Detroit Lions: 6-5 (2nd in NFC North) Minnesota Vikings: 5-6 (T-3rd in NFC North) Last Week: Vikings 41, Giants 17 Packers 37, Lions 26
Why We Care: A 6-2 start made Jon Kitna and his 10-win prediction look brilliant, but the Lions have now lost three straight and are playing for their playoff lives. Because of how the NFL's tiebreakers work, only one team out of the NFC North will get to battle for a wild card unless the Giants completely fall apart. Detroit could all but wrap up that shot with a win--it would give them effectively a three-game lead with four games to play. But if the Vikings win, Minnesota would all of a sudden be in the thick of the playoff race. When the Vikings have the ball: Adrian Peterson's back, which means the NFL's best rushing attack just got better. Minnesota's offensive line has figured out the zone blocking scheme and is now simply pummeling people. With Chester Taylor filling in, the Vikings still ground out first downs. Bringing Peterson back should force the Lions to focus almost entirely on shutting down the running game. Quarterback Tarvaris Jackson doesn't get asked to do more than just avoid making mistakes, but he has done a much better job of being efficient in recent weeks.
Cincinnati Bengals: 4-7 (T-3rd in AFC North) Pittsburgh Steelers: 8-3 (1st in AFC North) Last Week:
Bengals 35, Titans 6 Steelers 3, Dolphins 0
Why We Care: The records may be dramatically different, but the two teams are closer in talent than it would appear. The Bengals showed they haven't given up on the season by throttling the Titans last week while the Steelers waded through the muck for one of the most miserable games in recent memory. Cincinnati's playoff hopes may be over, but they can screw up the Steelers plans to win the AFC North with a win.
The last time the Seahawks strolled in to Philadelphia to play the Eagles, the Monday night game turned out to be one of the ugliest in recent memory. It was week 13 of the 2005 season and Birds fans were excited for the game because Reggie White would be honored at half time. After the ceremony for number 92, many Philly faithful chose to head home to beat traffic -- or drink their sorrows away -- and few were on hand to see the final scoreboard show a complete and utter [butt] whooping, 42-0.
Hopefully for Philadelphia, things won't go quite the same today.
Houston Texans: 5-6 (4th in AFC South) Tennessee Titans: 6-4 (3rd in AFC South) Last Week:
Bengals 35, Titans 6 Browns 27, Texans 17
Why We Care: Not that long ago, the Titans were considered to be among the second tier of AFC playoff teams, now they're just hoping to stay alive in the playoff race. With the Browns and Jaguars quickly pulling away, a loss would help continue the Titans slow spiral to mediocrity. A win would equal the second-most wins in Texans history, and would give Houston a chance to finish the season at .500 or better for the first time in team history.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 7-4 (1st in NFC South) New Orleans Saints 5-6 (2nd in NFC South)
Last Game:
Bucs 19, Redskins 13 Saints 31, Panthers 6
When the Bucs have the ball: Or, shall I say, when Joey Galloway has the ball. If the Bucs want to win, they don't have to study a whole lot of game tape or devise a brilliant strategy. All they have to do is throw to Galloway. The ageless one has nine touchdowns in his last six games in New Orleans, and victimizes the New Orleans secondary more than maybe any other receiver in the league (considering how many receivers have victimized the Saints secondary, this is saying something).
Atlanta Falcons 3-8 (4th in NFC South) St. Louis Rams 2-9 (4th in NFC West)
Last Game:
Colts 31, Falcons 13 Seahawks 24, Rams 19
When the Falcons have the ball: There hasn't been much to say about the Falcons offense this year that doesn't fall into the "You know, Coach, yards per carry is an important stat. Maybe you should pay attention to it" or "Well, maybe it's time to give Chris Redman a go?" departments. But Roddy White has been a pleasant surprise. The Rams' defense has been steady against the pass all season, and their rush defense has held three straight opponents to under 100 yards.
Denver Broncos 5-6 (2nd in AFC West) Oakland Raiders 3-8 (4th in AFC West)
Last Game:
Bears 37, Broncos 34 Raiders 20, Chiefs 17
When the Broncos have the ball: They won't kick it away to Devin Hester, which seems to be the difference between a winning record and losing record for Denver. They'll use a balanced attack of running and passing to move the ball on Oakland, though if history's a sign, they'll probably just try and pound the Raiders the way every other team in the NFL has this year. Andre Hall may have rolled his ankle last week against Chicago, but Travis Henry and Selvin Young should be back and splitting many carries for Denver. If those two aren't feeling it, Jay Cutler will air it out to Brandon Marshall, who's become his favorite target.
When the Raiders have the ball: They'll try to run the ball as much as possible, feeding it to Justin Fargas. Daunte Culpepper hasn't had much success throwing the ball this year, and to make matters worse, he's questionable for the game with a thigh injury. Considering Josh McCown is also banged up, the NFL might actually get its first taste of JaMarcus Russell this year. In fairness, we'll probably be seeing Russell hand the ball off if he does get a few snaps.
When the Cardinals have the ball: Will the Cardinals be able to rebound after one of the most frustrating losses in the history of their franchise? That really is the big question going into this week, because moments like that could set a team back for a very long time. However, if you are able to find a bright spot in the mess, it's that Kurt Warner is a professional quarterback and he should be able to rally his team on Sunday.
The main objective for the Browns is to remind Arizona how things ended last week. That's right, if I were game-planning, I would encourage my defense to talk trash all afternoon. But obviously that's not all Cleveland will be looking to do. They'll aim to shut down Edgerrin James and do everything they can to contain the duo of Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin.
When the Chargers have the ball: Which LaDainian Tomlinson is going to show up on Sunday? The one who torched the Chiefs for 154 total yards back in week four or the one who managed only 3.2 yards per carry last week? On that note, which Chargers offense is going to show up this week? The one that scored only 16 points against the Chiefs nine weeks ago or the one tallied 32 in Baltimore last Sunday? It's a mystery!
For Kansas City, they'll want to mimic their success in week four and that will begin by pressuring Philip Rivers. The young quarterback hasn't quite lived up to the hype, and Chargers fans let him know it last week, before he "turned it on." Sunday will be an important step in regaining their trust, and the Chiefs will look to prevent that all afternoon.
Why We Care: You don't want to miss the next stop on the train wreck which is the Miami Dolphins, do you? You'd swear the Dolphins had a black cat cross their path as they walked underneath a ladder ... while opening an umbrella indoors that cracked a mirror.
To get you ready for week 13, FanHouse is previewing all 16 NFL games. Here is your Lions-Vikings preview.
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2007 Records:
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