Week 13 of the NFL Season comes to a close with an engaging matchup tonight. The Jacksonville Jaguars are among the best in the AFC. In fact, with a win, they’ll be tied for the best record in the conference. The Cincinnati Bengals, meanwhile, have had a disastrous season. Despite that, even with Joe Burrow out, they aren’t out of the playoff race. A win tonight and they’d be in the thick of the hunt. I’ll preview the full game below. First, let’s consider what else we saw from Week 13 of the NFL Season.

The AFC South is for real

We thought the AFC South would, again, be the bottom of the AFC. Instead, aside from the 4-8 Tennessee Titans, all three AFC South Teams are making a case for the playoffs. The Jaguars, as mentioned above, are a win away from being tied for the best record in the AFC. They could get that tonight. They were expected to be contenders. But the Indianapolis Colts, even without rookie star Anthony Richardson and largely without Jonathan Taylor, are 7-5 and squarely in the playoff race. The Houston Texans, who’ve been near the bottom of the league for the past few seasons, are also 7-5 and right in the think of a hot playoff race. That’s a huge turn of events for the division, and one that has made the AFC South a lot of fun to watch this season.

The Tank Dell loss is huge

On Sunday, despite getting a massive 22-17 win over the Denver Broncos, the Texans suffered a big loss. One of the highlights of their season has been the connection between rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud and rookie receiver Dell. Unfortunately, Dell fractured his fibula during Sunday’s win and that will likely end his season. With Dell and Nico Collins the Texans had developed a nice receiving duo. The team is still in the thick of a playoff race, but the injury to Dell is a blow to the Texans and to fantasy players who hoped to have the high-scoring receiver in tow for the fantasy playoffs.

Several coaches are still on a hot seat

We’ve seen some great performances this season and some exciting plays, but we’ve also seen some limp performances. There are several coaches who could be on the hot seat. We’ve already seen two coaches—Josh McDaniels in Las Vegas and Frank Reich in Carolina—get the boot. The Los Angeles Chargers and Washington Commanders might not be far behind. The Commanders limp into a bye week at 4-9, seemingly lost on offense and defense of late. The team has a new ownership group and will likely want to see some forward momentum. The Los Angeles Chargers are 5-7, having scored just six points against a 2-10 Patriots team. The Chargers figured to be a contender in 2023 and so far, they are in last place in the AFC West and a distant threat in the playoff chase. Other spots that bare watching include the Tennessee Titans and those woeful Patriots. All in all, it could be an eventful next few weeks for several of the teams bringing up the rear in the NFL in 2023.

And now, on to Monday Night Football.

Cincinnati Bengals (5-6) at Jacksonville Jaguars (8-3)

For the Bengals, I’m not high on Jake Browning, but he has some low QB2 appeal. Tee Higgins is back and combines with Ja’Marr Chase, but the passing game isn’t as robust. It’s not an incredible matchup, either. I have Chase as a WR2 with upside and Higgins as more of a WR3. Joe Mixon has struggled mightily too, and I’m not bullish. He’s a low-end RB2 for me.

For the Jaguars, Trevor Lawrence is a high-end QB2 with some upside. He could easily get to low-end QB1 territory. Travis Etienne is playing, but he’s been banged up. He’s an RB2 for me. The passing game has been interesting as we’ve seen Calvin Ridley come roaring back since Zay Jones returned. I have Ridley and Christian Kirk as WR2 options, while tight end Evan Engram has TE1 appeal.

I’m taking the Jaguars tonight.

Matthew Fox is a graduate of the Radio, Television and Film program at Biola University, and a giant nerd. He spends his free time watching movies, TV, and obsessing about football. He is a member of the FSWA. You can find him @knighthawk7734 on Twitter and as co-host of the Fantasy Football Roundtable Podcast.