• Saquon Barkley is a walking highlight reel: The Eagles running back leads the NFL in carries of 10 or more yards (29), 30 or more yards (9) and 50 or more yards (5). He’s averaging a staggering 28.4 yards per carry on his 10 rushing touchdowns.
• The Steelers' stingy defense: Pittsburgh’s defense is allowing just a 74.9 passer rating on targets to slot receivers this season, which is the second-lowest mark in the league. The Steelers have also held opponents to a touchdown or first down on only 31.5% of targets to slot receivers, the second-best rate in the NFL.
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Estimated reading time: 9 minutes
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Ahead of NFL Week 13, our media team has dived deep into the numbers to deliver key insights for every NFL matchup, highlighting the hidden storylines and standout performances that shape each game.
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TEN@WAS | LAC@ATL | PIT@CIN | HOU@JAX | ARI@MIN
IND@NE | SEA@NYJ | TB@CAR | LAR@NO | PHI@BAL | SF@BUF | CLE@DEN
Tennessee Titans @ Washington Commanders
No player has spent more time at the LWR position (widest left receiver alignment) this season than Terry McLaurin, with 472 total snaps—61 more than any other player. McLaurin has been highly productive from that spot, recording a league-best 39 receptions for 535 yards and five touchdowns, along with a stellar 136.9 passer rating when targeted. The Titans’ defense has struggled against players aligned at LWR, allowing 14.9 yards per reception, the fourth-highest mark in the NFL.
Will Levis has struggled significantly when holding onto the ball for too long. On dropbacks where his time to throw exceeds 3.0 seconds, Levis has the lowest passing grade (29.2) and highest sack rate (26%) among qualifying quarterbacks. The Commanders’ defense has excelled in these situations, generating 21 sacks (fourth most) and limiting opposing quarterbacks to a 60.6 passer rating, also the fourth-best mark in the league.
Los Angeles Chargers @ Atlanta Falcons
Justin Herbert’s 93.8 passing grade when using play action leads all quarterbacks this season. The Chargers signal-caller is on track to record career highs in passer rating (currently 116.2) and yards per attempt (9.8) in play-action scenarios. Over his career, Herbert has thrown 46 touchdown passes using play action, tied for the fifth-most in the NFL since his 2020 debut.
Bijan Robinson has become even more elusive as a receiver in his sophomore NFL season. His 17 missed tackles forced on receptions already match his 2023 total. Robinson is averaging 9.7 yards after the catch, with his 437 total yards after the catch ranking second only to Alvin Kamara at the position. Additionally, 165 of those yards have come after contact, the third-most among running backs.
Pittsburgh Steelers @ Cincinnati Bengals
Pittsburgh’s defense is allowing just a 74.9 passer rating on targets to slot receivers this season, which is the second-lowest mark in the league. The Steelers have also held opponents to a touchdown or first down on only 31.5% of targets to slot receivers, the second-best rate in the NFL.
Joe Burrow’s nine touchdown passes under pressure are the most among all quarterbacks through Week 12 and tie for the most in a single season of his five-year career. Burrow has posted a career-high average time to throw of 3.5 seconds when pressured.
Houston Texans @ Jacksonville Jaguars
Laremy Tunsil has been one of the league's top-performing left tackles in pass protection this season, allowing a quarterback knockdown (sack or hit) on just 0.7% of his pass-blocking snaps. That’s the fifth-lowest rate among left tackles with 200 or more pass-blocking snaps in 2024.
Brian Thomas Jr. has excelled against single coverage this season, averaging 3.68 yards per route run. That ranks 14th out of 96 wide receivers with at least 50 snaps versus single coverage and second among rookies, trailing only Keon Coleman.
Arizona Cardinals @ Minnesota Vikings
The Cardinals have struggled to generate pressure this season, ranking 29th in the NFL with a 29.3% pressure rate. However, when they do create pressure, they excel at converting it into sacks. The Cardinals convert 26.7% of pressures into sacks, the fourth-highest rate in the league.
Sam Darnold has handled pressure remarkably well this season. Among 32 quarterbacks, his eight passing touchdowns under pressure are tied for the second-most, while his 7.5 yards per attempt ranks fifth. Additionally, his 94.8 passer rating under pressure trails only Joe Burrow and Lamar Jackson.
Indianapolis Colts @ New England Patriots
Anthony Richardson has hit his stride since returning to the lineup in Weeks 11 and 12, posting his two highest passing grades of the year. He’s been particularly effective in targeting vertical routes, completing 6 of his 10 attempts for 160 yards. His 93.6 passing grade on vertical routes ranks third-best in the NFL this season.
Meanwhile, the Patriots defense has struggled against vertical routes, ranking in the bottom five with a 54% completion rate allowed and 638 passing yards surrendered on such plays.
