Week 13 NFL Picks: Playoff Races Heating Up

Week 13 kicks off with three consecutive games tomorrow. We have the lowdown on who will win these and the remaining Week 13 games.

By One Cool Customer@OCC44 Nov 27, 2013, 3:00pm CST

The NFL media department informs us that entering Week 13, there are 24 teams either in or within one game of a playoff spot, of which 10 are in the NFC. And with just five games left to play, the playoff races are heating up as teams are looking to lock up their playoff berths. Division leaders will have to protect their lead and contenders can't afford to drop any more games.

Week 13 begins with a Thanksgiving tripleheader for the eighth consecutive year. Traditional Thanksgiving hosts Detroit and Dallas will play Green Bay and Oakland respectively during the day, followed by a primetime game between the Steelers and Ravens. Of note, all six teams playing tomorrow are either in or within one game of a playoff spot, which could result in another batch of tight games: Through Week 12, there have been 86 games decided by seven points or fewer, tied for the third-most through the first 12 weeks of a season in NFL history.

Three teams (Seattle, Denver and Kansas City) can lock up a playoff berth this week. For the other teams, there's still a lot of football left to be played, and the teams that show up now will be the teams we'll watch in the playoffs.

Our panel this week is unanimous in picking the Cowboys against the Raiders, and the majority likes the Cardinals over the Eagles. If both projections were to come true, that would be a very nice Thanksgiving weekend for Cowboys fans.

Here's wishing this Thanksgiving will find you, your family and your friends with many reasons to give thanks.


	Coty	Dave	Dawn	Joey	KD	OCC	rabble	Tom	Consensus
Season Record	96-80	112-64	109-67	103-73	95-81	110-66	112-64	104-72	106-70
Percentage	.545	.636	.619	.585	.540	.625	.636	.591	.602
Last Week	7-7	9-5	9-5	5-9	8-6	11-3	8-6	7-7	8-6

GB @ DET (-6)
OAK @ DAL (-9.5)
PIT @ BAL (-3)
TEN @ IND (-4.5)
JAC @ CLE (-7)
TB @ CAR (-8.5)
CHI (-1) @ MIN
ARI @ PHI (-3.5)
MIA @ NYJ (-1.5)
NE (-7.5) @ HOU
ATL @ BUF (-3.5)
DEN (-4) @ KC
STL @ SF (-9)
CIN @ SD (-1.5)
NYG (-1) @ WAS
NO @ SEA (-6)