Everything you need to know as kickoff approaches...
Key game-time decisions
All players questionable unless noted
Harrison: Power Rankings, Week 13
In the latest edition of his weekly NFL pecking order, Elliot Harrison incorporates a number of changes in the top 10. **READ**
Larry Fitzgerald (knee) WR -- OUT -- Arizona Cardinals
The receiver was limited in practice on Friday. He said he was "highly likely" to play, but admitted it wasn't his call to make. UPDATE:Larry Fitzgerald was ruled out.
Julius Thomas (ankle) TE; Aqib Talib (hamstring) CB, Denver Broncos
Thomas is trending in the right direction, being limited on Thursday and Friday. Talib returned to practice Friday after missing Wednesday and Thursday.
Roddy White (ankle) WR -- OUT -- Atlanta Falcons
White didn't practice all week due to his ankle injury. UPDATE: White was ruled out.
Charles Johnson (illness) DE -- ACTIVE -- Carolina Panthers
The defensive end traveled with the team to Minnesota after not practicing Thursday or Friday. UPDATE: Johnson is active.
Austin Seferian-Jenkins (back) TE -- OUT; Lavonte David (hamstring) LB -- ACTIVE -- Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Both ASJ and David were limited on Friday. David missed last week's game, while Seferian-Jenkins left the game with an injury. UPDATE: Seferian-Jenkins will sit out Sunday, while David is active.
Ryan Shazier (ankle) LB -- OUT -- Pittsburgh Steelers
The rookie practiced in full on Friday. If he's able to play, it would be his first game since Week 9. UPDATE: Shazier was ruled out for Sunday's game against the Saints.
Taylor Lewan (ankle) T -- OUT; Michael Oher (toe) T -- ACTIVE -- Tennessee Titans
Neither tackle practiced all week. If neither are able to go, it will be a big blow against J.J. Watt and Co. UPDATE: Lewan is out, while Oher is active.
Jordan Reed (hamstring) TE -- ACTIVE; Trent Williams (knee) T -- ACTIVE -- Washington Redskins
Both were full participants on Friday. UPDATE: Both Reed and Williams will play Sunday.
Arian Foster (groin) RB -- ACTIVE -- Houston Texans
The running back appears ready to return after missing the past two games. UPDATE: Foster is officially active.
Chandler Jones (hip) DE -- OUT -- New England Patriots
The defensive end made the trip to Green Bay but is not expected to play, according to NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport on Sunday morning, per a source informed of his injury.UPDATE: Jones was ruled out.
Pats running back Shane Vereen (ankle) and wideout Brandon LaFell (shoulder) are expected to play, per Rapoport.
Jerick McKinnon (back) RB -- OUT -- Minnesota Vikings
The rookie didn't practice all week and said he wouldn't play with a back injury. UPDATE: The running back is out for Sunday's game.
'Monday Night Football'
Charles Clay (Hamstring/Knee) TE -- DOUBTFUL -- Miami Dolphins
The tight end didn't practice on Thursday or Friday.
Michael Vick (wrist/illness) QB -- PROBABLE -- New York Jets
Vick was full-go on Saturday after missing practice Friday with an illness. He should back up Geno Smith on Monday.
Weather Tracking*
We have some rain in the forecast on the final day of November.
Three matchups to watch
Battista: The Packers' catalyst
Aaron Rodgers vs. Patriots DBs
It's not Aaron Rodgers vs. Tom Brady, because, let's face it, they aren't on the field at the same time. I'm expecting the Pats to go run-heavy, so the Brady matchup vs. the Packers' secondary will be somewhat mitigated. Mike McCarthy, however, will always chuck the ball around. Rodgers is the best at quarterbacking at this moment in time. He's nearly flawless in his decision-making, can fit the ball anywhere and is athletic enough to get out of trouble. The Patriots' secondary has played very well this season. Darrelle Revis isn't the island-version of himself, but he's played well enough to lock down top-notch receivers like Megatron and Golden Tate last week. That allows Bill Belichick to roll coverage to the other side of the field. How Belichick decides to defend Randall Cobb and Jordy Nelson will be something to watch early Sunday afternoon in the hyped matchup.
Haloti Ngata, Terrell Suggs, et al. vs. Chargers offensive line
This is a big game for both the Ravens and the Chargers, with high-level playoff implications. It all starts up front for both teams when Philip Rivers is under center. The quarterback's offensive line has struggled to keep him clean all season, and rarely provides holes for running backs. Pro Football Focus has San Diego's offensive line ranked in the bottom three in both run and pass blocking. Meanwhile, PFF has the Ravens pass rush rated as the best in the NFL. They might not always rack up sacks (8th in the NFL) but disruption equals production. Ngata, Suggs and Elvis Dumervil can disrupt with the best. If they are constantly in the backfield, it will disrupt Rivers' ability to pick apart a nondescript Ravens secondary.
