Who will win the weekend in NFL's Week 13: Baker Mayfield, Chargers and Pats’ pass rush get shot to prove they’re for real
Yahoo Sports NFL senior writers Terez Paylor, Kimberley A. Martin and Charles Robinson select games this week that will leave us buzzing heading into Monday.
Martin’s pick
Cleveland Browns at Houston Texans
If you go by their records, this should be a lopsided affair, but Baker Mayfield is anything but predictable. And the Browns (4-6-1) are anything but boring these days.
Mayfield ruffled a lot of feathers with his blunt assessment of former Cleveland coach Hue Jackson. But one thing that’s not up for debate is the kid’s talent. He has been on a tear over the past three games (nine touchdowns, one interception, 129.5 rating) and was named the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Month.
Mayfield will face an even bigger test: the Texans defense.
Houston is 8-3 and in first place in the AFC South thanks in large part to its eighth-ranked defense (333.6 yards allowed per game). And while Texans pass rushers J.J. Watt and Jadeveon Clowney will have their sights set on Mayfield, quarterback Deshaun Watson will look to earn Houston’s ninth straight victory.
You’ve got two young, talented quarterbacks in Mayfield and Watson (130.9 rating last week vs. Tennessee). Premier pass rushers in Watt, Clowney and Myles Garrett. And an explosive playmaker in receiver DeAndre Hopkins.
What more do you need?
Paylor’s pick
Los Angeles Chargers at Pittsburgh Steelers
I have truly enjoyed the Chargers’ resurgence. Turns out that when armed with an elite running back (Melvin Gordon) and a bunch of 6-foot-4 receivers, quarterback Philip Rivers is still really good!
I like watching the Chargers sling it around the field, and I’m not sure that their offense is going to fall off just because Gordon is hurt. His backup, Austin Ekeler, has been super good as a pass catcher and if the Chargers say “screw it, we’re slinging it around!” they’ll still be primed to score plenty of points.
Of course, the Steelers will have much to say about that. They’ve got a ton of offensive weaponry themselves, between Big Ben, James Conner, Antonio Brown and JuJu Smith-Schuster, and both teams — who currently sit with three losses — need to keep winning to stay in contention for a first-round bye. All this should add up to a super-fun game, one I can’t wait to see.
Robinson’s pick
Minnesota Vikings at New England Patriots
The Patriots have spent most of this season in the shadow of other high-scoring offenses, but this game against the Vikings begins a stretch of fine-tuning that should put New England right back into the postseason limelight.
Maybe nothing is more critical the rest of the season than getting the pass rush jumpstarted, and the Patriots’ front should get some opportunities to get to Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins. If they can’t, that may be a sign that New England’s front-end aggression is simply incapable of big improvement by the playoffs.
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