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Five Things to Watch this Weekend (Week 13)

November 26, 2025

Here are our top 5 story lines to follow heading into the weekend.

1. 49ers vs. Browns

The 49ers looked downright dreadful last Monday Night against Carolina. Their offense that turned the ball over three times will get completely shut down if they play that way against the Browns with Myles Garrett hunting the sack record. San Fran’s defense is playing hard for coach Saleh despite being down many of their star playmakers. It will be interesting to watch how they match up against Shedeur as he has Cleveland on cloud 9 with their recent victory over Las Vegas. This will be a more realistic test of where Sanders sits in his development. Although, you can never quite judge a quarterback 100% accurately based off just a few starts.. Even though Cleveland did with Gabriel.

2. Rams vs. Panthers

The Los Angeles Rams are on an absolute heater right now and just dismantled Tampa Bay on a snoozer of a Sunday Night game last week. Stafford has firmly placed his name atop the MVP race with an insane 30/2 TD/INT ratio. He’s probably playing the best football of his career while throwing to Puka and a version of Davonte Adams that seems to have found the fountain of youth. Their defense is getting pressure and playing lights out and they’re just an all around dang good football team right now. If Carolina is looking to take a step towards taking their division, they’ll need to do so here against LA. A tough ask, no doubt, but if Baker doesn’t play for the Bucs, this is their shot to get a lead in the South.

3. Bills vs. Steelers

Who are the Buffalo Bills? No, really. It feels like forever ago now but they took a beating in Houston on TNF and looked completely outmatched. Granted, the Texans defense might be better than we thought they were, but this is Josh Allen and the Bills we’re talking about. They have some ugly losses and some huge wins on their record in 2025, but it seems when Allen is heavily pressured, he reverts back to the player he was prior to the breakout. Wild. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh has completely seen their division lead vanish over the last several weeks. Lamar Jackson came back from injury and took it right back. The Steelers are coming off a loss to Chicago but Tomlin seems confident that Aaron Rodgers will suit up in week 13. They’re going to need all the wins they can string together in order to hold off Baltimore down the stretch.

4. Texans vs. Colts

Speaking of those pesky Texans, they’re quietly 6-5 now and have a big opportunity this weekend to close the gap against the 8-3 leader of their division. They’ll match up again in January but this would be a monumental first step in getting serious about a playoff push. As of early this week, CJ Stroud is still in concussion protocol and is uncertain for Sunday. Davis Mills has been doing fine so far and is 3-0, despite how it has looked. There have been plenty of missed throws, timing issues, but in the end, he’s doing what it takes to deliver the wins and keep them afloat. The Colts came back from their bye a little off rhythm last week against KC. Taylor was stuffed on the ground but they were still able to fight until their eventual loss in OT. They’ll look to get back on track here but like we discussed earlier, this Texans defense is no sure thing.

5. Cardinals vs. Bucs

Baker Mayfield threw for 41 yards against the Rams last week before exiting at half with an AC joint issue in his nonthrowing shoulder. There’s rumors that he might be available for this one against the 3-8 Cardinals but you’d have to imagine they’d be better off letting him sit with so much meaningful football remaining on the schedule. They fell to 6-5 in LA but will still have every opportunity to win their division. The run game has been rolling (aside from last week) and they’ll get Bucky Irving back in the lineup. Vita Vea and the boys will have to get after the Cardinals’ Jacoby Brissett because he’s been lighting everyone up as of late. Guys named Michael Wilson and Greg Dortch have been going off with 100 yard games. In theory, the Bucs should be able to contain this passing game. However, the last three opponents of the Cards have been lit up by a motivated Brissett who just keeps pumping out 300 yard games.

Keith, Author

Keith runs youth flag football leagues by day, and by night he hosts the podcast and writes articles with the confidence of a man who’s been rushing quarterbacks since dial-up. A longtime flag football DE and lifelong Falcons fan, he’s no stranger to heartbreak and enjoys watching the bears get slaughtered each week. Equal parts coach, critic, and chaos, Keith calls it like he sees it… even if it hurts.