NFL: Tips Week 13: Crunchtime! Will the Vikings stop New England?

Crunchtime in the Regular Season begins! Can the Vikings pass in New England? The Panthers stumble again? Can Philly beat the next division opponent – and who’s going to win the smash between the Steelers and the Chargers? SPOX takes a quick look at all games of the upcoming matchday – including the forecast by NFL editor Adrian Franke, the Sunday games are as usual in the RedZone conference live on DAZN.

Bye-Week: –

How dependent are the cowboys on their run game? That is the central question that stands above this game. The Saints have the best run defense in the NFL and have also become more stable and aggressive in their coverages. Thus, the recently improved cowboy opense expects a very hard piece of work, and Dallas will need a good opense. As good and promising as the cowboy defense may be, the Saints are offensively too strong and above all too flexible; whether with the run game, with big plays, with a short pass offense – New Orleans can win in various ways. Much of it starts, besides Brees of course, with the offensive line.

Tip: Cowboys vs. Saints 21:27.

Three bankruptcies in a row – the Falcons are heading in the fastest direction towards “insignificant games in the last third of the season”. Any reason? The Passing Game, which Atlanta was able to carry over the first half of the season, also had some weaker games now, while the Run Game was completely submerged in phases. Against a still very good Ravens defense a fast improvement is anything but guaranteed. This is also true for the defense, in which the Falcons hope for the comeback of Deion Jones. That would be an enormous boost; but even with a Jones comeback after months of injury, the Falcons’ run defense won’t suddenly stop Baltimore’s run game around Lamar Jackson and Co. with a Jones comeback. If Atlanta wins the game, then it’s only possible via their own passing game.

Tip: Falcons vs. Ravens 26:24.

The Bengal season has finally arrived in no man’s land. For Andy Dalton the season is over, A.J. Green could also be out again. With Jeff Driskel on quarterback and no real receiving weapon outside Tyler Boyd, it’s hard to imagine the Bengals winning against a still dangerous Broncos defense. That would have to happen on the other side of the ball – and here Cincinnati has been one of the most vulnerable, predictable teams in the league over the last few weeks.

Tip: Bengals vs. Broncos 13:24.

The Lions are always good for a surprise, like the victory over the Panthers two weeks ago. For something to be conceivable against the rams in this direction, all sorts of crazy things would have to happen: Detroit has lost Marvin Jones for the rest of the season, Kerryon Johnson is also out again. Golden Tate is gone as is well known, T.J. Lang on IR – this offense is, in addition to the schematic limitations, massively limited. And in combination with a toothless pass rush against the offensive line of rams on the other side of the ball and the explosiveness of this rams offense, it’s hard to imagine Detroit keeping the game tight.

Tip: Lions vs. Rams 23:31.

Four defeats in the last five games and not a single success away: this Packers season will not go as well as planned in the second half of the season. The only wins came in Week 1 over Chicago and then against Buffalo, the 49ers without Garoppolo and Miami – not exactly the elite of the NFL. The good news for this week: with the Cardinals one of the two, three worst teams of the league comes to Lambeau. The cards fell apart completely after a good start against the Chargers, the offensive line is and remains a debacle and the defense plays much worse than the individual potential of the players would suggest.

Tip: Packers vs. Cardinals 31:17.

Very good performance of the Dolphins in Indianapolis, where in the end they also lost themselves a possible reward for their own efforts. Can Miami build on this performance against the Bills? It would be better, because games against this Bills team are anything but a success. Buffalo can cause a Offense in particular with the own Pass-Defense bigger problems, and Josh Allen is offensive at least as a Runner a real danger; with the occasional Big Play as a permanent threat. The Dolphins should also be able to limit Allen in the passing game and possibly force him to make one or two mistakes. Buffalo’s Receiving Corps doesn’t scare anyone.

Tip: Dolphins vs. Bills 20:17.

Some at least more stable games of the Giants-Offense last – because it went against some of the worst pass rushes of the league (Tampa, San Francisco) and Manning had time in the pocket. This should be significantly different against the Bears, and New York won’t be as dominant in the Run Game as it was against the Eagles in the first half. Thus there is a very sharp limitation for this Giants Opense, which could also be necessary if Mitch Trubisky (shoulder) fails again. Against the Lions the Bears have also shown how good their scheme is and that the Offense also works with Backup Chase Daniel.

Tip: Giants vs. Bears 13:23.

