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Just like everyone predicted before the season started, a Denver Broncos Week 13 matchup against the Houston Texans is among the most compelling on the NFL's docket. Both of these teams are firmly in the AFC's playoff picture, although neither would qualify if the postseason started today. (Don't worry, it doesn't. We checked.)
The Broncos looked dead in the water after a 1-5 start to their season. But the Sean Payton Effect is finally setting in, as Denver has strung together five straight victories and finds itself second in the AFC West. Improbably, the team that gave up a whopping 70 points in Week 3 is now being led by that same defense. Talk about a wake-up call.
As for the Texans, it seems unlikely that DeMeco Ryans will be one-and-done like his two predecessors were as Houston's head coach. At 6-5 and with C.J. Stroud looking like an upper-echelon quarterback as a rookie, the rebuild seems ahead of schedule for the Texans. How this team responds to a damaging Week 12 loss to a divisional rival will be telling.
Not many would've predicted these two teams would be facing each other this late in the season with playoff implications in play, but here we are. Now, to figure out how this will all go down. Let's get our Broncos Week 13 predictions down for all to see.
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Jerry Jeudy emerges as key factor
As any fantasy football player with WR Jerry Jeudy rostered can tell you, the fourth-year wideout from Alabama hasn't made much of an impact this season.
His season high for receiving yards is 81, and that came all the way back in Week 3. As QB Russell Wilson gets more comfortable operating in coach Sean Payton's offense, it's been fellow receiver Courtland Sutton that has emerged as Wilson's go-to target.
But against the high-flying Texans offense, Jeudy should see more of an opportunity to post numbers better than what's he averaged during the Broncos' five-game win streak, which amounts to 3.4 catches and 43.6 yards per game. Denver isn't going to reveal an air raid offense all of a sudden, but they will need to keep pace with Houston at times.
We'll take the over on both figures. Jeudy isn't likely to cash in a 100-yard game at this point, but something in the 65-70 yard range (something he last did back in Week 7) seems fair to expect, considering how this game is likely to unfold. Speaking of…
Russell Wilson hits the 30-attempt mark
For Wilson, getting more comfortable in Sean Payton's offense has coincided with being asked to do less. The former Seattle Seahawks star threw the ball 30+ times in four of Denver's first five games this season. But he's done so only once across the team's last six games.
It's time to let Russell…well not cook, but at least microwave?
C.J. Stroud and the Houston offense wants to fling the ball up and down the field. That isn't what Payton wants Wilson doing at this stage of his career. But the Texans can score in bunches, and they also feature a very strong run-stuffing outfit on defense.
That makes it likely that the Broncos will have to push things on offense a bit to keep Houston's defense honest, and to make sure they aren't falling behind to the point the game slips away. As a result, Wilson will likely be called upon to throw the ball more in Week 13 than he has over the last few games.
Broncos hold on against Texans in thriller
Riding high on a five-game heater, can the Broncos keep the good times rolling in Houston? We think so, and it's got a lot to do with the experience factor.
Payton and Wilson are a coach-QB duo that finally looks in sync with one another. Both are Super Bowl champs who know what it takes to succeed in the league. It was a bumpy start, but the Broncos have gotten their season on track, and the steady hands of Payton and Wilson deserve a lot of credit.
Meanwhile, as exciting as the Texans are, they are also inexperienced. Rookie QB, rookie head coach. This is when the NFL season turns into a grind. Maybe that doesn't matter and the Texans get right back into the win column after a loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
But maybe the team is about to hit a bit of a wall. If you had to predict which team might be feeling the strain of the season by now, you'd probably pick Houston. Denver's leaders have been here already, and that valuable experience could make the difference in what is shaping up to be a dynamite matchup.
The Broncos can ride that elder wisdom to a nail-biting victory in Week 13.
