Welcome to Week 13 of the 2019 NFL season! We've got a packed slate for you all this week, complete with several marquee games. The Thanksgiving slate already gave us three fascinating games, two of which had significant playoff implications. 

While the battle between the Bears and Lions didn't necessarily directly into the playoff picture, we got to see Mitchell Trubisky's best game in a while, as well as a heck of a debut from David Blough. The Bills, meanwhile, extended their wild card lead in the AFC with a win over the Cowboys, who now cling to the NFC East lead by just a half-game over the Eagles. In the nightcap, the Saints became the first team to clinch a division title, advancing to 10-2 with a win over the Falcons. 

There's a whole lot more in store for football fans this weekend. Let's dig in.

Who's In

Teams who have clinched a playoff spot and/or division title are denoted with ^ symbol.

AFC: Patriots (10-1), Ravens (9-2), Chiefs (7-4), Texans (7-4), Bills (9-3), Steelers (6-5)

NFC: 49ers (9-1), Saints (10-2)^, Packers (8-3), Cowboys (6-6), Seahawks (9-2), Vikings (8-3)

Who's Out

Teams eliminated from playoff contention are denoted with an asterisk.

AFC: Raiders (6-5), Colts (6-5), Titans (6-5), Browns (5-6), Jaguars (4-7), Chargers (4-7), Jets (4-7), Broncos (3-8), Dolphins (2-9), Bengals (0-11)* 

NFC: Rams (6-5), (Bears 6-6), Eagles (5-6), Panthers (5-6), Buccaneers (4-7), Cardinals (3-7-1), Lions (3-8-1)*, Falcons (3-8)*, Giants (2-9), Washington (2-9)

Week 13 Games With Playoff Implications

Week 13 features three games where both teams currently occupy playoff spots. 

  • 49ers at Ravens, 1 p.m. ET
  • Patriots at Texans, 8:20 p.m. ET (SNF)
  • Vikings at Seahawks, 8:15 p.m. ET (MNF)

The No. 1 seed 49ers pay a visit to Lamar Jackson and the Ravens on Sunday afternoon. San Francisco needs to keep stacking wins to hold onto the top seed in the NFC, while the Ravens attempt to keep pace with the Patriots near the top of the AFC. New England takes on the Texans in Houston for this week's edition of Sunday Night Football, which will have a dramatic effect on AFC playoff seeding. The same is true of the Monday night game, which could see the Vikings or Seahawks ascend to the top of their respective division, depending on Sunday's results, or it could eventually determine which team gets the No. 5 seed as opposed to the No. 6.

Week 13 also features three games where both teams are within one game of a playoff spot.

  • Titans at Colts, 1 p.m. ET
  • Browns at Steelers, 1 p.m. ET
  • Raiders at Chiefs, 4:25 p.m. ET

Tennessee and Indianapolis are each on the outside of the playoff picture at the moment due to tiebreakers, but there is a jumble of teams near the top of the AFC South that could still win the division, as well as a sizable group of 6-5 and 5-6 teams fighting for that second wild-card spot behind the Bills. Each of the Browns and Steelers are included in that group, and Cleveland in particular badly needs this game to keep its postseason hopes alive. The Raiders, meanwhile, are also among that group of teams, and they're just a game behind the Chiefs for the AFC West lead as well.

Stats to Know

  • Titans at Colts, 1 p.m. ET

The Colts have become an increasingly run-heavy team in recent weeks. Through the first eight weeks of the season, according to Sharp Football Stats, Indianapolis called for a run on 47 percent of plays. Since then, it's been 51 percent of plays, the third-highest rate in the league. They've remained just as effective on those runs (53 percent success rate), but you have to figure they'll lean on the run again in this game with T.Y. Hilton and Eric Ebron both expected to miss the game due to injury. 

  • 49ers at Ravens, 1 p.m. ET

The 49ers have been arguably the best defense in the entire NFL this season. They have obviously yet to face a team like the Ravens, though, and here's a stat that drives that home: San Francisco has faced only 13 designed quarterback runs all season, per Sports Info Solutions. Those runs have gained 96 yards, four first downs, and a touchdown, which is potentially a good sign for Jackson's ability to run again the Niners on Sunday. The Niners have also given up 102 yards on 17 scrambles, which again plays into Jackson's hands. 

  • Jets at Bengals, 1 p.m. ET

Sam Darnold has actually been quite good since the Seeing Ghosts Game. In five contests against the Jaguars, Dolphins, Giants, Washington, and the Raiders, Darnold is 106 of 158 (67.1 percent) for 1,316 yards (8.3 per attempt), 10 touchdowns, five interceptions, and a 100.6 passer rating. That's not exactly the best group of defenses you'll ever see a QB face, but guess what? The Bengals defense ain't that good either. Darnold has a couple more chances to play well (Bengals this week and Dolphins next week) before he has to go face the Ravens in a few weeks.

  • Browns at Steelers, 1 p.m. ET

The Steelers have officially gone back to Devlin Hodges under center. He's thrown only 40 passes this season, so it's difficult to say with much confidence how we should expect him to look against the Browns. In his first start, the Steelers jumped out to a two-score lead against the Chargers before he even had a real drive that began from his own side of the field. That's pretty unusual and thus unlikely to happen again. Hodges can hardly be worse in this game than Mason Rudolph was a couple of weeks ago, and hopefully, he will not see the game end in the same way Rudolph, unfortunately, did last time around.

