We’re going to learn a lot about the state of many teams after this week’s divisional matchups. Here are your NFL Week 13 betting lines and previews for all the teams in the league.
Another tough week, however, I find myself in the same relative position as many NFL teams – needing to have strong December to finish with a winning record. I certainly don’t want my streak of over .500 years to go by the wayside, and no matter how tough this stretch has been, every week teaches something you need to know for the upcoming one.
Of course, some stuff is just bad luck, like the ending of that Ravens game. I refuse to play sour grapes and I remain confident that I’m right on the verge of having this thing worked out.
This week featured 8 divisional matchups, and that’s a good thing. You have more info about divisional matchups than any other games on the schedule, so this week figures to be a goldmine of important information you need to factor into where to put your money.
One good thing about the way the NFL schedule gets made now is that it is backloaded with these games, so you have not only ⅔ of a season’s worth of information on hand but an overload of games with an abundance of history.
Can’t lose right? Well, we’ll see.
Last Week’s Picks: 7-12 Best: 1-4
Season Totals: 88-100-6 Best: 21-27-1
Carolina (-7) @New Orleans (My Top Sportsbooks)
According to My Top Sportsbooks, the Panthers are favorite by a touchdown against the New Orleans Saints. Think of just what it means that the Saints are GETTING 7 at home in a divisional matchup. That’s how bad the Saints are. That’s also how good the Panthers are. Nothing seems to faze Carolina, and I’m gonna ride that train until it stops.
Carolina Panthers 31 New Orleans Saints 19
Jacksonville (+2.5) @Tennessee (BetOnline.ag)
I’m a little torn on this game, as I continue to feel like the Titans are better than their record, but there are several things strongly tilting toward the Jaguars here. First, the Titans have zero home field advantage. No, literally. They’ve won zero times in six tries at home. Second, Jacksonville is a favorable matchup overall with Tennessee and, fantasy football alert, start Julius Thomas if you’ve got him. He’s starting to breakout for the Jaguars, and they’re likely to target him more with Allen Hurns out. In addition, the Titans suck at covering tight ends. The opposing TE has been a good play all year vs. Tennessee.
Jacksonville Jaguars 21 Tennessee Titans 20
Baltimore (+4) @Miami (MGM Mirage)
The Ravens, who have had every reason under the sun to quit on this season, haven’t. The Dolphins, who until recently had every reason to try to play their way back into contention, quit instead. No way should Miami be giving more than 3 here, and probably not even that. It wouldn’t surprise me if Baltimore won this game outright.
Miami Dolphins 20 Baltimore Ravens 17
Seattle (pick ‘em) @Minnesota (TopBet)
This is the game of the week, and it definitely falls into the “watch and enjoy” category as opposed to betting it. Push comes to shove, there’s two reasons I’m taking the Seahawks here. One, they really need the game. Minnesota doesn’t, and that will be especially true if Green Bay loses again (game TBD as of this writing). Second, the Vikings had a chance to shut the door two weeks ago and couldn’t hold serve against the Packers who are struggling. Seattle, like I said, needs this game and you better believe they come to play. Will the Vikes?
Seattle Seahawks 27 Minnesota Vikings 24
Arizona (-7) @St. Louis (5Dimes)
The Rams have a way of being a thorn in the side of their NFC West opponents, even though those teams have all been better than St. Louis of late. Remember how tough they played San Francisco a few years back? And would it surprise you to learn that they’re 4-3 in their last 7 vs. the Cardinals? It surprised the hell out of me. The Rams looked dreadful last week, so proceed with caution, but at home, I think they can keep this game closer than you might expect.
Arizona Cardinals 20 St. Louis Rams 16
Arizona @St. Louis over/under 43 (5Dimes)
Rams defense: check. Cardinals defense: check. Rams offense: nope. Cardinals offense: just lost Chris Johnson. 43 points? Not this week. Go with the under.
Arizona Cardinals 20 St. Louis Rams 16
Atlanta (+2) @Tampa Bay (Wynn Las Vegas)
How the mighty have fallen. The Falcons are really struggling, and it’s tempting to take Tampa here. In reality, I’m shy on this game and wouldn’t take either side. Atlanta looks to have a good matchup vs. Tampa, but then again losing to the Bucs is what started this landslide of losses for the Falcons. I’m a bit torn, but I want to say the Falcons snap out of it here.
Atlanta Falcons 27 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 24
Atlanta @Tampa over/under 46 (Westgate Superbook)
I don’t necessarily trust either of these offenses, but I definitely don’t like where the defenses are at either. I’m going over the 46 because the best cure for struggling offense is weak defense and that’s what you have here on both sides.