Jamaal Charles vs. Broncos No. 2-ranked run defense
In the battle for AFC West supremacy, the Chiefs must be able to run the ball. If Charles is stymied, Alex Smith will be put in a lot of third-and-long situations and K.C.'s offense can't succeed consistently in those circumstances. Charles has eight touchdowns over his last six games (seven rushing, one receiving). However, he'll face the NFL's second-best run defense, allowing just 75.5 yards per game. Terrance Knighton and Derek Wolfe have been beastly against the run on the line. Von Miller has been a stud at keeping the edge and tackling runners on the way to the quarterback.
Did You Know?
After setting an NFL record with five straight games with a passer rating of at least 120, Philip Rivers has now gone five straight games with a passer rating below 100.
Baltimore has rushed for 100-plus yards in four straight home games. San Diego has allowed 100-plus rushing yards in five of last six games.
Brian Hoyer is the first Browns quarterback with back-to-back 300-yard games since Brian Sipe in Weeks 4-5 in 1983 (Otto Graham is the only other Browns QB with two straight 300-plus yard games). No Browns quarterback has ever had three straight 300-yard games.
Cleveland has 14 rushing touchdowns this season, tied for second-most in NFL (they had four in 2013, fewest in NFL). Buffalo has allowed five rushing TD (tied for second-fewest) and none in nine of 11 games.
Fred Jackson needs 184 rushing yards to join the top 100 rushers in NFL history. Not freaking bad for an undrafted runner from Coe College.
Buffalo's defense has league-leading totals in: sacks (46); third-down percentage (34); Offensive touchdowns allowed (19); and plays of 20-plus yards (30).
Under Zach Mettenberger, the Titans scored 20-plus points in back-to-back games for the first time this season. The rookie has a 58.8 percent completion rate, 1,103 passing yards, 7 TDs, 5 INTs and an 86.7 passer rating. He's thrown two-plus touchdowns in three of four starts, but also one interception in each of his four starts.
This season, Ryan Fitzpatrick (3-6) has completed 57.1 percent of 20-plus air yard passes (highest percent in the NFL among QBs with 20-plus such attempts). The only QB with a better completion percentage is Aaron Rodgers (51.4).
Against Tennessee in Week 8, Arian Foster ran for 151 yards on 20 carries and two touchdowns. He has a rushing touchdown in five straight games against the Titans.
Washington has rushed for 100-plus yards in five straight games, their longest streak of the season. The prior four games they rushed for 68.5 yards per game. Last week, Alfred Morris earned 125 yards, snapping a personal streak of 17 straight games under 100 rushing yards.
Ryan Kerrigan has 8.5 sacks this season, making it his third straight year with at least 8.5 sacks. He is one of three players with 7.5-plus sacks in each of the last four seasons (Cameron Wake and Elvis Dumervil).
The Colts have 300-plus total yards of offense in all 11 games this season. It's the third time Indy has had 300-plus yards in each of its first 11 games (2009, 2004).
T.Y. Hilton has 1,083 receiving yards this season, which ties a career-high set last season. He has 15 career 100-yard games, including five this season (has had five such games in all three seasons).
Odell Beckham Jr.'s four receptions of 20-plus yards are the most on the team (four on nine targets). For comparison, Rueben Randle has one reception on 14 targets of 20-plus air yards. ODB's three 100-yard receiving games this season ties the most 100-yard receiving games by a Giants rookie (Byron Williams in 1983). He is on pace for 70 receptions, 1,044 yards and 9 touchdowns, despite missing the first four games of the season with a hamstring injury. Jeremy Shockey owns the Giants rookie records with 74 receptions and 894 yards in 2002.
Blake Bortles hasn't given the EverBank Field crowd a show this season. His ranks at home, among 35 qualifying quarterbacks: completion percentage: 33rd (57.4 percent); yards per attempt: 30th (6.69); interceptions: Last (10); Passer rating: Last (60.3).
Denard Robinson's production has decreased steadily each week since going for 127 yards in Week 7. Week 8: 108; Week 9: 94; Week 10: 60; and Week 12: 25.
The Panthers have rushed for 125-plus yards in just one of 11 games this season, after breaching that bar in 11 of 16 games last year. Carolina has one rush of 20-plus yards this season (1!!!) (fewest in NFL).
The Vikings' defense is tied for fourth in the NFL with 31 sacks and has compiled 21 sacks in the last six games. They've also allowed just 35 plays of 20-plus yards (T-5th fewest in NFL).
