Week 13

Week 13 is another big week in the AFC North. It includes both prime time games. Steelers and Bengals Sunday night, Ravens and Patriots Monday night, plus the Browns have to travel to Arizona. Lets look at each of these games.

Cleveland at Arizona (4:05 ET)

The Browns look to continue their winning ways and stay in the thick of the AFC playoff race. They are coming off an impressive win against Houston where their defence actually looked solid. At 7-4 they are the 6 seed in the AFC right now. However, if they keep winning they can really put some pressure on the Steelers for the AFC North title as they are only two games back (because of tiebreakers). Plus, the Browns don't have to play a team with a winning record the rest of the regular season. Arizona, at 5-6, is still in the playoff picture because they play in the NFC. Injuries have hurt them this year, but they have a toughness that hasn't been present in Arizona for a long time. And, travelling out west is never easy. Vegas has the Cardinals favored by a point, but I think the Browns will probably come away with a win.

Cincinatti at Pittsburgh (8:15 ET)

A very important game for Pittsburgh, and also a very dangerous one. Cincinatti has won the last two years at Pittsburgh, and four of the last five. In addition, Chris Henry is back and playing well for Cincinatti, and he has killed the Steelers since he's been in the league. These two teams dislike each other, and I expect the game to be physical. The Steelers have ended the Bengals season the last two years by beating them in the playoffs in Cincinatti two years ago, and beating them in Cincinatti to keep them out of the playoffs last year. Not that the Bengals are going anywhere regardless, but if the Steelers win this Sunday, the Bengals will be mathematically eliminated from the playoffs. It would be nice to end their season three years in a row. If the Steelers lose and the Browns win, then all of the sudden the playoffs will be in doubt. After this week, the Steelers have two very tough games left against the Patriots and the Jaguars while the Browns don't play a team with a winning record. A win this week is necessary. The Steelers are favored by seven. I don't expect them to cover, but I do expect them to win, maybe by four.

New England at Baltimore (Mon 8:30 ET)

Probably the only time I will ever root for the Ravens. I dislike the Ravens, I dislike their owner, I dislike their head coach, I dislike their attitude, and I love to watch them lose. However, I absolutely hate the Patriots. I don't want to get into it now, because I could take up several pages discussing what is wrong with the Patriots organization and fan base, but the bottom line is that I want them to lose. Can the Ravens win? Yes, but it is unlikely. The Ravens are physical enough on defense to slow the Patriots down, especially if both of their corners are healthy. However, the Ravens offense is just horrible. McGahee is solid, but their passing game is atrocious, and you have to be able to pass to score on New England. The spread is something like New England by 22. That is a joke. Baltimore busts the spread, but does end up losing by 13 or so.