In the Red Zone: Week 13 down, 4 to go Published Dec. 8, 2010 By Bryan Swink Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst Public Affairs JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. -- Three quarters of the NFL season are in the books. The division races are heating up and mediocre teams are scraping for the two wildcard positions. Some teams have already booked the best vacation packages available during January because they will be watching the playoffs from their luxury hotel room sipping a mai tai. Let's see how Week 14 shapes up. Indianapolis at Tennessee Both AFC South teams are struggling to find their rhythm recently. The Titans are one of the worst passing teams in the league while Colts quarterback Peyton Manning has thrown 11 interceptions in the last three games. That is by far the worst slump of his career. Most likely he will be getting receiver Austin Collie back from injury this week. It's not a lot, but it should be enough for them to get by the Titans on the road. Swink's prediction: Colts win on the road Cleveland at Buffalo The one factor that really stands out for me about this game is the running game Cleveland presents to the Bills defense. Buffalo is ranked last in the league at stopping the run. Browns running back Peyton Hillis has a nose for the end zone and loves to embarrass small, dainty defensive backs by lowering his shoulder and putting them on their back. I could see him easily reaching 150 yards rushing and two touchdowns. Swink's prediction: Browns win on the road Green Bay at Detroit When most people look at this matchup and the records of the respective teams, they chalk up an easy win for the Packers. But, if you look back at their first game in Green Bay, the Lions gave them a run for their money and only lost by two points. Detroit plays well but just hasn't figured out how to get the win ... the Packers have. This will be another enjoyable game to watch with a bunch of yards coming by the way of the pass. Swink's prediction: Packers win on the road NY Giants at Minnesota Minnesota looked great last week and surprisingly it was without Brett Favre. Regardless if it was against the Bills, it gives them momentum heading into Sunday when they host the Giants. The Giants will challenge Adrian Peterson and make him earn every yard he gets. The teams Minnesota have beaten this year have a combined record of 16-44. I give the edge to the Giants as long as they prevent turning the ball over. Swink's prediction: Giants win on the road Cincinnati at Pittsburgh Pittsburgh is coasting into the playoffs while the Bengals are already making vacation plans for January. The Steelers are a much more complete and balanced team that is playing together. The Bengals don't stand a chance going on the road to Heinz Field. I wouldn't be surprised if the entire team called in sick Sunday. Look for the Steelers to establish the run early and jump out to an early lead. From there, they won't look back. Swink's prediction: Steelers win at home Tampa Bay at Washington The Bucs lost a heartbreaker last week at home against the Falcons and need a win against the Redskins to stay in the playoff hunt. They have three winnable games before they face the Saints again in Week 17. The Redskins are done for the year and just trying to make their record somewhat respectable. They have only won two games at home all season. Swink's prediction: Bucs win on the road Atlanta at Carolina This is a matchup of one of the best teams in the NFL and one of the worst. The Falcons are sitting with the best record in the NFL and Carolina has the worst. I'm not really sure who to pick in the game because Carolina always plays them tough. Who am I kidding? The Falcons will dominate them in every aspect of the game and continue to sit on top of the NFC. Swink's prediction: Falcons win on the road Oakland at Jacksonville This game will be all about the running game. Both teams are in the top three in rushing in the league and are facing defenses that give up more than 110 yards on the ground. I give the advantage to Maurice Jones-Drew and the Jaguars on offense but I think Oakland has the more talented defense. Jacksonville needs this win to stay in the lead in the AFC South. Swink's prediction: Jags win at home Seattle at San Francisco The Seahawks lost to the 49ers in Week 1 by a score of 31-6. Even though they aren't the best team in the league, they will put up more of a fight this time around. The 49ers are without Frank Gore and are relying on Troy Smith at quarterback. The best shot they have to win the game is to get the ball into tight end Vernon Davis' hands. He is a big time player with an abundance of ability. Seattle may have their hands full this Sunday. Swink's prediction: 49ers win at home St. Louis at New Orleans The Rams are sitting on top of their division, but the Saints need this win to stay competitive in the race for the wildcard in the NFC. New Orleans has won five straight and have only been getting healthier as of late. The Rams, show promise, but have not been able to compete with some of the better teams in the league. Give it another full year or two and this could be one of the top teams in the conference. Swink's prediction: Saints win at home Miami at NY Jets Rex Ryan and the Jets were embarrassed last week in New England and will take their frustrations out on the Dolphins this week at home. They have bounced back from every loss this year with at least a four-game win streak. The Dolphins just about sealed their fate last week after dropping a home game to Cleveland. They haven't won consecutive games since the first and second weeks of the season. But, they do play much better on the road. Swink's prediction: Jets win at home Denver at Arizona There is a new coach in Denver and a six-game losing streak in Arizona. Neither of these teams are anywhere near the playoff hunt, but some has to win their fourth game of the year. The Cardinals are just about the worst offensive team in football. The good news for them is the Broncos have allowed their opponents to score more than 20 points each game all but two times this season. Plus, they are playing at home. Swink's prediction: Cardinals win at home New England at Chicago Could this be a possible Super Bowl preview? Nah, I don't see the Bears winning the NFC. But nevertheless, it will be a fun game to watch on Sunday. The Patriots are a hot team right now, even though their defense is horrendous statistically. I will be interested to see how the Bears can matchup to the quick, small receivers for New England. I wouldn't be surprised if there were over 80 pass attempts thrown in this game. Swink's prediction: Patriots win on the road Kansas City at San Diego This is a huge game for the Chargers. If they win, they move one game closer to the Chiefs for the division lead and keep their hopes alive for a wildcard spot. Their defense is ranked first in the league while the Chiefs are ranked first in rushing. Look for Kansas City to use their running backs heavily in passing situations. Quarterback Matt Cassel is a smart player and is looking like a lock for a Pro Bowl nod. Swink's prediction: Chargers win at home Philadelphia at Dallas The first-place Eagles visit the last-place Cowboys. If you just looked at the records, this is an easy win for Philadelphia. But don't count your chickens before they hatch. The Cowboys are 3-1 under Jason Garrett as coach and have played much better since their first eight games. Philly looked extremely hot during the middle of the season but have shown flaws as of late. I still think the Eagles will win, but Dallas will make it extremely competitive. Swink's prediction: Eagles win on the road Baltimore at Houston I'm sure the NFL thought the Texans would be a better team when they decided this matchup for Monday Night Football. The Ravens are clearly a better team and should have no problem picking apart this awful defense. Houston's offense always has potential to go off at any point but against this gritty defense, that may be asking too much. Baltimore has only allowed three teams to score more than 20 points on them all season. Swink's prediction: Ravens win on the road If you want to argue a prediction or point I made, please e-mail me at bryan.swink-02@mcguire.af.mil. Give a detailed explanation of why you disagree and some responses will be posted in next week's column with, of course, my explanation of why you are wrong.