The 2022/23 National Football League (NFL) regular season is on the homestretch and after just 13 weeks, two teams have already been eliminated from play-off contention — the Houston Texans (1-10-1) and the Chicago Bears (3-10).

From hereon in, the Texans and Bears will only be going through the motions, but they have the possibility of playing spoiler for some play-off-bound teams.

The Bears have their bye this weekend, but the Texans are slated to ride into AT&T Stadium and tackle in-state rivals the Dallas Cowboys (9-3), who went berserk last Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts in a 54-19 wipeout. The Texans are the worst team in football this year and their loss last Sunday to the Cleveland Browns pretty much sums up their whole season. The Texans didn’t give up a single offensive touchdown to the Browns in Week 13, and yet, they still somehow managed to lose by 13 points (14-27).

The Cowboys led all scoring last week, with substantial contributions from their offence, defence and special teams, and the rest of the league provided a few captivating nail-biters, capped off by a classic Tom Brady, last-minute, one-point, comeback win last Monday night against the New Orleans Saints. The slate of games this weekend may not promise as many edge-of-your-seat finishes, but there is enough to make the NFL world salivate.

The Buffalo Bills (9-3) enter this weekend atop the American Football Conference (AFC) East division and tied with the Kansas City Chiefs for the best record in the AFC, ready to welcome the New York Jets (7-5) for a rematch.

The Jets beat the Bills in East Rutherford in Week 9 (20-17) and Buffalo will be looking to return the favour on their own turf. The Bills started the season (and remain) as hot JustBet favourites, but their aura has diminished somewhat, and the air of invincibility has been deflated. They are still deserving of the esteem, having a superstar quarterback (QB) in Josh Allen, but not necessarily the best team in the NFL anymore. The Bills are great, but beatable.

The Jets looked all set for a comeback win last weekend against the Minnesota Vikings, but QB Mike White threw an interception to seal the 22-27 loss, while the Bills took down the New England Patriots on Thursday Night Football to open Week 13, but looked less than convincing in the 24-10 win.

The Bills should win this one, having won eight of their last nine home games, and having beaten the Jets in four of the last five meetings. For the Jets to win, they will need White to play mistake-free football, show up with an effective running game and some good fortune in the form of a turnover or two in their favour — This may be too much to ask for the Jets on the road.

This Sunday will mark the 179th meeting between the New York Giants (7-4-1) and the Philadelphia Eagles (11-1) dating back to 1933. The Eagles lead the regular season series, 87-85-2, with the teams splitting their four post-season meetings. In recent years — including play-offs — the Eagles are 22-6, dating back to 2008.

The Giants are coming off a 20-20 tie against Washington at home last week, a game New York could have won at various stages. They have allowed an average of 164 yards rushing over their last three games, have won only once since week seven and have been outscored 122-95 over those five games.

The Giants will have their hands full as the Eagles are third in the NFL in total offence and second in total defence, while they also lead the league in rushing touchdowns, takeaways and are second in sacks. Add this to the fact that Philadelphia is the only team in the NFL that has not lost on the road this season, and the Giants can ill afford any mistakes in East Rutherford on Sunday — a tough afternoon is anticipated for the Giants.

The San Francisco 49ers (8-4) host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-6) on Sunday afternoon in a game that would have pitted QBs Jimmy Garoppolo against Tom Brady for the very first time, but it was not to be as Garoppolo suffered a season-ending ankle injury in the huge 33-17 win over the Miami Dolphins last weekend. Therefore, we will be having Brady against Brock Purdy, a QB who made his first career start 21 years ago against a QB who will be making his first career start on Sunday.

Purdy is slated to become the seventh QB to make his first career start versus Brady and the elder statesman has never lost in a game where the opposing QB was making his first career start. The only upside for Purdy is that he’s in an offensive system where nearly almost any NFL QB can thrive and the way that the defence is constructed, will mitigate the scoring of opposing offences. The 49ers were surging before the Garoppolo injury, but still have to be considered one of the best teams in the league, particularly on defence. This matchup should be interesting.

For the third time this season the LA Chargers are going to be playing Sunday Night Football, losing the previous two to the Kansas City Chiefs and the 49ers. The Chargers (6-6) have the Miami Dolphins (8-4) visiting and they have to win at least four of the last five remaining games to have a chance at making the play-offs. The Chargers have not quite lived up to expectations and they are the worst team at stopping the run in more than 60 years — giving up more than 5.4 yards per carry which is more than any other team since 1960. Thankfully for the Chargers, the Dolphins are averaging just 89.7 yards per game on the ground, which makes them one of just five teams averaging under 100 yards per game for the season. They also have the fifth-worst yards per carry rate in the NFL, so if the Chargers’ defence can’t slow down the Dolphins’ rushing attack on Sunday night, they might as well forfeit the season — Are you ready for some football?

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Super Bowl LVII Champion

Team Odds

Buffalo Bills4.80

Philadelphia Eagles5.60

Kansas City Chiefs5.80

Dallas Cowboys8.20

San Francisco 49ers12.00

Cincinnati Bengals14.00

Minnesota Vikings17.00

Tampa Bay Buccaneers20.00

Miami Dolphins20.00

Baltimore Ravens22.00

*Only Top 10 odds shown (see website for full list)

Note: Odds are subject to change