Drake Maye has showcased his mobility recently, logging 75 dropbacks on which he moved off his spot without resetting — most among quarterbacks since Week 6. On those plays, Maye has completed 20 passes (tied for third at QB) and scrambled 28 times (most at QB). The Colts defense has been vulnerable in these situations, allowing 9.0 yards per attempt when opposing quarterbacks pass while on the move—the highest mark in the NFL.
Seattle Seahawks @ New York Jets
Garrett Wilson has recorded 384 receiving yards from out wide and 324 yards from the slot, making him one of only four players in the NFL with 300-plus receiving yards from both positions. However, Wilson faces a tough matchup against a Seahawks defense that is allowing just 6.0 yards per target to slot receivers (the best mark in the league) compared to 8.8 yards per target against wide alignments (21st).
Hitch routes have been a staple of Geno Smith and the Seahawks’ passing attack. Seattle leads the league in completions (64), yards (598) and first downs (35) when targeting hitches. The Jets’ defense, though, has been outstanding against this route type, allowing just 14 receptions and 7.7 yards per reception — both the lowest marks in the NFL.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Carolina Panthers
Bryce Young has shown notable improvement in passing from clean pockets, earning an 89.7 passing grade on such dropbacks since Week 9, the second-highest among qualifying quarterbacks. Over that span, he has also delivered five big-time throws, tied for the sixth-most. The Buccaneers’ defense has struggled in situations where they fail to generate pressure, allowing a 109.8 passer rating, the fourth-highest in the NFL.
The Buccaneers’ ground game thrives when their offensive linemen are on the move. They lead the league with 8.3 yards per carry (no other team exceeds 6.6) and a 43% conversion rate on run plays with at least one puller (the next highest is 33%). This spells trouble for the Panthers, who have struggled against such runs, surrendering six rushing touchdowns (tied for the most) and a 32% conversion rate, the third-highest in the NFL.
Los Angeles Rams @ New Orleans Saints
Derek Carr has been one of the league's premier deep passers in 2024, leading all qualifying quarterbacks with a 97.0 passing grade on throws of 20 or more yards downfield and ranking fourth with a 111.0 passer rating on such attempts. This bodes well against a Rams defense that has allowed a 49% completion rate on deep passes, the fourth-highest in the league, and seven deep touchdowns, tied for the second-most.
Play action has been a key factor in Matthew Stafford’s success, as he’s racked up 1,067 passing yards (third-most in the NFL) with a perfect 7-0 touchdown-to-interception ratio on play-action passes. Without play action, however, that ratio dips to 8-7. The Saints have struggled to contain play-action passing, surrendering 8.9 yards per play in such situations, the third-highest mark among defenses.
Philadelphia Eagles @ Baltimore Ravens
Saquon Barkley has been a walking highlight reel on the ground, leading the NFL in carries of 10 or more yards (29), 30 or more yards (9), and 50 or more yards (5). He’s averaging a staggering 28.4 yards per carry on his 10 rushing touchdowns. However, the Ravens’ defense excels at limiting explosive plays, allowing a league-low 18 carries of 10 or more yards. Of the nine rushing touchdowns they've surrendered this season, only one came on a run longer than 5 yards.
The Ravens bring versatility to their slot attack with Zay Flowers, whose 210 yards after the catch from the slot rank sixth among wide receivers, and Mark Andrews, whose 18 receiving conversions from the slot are the third-most among tight ends. Tasked with containing them is Cooper DeJean, who has excelled since becoming a starter in Week 6. Leading the NFL with 327 snaps at slot corner over that span, DeJean boasts a 78.8 coverage grade from the slot, the fifth-best mark in the league.
San Francisco 49ers @ Buffalo Bills
The 49ers defense had its worst tackling performance of the season in Week 12 against the Packers, missing a season-high 19 tackles—the third-most by any defense in a single game this year. Khalil Shakir could capitalize on this weakness, as he has proven to be one of the toughest wide receivers to bring down, tied for first at the position with 17 missed tackles forced.
Christian McCaffrey has made his biggest impact in the passing game since his return in Week 10, ranking first or second among running backs with 16 targets, 132 receiving yards, and five receiving conversions over that span. This sets up a favorable matchup against a Bills defense that has allowed 535 receiving yards to running backs this season, the third-most in the NFL.
Cleveland Browns @ Denver Broncos
Third-and-long situations (7 or more yards to go) will be critical in this matchup. The Browns‘ offense has faced 85 such attempts this season, the second-most in the NFL, while the Broncos‘ defense has forced a league-high 97 third-and-long situations—13 more than any other team. The Browns have been more effective in these scenarios with Jameis Winston under center, converting at a 25% rate compared to just 15% with Deshaun Watson.
Courtland Sutton versus Denzel Ward promises to be an elite one-on-one battle on the outside. Sutton ranks second among all pass-catchers with 28 receptions and 446 receiving yards against single coverage. On the other side, Ward leads all corners with a 93.0 PFF grade in single coverage and has forced 13 incompletions, four more than any other player.
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