NFL week 13 preview

Thursday Night Football: Dallas Cowboys @ New Orleans Saints – 8:20 p.m. on FOX and NFL Network (Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, Erin Andrews, Kristina Pink,) Amazon Prime (Hannah Storm, Andrea Kremer), Amazon Scout’s Feed (Daniel Jeremiah, Bucky Brooks, Joy Taylor) Radio: Westwood One (Kevin Kugler, Tony Boselli)
Week 13 kicks off with two teams coming in dragging losing streaks of two and four games, respectively. Dallas, after a 6-1 start where it was difficult to find any weakness within their football team, went just 1-3 in November. New Orleans has not won since beating Tampa Bay in week eight, going from the cusp of first place in the NFC South to now being on the outside looking in at the playoff picture in the NFC.

Both teams played on Thanksgiving so while they both have had a regular full week of practice ahead of Thursday night, this will be both team’s third game in the last 12 days.

Wide receiver Amari Cooper remains out for the Cowboys as he is still out with COVID-19, but Dallas will get CeeDee Lamb back after clearing concussion protocol. Any additional weapon quarterback Dak Prescott has is good as Prescott is enjoying, arguably, the best season of his career. Speaking of COVID-19, Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy will not be on the sidelines Thursday night after a positive test earlier this week.

On the other side, New Orleans will be starting Taysom Hill at quarterback for the first time this season. With their playoff hopes clinging, head coach Sean Payton is making a change at the game’s most important position to try and ignite some life into the Saints offense.

Game pick: Saints 24 Cowboys 17

Los Angeles Chargers @ Cincinnati Bengals – 1 p.m. on CBS (Ian Eagle, Charles Davis, Evan Washburn)
More on this in the weekly preview show of my podcast I do with Justin Cashman. The top storyline in this game is the matchup of two star young quarterbacks in the Bengals Joe Burrow and the Chargers Justin Herbert. But a growing factor is the weather, with an 80 percent chance of rain Sunday in Cincinnati. Advantage Bengals, as they have emphatically proved over their last two games they can run the ball. The Chargers come into this game with the 32nd-ranked rush defense in the NFL.

Game pick: Bengals 31 Chargers 17

Baltimore Ravens @ Pittsburgh Steelers – 4:25 p.m. on CBS (Jim Nantz, Tony Romo, Tracy Wolfson)
The Steelers season feels like it’s on the line. From the outside looking in, if they lose this Sunday their season could spiral out of control.

Baltimore got Lamar Jackson back at quarterback last week, but he struggled mightily throwing four interceptions against the Browns. The Ravens won the game, but they didn’t look pretty doing it. Now they enter a game at Pittsburgh that promises to be as physical as it always is when these two teams get together. Jackson has struggled in two career starts against Pittsburgh, with five interceptions to just three touchdowns.

But the Steelers defensive performance over the last two weeks, really last month overall, doesn’t induce much confidence that they can frustrate Lamar Jackson again. Two weeks ago Pittsburgh let Justin Herbert throw for 390 yards, and last week they let Bengals running back Joe Mixon run for 165 yards.

As we have seen most of this season, the Ravens have still been prolific on offense regardless of who is playing. They have overcome their injuries to this point to be 8-3 and in first place in the AFC North heading into December. But Jackson has struggled in his last two starts this season, and that could be troublesome going into a game against a desperate Steelers team.

Game pick: Steelers 21 Ravens 17

Washington Football Team @ Las Vegas Raiders – 4:05 p.m. on FOX (Kevin Burkhardt, Greg Olsen, Pam Oliver)
A game between two controversially-owned teams. Aside from that, a crucial game for both teams who are both surprisingly in their respective conference playoff races.

Think about this: Washington has not had a winning record at any point during the regular season since they were 1-0 after week one in 2020. And yet, if this 2021 season ended today they would be in the playoffs for the second straight year. You think MLB awards mediocrity? The NFL does too in this case with the Washington Football Team.

For as much as it is easy to criticize Las Vegas both on and off the field, their win at Dallas on Thanksgiving was impressive. Backs totally up against the wall, season spiraling out of control, all the off-the-field drama they carried coming in, and they put all of it aside and won a game to, albeit temporarily, save their season.

The second-half-of-the-season swoon is still a very real possibility for the Raiders, but the opposite is a real possibility for Washington. Last year after their 2-7 start, they went 5-2 the rest of the way to win the NFC East. This year, they started 2-6 but have won their last three games.

Game pick: Football Team 24 Raiders 21

Sunday Night Football: Denver Broncos @ Kansas City Chiefs – 8:20 p.m. on NBC (Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth, Michele Tafoya) Radio: Westwood One (Ryan Harris, Ryan Radtke)
This game was flexed to Sunday Night Football prior to the start of week 12. I didn’t agree with it at the time, but after Denver’s impressive win over the Chargers last week this matchup has some spice.

Kansas City won their last four games before their bye week, meaning they now have momentum and rest on their side. Patrick Mahomes struggled through the Chiefs first seven games, but has seven touchdowns to just two interceptions over his last four games. And his season touchdown-to-interception total so far? 25-11. As he showed over the Chiefs current four-game winning streak, there was no need to panic. Also an area where panic is not needed: the Chiefs defense, a unit giving up fewer than 12 points per game over their last four games.

