Gerry Dulac's NFL Week 13 predictions

Some of his picks are below. I think Falcons beat Ravens though which gives us a nice lead in division if his other picks hold up. The Vikings are probably the best chance for the Pats* to take a loss before they are in Pittsburgh



Los Angeles Chargers (8-3) at Steelers (7-3-1), 8:20 p.m. – There are several common denominators with these teams, not the least of which is they both stampeded the Denver defense …only to beat themselves. They also have two future Hall of Fame quarterbacks who love to throw the ball.
Prediction: Steelers, 34-31


Baltimore Ravens (6-5) at Atlanta Falcons (4-7), 1 p.m. – The Ravens have won two in a row with their new run-oriented rookie backfield – QB Lamar Jackson, who has 190 yards rushing, and Gus Edwards, who has 233 yards, the past two games. Don’t think for a minute the Ravens are nevermore.
Prediction: Ravens, 24-21

Denver Broncos (5-6) at Cincinnati Bengals (5-6), 1 p.m. – Are the Broncos a team that has won two in a row with smoke and mirrors? Or are they a team that will benefit from an easy schedule in their final five games? For now, against the reeling Bengals, they will continue to be on the rise.
Prediction: Broncos, 26-20


Minnesota Vikings (6-4-1) at New England Patriots* (8-3), 4:25 p.m. – Honestly, do you really see much difference in the Vikings with Kirk Cousins at quarterback than Case Keenum … other than a salary-cap hit? The Patriots* are one of three teams unbeaten at home (5-0), where they average 35.4 points.
Prediction: Patriots*, 34-21

Full list of picks here: https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/steelers/2018/11/29/Gerry-Dulac-s-NFL-Week-13-predictions-2018-nfl/stories/201811290032

Can't disagree with his picks.

would be nice for a Broncos win over the Bengals to even things up a little.

I'm going with...

1. Steelers: We actually show up this week. Stephon Tuitt returns and we are better against the run than we were against Denver. The Steelers keep Austin Ekeler bottled up in the absence of Melvin Gordon and force Phillip Rivers to try and do everything. The pass rush gets to Rivers and we actually win the game somewhat handily. James Conner and the running game finally get back on track.

2. Falcons: The Falcons defense actually shows up for a game and their offense does just enough to win against a stout Ravens defense.  Lamar Jackson plays like a rookie and makes a couple of costly mistakes.

3. Broncos: The Broncos manhandle the hapless Bengals and harass Jeff Driskel who throws three interceptions under pressure from the likes of Von Miller, and Bradley Chubb.

4. Minnesota: The Vikings show up in full force and pull off a surprise victory in Foxboro. The Vikings defense headed by Everson Griffin and Danielle Hunter harass Tom Brady and never really let him get too comfortable in the pocket. Thielen and Diggs slice up New England's secondary.

IowaSteeler927 wrote:

I'm going with...

1. Steelers: We actually show up this week. Stephon Tuitt returns and we are better against the run than we were against Denver. The Steelers keep Austin Ekeler bottled up in the absence of Melvin Gordon and force Phillip Rivers to try and do everything. The pass rush gets to Rivers and we actually win the game somewhat handily. James Conner and the running game finally get back on track.

2. Falcons: The Falcons defense actually shows up for a game and their offense does just enough to win against a stout Ravens defense.  Lamar Jackson plays like a rookie and makes a couple of costly mistakes.

3. Broncos: The Broncos manhandle the hapless Bengals and harass Jeff Driskel who throws three interceptions under pressure from the likes of Von Miller, and Bradley Chubb.

4. Minnesota: The Vikings show up in full force and pull off a surprise victory in Foxboro. The Vikings defense headed by Everson Griffin and Danielle Hunter harass Tom Brady and never really let him get too comfortable in the pocket. Thielen and Diggs slice up New England's secondary.

I hope you're right on all accounts. I don't want the Ravens in the playoffs at all. Period. I'd love to see us finish first and the Browns second.

As Steelers fans we are used to a certain level of excellence and I think anything less than a first round bye seems somewhat a failure. I guess the numbers back up that those teams with 1 and 2 seeds do generally have a better chance of making the Super Bowl.

Going one game at a time ,though, I think taking a bigger division lead looks good right now. The games this weekend if Ravens and Bengals lose and Steelers win, it would give Steelers a 2.5 and 3.5 lead on those 2. Next week Steelers play Oakland, Balt plays@ KC, and Cincy @ Chargers. Another win next week by Steelers and losses by Balt & Cincy pretty much wraps things up and can focus on the Pats* with the division in hand.