Week 13 Panel Picks
Week 12 was unfairly unpredictable. Who could have expected the Cowboys to suddenly bounce back against the Commanders, the Titans to stun the Texans, the Browns to shock the Steelers, or the Packers to trounce the 49ers? Not us (we were a combined 5-23 in those games).
Week 12’s capriciousness didn’t make the panel’s job any easier—the leaders of last week were a mere 9-5. They would be Josh, who is enjoying a nice bounce back year, and George, who is a flaming asteroid that can’t be stopped by any object or force. On the bright side, no panelist finished under 7-7 (thank you Theo).
A clustered week in the standings has led to this.
With George consistently growing his lead by a game or two each Sunday, week 13 is a must-win week for most of us; we’ve got to make this competitive down the stretch. Let’s take a lot at the results that need to go our way for that to happen.
Primetime Games
Early Window
Late Window
Most alike picks: 2nd place Rahul and 4th place Theo picked only the Colts vs Patriots game differently.
Least alike picks: The duos of Josh/Webb, Josh/Jackson, and Jackson/Ben each picked six games differently.
Most upsets picked: Josh and Jackson each picked four upsets.
Fewest upsets picked: The rest of us only picked two upsets each. As the season’s end grows closer, nobody is messing around.
Most picks with majority: George, Rahul, and Theo were in the majority for 15 out of the 16 games.
Most picks against majority: Ray, Josh, and Jackson were in the minority three times.
What Stands Out?
Since three of the games have already taken place, let’s cover how everyone is doing so far this week. Jackson and I are the only panelists to be 4-0—we won all three games and got our locks out of the way. Ray, George, and Ben also nailed every pick and sit at 3-0. Josh and Rahul are 3-1 as the result of a successful lock and a miss on the Giants vs Cowboys game, and Theo is the only panelist to be 2-1 after picking the Giants to win.
The AFC West is clearly the second best division in football. We already know about the Chiefs and their dominance, but how about the panel buy-in to the Chargers and Broncos. Despite a disappointing loss to the Ravens, the Chargers were picked 7-1 to beat the 6-5 Falcons. The Broncos have only swept the panel vote once ever, but they are being unanimously picked to beat the Browns on Monday Night Football
More than ever, the favorites were hammered this week. There is not a single matchup where the underdog received the majority of the votes and only the Patriots at +2.5 managed to garner four votes.
For whatever reason, the Ravens continue to dominate the panel when I’m not so sure they should. No team has been picked more than Baltimore this season and despite going up against the Eagles, who are winners of seven straight, everybody but Ray sided with the flock this week.
It’s gone under the radar, but for whatever reason, Ben loves him some Panthers football. He’s picked them six times this year and this week marks the third time that he’s been the only panelist to take Carolina. In the weeks where he has picked the Panthers, he’s 1-4.
Playoff Picture
Let’s pretend our majority pick in each matchup won this weekend. Here are the projected playoff matchups on Wild Card Weekend.
AFC
(1) Kansas City Chiefs vs BYE | Kansas City would be 11-1 for the second time in the Mahomes era.
(2) Buffalo Bills vs (7) Denver Broncos | Buffalo and Denver are, on average, the two coldest cities in the AFC.
(3) Baltimore Ravens vs (6) Los Angeles Chargers | After the Ravens’ 30-23 victory last Monday, John Harbaugh is 3-0 against his brother Jim.
(4) Houston Texans vs (5) Pittsburgh Steelers | Last season, Houston beat Pittsburgh 30-6 in week four.
NFC
(1) Detroit Lions vs BYE | The Lions have never finished the season as the one seed in their franchise’s history.
(2) Philadelphia Eagles vs (7) Washington Commanders | Philadelphia defeated Washington 26-18 in week 11.
(3) Seattle Seahawks vs (6) Green Bay Packers | Neither Geno Smith nor Jordan Love have beaten their opponent in this hypothetical matchup.
(4) Atlanta Falcons vs (5) Minnesota Vikings | Kirk Cousins could join Jared Goff as the second active quarterback to beat their former team in the playoffs.