Preview all of today’s NFL games – Week 13

Posted by Sabrina B. @gametimegirl – Damn already week 13?  so sad, so sad. Let’s go Big Blue!

NFL ON FOX GAMES: WASHINGTON AT N.Y. GIANTS, 1 P.M. ET

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: Quarterback Donovan McNabb may play for the Redskins, but the Giants haven’t forgotten him from his Philadelphia days. McNabb is 11-7 as a starter against the Giants. Tom Coughlin still fears him. “He has a very, very strong arm,” Coughlin said. “He can pull it down and run — he’s shown the ability to do that numerous times this year. If he doesn’t like what he sees, he will try to buy time and get the ball down the field.”

More games after the jump…

Look for the Redskins to use a lot of double tight-end formations, knowing Fred Davis and Chris Cooley are McNabb’s best offensive options. Conversely, the Giants’ experienced defense, one that made several critical adjustments in the second half last Sunday against the Jaguars, knows McNabb’s tendencies as well as his weaknesses.

Giants offensive line coach Pat Flaherty has done a masterful job with his depleted group, one that hasn’t allowed Eli Manning to be sacked in the last three games. Brandon Jacobs continues to start ahead of Ahmad Bradshaw for the Giants while the Redskins will rely on backup RBs Keiland Williamsand James Davis with Ryan Torain out again.

Even though receivers Steve Smith andHakeem Nicks remain out for the Giants, the good news for Manning is that Washington’s two best secondary players, safety LaRon Landry and cornerbackCarlos Rogers, won’t be in uniform.

The Giants have won seven of the last eight meeting between these two division rivals. “This is our make-or-break game,” said Redskins LB London Fletcher. “We’re either gonna keep ourselves alive for the playoffs or we’re gonna be playing for pride if we don’t win. I don’t think 9-7 is gonna get you in the playoffs this year, not in the NFC.” According to the NFL, only three of the 24 remaining playoff contenders — the Patriots, Saints and Jets — have tougher remaining schedules than the Redskins, whose final five foes have a .545 winning percentage.

SAN FRANCISCO AT GREEN BAY, 1 P.M. ET

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: The Packers have struggled in the past against 49ers TE Vernon Davis, who ranks fifth among all tight ends in receiving yards with 548 after finishing fifth last year with 965. Last November at Lambeau Field, Davis caught six passes for 108 yards and one touchdown. He beat A.J. Hawk on a 32-yard catch,Jarrett Bush on a 29-yard catch and both Clay Matthews and Atari Bigby on a 24-yard catch. With the 49ers minus Frank Gore and Brian Westbrookhurting, Davis figures to be the first option for QB Troy Smith. Green Bay figures to keep the pressure on Smith and 49ers rookie RT Anthony Davis should have his hands full with Matthews, who has 11.5 sacks, an interception and has scored after a fumble recovery.

Despite the cold weather, Green Bay is going nowhere with its running game and figures to come out with a spread offense and Aaron Rodgers throwing. It makes sense to throw, too, because the 49ers rank sixth in the league against the run, allowing an average of 98.3 yards per game — or about what the Packers rush per game. The Packers will be challenged on third down, which was a sore spot in their loss last week to the Falcons. The 49ers limit opponents to a 35 percent conversion rate on third down (seventh-best in the NFL).

NEW ORLEANS AT CINCINNATI, 1 P.M. ET

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: Five wins in their last six games, including four straight victories, have the Saints on the move again as they focus on the final five weeks of the season. New Orleans is also getting healthier. TE Jeremy Shockey will return to the lineup as well as safety Darren Sharper, although RB Pierre Thomas figures to miss another game. QB Drew Brees is back in a groove again, throwing seven TDs to five different WRs in the last three games. The Saints respect the Bengals corner combo of Leon Hall and Johnathan Joseph, so look for Brees to attack the deep middle and safetiesRoy Williams and Chris Crocker. When Williams played for the Cowboys, the Saints went after him a lot. Look for the Saints to use Reggie Bush a lot more in this game because he had a full week of practice. Still, RB Chris Ivory will be the main short-yardage runner.

Bengals QB Carson Palmer has been struggling this season while misfiring in the fourth quarter. And Palmer won’t have it easy against the Saints, who rank third in the NFL in pass defense, allowing 198 yards a game. Saints cornerbacks Jabari Greer and Tracy Porter will man up against Bengals receivers Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco. Even though the Bengals have struggled offensively at times this season, Owens and Ochocinco have combined for 119 catches, 1,542 yards and 12 touchdowns.

CHICAGO AT DETROIT, 1 P.M. ET

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: With Matthew Stafford(shoulder) and Shaun Hill (finger) both out, the Lionsare forced to start third-string QB Drew Stanton, who may be a better runner than passer. The Lions are the sixth team this season to have used at least three different starting quarterbacks. Against the Dolphins on Nov. 18, the Bears harassed third-stringer Tyler Thigpen with six sacks, including three by Julius Peppers. That will be the plan again this week, but first the Bears will want to eliminate the Lions’ struggling run game with Maurice Morris taking over for banged-up Jahvid Best. The Chicago defense has played well much of the season, but has really been lights-out lately on third down. The Bears have allowed only six conversions in 33 third-down attempts in the past three games.

