The Thanksgiving games are in the books, the calendar has turned to December, and we’re in the thick of the 2023-24 NFL Season, with just six weeks left to play and plenty yet to be decided in terms of playoff teams, playoff seeding, and individual accolades.

This week’s key matchups include:

  • Thursday Night Football: The 6-5 Seattle Seahawks travel to play the 8-3 Dallas Cowboys in an important NFC matchup with playoff implications on the line for both teams.
  • AFC Sunday Afternoon Showdown: The 6-5 Denver Broncos (winners of five straight games) and 6-5 Houston Texans (led by second overall pick C.J. Stroud) are both exceeding expectations this season: but there will likely only be enough room for one of these teams in the AFC postseason picture, and the winner of this game will have a huge upper hand in securing a playoff spot.
  • NFC Championship Rematch: Jalen Hurts and the 10-1 Philadelphia Eagles will host Brock Purdy and the 8-3 San Francisco 49ers in a rematch of last year’s NFC Championship Game. The 49ers can make the race for the NFC’s #1 seed a bit interesting by earning a head-to-head win over the reigning Eagles, but Philadelphia could essentially put the race away early and only have to worry about Dallas and Detroit with a win at home.
  • Monday Night Football: If the 5-6 Cincinnati Bengals have any aspirations of saving their season without Joe Burrow, they’ll have to take care of the 8-3 Jacksonville Jaguars, on the road, on Monday Night Football in order to get the ball rolling.

Read on for my 2023-24 NFL Week 13 Picks, and if you’d like to debate or discuss any predictions, join the conversation with @SakSports on Twitter.

Picks Record

Week 12 Picks: 11-5

Week 1: 9-7

Week 2: 12-4

Week 3: 8-8

Week 4: 12-4

Week 5: 7-7

Week 6: 11-4

Week 7: 5-8

Week 8: 11-5

Week 9: 11-3

Week 10: 7-7

Week 11: 8-4

Week 12: 11-5

Overall: 112-66 (63%)

Week 12 Highlights

  • Prediction: Dolphins beat Jets 30-13, Actual: Dolphins beat Jets 34-13

Thursday Night Football

Seattle Seahawks (6-5) at Dallas Cowboys (8-5): Seahawks win 27-24

Sunday Games

Indianapolis Colts (6-5) at Tennessee Titans (4-7): The Tennessee Titans are a different beast at home, posting a 4-1 record versus their 0-6 road record. But this is a feisty Indianapolis Colts team with a 4-1 road record to boot. Expect a one-score game with both teams notching points in the mid-20’s. Colts win 27-23

Los Angeles Chargers (4-7) at New England Patriots (2-9): Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers have both suffered from a tough schedule as well as subpar play. Luckily, the 2-9 New England Patriots are a ripe opponent for a bounce back game. Chargers win 37-17

Detroit Lions (8-3) at New Orleans Saints (2-2): The Detroit Lions are hungry for a win to stay near the top of the NFC standings after last week’s shocking loss to the Packers on Thanksgiving Day. Derek Carr is working at quarterback for the New Orleans Saints, but the team’s cohesiveness varies too much from week-to-week to count on them, even at home. Lions win 28-20

Atlanta Falcons (5-6) at New York Jets (4-7): The New York Jets were competitive last year without Aaron Rodgers, so even in his absence in 2023, it’s disappointing to see the team continue to freefall despite the talent at non-quarterback positions. The Atlanta Falcons will likely sneak in their sixth win of the season, something they really have no business doing through twelve games. Falcons win 23-16

Arizona Cardinals (2-10) at Pittsburgh Steelers (7-4): Speaking of teams whose win totals exceed their on-field play, the Pittsburgh Steelers will likely improve to 8-4 facing a pretty soft Arizona Cardinals team at home. Kyler Murray alone won’t be able to outshine Pittsburgh’s defense. Steelers win 24-18

Miami Dolphins (8-3) at Washington Commanders (4-8): The Washington Commanders are fading, while Tua Tagovailoa and the Miami Dolphins look to stay in form as the playoffs come in to focus. Just like on Black Friday against the Jets, I expect Miami to be in a position to put Tua on the bench early. Dolphins win 36-18

Denver Broncos (6-5) at Houston Texans (6-5): This is almost as big as a playoff game for both teams involved: a win here, and therefore, a head-to-head tiebreaker over the loser of this game, has incredibly large playoff ramifications. No one really expected C.J. Stroud and the Houston Texans to be in this position this fast, but they are favored at home to improve to 7-5 and take control of the AFC’s 7th seed for the time being. While Stroud takes tremendous care of the football, the Denver Broncos’ stingy defense may still find ways to come up with a turnover or two. Call me a homer (I currently live in Denver) but after five straight wins, it seems Sean Payton has figured out how Russell Wilson and this Broncos roster works. Broncos win 26-23

SEE ALSO: NFL Flexes Week 13 Broncos-Texans Kickoff Time

Carolina Panthers (1-10) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-7): This is one of the Carolina Panthers’ better shots at earning a second win on the season, but the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are clearly the better team, through and through. Buccaneers win 27-15

Cleveland Browns (7-4) at Los Angeles Rams (5-6): This one’s a toss-up for me. The Los Angeles Rams are figuring things out and becoming a more competitive team by the week, while the Cleveland Browns couldn’t cook anything on offense last week and will turn to veteran Joe Flacco as their Week 12 starter. For that reason alone, I’ll lean Los Angeles, but don’t count out Cleveland’s elite defense from finding a way to steal this game. Rams win 28-17

Sak Sports Blog Game of the Week San Francisco 49ers (8-3) at Philadelphia Eagles (10-1): In a rematch of last year’s NFC Championship Game, these two teams once again feel like an unstoppable force vs. an immovable object. The Philadelphia Eagles are 10-1 on the season, finding ways to win nearly every week. The San Francisco 49ers did suffer a three-game losing streak amidst some injuries that ended a few weeks ago, but besides that, have looked unbeatable in many of their eight wins. Anything goes here, and on paper, I like San Francisco’s roster and style of play in this matchup. But until the Eagles lose again, it’s hard to bet against Jalen Hurts and company. Eagles win 30-27

Sunday Night Football

(Getty Images)

Kansas City Chiefs (8-3) at Green Bay Packers (5-6): Patrick Mahomes finally gets to play at Lambeau Field, but of course, Aaron Rodgers has now skipped town. Instead, its Mahomes vs. Jordan Love, the same matchup that yielded a surprisingly low-scoring 17-10 Chiefs win last season. If the Green Bay Packers have any chance of winning and evening their record, it would come from limiting Kansas City’s offensive production. But coming off a bitter loss to the Eagles two weeks ago, and with the Baltimore Ravens outpacing them in the race for a first-round bye, the Kansas City Chiefs need this mid-season game more than they normally do at this time of the year. Chiefs win 31-17

Monday Night Football

Cincinnati Bengals (5-6) at Jacksonville Jaguars (8-3): Obviously, we were robbed of seeing Joe Burrow and Trevor Lawrence go toe-to-toe in this matchup. While the Cincinnati Bengals aren’t helpless with Jake Browning at quarterback, the Jacksonville Jaguars aren’t in a position to let their foot off the gas with the Texans and Colts on their backs in the AFC South. Jaguars win 30-13

SEE ALSO: Post-Week 12 Power Rankings

Teams on Bye

Buffalo Bills, Chicago Bears, Las Vegas Raiders, Minnesota Vikings, New York Giants, Baltimore Ravens

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