Coach Sean McVay and Quarterback Jared Goff of the Los Angeles Rams
As Ferris Bueller might say: The world of sports moves pretty fast...
... If you don't stop and look around at least once a week, you could miss it. Here we'll review what you might have missed in the past week all in one place. Why spend hours scrolling through Twitter to catch up on the news you want? We've already done that for you, so remember to check back every Monday to get your dose of weekly sports review.
It's rare this late in the season for so many teams to still be in playoff contention. With most of the games already played on the Week 13 schedule, only four teams have been mathematically eliminated from contention, those being the New York Jets, Cincinnati Bengals, Los Angeles Chargers and Jacksonville Jaguars.
With a loss to the Patriots, the Los Angeles Chargers have officially been eliminated from playoff contention. https://t.co/8wtFVyM5bh— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) 1607301694.0
The New Orleans Saints and Kansas City Chiefs have officially clinched spots in the the post season. Pittsburgh and Green Bay are just waiting to see their names added to the list of teams that have clinched, which should happen in the next week or two. But the large majority of teams are playing for their postseason lives, and the three games left on the Week 13 schedule all have major playoff implications surrounding them.
NFL playoff picture: Saints and Chiefs clinch, and Vikings move into the NFC's No. 7 spot https://t.co/59jRijlZYZ https://t.co/wfDRgfiTOE— ESPN Los Angeles (@ESPN Los Angeles) 1607315583.0
On Monday night the Steelers will play the Washington Football Team and the Bills take on the 49ers. Every team in the NFC East has a sub .500 record, including the division leading Giants (5-7); that means that any win can thrust you to the top of the division. Washington is currently just behind them in second place, so a win tonight would go a long way in that division.
*me trying to figure out how the 49ers will win the NFC West* https://t.co/fU0pXeWMnK— Akash Anavarathan (@Akash Anavarathan) 1607297735.0
The 49ers also need a win to keep their playoff hopes alive. The NFC West has continued to be one of the most competitive divisions in football all season and with both Seattle and Arizona taking losses this week, a win would be even more important to San Francisco to make up some ground.
For the Bills, on the other hand, a loss would be disastrous, as they would then be tied with Miami at 8-4 while the Patriots seemed to have figured it out as they've won two straight and are now sitting at 6-6.
On Tuesday night the Cowboys will face the faltering Ravens, who are at least expected to get QB Lamar Jackson back for this one. On the surface it seems like an easy win for Baltimore, but their recent run of play, even with Jackson in at quarterback, has been lackluster at best.
Ravens' QB Lamar Jackson is expected to come off Reserve/COVID19 list and start Tuesday vs. the Dallas Cowboys, per sources.— Adam Schefter (@Adam Schefter) 1607263799.0
The Ravens are riding a three game losing streak and have allowed Cleveland to assert a three game lead ahead of them for second place in the AFC North and are in the top AFC Wildcard spot. If Baltimore has any chance of getting back to the playoffs, they will need the Lamar Jackson we saw last season during his MVP campaign. If we get more of the 2020 Lamar, Baltimore will need to start thinking about a new OC to replace Greg Roman, or a new QB to replace "Big Truss".
"BIG TRUSS!" —@markingram21 One year ago, Mark Ingram was turned up for his MVP @Lj_era8 🤣 https://t.co/3asitzrAhD— NFL on ESPN (@NFL on ESPN) 1605628581.0
Let's break down the AFC and NFC to see how the playoff picture is developing in Week 13.
AFC
The Steelers, Chiefs, Bills, and Titans lead their divisions. Buffalo is in a tight race in the East, as Miami is right on their heels and have a chance to draw even with Buffalo if San Francisco is able to upset them Monday night. Kansas City and Pittsburgh have significant breathing room and are more concerned about their playoff seeding since both will have spots in the postseason (barring a historic collapse from the Steelers). Tennessee is also in a close division race with Indianapolis, both 8-4 with the Titans holding the tiebreaker. But, luckily for them, they don't have a third team that can chase them down like Buffalo and Miami does.
Bill Belichick and Cam Newton have figured out a very boring and very effective way to win football games in today's NFL. The bad news for the former juggernaut is that over their last four games, three of them are against the Los Angeles Rams, the Miami Dolphins, and the Buffalo Bills. The other is against the Jets in the last week of the season.
