My 2022 NFL Picks (Week 13)

We've made it to December, which means we've made it to the stretch run of the NFL season.  Now we're gonna start to see the updated playoff standings at the end of every game.  We can even see our first berths clinched and first division champion crowned this week.

Those current playoff standings, by the way, are crazy!  All four NFC East teams would be in the field if the playoffs started today.  While that likely won't be the case a month from now, it's still remarkable to think that a division most people thought would be one of the worst in the league entering the season is currently the best.  And it still seems like a good bet that there'll be three playoff teams from the NFC East.

Thursday Night: Buffalo (Win)

Steelers (4-7) at Falcons (5-7): Atlanta-Give Atlanta credit.  In a year when they weren't supposed to be competitive at all, they've still got a shot at a division title.  Of course, that speaks more to how bad the NFC South is than anything about the Falcons.  But the point remains, they'll be playing meaningful games in December, which no one expected.  The Steelers, despite looking like the Steelers of old on Monday night, will not be.

Packers (4-8) at Bears (3-9): Green Bay-It hasn't been a good year in Green Bay.  That isn't exactly news.  Just like it's not news that the Chicago Bears have had a quarterback problem for years.  So, the 206th all-time meeting between the NFL's oldest rivals is really nothing more than a run-of-the-mill 1:00 regional game.  You never know what's gonna happen when these two get together, but I feel pretty confident it'll be a Packers win.

Jaguars (4-7) at Lions (4-7): Detroit-Don't look now, but the Detroit Lions are suddenly a very formidable team.  They took a three-game winning streak into their Thanksgiving game, and they looked great against the Bills!  Sure, the winning streak ended, but they gave the Bills all they could handle and then some!  Now they face a Jaguars team that they're better than.  Will this be the start of a new winning streak?

Jets (7-4) at Vikings (9-2): Minnesota-If the Lions lose do lose and the Vikings win, Minnesota will clinch the NFC North and officially become the first team to clinch a playoff berth this season.  The Jets are currently sitting in playoff position, too, so CBS has actually made this their primary early game.  Minnesota clinching the division is inevitable, but you know they want to get it done this week.  Especially since they know they need to keep winning and hope the Eagles lose at least twice for them to get the 1-seed.  So, they can't afford a let up in a game that will likely be tight.

Commanders (7-5) at Giants (7-4): Giants-Washington's upcoming schedule is very weird.  The Commanders have Giants, bye, Giants in the next three weeks.  And it's probably these two games that will determine which one of these teams makes the playoffs (they're both holding wild cards right now).  The Giants need at least a split to have any shot (they've still got both Eagles games and Minnesota).  More importantly, the Giants need a win here just to get back on track and snap their two-game losing streak.

Titans (7-4) at Eagles (10-1): Philadelphia-All of the Eagles' critics like to point out that they haven't played the strongest opponents while building their 10-1 record.  Well, the Titans certainly qualify as a strong opponent.  I'm actually very curious to see how these two stack up against each other.  Ultimately, though, I think the Eagles will do what they've been doing consistently all season.  Find a way to pull it out.

Broncos (3-8) at Ravens (7-4): Baltimore-Denver is not good.  Russell Wilson was supposed to be the missing piece that would put them over the top, but he's a shell of his former self and their offense has been virtually nonexistent all season.  And facing a top-notch defense like Baltimore's isn't exactly a good thing to go against when you have no offense!  So, going with the Ravens is an easy call here.

Browns (4-7) at Texans (1-9-1): Houston-DeShaun Watson will make his season debut for the Browns!  What makes it even more disgusting is that his Browns debut will be against the Texans...in Houston!  I love it that some of the women will be coming to the game, though.  They're the ones who'll deserve the standing ovation in Watson's return.  They also deserve to see him lose to the home team.

Seahawks (6-5) at Rams (3-8): Seattle-As if things couldn't go any worse for the Rams, Matthew Stafford and Cooper Kupp are probably both out for the remainder of this nightmare season.  This certainly isn't how they expected to follow up winning the Super Bowl.  Now, I think they'll just settle for ending their losing streak.  Unfortunately, I don't see that happening this week.

Dolphins (8-3) at 49ers (7-4): San Francisco-San Francisco has moved into first place and looks better every week.  While I still don't think they're in the same class as the Eagles, Cowboys and Vikings, I'm starting to come around on that Super Bowl talk.  This is also a big one for the Dolphins, who'll test their mettle against a legitimate NFC contender.  I don't think they'll win, but they'll make it a close game.

Chiefs (9-2) at Bengals (7-4): Kansas City-A rematch of last season's AFC Championship Game, when the Bengals went into Kansas City and shut down the Chiefs' offense in the second half.  This time they meet in Cincinnati, and the Bengals know they need to win it if they don't want to go into Kansas City again this January.  Except, the Chiefs have been playing like the best team in the AFC for a few weeks now.  And they always seem to rise to the occasion in games like this.

Chargers (6-5) at Raiders (4-7): Chargers-The last time these two met in Las Vegas, was last year's season finale.  We all know what happened.  They were content with the tie and both making the playoffs, until the Raiders kicked that last-second field goal to knock the Chargers out.  This time, it's only the Chargers looking at a possible postseason berth.  And they can't afford a repeat of last year.  Not if they want to actually make the playoffs this season.

Colts (4-7-1) at Cowboys (8-3): Dallas-I know I say this all the time, but I think the Dallas Cowboys might be the most complete team in the NFL.  They sure looked like it against Minnesota, and they sure looked like it again against the Giants.  Both of those teams are better than the Colts, so why would we think the Sunday night game would go any differently?  (This is the first of three straight against the AFC South for Dallas, who still has four out-of-conference games left out of its final six.  Odd scheduling indeed!)

Saints (4-8) at Buccaneers (5-6): Tampa Bay-After last week's overtime loss in Cleveland, Tampa Bay once again dipped under .500 for the season.  But, thanks to the fact they play in the NFC South, the Bucs aren't just in playoff contention, they're in first place!  And, here's the crazy thing...if the Saints win, they're just a half-game out.  Another crazy stat is that Tampa Bay is 0-4 against the AFC, but 5-2 against the NFC.  Seeing as the Saints are in the NFC, that means they win this week.

This Week: 1-0
Last Week: 12-4
Overall: 104-76-1