I still can’t figure out Denver. I don’t think they are a very good team, but every time I’ve been ready to write them off, they have responded. And at 6-5, a win Sunday night would resoundingly shake things up in the AFC playoff race and AFC West.

Game pick: Chiefs 28 Broncos 17

Monday Night Football: New England Patriots @ Buffalo Bills – 8:15 p.m. on ESPN (Steve Levy, Brian Griese, Louis Riddick, Lisa Salters) Radio: Westwood One (
I cannot wait for this game. This is, in my opinion, the biggest home game for the Bills since 1995.

I know the Bills won their first division title last year for the first time since 1995, which signaled a potential changing of the guard in the AFC East with the Bills overtaking the Patriots. But keep this in mind: the Patriots had so many opt-outs to key players last year, and they still managed to cobble together a 7-9 record. That’s a credit to Bill Belichick’s coaching. And then they went out and signed players like tight end Hunter Henry, pass rusher Matt Judon and wide receiver Kendrick Bourne, and they drafted quarterback Mac Jones in the first round. All that has equaled an 8-4 team on a six-game winning streak that nobody should want to play right now.

I would argue Buffalo has more talent than New England. I would argue the Bills are the more explosive team. But I would also argue the Bills are the more inconsistent team. One or two weeks they look like world beaters, and the next week they look like the Bills teams that finished with a losing record in nine straight seasons from 2005-2013.

What New England has in their corner in this matchup? The best head coach in NFL history and a team that is smart and efficient. Smarts and efficiency won this franchise six Super Bowls in 18 seasons. Those attributes will win them this game on Monday night as well.

Game pick: Patriots 31 Bills 21

Other week 13 games

New York Giants @ Miami Dolphins – 1 p.m. on FOX (Chris Myers, Daryl Johnston, Jennifer Hale)
Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagavailoa has completed 80 percent or more of his passes in each of his last two games, and the Dolphins have won four games in a row. Credit Tagavailoa, the Dolphins defense and head coach Brian Flores for the team’s turnaround. They welcome in a Giants team Sunday that still has an outside shot at competing for an NFC Wild Card berth and is coming off an upset win at home against Philadelphia.

Game pick: Dolphins 24 Giants 14

Indianapolis Colts @ Houston Texans – 1 p.m. on CBS (Greg Gumbel, Adam Archuleta, AJ Ross)
What better opponent for the Colts to bounce back from their loss to Tampa Bay than the Houston Texans?

Game pick: Colts 30 Texans 10

Minnesota Vikings @ Detroit Lions – 1 p.m. on CBS (Spero Dedes, Jay Feely)
Now that the Bengals have exorcised their demons against Pittsburgh, the Lions are the most tortured fanbase in the NFL.

Game pick: Vikings 31 Lions 14

Philadelphia Eagles @ New York Jets – 1 p.m. on CBS (Andrew Catalon, James Lofton, Amanda Balionis)
Philadelphia will make their second straight trip to MetLife Stadium this Sunday to face the Jets. This is a trap game because while the Jets might be a good opponent to play in hopes of bouncing back, they have posted wins against two good teams in Tennessee and Cincinnati this season.

Game pick: Eagles 24 Jets 14

Arizona Cardinals @ Chicago Bears – 1 p.m. on FOX (Adam Amin, Mark Schlereth, Shannon Spake)
Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray was limited in practice Wednesday, the first day of the week teams’ injury reports are released. The Cardinals have won twice without him, so they have that going for him. But how much longer can the Cardinals go without him? If they hope to lock up the NFC’s No. 1 seed and only first-round bye, I don’t think too much longer. But Murray missing this game shouldn’t be too much of a factor for the Cardinals.

Game pick: Cardinals 27 Bears 17

Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Atlanta Falcons – 1 p.m. on FOX (Kenny Albert, Jonathan Vilma, Sara Walsh)
The way Tampa Bay won last week was eye-opening because they showed their physicality. Running back Leonard Fournette sent a message on the ground, and tight end Rob Gronkowski sent a message with his blocking at the line of scrimmage and as a pass-catcher, but it’s not like we haven’t already seen that from Gronk.

Here’s Atlanta once again showing signs of life at 5-6, but how seriously can we take them having gone 1-2 since they were 4-4 and their only win coming at Jacksonville?

I think this game will be close because it’s a division game, but I think Tampa Bay will impose their will when the game is on the line.

Game pick: Buccaneers 31 Falcons 21

Jacksonville Jaguars @ Los Angeles Rams – 4:05 p.m. on FOX (Kevin Kugler, Mark Sanchez, Laura Okmin)
I think the Rams will win this game, but how much confidence can I have with this team coming off three straight losses?

Game pick: Rams 28 Jaguars 17

San Francisco 49ers @ Seattle Seahawks – 4:25 p.m. on CBS (Kevin Harlan, Trent Green, Melanie Collins)
This game used to be circled on the calendar. Both teams have enjoyed bouts of success in the last decade. Seattle, inexplicably and oddly, has sputtered to 3-8. They’re in danger of missing the playoffs for just the second time in quarterback Russell Wilson’s 10 seasons with the team.

San Francisco has won its last three games, and they’re reminding me of their 2019 Super Bowl team. They’re running the football, Jimmy Garoppolo is playing mistake-free and effective football and George Kittle is back and making a huge impact with a touchdown in three of his last four games since coming off injured reserve.

Game pick: 49ers 27 Seahawks 20