Cam “character issues/won’t fit the Patriots way” Newton changing the culture in NE 👀👀 https://t.co/wmNFbvYFXA— PJWalkerQB1 (@PJWalkerQB1) 1607301434.0
Speaking of the Jets, the Las Vegas Raiders were the beneficiaries of the Jets' incompetence that we've seen this entire season. Derek Carr and Henry Ruggs III connected on a deep pass for a game-winning touchdown with five seconds remaining on the clock. Running an all-out blitz, the Jets left cornerback, Lamar Jackson (the other one), on an island with an Olympic level sprinter and it turned out the way you'd expect it to.
"We were down to the wire, and we knew that we needed a play." @__RUGGS and @derekcarrqb combined for the play of… https://t.co/2HDW9UKYS3— Las Vegas Raiders (@Las Vegas Raiders) 1607302801.0
NFC
The Saints are the only NFC team that holds the claim to have clinched a playoff berth already. The Packers shouldn't be too far behind. Green Bay are now 8-3 after this week's win over the Eagles, and their nearest competition in the division is Minnesota who is 6-6. Chicago and Detroit haven't yet been mathematically eliminated from playoff contention – but c'mon, let's be real; they're done.
Moving on to the Saints' division, it's a pretty similar situation. They're already in, and there's only one other team in the division that can make a playoff push, and that's the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Tampa's season has had its share of ups and downs, but they're certainly a team that is able to turn it on and look like a Super Bowl contender at times.
The #Saints are headed to the playoffs!!! ⚜️ https://t.co/DAu3I1jo9o— New Orleans Saints (@New Orleans Saints) 1607289411.0
The Bucs will be vying for a Wild Card spot and should have a strong chance to land one coming off their Week 13 bye. Carolina and Atlanta both currently have a 1% chance of reaching the postseason both sitting at 4-8.
The East, as we've discussed at length throughout the season, is a mess. Because of the current structure of deciding NFL playoff spots, there are currently four teams in Week 13 of the NFL season that are below .500 that have a real chance at reaching the playoffs. They're ALL in the NFC East.
I want to make sure to drive home the point of how much I hate the NFC East and the NFL for allowing this to happen. That means that one of these teams will make it in over someone like the Vikings, Seattle, or the Rams, depending on who falls out of the final Wild Card spot.
Live look at the NFC East https://t.co/7ZQPbX7gH0— Annie Agar (@Annie Agar) 1607300906.0
The only other thing worth mentioning about the East is that Jalen Hurts came in to replace Carson Wentz in the Packers game and did well enough to start a QB controversy in Philadelphia. Coach Doug Pederson is definitely on the hot seat, and his fate may already be sealed.
Starting Hurts the rest of the way doesn't seem like a bad idea considering we've had 12 weeks to see if Carson Wentz can lead this team to a division crown. Considering how low-hanging that fruit is, and how poorly Wentz has done with his chance, Hurts could save the season and Pederson's job.
.@JalenHurts has his first NFL touchdown! #PHIvsGB | #FlyEaglesFly 📺: CBS https://t.co/TuRPDyFU0k— Philadelphia Eagles (@Philadelphia Eagles) 1607298753.0
Saving the best for last, the NFC West has been the opposite of the East. It's been a pleasure to watch all of the teams in the league's best division fight for positioning all season, from the quarterback play of Russell Wilson and Kyler Murray to the impressive coaching we've seen displayed from Kyle Shanahan dealing with a myriad of injuries in San Francisco. And finally, Sean McVay reworking the Rams into a much different team than who we saw in the Super Bowl two years ago.
Sean McVay on taking the lead in the NFC West: “I mean, that means absolutely nothing because there are four games left.”— Jourdan Rodrigue (@Jourdan Rodrigue) 1607301123.0
The Rams and Seahawks are both 8-4, with the Rams holding the tiebreaker. Both are in the driver's seat toward reaching the playoffs, but the Cardinals and 49ers are far from out of it. The Cardinals fell to 6-6 after losing to the aforementioned Rams this week; but for San Fran, they could reach 6-6 with a win against Buffalo tonight in primetime. Neither are close to being out contention with four games left on the schedule, but at least one of them will be left on the outside looking in when it comes to the playoffs this year.