  • Eagles at Dolphins, 1 p.m. ET

The Eagles are still a half-game back of the Cowboys in the NFC East, but they have a much easier remaining schedule than the Cowboys, and that begins this Sunday. Philly plays the Dolphins, Giants, Washington, Cowboys, and Giants again. Those teams have a combined record of 14-42 (0.250). Dallas plays the Bears, Rams, Eagles, and Washington, who have a combined record of 19-26 (0.422). That Week 16 game could very well decide the division, but the Eagles have a better chance than the Cowboys of making it not matter.

  • Washington at Panthers, 1 p.m. ET

In Kyle Allen's first four starts this season, he completed 80 of 122 passes (65.6 percent) for 901 yards (7.4 per attempt), seven touchdowns, zero interceptions, and a 106.6 passer rating. That's really good! In his past five starts, he is just 118 of 198 (59.6 percent) for 1,278 yards (6.5 per attempt), six touchdowns, nine picks, and a 69.8 rating. That's really not good! Allen is coming off one of his better games of the year, though, and that was against a really good defense in the Saints. Washington has been easily thrown upon by most opponents, so perhaps Allen can put together another good start this week.

  • Packers at Giants, 1 p.m.  ET

The Packers have responded to each of their previous two losses with victories over fellow NFC opponents. A Week 4 loss to the Eagles in primetime became a win against the Cowboys the following week. A Week 9 loss to the Chargers became a win over the Panthers the following week. After being blown out of the building by the 49ers last Sunday night, the Packers now have the good fortune of playing the spiraling 2-9 Giants. They have a chance to extend their NFC North lead over the next few weeks as they have an easy schedule (Giants, Washington, Bears) ahead of their Week 16 rematch against the Vikings.

  • Buccaneers at Jaguars, 1 p.m. ET

Could the Bucs defense be what Nick Foles needs to get back on track? In two games since returning Foles has completed 68.4 percent of his passes, but is averaging only 6.0 yards per attempt and has thrown two touchdowns against one interception. The Bucs once again have one of the NFL's worst pass defenses, and they have yielded monster games to nearly every QB they have faced. The Bucs are 31st in passing yards allowed, 29th in passing touchdowns allowed, and 21st in net yards per opponent attempt. If Foles is going to get going, it's probably going to happen this week.

  • Rams at Cardinals, 4:05 p.m. ET

This is the first-ever matchup between Sean McVay and Kliff Kingsbury, two of the youngest coaches in the NFL. Much like McVay did during his first season in Los Angeles, Kingsbury has spearheaded an offensive renaissance for what was one of the worst offensive teams in the league prior to his arrival. The year before McVay showed up (2016), the Rams ranked 32nd in yards, points, and DVOA. In McVay's first season (2017), they ranked first in yards and points and sixth in DVOA. Last year, Arizona ranked 32nd in yards, points, and DVOA. This season, they are 20th in yards, 15th in points, and eighth in DVOA. 

  • Raiders at Chiefs, 4:25 p.m. ET

Patrick Mahomes has played three career games against the Jon Gruden-coached Raiders. In those games, he is 67 of 106 (63.2 percent) for 1,019 yards (9.6 per attempt), 10 touchdowns, and one interception. That's a 122.3 passer rating, by the way. Oakland's pass defense ranks 30th in the NFL this season, so even if Chiefs running back Damien Williams has to miss this game, KC should be able to find plenty of offensive success simply by having their star quarterback let it rip.

  • Chargers at Broncos, 4:25 p.m. ET

Philip Rivers' current 85.5 passer rating is his worst mark since all the way back in 2007, his second season as a starter. His 47.1 QBR is the worst mark of his career. His last two games against the Raiders and Chiefs have been pretty dispiriting. He'll turn 38 years old next week and he's in the final year of his contract. Is this finally the end of the line? If he can't put together a strong performance down the stretch, it just might be.

  • Patriots at Texans, 8:20 p.m. ET (SNF)

Bill Belichick has been the best coach in the NFL for quite some time, so obviously, many of his assistants have gone on to become head coaches themselves. Nick Saban, Al Groh, Jim Schwartz, Romeo Crennel, Eric Mangini, Josh McDaniels, Bill O'Brien, Matt Patricia, and Brian Flores have all gone on to head coaching gigs of their own. Those coaches have a combined 9-15 record in games against Belichick, but none of them has been worse than O'Brien, who is 0-5 against his former boss in five regular season and postseason games combined. 

  • Vikings at Seahawks, 8:15 p.m. ET (MNF)

This is a game with enormous playoff leverage for both teams. The Vikings are a tiebreaker behind the Packers for the NFC North lead and a game behind Seattle for the No. 5 spot in the wild card race. The Seahawks are a game behind the 49ers for the NFC West lead and a game ahead of Minnesota for the No. 5 spot. If the Vikings win this game, they gain the tiebreaker and jump the Seahawks in the standings. If the Seahawks win and the Niners lose, they move into the top spot in the division thanks to a tiebreaker of their own. Those four teams and the Saints are going to be battling it out down the stretch, and it seems like anybody could get any of the 1, 2, 3, 5, and 6 spots.