Week 12 Recap
Oakland and New England maintained their spots as the top two teams in the AFC after winning a pair of nail-biters against the Panthers and the Jets. Oakland has now won five straight games, but three teams have even longer winning streaks. Miami has won six in a row and now controls their own destiny for a playoff berth.
In the NFC, the Giants have also won six straight while Dallas has won 10 in a row and the NFC East rivals currently boast the best two records in their conference.
Week 13 Prime Time Games
Thursday Night Football – Dallas Cowboys @ Minnesota Vikings
Sunday Night Football – Carolina Panthers @ Seattle Seahawks
Monday Night Football – Indianapolis Colts @ New York Jets
What to Watch for in Week 13
Lock of the Week – Oakland Raiders and Buffalo Bills cover the over (49.5)
Raiders games have covered the over in nine out of eleven games this year. Oakland has scored less than 27 points just twice all season. Their opponents are averaging 25 points per game and with wide receiver Sammy Watkins likely to see a full complement of snaps for Buffalo. After being eased into action in Week 12, the Bills offense will be at full strength for the first time all season.
Matchup of the Week – Miami Dolphins @ Baltimore Ravens
With Miami’s win on Sunday, the Dolphins jumped ahead of the Denver Broncos as the final playoff seed in the AFC. Baltimore’s win over the Bengals maintained their lead in the AFC North. The Dolphins have leaned heavily on the running game since naming Jay Ajayi the starter, but the Ravens boast the best rush defense in the league. This will probably be a low-scoring, grind-it-out contest, but it could prove to have the greatest playoff implications of any game so far this season.
Player to Watch – Matthew Stafford (Quarterback, Detroit Lions) @ New Orleans
Just shy of 3,000 yards on the season with a near four-to-one touchdown-to-interception ratio, Matthew Stafford is having arguably the best season of his pro career. In a game that Vegas expects to be the highest-scoring tilt of the week, the Lions will face a Saints defense that ranks 27th in pass defense. Even if Detroit fails to keep pace with the high-flying Saints, expect Stafford to post monster numbers.
TJ Hernandez is an editor at 4for4.com and the founder of RosterCoach.com. You can follow him on twitter @TJHernandez.
*The blog is for entertainment purposes only and in no way should be used in making wagers of any kind.