Week 13. The heartbreak is all too near. I can feel it.
GAME OF THE WEEK – Seattle Seahawks (6-5) at Minnesota Vikings (8-3), SEA by 1 – Lots of respect for the Seahawks to give them the edge on the road against a Vikings team that has won quite a few games this year. But the Vikings haven’t particularly looked playoff-caliber the last couple weeks against the Packers or Falcons. Don’t get me wrong, they’ll be in the postseason, but this Seahawks team has the look of one that’s surging, while the Vikings appear to be fading a bit, as they tend to do down the stretch. Nevertheless, this should be a really interesting game that tells us a lot about both teams. Seahawks 24, Vikings 20
THURSDAY NIGHT – Green Bay Packers (7-4) at Detroit Lions (4-7), GB by 3.5 – The Green Bay Packers, with Aaron Rodgers under center, might have the worst offense in pro football. They lead the league in percentage of three and outs, and have been absolutely putrid over the last five weeks on that side of the ball. Unthinkable. The Lions are easily the better team right now, and have a chance to make a statement by sweeping the Packers for the first time in 25 years. UPSET! – Lions 24, Packers 13
San Francisco 49ers (3-8) at Chicago Bears (5-6), CHI by 7 – It wasn’t pretty in Green Bay, but Chicago did just enough to get the job done. With renewed playoff hopes, they’ll take care of business at home against a bad Niners team. Bears 30, 49ers 10
Cincinnati Bengals (9-2) at Cleveland Browns (2-9), CIN by 7 – The drama continues for the Browns, who appear destined to be picking first overall in the 2016 NFL Draft. The only question is which hole on that team they’ll attempt to plug? Bengals 31, Browns 16
Jacksonville Jaguars (4-7) at Tennessee Titans (2-9), TEN by 2.5 – The loss of Allen Hurns could be big for the Jaguars, but they still have enough firepower to take down Tennessee in their own home. UPSET! – Jaguars 23, Titans 20
Houston Texans (6-5) at Buffalo Bills (5-6), BUF by 3 – Last week was a devastating blow for Buffalo’s playoff hopes, as Kansas City now owns the tiebreaker over them. They can try to climb back into it with a win at home against Houston. Houston has surprised in getting this many wins, but I think this is a prime setback opportunity. Bills 24, Texans 17
Baltimore Ravens (4-7) at Miami Dolphins (4-7), MIA by 4.5 – Both of these teams are basically playing for pride at this point. But without all their best players, the Ravens are facing a major uphill challenge on the road against a feisty Dolphins team. Dolphins 23, Ravens 20
Carolina Panthers (11-0) at New Orleans Saints (4-7), CAR by 7 – You can never guarantee victory in a divisional game, but the Panthers are playing the best football in the league and have had plenty of time to rest after a Thanksgiving throttling of the Cowboys. The Saints should probably be scared. Panthers 33, Saints 20
Arizona Cardinals (9-2) at St. Louis Rams (4-7), ARZ by 5.5 – St. Louis really loves to make life hell for divisional opponents, but they’ve looked absolutely lost in recent weeks. Arizona is well-coached enough to avoid the trap game. Cardinals 27, Rams 17
Atlanta Falcons (6-5) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-6), TB by 2 – The Falcons are soft as fuck and have played really bad football lately. The Bucs aren’t making the playoffs, but they’ll at least come to play against anyone they face. Bucs 20, Falcons 10
New York Jets (6-5) at New York Giants (5-6), NYJ by 2 – A huge game for both teams. The Giants need to keep pace in the tepid AFC East, while the Jets are still playing for a wild card spot after a big win over Miami. When in doubt, go with the team that doesn’t have as big of a history of derping it up in the big moment. UPSET! – Giants 24, Jets 21
Denver Broncos (9-2) at San Diego Chargers (3-8), DEN by 4.5 – The Broncos aren’t going to set scoring records with Brock Osweiler at QB, but they are clearly a better football team. That’s basically all that needs to be said about this one. Broncos 20, Chargers 16
Kansas City Chiefs (6-5) at Oakland Raiders (5-6), KC by 3 – A huge game in the AFC West, one that could potentially be an elimination game for at least one of these teams. The Chiefs are on the longest winning streak in the league outside of Carolina, and have looked really impressive in the last couple weeks. The Raiders are a young team on the rise that have had moments of greatness and stupidity this year. But playing at home with a shot at relevance for the first time in god knows how long, look for them to pull it out. UPSET! – Raiders 30, Chiefs 24
Philadelphia Eagles (4-7) at New England Patriots (10-1), NE by 9.5 – Good lord, the Eagles are about to get rocked. Not only have they looked terrible lately, but the Patriots coming off a loss is never an enviable task for anyone. This won’t be close at all. Patriots 41, Eagles 13
Indianapolis Colts (6-5) at Pittsburgh Steelers (6-5), PIT by 6.5 – What the Steelers have done this season despite the ridiculous amount of injuries they’ve had to deal with has been really impressive. Matt Hasselbeck may have managed to turn back the clock a bit, but it won’t be enough to overcome the Steelers at home in prime time. Steelers 26, Colts 17
Dallas Cowboys (3-8) at Washington Redskins (5-6), WAS by 4 – Without Romo for the whole year, the Cowboys’ season is officially over. The Redskins have a shot to take the NFC East outright this week. That’s right… the REDSKINS, predicted by many to be one of the league’s worst teams this year. Crazy. Redskins 24, Cowboys 13
