It’s about time we had a strong looking Sunday schedule in the NFL. The only shame is Chiefs-Bengals and Dolphins-49ers are in the same window and neither game gets a national platform. Why didn’t they flex out Cowboys-Colts? Christ.
Not to oversell it, but these two games could have a significant impact on the races for the No. 1 seed in the AFC, the AFC East, the AFC North, and the MVP race.
If the Chiefs get past the Bengals, they really could go 15-2 as their only other game left against a team with a better record than 4-7 is a home battle with the Seahawks where KC will be favored for sure.
We get to see what the Chiefs learned from the AFC Championship Game, their second blown lead of 14+ points against the Bengals last year. Patrick Mahomes played the worst half of his career after the Bengals used a three-man rush and he repeatedly held the ball long and made bad decisions. I’m surprised this hasn’t been a dominant strategy against the Chiefs this year. Double Travis Kelce and only rush 3-4 while making them beat you with the other guys, who aren’t consistent. Maybe the Bengals do it again, and they are likely getting Ja’Marr Chase back on offense. just in time. Should be a good one.
As for the Dolphins-49ers, it’s a fantastic matchup of great offense vs. great defense plus the whole mentor/assistant coach angle between Kyle Shanahan and Mike McDaniel. I’ve actually been warming up to going with the Dolphins to win this one, if only because I expect the 49ers to disappoint in big games, and I think McDaniel may be smart enough to realize they’re not going to run the ball well in this game and adjust accordingly. Plus, I’ve been doing some digging into Tua this week and definitely went from skeptical to impressed. But the odds are stacked against him as they usually are when a quarterback on a team with a weak running game takes on a top-ranked defense on the road. But it is easier to win such a game in the regular season than in the playoffs.
Some of this week’s articles:
- Tua Tagovailoa’s MVP case and matchup vs. 49ers (my best article this week)
- Week 13 Sunday props
- Week 13 parlays (+484)
- Upset Alert: Jets over Vikings
- Chargers vs. Raiders
- Packers vs. Bears
- Titans vs. Eagles
- Steelers vs. Falcons
- Broncos vs. Ravens
- Browns vs. Texans
NFL Week 13 Predictions
The Bills came through on Thursday night, though I thought we’d see a few more points than we did.
I’m riding with Mike White to end the Vikings’ close-game win streak. Jets by 1-13 will be something I play several times.
I think the Jags lose a high-scoring game this week after winning their first in multiple years last week.
Counting on a huge game from Nick Chubb in Kyle Allen vs. Predator in Houston.
Taking the Giants to get back on track as we’re getting too used to Washington winning and I still don’t think the team is that good.
Is it just another boring Aaron Rodgers vs. Justin Fields game in Bears-Packers? This would be the moment for the Bears to come through and defeat Rodgers in a big way, but this team just stinks more than Green Bay. Packers until proven otherwise.
All I’ll say about Monday night is we’ve seen the Bucs host the Saints in prime time two years in a row. The Saints won 38-3 in 2020 and 9-0 in 2021 in two of the most dominant defensive performances you’ll ever see against a Brady-led team. The Saints don’t look capable of doing it this year, but after losing 13-0 in SF last week after a 24-0 win over the Raiders a few weeks before that, who knows anymore? It’s not like Tampa looks good.
I’ll aim for more sleep but it’s looking doubtful.
Captain Comeback: NFL Analysis by Scott Kacsmar 