Week 13: Another big chance for the Browns

A rundown of the best games and most interesting trends for Week 13 of the NFL. All times Eastern.

Is Cleveland ... good?

Browns (8-3) at Titans (8-3), 1 p.m.

Yes, it's true: The Browns are one win away from securing their first winning season since 2007, and through 12 weeks, they're firmly in line to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2002. These are the Cleveland Browns, however. There's still time for everything to fall apart. Optimism requires looking both ways - and looking up for a falling piano, just in case.

It's tricky to get an accurate read on how good the Browns are. They're 8-3, which is good enough to possess what would be the top wild-card spot in the AFC. But they're just 1-3 against teams with winning records, and they last played a team with a winning record five weeks ago. And when they were in a Big Game spot at the Steelers back in Week 6, they got crumpled up and tossed into a trash can. The Browns do get Myles Garrett back from the COVID-19 list this week, at least.

The Titans represent another solid barometer for Cleveland. Tennessee avenged an earlier loss to Indianapolis to take command of the AFC South by doing what it does best: getting efficient play from quarterback Ryan Tannehill while also pounding the ball with Derrick Henry. Tennessee's been without injured left tackle Taylor Lewan since Week 6, and the Titans lost backup Ty Sambrailo for the year in Week 11. But they're making it work.

We shall see

Saints (9-2) at Falcons (4-7), 1 p.m.

Nic Antaya / Getty Images

Even without Drew Brees, the Saints are one of the league's best teams. But they're also still something of an enigma. Nawlins hasn't allowed more than 13 points in its last four games, but last week, it whacked around a Broncos team playing with one hand tied behind its back because the league isn't all that interested in competitive integrity these days. There's also no telling just how good Taysom Hill is as a quarterback.

This game should begin to settle the latter question, if only because these same Falcons faced Hill in his debut as a starter two weeks ago. It was Atlanta's only loss in its last four games. The Falcons would have five wins in their six games since head coach Dan Quinn and general manager Thomas Dimitroff were fired if Todd Gurley had fallen down against the Lions.

Really?

Jaguars (1-10) at Vikings (5-6), 1 p.m.

The Vikings were once 1-5. Now they're one game off the pace for the seventh and last playoff spot in the NFC. Minnesota needed Carolina to screw a lot up in order to eke out a comeback last week. Now the Vikes get the Mike Glennon-led Jags before finishing up at the Bucs, home to the Bears, and at the Saints and Lions.

Football Outsiders gives Minnesota just a 17.0% chance of making the postseason - somehow worse than the Bears' 25.4%. The Bears are also 5-6, have lost five straight, and lack a quarterback. Whatever you think Minnesota's odds might indicate about Kirk Cousins, it's probably correct.

Hmm ...

Bills (8-3) at 49ers (5-6), Monday, 8:15 p.m.

Michael Zagaris / Getty Images

For those keeping track, this is the originally scheduled Monday Night Football game for Week 13, though it's been moved to the Cardinals' stadium in Glendale, Arizona, because Santa Clara County in California has banned contact sports for the time being. It also won't be the last game of the weekend because Cowboys-Ravens is set to go down Tuesday night at 8 p.m. At least for now.

Buffalo continues to get solid play from quarterback Josh Allen, who ranks sixth in the league in expected points added per play (EPA/play), per Ben Baldwin's website.

As for San Francisco ...

Opening the 49ers' injury page on Pro Football Reference is the fade into that first scene after the disaster in a post-apocalyptic movie.

- Robert Mays (@robertmays) December 2, 2020

He's not kidding. In the meantime, the Niners are coming off an upset at the Rams in which Deebo Samuel caught 11 passes for 133 yards. Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk, and Raheem Mostert are slated to play together for the third time this season. Unless one of them falls down a manhole between now and Monday night, that is.

Yes, this is an intriguing matchup

Washington (4-7) at Steelers (11-0), Monday, 5 p.m.

Michael Reaves / Getty Images

The Monday Late Afternoon Football showcase features the unbeaten Steelers at home in their eighth game of the season against a team with a losing record. But Washington is tied for first in its division and has won two straight, so there.

In all seriousness, the Football Team is a tougher matchup for Pittsburgh than either team's record indicates. Washington's defense ranks fifth in DVOA and third against the pass. Per Sports Info Solutions, Washington's D plays zone just 71.7% of the time - ninth-most in the league - and its zone defense has 78.2 points saved, which is the second-most in the league.

Why this matters: Ben Roethlisberger averages 19 points per 100 attempts against man coverage, but only eight points per 100 against zones, per Sports Info Solutions. If Pittsburgh plays as sloppily as it did against the Ravens' JV team in Wednesday's matinee, it might have a tough time winning, even though Alex Smith is unlikely to do much to challenge the Steelers' defense with downfield throws.

Here we go again?

Raiders (6-5) at Jets (0-11), 1 p.m.

Al Pereira / Getty Images

In the span of one week, Las Vegas went from That Team That Was Seconds Away From Sweeping The Chiefs to That Team Whose Season Might Be Headed Into A Ditch. The Jets are bad enough to serve as a fairly strong guardrail, but even that's not as simple as it sounds.

The Raiders were 6-4 last year when they came to North Jersey, only to have the Fighting Adam Gases hand them their heads in a 34-3 loss - the first of five defeats in the Raiders' last six games. That's a coincidence that means absolutely nothing because these are different teams playing a different season - the Raiders don't even play in the same city anymore. But if Vegas somehow loses this game, it will get talked about incessantly, which is the only reason I bothered to bring it up.

Dom Cosentino is a senior features writer at theScore.

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