After one of, if not the longest week of games in NFL history we have a few days to reset and turn our attention to the 13th week of the season.
There are plenty of storylines to follow this weekend as we try to find good value in the NFL markets, starting with the Detroit Lions looking for the fired coach bounce after the dismissal of Matt Patricia.
Not to mention the two teams looking to make history in their own unique ways, with the winless Jets hosting the Raiders, while the still perfect Steelers play Washington.
Read on for our NFL Week 13 tips below.
I can sum up my tip for this in two simple words, Mitch/Mitchell.
That’s right the Bears are going with the quarterback who can’t decide what he wants to be called.
Not to mention the Lions aren’t a team that lacks talent, they were just let down by the fact they hated their now departed coach (and his reported burner account on Twitter).
Lions to win on the bounce against the dreadful Bears offence is about as confident as I can be in a bet this weekend.
For those of you who say the NFL is too slow to watch, this game might be the one for you.
With the running backs on show, there is every chance this one is over in two and a half hours as long as both coaches remember where their respective strengths lie.
It’s hard to comprehend the fact that both of these teams are 8-3 and on their way to the playoffs but here we are and they are doing it with some of the most exciting runners in the league.
Generally speaking, running the ball should shorten the game and keep the scoring down but with the home run hitters on show, I’ll back a very high scoring contest decided by the last team with the ball.
The Colts lost control of the AFC South last weekend with their loss to the Titans and they have another divisional opponent up next.
Houston is coming off its two best performances of the season first defeating New England then demolishing Detroit on Thanksgiving.
Since its inception, the Colts have had the better of this rivalry, winning five of the last seven however Houston did take the last meeting in November 2019.
With the injury cloud hanging over Philip Rivers and his busted toe, plus the fact that 11 of the last 12 regular season meetings have been decided by seven or fewer points, I’ll take the hook with the Texans as home underdogs.
Playing at home has not been a happy experience for Minnesota this season with a meagre 2-4 record head to head and against the spread.
The Jags on the other hand don’t travel that well, losing all five road games but have covered on two occasions.
After stumbling past the Panthers last week, I’m not all in on the Vikings chances to cover so instead I’ll search for the value in the winning margin market.
This has all the makings of a Jaguars late touchdown to make the final score a bit more respectable so the 1-13 range is perfect for this bet.
No Drew Brees equals big concerns for the Saints.
Lost in the Kendall Hinton hoopla last week is the fact that Taysom Hill had a pretty poor game himself and the Falcons defence is coming off a five turnover game against the Raiders.
Admittedly all Hill had to do was not throw up on himself but going 9-16 for 78 yards and an interception really highlighted his limitations as a passer.
Add in the fact the Falcons would love to screw over the Saints quest for the NFC’s top seed and you have a motivated underdog ready to play spoiler with their playoff hopes done.
It’s the 0 you do not want in your record but after 11 games the Jets are still winless and headed towards the wrong kind of infamy.
At this rate the state of New Jersey will disown them and force them to play their home games on the eastern most tip of Nova Scotia.
Vegas is coming off their worst performance of the season but it should not scare off the punters for two reasons, firstly there is no chance they will be that inept again and secondly, it’s the Jets.
As good as Miami has looked at times since mid-October, their struggles in the last couple of games has shaken my confidence in them.
It’s tough to fault them for handling the Jets last weekend but the fact they can’t play a turnover free contest gives me reason to think the Bengals will at least be able to keep this close.
The Bengals almost pulled off an impressive comeback against the Giants last week however they will need to rely on their defence and special teams to generate scoring opportunities.
An 11.5 point line is way too high to take the Dolphins at but straight up, combined with the under is in the right ballpark for good value.
It’s time to dip into the SGM value pack for the Seahawks hosting the Giants.
New York might be on a three game winning streak and in control of the NFC East, but that does come with the asterisk of beating Washington, Philadelphia and Cincinnati in that streak.