After the Pittsburgh gossip, the surprise Detroit bankruptcy and the wild home defeat against the Seahawks, the Panthers are back in the middle of the battle for a wildcard ticket – the former lead has melted together. Even the Bucs don’t become self-propelled: Carolina’s Pass-Rush is a big problem all year round and the Secondary isn’t saddle-proof enough to absorb it. On the contrary. In addition, Jameis Winston now had two good games in a row; can he stop the turnovers? Then the Bucs will be able to score here. But the question that remains week after week in Tampa is: how is this defense supposed to stop anyone? The Panthers with their dangerous Underneath Passing Game and the strong Run Game should be able to win this game offensively.

Tip: Buccaneers vs. Panthers 24:30.

What an incredibly disappointing season in Jacksonville with the dismissal of the offensive coordinator and the quarterback swap as the latest desperate measures to save anything. It remains to be seen whether the offense will suddenly appear significantly improved in the passing game; Leonard Fournette will miss the game, in any case. Then one quickly returns to the argumentative territory, where the Jags have to win with their defense – and they simply can’t do that. Not against the Bills, and against one of the top offenses of the NFL currently this seems even more difficult to imagine.

Tip: Jaguars vs. Colts 17:27.

Eight wins in a row, J.J. Watt in elite form for weeks and several players offensively and defensively who can make the difference – you have to reckon with this Texans team. But the big weakness is and remains the offensive line, and this week it will be tested against Myles Garrett and Co. On the other hand, of course, this also applies to Baker Mayfield, who played big last time. Although its line is better than that of the Texans, it also has clear weaknesses. And the Browns might get problems in this game to score with their receivers and with their run game.

Tip: Texans vs. Browns 30:27.

With jets, the season really can’t end fast enough. The offense with Josh McCown is as uninspiring as with Sam Darnold – both are also stricken. The defense, especially Jamal Adams, still has good moments, but that’s not enough. For Tennessee, however, after the Houston defeat, everything is at stake: the defense is good enough to significantly limit the jets, but then the Titans also need a better game from their own offense. Mariota was very efficient against the Texans with his passes, but also had hardly any vertical passes in his repertoire. The receiver situation is and remains problematic, just like the offensive line, and Tennessee’s play calling is still more run-heavy than it is good for this team.

Tip: Titans vs. Jets 27:13.

This game can be kept short. The Raiders are almost completely harmless offensively, and Derek Carr drops drastically against pressure – he should see that more often against a significantly improved Chiefs Pass rush. And that the Raiders neither in the Run-Defense, nor in the Pass-Rush or let alone in the Secondary do not have the means to stand against this explosive Chiefs-Offense, should not surprise anyone.

Tip: Raiders vs. Chiefs 17:34.

The victory over the jets falls more into the category “compulsory task” than anything else. And yet there are positive takeaways: the offense is finally getting healthier and you could see that in some phases against Gang Green. Sony Michel gives the Offense an extra dimension and the Defense can at least implement its bend-but-don’t-break approach. And against the offensive line of the Vikings New England’s front should be able to perform well. The most exciting question will be: can Minnesota put Brady under pressure? And can New England control Diggs and Thielen halfway? For the Vikings it would be a desolate failure if Xavier Rhodes did not get fit in time.

Tip: Patriots vs. Vikings 27:24.

The Seahawks have made an impressive comeback in the playoff race with elementary important victories against the Packers and in Carolina. Seattle is an unpleasant opponent who can cause problems for many teams – the 49ers definitely – with his run game, but is also one of the most dangerous teams in the downfield passing game. San Francisco has one of the two, three most vulnerable Secondaries of the NFL and should not be able to withstand here. Not to mention that Nick Mullens should get all kinds of problems against an improved Seahawks defense. The best chance for the Niners is in their own run game.

Tip: Seahawks vs. 49ers 30:17.

The central AFC matchup this week, and after the unexpected Steelers defeat in Denver, Pittsburgh is under pressure – otherwise they would fall behind in the race for the top seeds. And for that the Steelers have to present themselves more efficiently again: against the Broncos there were partly absurd Red-Zone-Turnovers, the Run-Defense was more holes than usual and offensive the Run Game was not dominant enough. These things have to change against an excellent Chargers Open, which is also capable of Big Plays at any time, and against a highly dangerous Chargers Pass rush. In a game between two very good teams, does it make a difference that Melvin Gordon can’t play because of his knee injury?

Tip: Steelers vs. Chargers 31:30.

The Eagles have found their way back against the Giants at least as far as the result is concerned – but not much more. Philadelphia is tremendously decimated in the secondary, even the Redskins-Offense around Colt McCoy, which is also plagued by injuries, should be able to capitalize on this one or the other time. The question remains, is that enough? The opponent has the clearly better quarterback and (at least on paper) the clearly better weapons. Philly just needs to start getting his horsepower out on the street. Further mistakes are taboo if the defending champion wants to play for the playoffs in December.

Tip: Eagles vs. Redskins 20:19.