fall. Quarterback Matt Ryan has to take better care of the ball, his interceptions are hurting his team and costing them games. A late pick six against the Colts turned a win into a defeat. Bucs rookie quarterback Jameis Winston has had troubling spells of his own with interceptions at times this season but his team appears to be trending in the right direction.
Buccaneers running back Doug Martin is second only to Adrian Peterson in rushing yards this season (1,038) and looks to be back to his best. The Falcons will hope Devonta Freeman clears concussion protocol after missing last weekend's defeat to give their offence an extra weapon.
If Ryan continues in the same vein as he has played over the past two months...watch out.
Pick: Atlanta Falcons
Jacksonville Jaguars @ Tennessee Titans
A repeat of the AFC South clash from two weeks ago in which the Jaguars recorded a narrow win. Neither offence is prolific - Tennessee only score 18 points per game while Jacksonville have 21. This has all the makings of a low scoring, attritional contest, as we saw in their last meeting, but Tennessee haven't won at home in 11 games.
Pick: Jacksonville Jaguars
Kansas City Chiefs @ Oakland Raiders
Without Jamaal Charles and Charcandrick West, the Chiefs were still able to run the ball against Buffalo as Spencer Ware finished with a touchdown and 114 rushing yards. Chiefs wide receiver Jeremy Maclin had a big day, hauling in nine passes for 160 yards and a touchdown. The one major concern surrounds star linebacker Justin Houston who was forced off the field with an injury
For Oakland, a first win in four was most welcome. As was the break out day for wide receiver Seth Roberts who caught two touchdowns in a 24-21 win. Both he and Amari Cooper finished with over 100 receiving yards. This is likely to be a close game but the Raiders have struggled with tight ends all season. They gave up another touchdown to one last Sunday and this weekend the Chiefs have Travis Kelce in their side - one of the best in the game.
Pick: Kansas City Chiefs
Denver Broncos @ San Diego Chargers
The Broncos, led by backup quarterback Brock Osweiler, became the first team this year to beat the Patriots. It reaffirmed the Broncos as the class of the AFC West with a 9-2 record, although safety TJ Ward was injured in the game and will miss this match. Running back CJ Anderson had his best game of the season, rushing for 113 yards and two touchdowns. If that's a sign of things to come, aligned with the league's top ranked defence, the other contenders this year have cause to be concerned. Without doubt the Broncos are riding high heading into this weekend's contest. Man for man, they are the better team and the final scoreline may highlight that emphatically!
Pick: Denver Broncos
Philadelphia Eagles @ New England Patriots
Arguably the most disappointing team this season are the Eagles - and they might implode! Some of their decision making has been baffling and there can be no greater example than when they elected to leave rookie cornerback Eric Rowe isolated in single coverage on Detroit's star wide receiver Calvin Johnson last week.
None of this bodes well ahead of a trip to New England and yet this is the best time to play the Patriots. Already without running back Dion Lewis and wide receiver Julian Edelman, tight end Rob Gronkowski is set to miss the game after picking up an injury and they will miss linebacker Dont'a Hightower. But on home turf, the Patriots have too much for the Eagles to handle in their current state.
Pick: New England Patriots
Indianapolis Colts @ Pittsburgh Steelers
Last season Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger had a monster day against these opponents, lighting up the Colts defence as he threw for 522 yards and six touchdowns in a 51-34 rout. However, on Tuesday head coach Mike Tomlin said Big Ben was undergoing concussion protocol and although Roethlisberger himself insists he will be good to go on Sunday, if he doesn't pass the concussion tests, he won't be playing.
Veteran quarterback Matt Hasselbeck will start his fifth game this season with Andrew Luck still sidelined for Indianapolis. The key to this game though is Roethlisberger. If he's fit and plays, the Steelers offence is a totally different proposition. He shredded the Seahawks last weekend before leaving the game with concussion symptoms and he'll likely be too good for Indianapolis. If he doesn't play, Landry Jones will start and this could be a tight affair.
Pick: Pittsburgh Steelers
Dallas Cowboys @ Washington Redskins
Very few people would have pegged the Redskins as division leaders after 12 weeks this season but they've been impressive at home and victory over the Giants last Sunday was their fifth in six home games this year. That's their biggest problem though, they've lost all five games on the road and consequently lead the division with a 5-6 record!
Offensively, Washington rank 25th overall, defensively they rank 22nd. Dallas have the eighth ranked defence but the 29th ranked offence - and only score 18 points per game. If people didn't know already, allowing DeMarco Murray to leave for Philadelphia was a mistake and without Tony Romo at quarterback this season, the Cowboys are 0-7!
Pick: Washington Redskins