In that last win they lost starting quarterback Daniel Jones to a hamstring injury and by the sounds of it, he is likely to miss this game.
Seattle (and Russell Wilson), are not exactly lighting teams up they way they were earlier in the season but with DK Metcalf crushing the Eagles secondary last week, I like them to get a confidence boosting win over a hot and cold opponent.
For the extra value I’ll back Metcalf to do the one thing he couldn’t last week, score a touchdown.
Neither side will be feeling all that good about themselves after their performances last week, both in three point losses.
As much fun as the Cardinals were at the start of the season, they have fallen off in the last two weeks, scoring a combined 38 points in losses to Seattle and New England as Kyler Murray battles a shoulder injury.
The Rams looked disinterested against the 49ers last week, perhaps not realising they were starting to get a bit healthier.
Aaron Donald returned to his game wrecking best after a pair of quiet performances in that loss however, registering five tackles, four quarterback hits, a pass defence and a forced fumble against the 49ers.
If Murray is in any way shape or form limited, it gives Donald the extra split second he needs to turn a pressure into a disruption.
On paper, it’s difficult to see anything other than Aaron Rodgers ripping a new hole in the Eagles defence.
The only chance Philadelphia has is to turn this game into a messy street fight that sees the Packers forced to grind every inch out, similar to what we saw on Tuesday against Seattle.
At this point though, it’s not worth backing against Rodgers who has been on fire since getting embarrassed in Tampa Bay.
With DK Metcalf showing how to dominate the Eagles secondary, I’ll back a big game from Davante Adams as well as a touchdown from Aaron Jones as the Packers roll.
It’s the team that can’t pass, facing the team that is playing for participation medals week in, week out.
Even with Cam Newton struggling the Patriots are well coached enough to give them a shot in every game and the Chargers are very vulnerable on the ground.
Buffalo ran for 172 yards on the ground last week and the Pats will likely rely on Damien Harris and company to help them roll to a victory.
It might not be by a lot but be honest, in a close game who are you backing to manage it properly, Bill Belichick or Anthony Lynn?
It’s very rare to be able to say that a pending clash with the Super Bowl champions is a much easier task than the previous game but for the Broncos, that is exactly the case.
After being forced to throw in a practice squad player at quarterback against the Saints last week, at least Denver can turn to a player with some NFL experience at the position.
It means they will probably be able to produce a bit more than the six first downs, 12 passing yards and three points they did against the Saints but it’s tough to back them to be too competitive against a team that looks almost unstoppable right now.
Two touchdowns is a big line to cover but the Chiefs are looking really good right now, plus they know that to have any hope of stealing the top seed in the AFC they will need to keep winning.
Pittsburgh might have let an undermanned Baltimore hang around last week, but they won’t make the same mistake with the Washington Professional Football Team.
For starters they have known for a whole week when this game kicks off and will be looking to move to an impressive 12-0.
As impressive as Washington was on Thanksgiving, destroying the hapless Cowboys, there is absolutely no chance the Steelers make the same number of mistakes as Dallas does.
This won’t be the first time a team has been forced to play out of state, but it will be odd to see the 49ers forced to relocate to Arizona for this and next week’s “home” games.
After seeing them defeat the Rams last week, you have to start to wonder if the 49ers are getting healthy enough to be competitive again.
If they can match their intensity from the Rams game they will be in a great position to move to 6-6 and really put the pressure on the loser of Rams-Cardinals.
The thing is though, I’m not convinced that performance can be matched against an out of conference opponent they don’t have that innate rivalry with.
Because of that, I’ll take the value on the Bills as underdogs at the time of writing.
This is a tough game to forecast as it stands because there are so many players in question for the Ravens.
At least we know that Dallas is going to be dreadful in just about every imaginable context.
With the questions surrounding the Ravens at the moment, I’ll steer clear of the line for the time being and back JK Dobbins to score a touchdown in a Baltimore victory.
Should Dobbins not be cleared in time to play, backing whichever Ravens running back does get the start is a decent backup plan instead.