Antonio Gibson ran all over the Cowboys on Thanksgiving
With only five weeks left in the regular season, we are now entering the witching hour as the league's best fight it out for playoff spots.
The Chiefs, Steelers, and Packers all hold comfortable leads in their respective divisions, but nobody has clinched their division crown quite yet. We see close races in virtually every other division, so while the season is nearing its end there will be plenty of important football over the next five weeks.
Football fans were treated to some spectacular fantasy performances in Week 12 from the likes of Derrick Henry, Tyreek Hill, and Nick Chubb who gave their fantasy owners a chance to know what it feels like to be the Kansas City Chiefs. Week 13 includes a few games with major playoff implications including a divisional matchup between the Rams and Cardinals as well as an AFC game between the Browns and Titans who are both fighting to climb to the top spot in their divisions.
Let's take a look at our Week 13 power rankings based on what we've seen so far this season.
32. New York Jets (0-11, Last Week 32 +/- 0) - While there are a few teams that could challenge for the number one spot on this list, nobody can compete with the Jets for the title of worst team in the NFL right now.
31. Jacksonville Jaguars (1-10, Last Week 31, +/- 0) - The Jags were competitive with a very good Browns team in Week 12. James Robinson turned in another great week with 159 total yards and a touchdown.
30. Detroit Lions (4-7, Last Week 30, +/- 0) - Head coach Matt Patricia and GM Bob Quinn were both fired this past week. The Lions should be thinking about Kansas City OC Eric Bieniemy for the position as he appears to already be linked to former Chiefs and Browns GM John Dorsey. It would be a an upgrade in a two for one deal.
Bob Quinn and Matt Patricia are fired. Lions fans rejoice. https://t.co/KAaVlpJSJS— Drunk Matt Prater (@Drunk Matt Prater) 1606593540.0
29. Chicago Bears (5-6, Last Week 29, +/- 0) - The Bears have lost five straight and even with a strong performance from David Montgomery they were trounced by Green Bay 41-25.
28. Cincinnati Bengals (2-8-1, Last Week 28, +/- 0) - Without Joe Burrow and Joe Mixon in the lineup the Bengals fell to the Giants last week in a close one. Their outlook isn't good without their rookie QB.
27. Denver Broncos (4-7, Last Week 27, +/- 0) - We question why the NFL decided to move the Steelers and Ravens game twice, but forced the Broncos to play with no quarterback on their roster.
There was a game today. The final score is what it is. Undrafted rookie WIDE RECEIVER @Kendall_Hinton2 came off… https://t.co/2fLnu2Ulab— Denver Broncos (@Denver Broncos) 1606693603.0
26. Dallas Cowboys (3-8, Last Week 26, +/- 0) - Now in the top five for next year's draft which may allow them to draft a quarterback, just not one named Trevor Lawrence.
25. Philadelphia Eagles (3-7-1, Last Week 23, - 2) - How quickly the NFC East division crown changes hands. Now sitting in third place after a loss to the Seahawks on Monday night.
24. Los Angeles Chargers (3-8, Last Week 22, - 2) - We were hoping for a shootout between Justin Herbert and Josh Allen but it was a ho-hum game that saw the Chargers drop to 3-8 on the year.
23. Carolina Panthers (4-8, Last Week 20, - 3) - The Panthers' playoff chances are about as good as Adam Gase being a head coach in the NFL next season.
22. New York Giants (4-7, Last Week 24, + 2) - The Giants now lead the NFC East, but we think that Washington is the better team and both are 4-7.
Saquon Barkley: "Sundays are the toughest days, but the last three weeks, they've been pretty good."— Art Stapleton (@Art Stapleton) 1607004976.0
21. Atlanta Falcons (4-7, Last Week 21, +/- 0) - The Falcons blew out the Raiders last week, so you'd think they would get a bump up the rankings. Unfortunately for them their path to a wild card birth isn't just about getting wins. They'll need a combination of collapses from multiple NFC West teams, the Bucs to lose a few, and/or needing the Vikings to lose a few key games.
20. San Francisco 49ers (5-6, Last Week 25, + 5) -Raheem Mostert helped spark the 49ers offense with a touchdown in his return. Somehow this team keeps themselves in contention for a playoff spot despite the injuries they've endured.