The Saints have lost their last two games to the Steelers in Pittsburgh. The last time the Saints defeated the Steelers in Pittsburgh was in 1987, when Jim Mora's Saints edged Chuck Noll's Steelers, 20-16. Bobby Hebert started at QB for the Saints while Mark Malone started for the Steelers. 1987 was also Rod Woodson's rookie season.
The Saints have the NFL's 27th-ranked total defense (377.1 YPG) and are allowing opponents to score on 43.9 percent of drives (31st in NFL). Rob Ryan's defense is forcing three-and-outs on only 12.3 percent of opponent drives (last in the NFL). It's also allowing opponents to convert 47.9 percent of third-down attempts (last in NFL) and has just 11 takeaways (29th in NFL).
Pittsburgh's defense is allowing opponents to gain 5.92 yards per play (fourth-worst in NFL). Opponents are scoring on 41.3 percent of drives (29th in NFL). Dick LeBeau's defense has allowed 47 plays of 20-plus yards this season (T-26th in NFL) and 40 pass plays of 20-plus yards (T-23rd in NFL).
Pittsburgh's defense has allowed 52.0 percent of 20-plus air-yard passes to be completed (highest in NFL). Drew Brees has completed 41.5 percent of 20-plus air yard passes this season (9th-highest out of 31 qualifying QBs). Air it out, Drew!
The Raiders are averaging 9.4 yards per reception this season. Only three teams have been worse since the merger: 2003 Lions (9.4), quarterbacked by Joey Harrington. 2006 Texans (9.2), quarterbacked by David Carr and the 2008 Bengals (8.8), quarterbacked by Ryan Fitzpatrick.
The Rams' offense has just 34 plays of 10-plus yards this season, fifth fewest in the NFL. St. Louis is gaining only 5.09 yards per play this season (25th in NFL).
Rams quarterbacks have been sacked 34 times this season (tied for second-most in NFL).
Jeremy Hill has been beastly since becoming a workhorse. The running back leads the NFL with 448 rushing yards in November and has 643 rush yards this season, which leads all rookies. Giovani Bernard, meanwhile, has averaged fewer than 3.0 yards per rush in each of his last three games played.
The Bengals' D has 14 sacks this season, tied for 30th in the NFL, only Oakland has fewer. Cincy has one total sack in the last three games.
The Bucs have scored 17 or fewer points in five of the last six games. Tampa quarterbacks have been sacked at least once in 27 straight games, the longest active streak in the NFL (23 sacks allowed in last six games, tied for second-most in NFL).
The Buccaneers have rushed for fewer than 100 yards in eight of last nine games.
Arizona has not allowed a 100-yard rusher in 21 straight games. Atlanta hasn't had a 100-yard rusher since 2012 (Michael Turner).
Arizona has allowed 28 red zone drives this season, tied for fewest in NFL. Atlanta has 26 red zone drives this season, 26th in NFL.
Matt Ryan has thrown just two interceptions in his last five games. The Cards have 15 INT this season (tied for second).
The Patriots have defeated a division leader by 20-plus points in three straight games. Since 1967, when 4-team divisions were created, there have been 336 instances of a team facing three straight division leaders. No other team has won each game by 20-plus points. The Patriots can extend this record with a 20-plus point victory over the NFC North-leading Packers.
This season, Aaron Rodgers has completed 51.4 percent of 20-plus air yard passes (highest completion percent in the NFL among QBs with at least 30 such attempts).
On the other hand, Tom Brady has completed just 22.9 percent of 20-plus air yard passes (second-lowest in the NFL among QBs with at least 30 such attempts).
The Broncos defense is forcing three-and-outs on 29.6 percent of opponent drives -- second highest percentage in NFL (NYJ, 32.0 percent).
The Chiefs' top defensive ranks: Points per game, 17.7 (tied for second); Total yards per game, 328.3 (8th); Passing yards per game, 198.9 (1st); Third-down conversion rate allowed, 36.9 (6th); Red zone TD percent, 45.5 (2nd); Sacks, 31 (tied for 4th).
K.C allows 129.4 rushing yards per game, 26th in NFL.
Miami is 16-2 when Ryan Tannehill posts a passer rating of 90 or higher. The Jets' defense has allowed a passer rating over 90 in 10 of 11 games this season.
New York's defense allows 4-plus yards on 37.5 percent of rushes (second-best in NFL). Miami's offense gains 4-plus yards on 51.2 percent of rushes (second-best in NFL).
The latest Around The NFL Podcast previews the Week 13 games and reacts to the news of RGIII's benching in D.C. Find more Around The NFL content on NFL NOW.
