One team that did that last night was the Dallas Cowboys (7-5) as they beat the New Orleans Saints, 13-10 in a home game that saw their defense dominate the game, holding the high powered Saints offense to their lowest output this season. It was the fourth straight win for the Cowboys and snapped the Saints (10-2) ten-game winning streak.
Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott hauled in a scoring pass from quarterback Dak Prescott for the 'Pokes only touchdown in the game. Kicker Brett Maher made two field goals while the defense limited New Orleans to just 176 total yardage in offense.
As for the rest of the action, two games in particular will have big impact for playoff positioning in both conferences. The Los Angeles Chargers (8-3) travel to face the Pittsburgh Steelers (7-3-1) in the "prime time" Sunday Night Football game while the New England Patriots (8-3) will host the Minnesota Vikings (6-4-1) in the afternoon schedule.
The Chargers and Steelers have been two of the hotter AFC teams in recent weeks, but both had six-game winning streaks snapped by the suddenly resurgent Denver Broncos in the past two weekends.
However, this game is huge as Pittsburgh is looking to get back in place for a first round bye that now belongs to New England and top seeded Kansas City (9-2) in the AFC. As for the Chargers, they are just one game behind the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC West race.
Both teams have potent offenses and the Chargers lead the NFL in big plays this season (gains of 20-plus yards) and QB Philip Rivers (26 TD passes and six interceptions) is coming off a record setting performance last week when he completed his first 25 passes of the game in a rout of Arizona.
He has a plethora of targets in the passing game (wide receivers Keenan Allen - 69 receptions, four TD; Tyrell Williams - 28 catches, five TD and Mike Williams - 24 receptions and seven TD) along with running back Austin Ekeler, who will be starting in place of injured Melvin Gordon (knee sprain). Ekeler has 409 rushing yards and has scored four total touchdowns (three receiving) along with 32 receptions out of the backfield.
The Steelers are led by QB Ben Roethlisberger (24 TD passes and 12 interceptions this season) and wide receivers Antonio Brown (eleven TD receptions) and JuJu Smith-Schuster (team high 77 receptions and also four TD) while running back James Conner has rushed for 849 yards and scored ten rushing touchdowns.
Defensively, the Chargers received a huge boost as rush end Joey Bosa is back after missing the first nine games of the season with a foot injury. Along with Melvin Ingram (5 1/2 sacks), the duo forms a strong pass rush tandem that is tough on opposing offenses.
The Steelers defense is solid against the run (101.8 ypg allowed) but has struggled at times against the pass, giving up an average of 223 yards per game.
Meanwhile, the Patriots rebounded from a blowout loss three weeks ago in Tennessee with a solid effort against their AFC East rival New York Jets. Pats QB Tom Brady has been pretty pedestrian this season, averaging 270 yards passing per game along with 19 TD passes and seven picks thrown.
The Vikings knocked off the Green Bay Packers last Sunday night as QB Kirk Cousins had three TD passes (he has totaled 22 TD so far this year along with seven INT) while their stellar defense held Aaron Rodgers and company in check. They will look to put the pressure on Brady as well this weekend.
The rest of the action should provide excitement as numerous teams look to solidify their playoff positions while the rest of the contenders jockey for better positioning in the playoff hunt.
The following provides a capsule style preview of the games and is followed up by the Heftyinfo picks for Week Thirteen.
Baltimore (6-5) at Atlanta (4-7) - Don't sleep on the slumping Falcons in this one. They are always tough to beat at home.
Denver (5-6) at Cincinnati (5-6) - The surging Broncos travel to face the lethargic Bengals, who are now without starting QB Andy Dalton (broken thumb) for the remainder of the season.
LA Rams (10-1) at Detroit (4-7) - Can the Lions dial up another home surprise as they did earlier this year vs. Patriots? Doubtful in this one.
Arizona (2-9) at Green Bay (4-6-1) - Yes, Packers QB Aaron Rodgers is correct. The Packers MUST run the table if they want to be in the playoffs.
Cleveland (4-6-1) at Houston (8-3) - Texans roll again !
Indianapolis (6-5) at Jacksonville (3-8) - The Colts should win this one, but on any given Sunday.
Buffalo (4-7) at Miami (5-6) - The loser of this game can kiss their playoff hopes goodbye.
Chicago (8-3) at NY Giants (3-8) - The Bears defense is perhaps the BEST in the NFL this year. Giants are just playing out the string at this point.
Carolina (6-5) at Tampa Bay (4-7) - The Panthers look to stop their three-game losing streak in this one. Toss up.
Kansas City (9-2) at Oakland (2-9) - The Chiefs could hang 50 points on the board for the second straight game in this one.
NY Jets (3-8) at Tennessee (5-6) - The Titans must win this game while the Jets have no pressure at all. Beware!
San Francisco (2-9) at Seattle (6-5) - Seahawks in a rout !
Minnesota (6-4-1) at New England (8-3) - This game could go down to the wire.
LA Chargers (8-3) at Pittsburgh (7-3-1) - Great Sunday night match up that will likely go down to the wire.
Washington (6-5) at Philadelphia (5-6) - The Monday night game with two teams desperate for a win as they chase the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC East race.
The Heftyinfo picks for Week Thirteen . . . . . . (Home teams are listed in bold; Lock of the Week is listed in BOLD CAPS)
New Orleans over Dallas
Atlanta over Baltimore
Denver over Cincinnati
LA Rams over Detroit
Green Bay over Arizona
Houston over Cleveland
Indianapolis over Jacksonville
Miami over Buffalo
Chicago over NY Giants
Carolina over Tampa Bay
Kansas City over Oakland
Tennessee over NY Jets
SEATTLE over San Francisco
New England over Minnesota
Pittsburgh over LA Chargers
Philadelphia over Washington
Last Week's Record - 11-4
SEASON RECORD - 117-57-2
Lock of the Week Record - 10-2
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