Raheem Mostert playoff schedule: Vs. WFT @ Dal @ Ari If Mostert gets back to his full strength he’s a league winner.— Christian Calatayud (@Christian Calatayud) 1606493357.0
19. Houston Texans (4-7, Last Week 19, +/- 0) - Houston moved up five spots after their Thanksgiving Day game win and haven't played another game since last week's rankings were released. They remain at 19 for this week's list.
18. Las Vegas Raiders (6-5, Last Week 16, - 2) - The Raiders got crushed by the Falcons and have now dropped two in a row. Not the time of year to go on a losing streak and give the Chiefs an even bigger division lead.
17. Washington Football Team (4-7, Last Week 17, +/- 0) - Washington held the division lead for just three days after their win on Thanksgiving. They still are ahead of the Giants in our power rankings which is a nice consolation prize for the second place Washington Football Team.
16. New England Patriots (5-6, Last Week 18, + 2) -Bill Belichick used some Jedi mind tricks to make the Cardinals' Isaiah Simmons take a bad unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for a hit on Cam Newton that setup the eventual game winning field goal for the Patriots in Week 12.
If isaiah Simmons did this to tom Brady he would be banned from the nfl lmao but since it’s cam newton he’s good https://t.co/47Oh3lzvgt— John (@John) 1606683938.0
15. Baltimore Ravens (6-5, Last Week 14, - 1) - The Steelers proved to be too much for the replacement squad Ravens team on Wednesday afternoon. The Ravens have lost three straight now and have allowed the Browns to establish a foothold on second place in the AFC North.
14. Minnesota Vikings (5-6, Last Week 15, + 1) - The Vikings escaped with a 28-27 win against the Panthers in Week 12 as Carolina missed a potential game winning field goal to end the game. It was Kirk Cousins and Justin Jefferson who led the offense as they connected for two scores on the day.
13. Los Angeles Rams (7-4, Last Week 12, - 1) - A loss to the 49ers not only allowed Seattle to take the division lead, but it allows San Francisco to remain within reasonable striking distance to overtake them later in the year.
12. Miami Dolphins (7-4, Last Week 13, + 1) - The Dolphins have kept pace with the Bills all season and are only a game out from a tie for the division lead. If Tua Tagovailoa is unable to play again next week they have Ryan Fitzpatrick who has proven he can lead this team to wins.
Here is Tua Tagovailoa at Dolphins practice today. You can see the tape around his wrist/thumb area. https://t.co/r0Y6oF1XwR— Clay Ferraro (@Clay Ferraro) 1606935170.0
11. Arizona Cardinals (6-5, Last Week 9, - 2) - Let's not forget that if not for the personal foul penalty they took at the end of the game, the Cardinals would likely be 7-4 right now. This is still a good team, but Kyler Murray has begun to struggle.
10. Indianapolis Colts (7-4, Last Week 7, - 3) - The Colts got blown out by the Titans in Week 12 and a typically good defense was gashed by Derrick Henry. The Colts hope to bounce back this week in another tough divisional matchup with the Texans.
9. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-5, Last Week 6, - 3) - The good news for the Buccaneers is that they've already built a nice buffer between themselves and the Falcons in their division for second place. The bad news is they can't afford to keep losing because the NFC West should be competing for two wild card spots with every team still in the hunt.
8. Cleveland Browns (8-3, Last Week 11, + 3) - Cleveland continued their winning ways against the Jaguars as they've won three in a row. Jarvis Landry had a breakout game and caught his first touchdown of the season. The Browns have a difficult game against the next team on our list in Week 13.
2020 has been quite a season for the Cleveland Browns. - Clinched a .500 season for the first time since 2007 - F… https://t.co/IUKGxmqJ06— NFLonCBS (@NFLonCBS) 1606685307.0
7. Tennessee Titans (8-3, Last Week 10, + 3) - The Titans moved back into the division lead in the AFC South and move up three spots in our rankings this week. Tennessee and Cleveland is a game of the week contender for Week 13.
6. Buffalo Bills (8-3, Last Week 8, + 2) - The Bills got a win over the Chargers last week, but nobody on looked particularly great offensively for Buffalo including Josh Allen. That will need to change as the AFC is going to be crowded with teams looking for playoff spots.