The Bears have won four of their last five in Ford Field. The Bears got on their four-game winning streak by balancing their offense and running the ball as a complement to the passing game, which has flourished with the commitment. In those four wins, the Bears have averaged 34 run plays per game. In the first seven games, they ran it on average just 22 times per game. With DEKyle Vanden Bosch (neck) expected not to play, Bears QB Jay Cutler may have an easier time going deep to WRsJohnny Knox and Devin Hester. The run game has always opened the middle of the field to TE Greg Olsen.

DALLAS AT INDIANAPOLIS, 4:15 P.M. ET

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: The Colts last missed the playoffs in 2001, but this injury-riddled team with a very poor offensive line could falter down the stretch. With injuries in the receiving corps, Peyton Manning has now gone five straight games without a passer rating of 100.0 or better. That’s his longest such streak since 2007. To negate the expected Dallas pass rush, look for Manning to work a lot out of the shotgun and throw a lot of quick slants and short flares. The key is for Manning to get rid of the ball before the pressure reaches him. In those situations, both Dallas cornerbacks Mike Jenkins and Terence Newman must show outside pressure and be prepared to jump the route inside. The Cowboys secondary has given up a ton of big plays all season. No one has succumbed more and been targeted more than Jenkins. Although he has been solid the past couple of weeks, Jenkins knows he will be tested again and again by Manning.

Dallas QB Jon Kitna has put up comparable numbers toTony Romo’s this season after six games and  needs his best lineman, LT Doug Free, to handle Colts DE Dwight Freeney one-on-one. Freeney is the quickest defender that Free has faced this season and has an outstanding spin move. Even with the possible return of MLB Gary Brackett, the Cowboys figure to pound the ball inside against the Colts’ defense with RBs Felix Jones andTashard Choice, who actually has better vision than injured Marion Barber. Cowboys LB Keith Brookingwill test his foot in warmups and if he can’t go, rookie Sean Lee will start.

ATLANTA AT TAMPA BAY, 4:15 P.M. ET

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: One big reason why the Falcons are 9-2 and leading the NFC South is that their offense can do just about anything it wants. They can go fast with the no-huddle or pound the ball with Michael Turner like they did last week against the Packers. But look for the Falcons to return to the hurry-up set against the Bucs, who will have a new safety in Corey Lynch with Cody Grimm lost for the season. QB Matt Ryan is more relaxed in general in the no-huddle, and Atlanta wanted to keep the potent Packers’ passing game off the field last Sunday — and the strategy worked. With backup RB Jason Snelling very questionable to play, the Atlanta hurry-up makes sense. The Falcons don’t want to keep pounding Michael Turner early, especially if Snelling can’t go and with reserve Antone Smith already out. That means only Gartrell Johnson and possibly FB Ovie Mughelliwill get some carries. The Falcons have had a league-high 29 series of 10 snaps or more.

QB Josh Freeman is coming off one of the worst games of his young career in Baltimore, where he seemed to watch the pass rush at times and was indecisive and inaccurate. Freeman will be in his comfort zone at Raymond James Stadium, but he needs to get into rhythm early. Look for Freeman to go to TE Kellen Winslow early and try to find rookie Mike Williams on deep out routes. The Bucs also need to control the clock on offense and need a big game from LeGarrette Blount.

CAROLINA AT SEATTLE, 4:15 P.M. ET

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: With five games left, the Seahawks still have a good chance of winning the NFC West. With the worst running offense in the league, Seattle has been forced to throw the ball with Matt Hasselbeck as much as possible. Ever since offensive line coach Alex Gibbs resigned prior to the start of the season, Seattle has been unable to master his zone-blocking scheme. It hasn’t helped matters that Seattle has used nine starting OL combinations in 11 games. Hasselback is still playing with a broken left wrist that is heavily taped while wearing a glove.

The Panthers will start rookie QB Jimmy Clausen again as RB Jonathan Stewart returns to the starting lineup although Mike Goodson will still get some carries. The Panthers should have won last Sunday, but kicker John Kasay missed a game-winning field goal. Even with Captain Munnerlyn starting again for CB Chris Gamble and Jason Williams at weakside linebacker, the Panthers believe they can control Seattle’s passing game.

