Five hot teams that could go cold in NFL Week 13

The start of NFL Week 13 doubles as the start of December football. Now that we’re officially in crunch time, what hot teams are most vulnerable this week?

Who’s will be more vulnerable when the hot Atlanta Falcons host the hotter Kansas City Chiefs?

Why is Miami’s hot streak vulnerable in Baltimore?

Can the magical run of the Lions continue or will Detroit be derailed in the Big Easy?

Which hot teams are vulnerable to turn cold in NFL Week 13?

Atlanta Falcons

Something has got to give in this game. The Falcons have won three of their last four, while the Kansas City Chiefs have won six of seven.

While Atlanta is at home on Sunday, it’s really the more vulnerable team. In Week 10, the Philadelphia Eagles gave the NFL a blueprint on how to beat the Falcons. They got quick pressure on Matt Ryan and forced him to make early decisions. Atlanta’s vaunted offense didn’t have the time needed to make big plays and was limited to 15 points.

Fortunately for the Falcons, most NFL teams don’t have the pass rush to expose that. Unfortunately for Atlanta, the Chiefs pass rush is top notch. This is especially true with the return of Justin Houston. As dominant as Houston was against the Denver Broncos on Sunday, he’s still getting his bearings.

As the season progresses, Houston will only get better.

On the other side of the ball, we saw how much damage Tyreek Hill did against the vaunted Broncos’ defense. The Falcons’ defense isn’t that strong — especially with Desmond Trufant out.

If it turns into a shootout, Atlanta has the advantage. But Kansas City’s offense is good enough to outscore the Falcons if the Chiefs’ defense limits Ryan, Julio Jones and Co. It won’t be an easy task, but the Kansas City defense has proven itself up to it in the past.

If Atlanta can’t crack that puzzle and buy time for Ryan in Week 13, it will be in a lot of trouble.

Buffalo Bills

The Bills enter Week 13 on a nice two-game winning streak. Against the Oakland Raiders, Buffalo is facing a steep uphill climb if its going to extend that winning streak to three.

The Raiders are simply a much better team than the Bills.

That’s not to say that Oakland is perfect. The defense — especially the secondary — is still quite vulnerable.

But does Buffalo really have the tools to exploit that? For something like 21-24 points, sure. Tyrod Taylor will move the ball. But the Bills will likely need to crack 30 to beat the Raiders. That’s a mark they haven’t hit since Week 6.

Oakland’s defense may not be good enough to completely blow Buffalo out. Unfortunately for the Bills, their defense isn’t good enough to really keep the Raiders in check.

A complete blowout may not be likely, but something like a 41-24 Oakland victory is in the cards.

Detroit Lions

The New Orleans Saints in the Superdome are always a tough draw. When Drew Brees enters the week hot, the task is even tougher.

Brees certainly enters Week 13 hot.

That figures to be a problem for the Lions. Detroit has allowed a league worst 106.4 passer rating to opposing quarterbacks this year. That number does not figure to go down against Brees in the Superdome.

In order for the Lions to win this game, Matthew Stafford and the Detroit offense will have to match Brees. That’s certainly not impossible — but it is tough.

In reality, the Lions are vulnerable every time they take the field. That may not seem too logical for a 7-4 team, but Detroit has trailed in the fourth quarter in all 11 of its games. The Lions have pulled the majority of those games out. But to come back in the fourth quarter, a defense as to make stops. Otherwise, the offense will just be trading points, which is not conducive to a comeback. Making late stops against an offense as lethal as New Orleans will be quite difficult.

If Detroit goes down in the fourth quarter for a 12th time, 7-5 is far more likely than 8-4.

Miami Dolphins

In Week 12, the San Francisco 49ers (of all teams) showed that Jay Ajayi can be taken out of a game. Even with the NFL’s worst run defense, the 49ers stacked the box and limited Ajayi to only 45 yards on 18 carries. Fortunately for Miami, Ryan Tannehill took advantage of the exposed secondary, passing for 285 yards and three touchdowns.

The Baltimore Ravens will be a much tougher task. The Ravens have one of the NFL’s best defenses — especially against the run.

Unlike San Francisco, Baltimore will not need to completely sell out against the run to contain Ajayi. Granted, the Ravens may not limit Ajayi to 45 yards, either. But the Baltimore secondary will not be as vulnerable. For Miami to win this game — its seventh straight — Tannehill will have to have another strong outing.

Against the 49ers, that’s not a problem. But the Ravens’ secondary is far more competent.

In Miami, this game would tilt in favor of the Dolphins. In Baltimore, though, the Ravens will take the field with the advantage.

New York Giants

Not unlike the Lions, the Giants are vulnerable every time they take the field. Week 12’s 27-13 victory over the Cleveland Browns marked the first time that New York won a game by more than seven points. Given the opponent, we’ll have to see a little bit more before we start calling the Giants a dominating team.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are not the Browns. Granted, Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown may not be enjoying their best seasons. But on Thanksgiving against the Indianapolis Colts, the duo showed itself to be more than formidable.

The Giants’ defense is improved from what it was a year ago, but it can’t be counted on to shut Pittsburgh down. To win this game, New York will have to put up a decent point total. That’s going to require a great game from Odell Beckham Jr — which is a good news/bad news situation.

The good news for the Giants is that Beckham is more than capable.

The bad news is that Beckham’s greatness has yet to show up in a big way on the scoreboard.

As great as he’s been, New York has not scored more than 28 points in a single game this year. So, can the Giants keep Pittsburgh’s offense under 30?

It’s certainly possible, but the task will be far from easy. That makes the Giants a vulnerable team headed into NFL Week 13.

By Michael Dixon

Bay Area born and raised, I have extensive experience in both the print and online worlds. There are few ... More about Michael Dixon