5. Seattle Seahawks (8-3, Last Week 5, +/- 0) -DK Metcalf is one of the most explosive weapons in the NFL and Russell Wilson continues to feed him the ball which is yielding positive results for the Seahawks.
Darius Slay every time he has to cover DK Metcalf https://t.co/ZJoDeo8b86— NFL Memes (@NFL Memes) 1606794789.0
4. Green Bay Packers (8-3, Last Week 4, +/- 0) -Aaron Rodgers threw four touchdowns to four different receivers against the Bears last week. They have the Eagles, Lions, and Panthers over the next three weeks.
3. New Orleans Saints (9-2, Last Week 3, +/- 0) - The Saints keep marching and it looks like it's going to be toward a first round bye and homefield advantage throughout most, if not all of the playoffs.
2. Kansas City Chiefs (10-1, Last Week 2, +/- 0) - When watching the Chiefs it feels like they should be at the top of this list, and maybe they should be. They're FindBet's Super Bowl favorite as long as Patrick Mahomes continues to perform at an MVP level as he has been.
.@dwilson_6 had the mic against the Bucs 🎙 https://t.co/IGhTRyiit4— Kansas City Chiefs (@Kansas City Chiefs) 1606958100.0
1. Pittsburgh Steelers (11-0, Last Week 1, +/- 0) - The Steelers escaped with a win on Wednesday against the Ravens. Baltimore was without Lamar Jackson and their top two running back options. The Steelers remain at number one this week out of respect for what they've accomplished and still touting an unblemished record. But it really feels like the Chiefs are the better team right now.
NFL DFS Week 13
Each Friday, FindBet will preview the week's DFS slate, highlighting players that are priced well on DFS sites, as well as some contrarian plays that can push your team to the top of the leader board.
Most NFL DFS games have you putting a team together with players from a certain slate of games. It could be just Sunday 1:00 PM games or it could be every game that is slated for the week.
Once the last game that has eligible players is over, the final payouts are made according to how many fantasy points each team scored. Each player is worth a certain dollar amount, and you have a cap of $60,000 to build your team with. You have to have 1 QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, 1 TE, 1 FLEX (RB, WR, or TE) and 1 DEF.
The general scoring rules include (6) points for each rushing and receiving touchdown, (4) points for each passing touchdown, (0.1) points for each rushing and receiving yard gained, (0.04) points for each passing yard, and also (0.5) points for each reception. There are other scoring opportunities for defenses. Let's take a look at players we like this week.
Players to Target:
Derek Carr (QB) - $7200Derek Carr gets the Jets this week, and he has shown that he can be productive against lower tier defenses. Carr is a solid play this week, especially if Josh Jacobs is out for the Raiders.
James Robinson (RB) - $7800
Robinson has been productive with pretty much any QB who has played for the Jaguars this year. He's a true bell cow back going against a Vikings defense that has struggled against the run this year.
Antonio Gibson (RB) - $6700
Gibson has a tough matchup this week against the Steelers, but he gets quite a few targets through the air from Alex Smith which makes his floor a little higher than other backs.
AJ Brown (WR) - $8200
Titans and Browns this week has the potential to be a shootout with both offenses cruising and both defenses susceptible to big performances from WRs. Brown had a great week last week and should continue to roll this week.
Justin Jefferson (WR) - $7700
Jefferson proved he could be a #1 WR without having Adam Thielen lining up across from him. This week, he gets Thielen back and the play the Jaguars who are down their top to CBs.
Jarvis Landry (WR) - $6000
Landry said this week he feels like he's just hitting his stride, so of course this pick will probably burn me, but I am going to buy in this week at his $6000 price.
Robert Tonyan (TE) - $5900
Tonyan has settled in as a solid TE1 the past couple of weeks. Green Bay gets Philadelphia this week, who has struggled to cover TEs through the second half of this year.
Devontae Booker (RB) - $6000
DARK HORSE ALERT. Josh Jacobs status is up in the air going into this week's game against the Jets, so you will need to monitor his status going into the weekend and sub him out if Jacobs plays. If Jacobs is out, he is in line for a nice day against New York.
Las Vegas Raiders (DEF) - $4400
A very heavy investment in Raiders players this week, and we aren't going to stray away from their defense just because of that.
FindBet Free Play for Week 13:
Here's a team you can put right into any of your contests, just remember to buy us a beer when you win big!