ST. LOUIS AT ARIZONA, 4:15 P.M. ET

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: The Cardinals have lost six straight for the first time under coach Ken Whisenhunt and the major reason is that they are averaging only 257.7 yards a game while giving up 396.8, a differential of 139.1 yards. Defensively, the Cardinals must concentrate on limiting Rams RB Steven Jackson and reducing the number of big plays yielded. The Rams receiving corps has been helped by the emergence of rookie WR Danario Alexander, who takes about 20 snaps off per game in order to alleviate pain on his bad knees. The Rams may try more no-huddle on offense after rookie Sam Bradford used it effectively in last week’s first road win of the season in Denver. Bradford, who seems destined to break every rookie quarterback record, marched the Rams 80 yards in 12 plays, facing only two third downs, en route to a Michael Hoomanawanui TD catch of 36 yards. Hoomanawanui, known as “Illini Mike”, will miss this game, meaning Billy Bajema must pick up the slack.

Offensively, the Cardinals need to run the ball to set up some play-action deep. They have been trying to do that, but QB Derek Anderson has not been accurate enough to make plays. This has been frustrating for both Larry Fitzgerald and Steve Breaston, two quality receivers. Rams DEChris Long now leads the NFL in quarterback hits to go with his 6.5 sacks.

OTHER SUNDAY GAMES

Jacksonville at Tennessee, 1 p.m. ET: The Jaguars are coming off a 24-20 loss to the Giants when they blew a 17-6 halftime lead, but they are tied for first place in the AFC South and play all three division rivals on the road in their last five games. They have a chance to win the division title for the first time since 1999. That would also mean they could host a home division playoff game for the first time since the 1999 AFC title game. In last year’s game at Tennesssee, Titans RB Chris Johnsonrushed for 228 yards and Mo Jones-Drew for 177 yards. Both runners had two touchdown runs of more than 50 yards, the first time there have been four in a game. On only eight carries, Jones-Drew had scores of 80 and 79 yards while Johnson had 52 and 89 yard scoring runs.

Buffalo at Minnesota, 1 p.m. ET: The Bills may be the best 2-9 team in the NFL. They are now the fifth team in history to lose three overtime games in one season and every one of those losses was against a team with a winning record. Buffalo QB Ryan Fitzpatrick has thrown a touchdown pass in 12 straight games, the first time a Bill has done that since Doug Flutie in 1999. Meanwhile, RB Fred Jackson has three straight games with 100-plus scrimmage yards. VikingsRB Adrian Peterson will test his ankle in pregame warmups, and WR Bernard Berrian will play after missing two games. There have been a lot of wacky Brett Favre injury stories this season, many of them reported on ESPN. One last week said Favre had pneumonia. Favre has been sick and his voice sounds raspy and awful. Asked about pneumonia, Favre joked: “Now, it’s malaria. I got bit by a mosquito last week.”

Denver at Kansas City, 1 p.m. ET: Chiefs WR Dwayne Bowe has become a money receiver. He had 13 receptions last week against Seattle and he’s leading the NFL with 14 TD catches through 11 games. That’s the most since Randy Moss had 16 for New England in 2007. Bowe has caught a TD in a club-record seven straight games. Chiefs QB Matt Cassel is finally rounding into form, worthy of his $15 million salary and free-agent signing. He has had five games with at least a 100.0 passer rating and he has now thrown 127 consecutive passes without an interception. Cassel has only four interceptions against 22 TD passes.

Cleveland at Miami, 1 p.m. ET: The Dolphins are trying to get back into the playoff race, but they’ll have to stop Browns RB Peyton Hillis, who was supposed to be the team’s No. 3 tailback when camp started. Hillis, a “country boy” from Arkansas, is a downhill runner with 905 yards, 4.5 average and 11 rushing scores. When told he joined Hall of Famers Jim Brown and Leroy Kelly as the only Cleveland backs to have 11 rushing TDs in a season, Hillis said, “That’s absurd. Those guys are legends and I’m nobody. We don’t need to talk about that no more.” Hillis also leads the Browns with 46 catches for 414 yards and two more touchdowns.

Oakland at San Diego, 4:05 p.m. ET: Despite passing for more than 400 yards in the AFC West rivals’ first game, Philip Rivers and the Chargers lost because a blocked punt and a fumble return gave the Raiders two touchdowns. It’s the lone Oakland win in the last 14 meetings between these two teams. QB Jason Campbell starts for the Raiders, who must find a way to run against the Chargers. Meanwhile, the Chargers’ O-line has been a force lately and there’s a chance of rookieRyan Mathews running today with Mike Tolbert. Chargers TE Antonio Gates seems determined to play and play as long as he can deal with the pain. The Chargers have won four straight this season, 13 straight in December under Norv Turner and are tied for the NFL record with 18 consecutive December victories.

Pittsburgh at Baltimore, 8:20 p.m. ET: The debate all week has been about the status of Ben Roethlisberger’s right foot and whether the NFL is unfairly fining Steelers like James Harrison. Yes, Big Ben has been in a walking boot this week, hoping to help his foot heal. But the bottom line is that he’s 7-2 lifetime against the Ravens. This also figures to be another slugfest, considering both teams have averaged 16 points against each other in their last four games. Ray Lewisactually has some sympathy for Harrison and his $125,000 worth of fines, but the league hopes that Harrison changes his tactics.