Atlanta Falcons 27 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 24
NY Jets (-1) @NY Giants (5Dimes)
On the one hand you have the Giants, who are clearly better than they play on the field, but find ways to lose. On the other hand you have the Jets, who aren’t as good as they play on the field, and find ways to win. Right now, I’m thinking Jets because of how banged up the Giants are on the offensive line. What do you suppose that marvelous Jets’ front will do with that? Yeah, me too. Also, the Giants have a porous defense, and that definitely helps the Jets, who need to face weak defensive teams to be able to look decent on offense.
New York Jets 27 New York Giants 24
Denver (-3.5) @San Diego (BookMaker.eu)
The Broncos have largely owned this divisional matchup, and that goes all the way back to the Tim TeBow days. Denver proved their bona fides against New England last week, and while San Diego finally won a game, they still stink. Their defense is non-existent, and Philip Rivers will have his hands full with a Denver stop unit that’s getting healthy just when it counts.
Denver Broncos 24 San Diego Chargers 17
Kansas City (-2.5) @Oakland (BetOnline.ag)
In terms of divisional matchups, Chiefs/Raiders is the AFL historic equivalent of Dallas/Washington. It’s legendary. There’s two reasons I like Kansas City here. One, they’re the hot team, and as I’ve said, I like betting the hot team. Second, the Raiders haven’t really shown that they’re ready to knock off higher level teams. It all depends if you think the Chiefs fit into that category. Right now, I do.
Kansas City Chiefs 24 Oakland Raiders 20
Philadelphia (+10) @New England (CG Technology)
If the Patriots hadn’t lost last week, I’d put the Eagles in Best Picks. As much as I have trumpeted all season that Philadelphia is trash, their defense up until the last two weeks, has been good. I think they can at least partially return to form, and mark my words, Brady without Gronk won’t even remotely resemble Brady with him. I’d sit Tom Brady this week if you have a good alternative in fantasy. Like I said, the one thing keeping this game out of Best Picks is Brady coming off a loss. He’s magic in that spot, so I’m afraid to put too much stock in anything else.
New England Patriots 28 Philadelphia Eagles 20
Indianapolis (+7) @Pittsburgh (CarbonSports.ag)
Ben Roethlisberger’s status is still uncertain for this game, but even if he plays I like the Colts to cover in a loss with a spread at 7 points. I would expect that number to drop if Roethlisberger is out, but as long as Pittsburgh is favored, I think I’d still go with the Colts. This is a good spot for them.
Pittsburgh Steelers 26 Indianapolis Colts 21
Dallas (+4.5) @Washington (Pinnacle)
I know the RacialSlurs have been great at home this year, but this is Dallas’ Super Bowl. The one thing they have left is playing spoiler against their arch rivals. And don’t kid yourself, Washington is not some super team at home. Their schedule happened to put their toughest games on the road, which explains the disparity. I think Washington will win here, but I think it will relatively low scoring and close.
Washington RacialSlurs 20 Dallas Cowboys 17
BEST PICKS
“I know what to do to turn those grins into frowns. I’ll stuff all their stockings with tickets to the Browns!”
Cincinnati (-9.5) @Cleveland (TopBet)
I’m off the Browns for good this year. Cleveland seems to have no shortage of ways to blow games, and even though everything suggests that they should be able to cover an almost double digit spread against the Bengals in a rivalry game at home, the Browns have managed to lose 4 straight of these games by 20+ points going back to 2013. Dead Man Walking Coach Mike Pettine has also decided to start Austin Davis at QB, apparently out of spite. Like I said, I’m off the Browns for good.
Looking for what the local buzz is on coach Mike Pettine’s future. See what they’re saying at Cleveland.com
Cincinnati Bengals 23 Cleveland Browns 10
San Francisco (+7.5) @Chicago (BookMaker)
I was flabbergasted when I saw this spread. The 49ers have been playing markedly improved football since Blaine Gabbert took over as quarterback. Yes, I know how that sounds. But it’s true. Also, the Bears are coming off a huge emotional win at Green Bay. It is almost impossible that they will be up for this game the way they were for the Packers. I still think Chicago is the better team, but not a touchdown better in this spot.
Chicago Bears 24 San Francisco 49ers 21
Houston (+3) @Buffalo (BetOnline.ag)
I love teams that are hot playing teams that are not. While these two teams have been pretty even over the course of the season, right now Houston is playing its best football of the year, especially on defense, while the Bills continue to be inconsistent underachievers, especially on defense, and may not have QB Tyrod Taylor for this game. I believe they’re 0 for E.J. Manuel this season. That’s more than good enough for me.
Houston Texans 24 Buffalo Bills 17
