Hello, Block & Tackle friends. It’s a picks-only column this week, because I’m moving house, so I’m busy dividing my life into a hundred boxes and putting it back together again. Alas, this has kept me from composing my usual 1,000-word complaints about the stripe width on football players’ pants. But that doesn’t mean there’s nothing to read. Have you perused the Block & Tackle discussion threads? They’re the smartest, silliest, most literate football comments you’ll find on the internet, I reckon, with weekly highlights like Pops Freshenmeyer’s JETS SUPERTHREAD (apologies to Pops for the headline) and Whovian’s Patriot updates/cooking tips. Check them out, I think you’ll have fun. And thanks for your understanding re: the B&T interruptions of late. It’s been crazy times—but I’m confident that the arrival of a newborn in a couple weeks will calm everything right down.
Quick-Hit Picks
Here are Block & Tackle’s predictions for the Week 13 slate. All Block & Tackle predictions are guaranteed to be correct. If there is a discrepancy between a prediction and an actual football game, the football game is wrong.
Green Bay Packers vs. Detroit Lions (last night, 8:25 p.m., NFL Network): Detroit 27, Green Bay 26.
San Francisco 49ers vs. Chicago Bears (Sunday, 1 p.m., Fox): Chicago 20, San Francisco 17.
Atlanta Falcons vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Sunday, 1 p.m., Fox): Tampa Bay 4, Atlanta 2.
Arizona Cardinals vs. St. Louis Rams (Sunday, 1 p.m., Fox): Arizona 26, St. Louis 13.
Seattle Seahawks vs. Minnesota Vikings (Sunday, 1 p.m., Fox): Minnesota 24, Seattle 16.
Cincinnati Bengals vs. Cleveland Browns (Sunday, 1 p.m., Fox): Cincinnati 35, Cleveland 20.
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Tennessee Titans (Sunday, 1 p.m., CBS): Tennessee 17, Jacksonville 15.
Houston Texans vs. Buffalo Bills (Sunday, 1 p.m., CBS): Buffalo 22, Houston 16.
New York Jets vs. New York Giants (Sunday, 1 p.m., CBS): New York (green) 26, New York (blue) 13.
Baltimore Ravens vs. Miami Dolphins (Sunday, 1 p.m., CBS): Miami 23, Baltimore 21.
Kansas City Chiefs vs. Oakland Raiders (Sunday, 4:05 p.m., CBS): Kansas City 27, Oakland 24.
Denver Broncos vs. San Diego Chargers (Sunday, 4:05 p.m., CBS): Denver 28, San Diego 9.
Carolina Panthers vs. New Orleans Saints (Sunday, 4:25 p.m., Fox): Carolina 42, New Orleans 26.
Philadelphia Eagles vs. New England Patriots (Sunday, 4:25 p.m., Fox): New England 35, Philadelphia 18.
Indianapolis Colts vs. Pittsburgh Steelers (Sunday, 8:30 p.m., NBC): Pittsburgh 31, Indianapolis 23.
Dallas Cowboys vs. Washington (Monday, 8:30 p.m., ESPN): Washington 33, Dallas 20.
Erroneous Game Tracker
Block & Tackle prediction record for 2015 season: 176-0
Erroneous football games played last week: 5
Erroneous football games played overall in 2015: 70