Now, that is what I call a 'rebound' week. After a miserable 0-5 in my weekly NFL predictions two weeks ago, Thanksgiving Week saw my crystal ball churn out a perfect 5-0 mark. That puts me at 13-12 for the five weeks I have actually been doing this.
So, let's see what we come up with for NFL Week 13 predictions. As always, I will pick the New York Giants and New York Jets games, then three others. So, let's fire up the crystal ball and get rolling.
Redskins at Giants (-8): The Giants dodged a bullet last week against Jacksonville, and they know they have to continue to win games to stay in the NFC playoff race. I think they build on last week's second half against the Jaguars, and come up with a dominant defensive performance Sunday against Donovan McNabb. Pick: Giants
Jets (+3) at Patriots: Man, it's tough to bet against Tom Brady, Bill Belichick and the Patriots -- especially in a critical game at home. That, however, is exactly what I am going to do. Do I have a good reason? Maybe not, but this is SB Nation New York, not SB Nation New England, so I'm sticking with the locals here. Pick: Jets
Now, on to my three other 'wild card' selections.
Bears (-3.5) at Lions: Chicago, amazingly, is 8-3. Detroit is 2-9 and will be down to third quarterback Drew Stanton against the Bears. Detroit does play better at home, but at this point the Bears can smell the playoffs. As much as I would like to see it happen, I don't see them getting upended here. Pick: Bears
Bills at Vikings (-6.5): Week after week the 2-9 Bills play close, gut-wrenching games in which they give everything they have. The 4-7 Vikings are at home and interim coach Leslie Frazier is trying to earn the job long term, but Minnesota's season is essentially over. I just believe the Bills will play as hard as they can, and I'm not sure Minnesota will. Pick: Bills
Raiders at Chargers (-12.5): The Raiders (5-6) have crashed back to earth the past two weeks with blowout losses to Pittsburgh and Miami. San Diego, meanwhile, is 6-5 and in the midst of their annual second half of the season run, having won four straight. Pick: Chargers
- Check SB Nation's NFL Odds page for the lines on every NFL game
Last Week: 5-0
Season Record: 13-12