Picking NFL Week 13

-How I did last week: 8-8

Batting .500 at Thanksgiving. Not great. It could have been much worse, I suppose, had the Eagles and Falcons not had late fourth quarter comebacks in their games. So much for the Pats providing the upset of the week

-Record on the season: 35-23

Rams at Bears: I feel that Jay Cutler and the Bears are due a bounce-back game after four straight losses that have effectively ended their playoff hopes. The Bears D will try and put all their efforts into stopping Steven Jackson, and, although I've only seen glimpses of his play, Kyle Boller doesn't appear to have enough to lead the offense to victory. Bears.

Buccaneers at Panthers: The Panthers are so unpredictable this year, with Jake Delhomme fluctuating between decent and horrendous. Although the Bucs have potential, especially in the form of rookie QB Josh Freeman, their defense is 26^th in the league this year. I don't see Delhomme struggling as mightily as he did against the Jets above secondary, especially if DeAngelo Williams can establish the running game. Panthers.

Texans at Jaguars: The Texans will struggle to believe that they have a worse record at this stage of the season than Jacksonville's quiet 6-5. The Jags actually beat the Texans earlier in the year, probably their most impressive victory to date. However, having watched the Texans last week against the Colts, it's easy to see that they are a team who are very close to being pretty good. They have four winnable games in a row coming up, and I still think they will make a playoff push. Texans.

Broncos at Chiefs: The Broncos did a great job of putting an end to their four-game slide by emphatically beating the Giants on Thanksgiving. They once again looked like the team that surprised us all earlier in the season. The Chiefs had a good win against the Steelers two weeks ago, but were brought back to earth after being outclassed by the Chargers. I fear the same fate is in store for them Sunday. Broncos.

Eagles at Falcons: Matt Ryan being injured for this one makes it a much easier pick for me. I'm not convinced by the Eagles this season by any means, but I don't think their defense will be too fearful of Chris Redman, even if he did lead the Falcons to victory over the Bucs last week. Falcons might surprise me in this one, but I'll stick with the bigger birds. Eagles.

Titans at Colts: Upset of the Week: When is this gosh darn Titans run going to come to an end? Every week they seem to face a more formidable opponent, only to come out with yet another victory. Beat the Colts on Sunday, and they're back to .500, and with all their momentum, could be headed to the playoffs after an 0-6 start. What a story that would be. In their way this week stands the undefeated Colts, who already beat them 31-9 earlier this season. But that was a different Titans team, and with the Colts perhaps taking the foot off the gas this week after a run of brutal games, I'm betting on the strak to continue. Titans.

Saints at Redskins: Wow, was that a statement game by the Saints against the Patriots on Monday night or what? Their offensive display was awesome, and some of the throws Drew Brees made were simply ridiculous. If they can play like that come playoff time, I don't know if there is a defense in the NFL I could see stopping them. The Redskins actually happen to have a top ten defense, but I can't see it mattering much in this one. Saints.

Bengals at Lions: The Bengals sure haven't set the world alight the last two weeks against two of the weakest teams in the league, first losing to the Raiders, then squeaking past the Browns!! Still they shouldn't have to play their best to beat the Lions. Bengals.

Raiders at Steelers: Boy, the Steelers must be mad. Three consecutive losses to the Bengals, Chiefs and Ravens in overtime, receiver Hines Ward calling out his quarterback for being soft (then retracting it of course), and Troy Polamalu still out injured. The Raiders might fancy their chances to hand them a fourth loss on the bounce, but I think the Steelers will have other ideas. One thing's for sure, I wouldn't want to swap lives with Raiders QB Bruce Gradkowski on Sunday. Steelers.

Patriots at Dolphins: When these teams played less than a month ago, the Patriots just had too much for the Dolphins. I see this one being another close, especially considering how vulnerable the Pats D looked against New Orleans. The Dolphins pose a different type of challenge, however, one that the Patriots will not be so fearful of. Patriots.

Chargers at Browns: This game is the most unbalanced match-up of the weekend. If they played it a hundred times, I don't know that the Browns would win more than once or twice. Chargers.

49ers at Seahawks: More was expected from both of these teams this season. While they are both technically still alive in the playoff race, they also have an eye on next season. Seattle's GM Tim Ruskell stepped down Thursday perhaps paving the way for Mike Holmgren's return, while the 49ers have to decide in the next weeks whether Alex Smith can be their guy for the future at QB (I feel that's not the first time someone has said that sentence...) I'll go for the 49ers in this one, simply because mathematically they have a better chance at still making the playoffs. 49ers.

Cowboys at Giants: This is a can't-lose game for the Giants, but I think they will. They looked like a team out of ideas and low on confidence against the Broncos, and their secondary is bound to struggle against Tony Romo and his receivers, especially if their pass-rush is completely absent once again. Cowboys.

Vikings at Cardinals: In my mind the Vikings are every bit on the same level as the two undefeated teams in the league. They may have lost to the Steelers but they've also blown out a lot of teams this year. The Cardinals are the best team they've faced in a while, so it should be a good game, but I think the Vikings will have too much. Vikings.

Packers at Ravens: As we speak, the Packers lead the NFC wild card race (along with the Eagles), but this game is going to be a real test for them. Sure they've beaten the Cowboys this year, but four of their six other wins have come against the Lions (twice), Browns and Rams. I'm not convinced by them yet, and I think their offense will struggle against Ravens physical defense, especially in Baltimore. Ravens.