Nine teams are home dogs during Week 13 of the NFL season including the Detroit Lions (3-7-1) and Atlanta Flacons (3-8) on Thanksgiving and the Houston Texans (7-4) on Sunday Night Football hosting the New England Patriots (10-1). The usual bad suspects are home dogs once again including the Miami Dolphins, Cincinnati Bengals, New York Giants, Arizona Cardinals, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Denver Broncos.
The Detroit Lions host their annual Thanksgiving Day game to kick off the holiday season. They host an NFC North rival and the Chicago Bears.
Will Week 13 be the first time the Cincinnati Bengals become the last NFL team to finally win a game this season? The winless Bengals are seeking their first victory of the season, but they’re playing a Jets squad that won three straight games.
The tanking Miami Dolphins host the Philadelphia Eagles, who are still in the thick of the NFC East race against the Dallas Cowboys.
HOME DOG ALERT – NFL WEEK 13:
Detroit Lions +3 (Thursday)
Atlanta Falcons +7 (Thursday)
Miami Dolphins +9
Cincinnati Bengals +3.5
NY Giants +6.5
Arizona Cardinals +3
Denver Broncos +2.5
Pittsburgh Steelers +2
Houston Texans +3
The NY Giants lost seven straight games after rookie QB Daniel Jones won his first two games as a starter. Jones and the G-Men are home dogs once again and desperate to snap their seven-game skid in Week 13.
The Arizona Cardinals are the bottom feeders of the NFC West, but they’re 5-1-1 against the spread in their last seven games.
The Denver Broncos do not have a home field advantage in Colorado this year, but they’ve exceeded market expectations with a 5-2 ATS clip over their last seven games.
Detroit Lions +3 and Atlanta Falcons (Thanksgiving)
The Lions (3-7-1) will be limping into Turkey Day without their starting quarterback. Matt Stafford continues to be sidelined with a fractured back.
The Lions are 0-6 ATS in their last six games. Their last five losses were all by eight points or less.
The total in this indoor game is 38.5. Oddsmakers have no faith in Mitch Trubisky and the Bears (5-6) to generate any offense. The Bears have the fifth-worst scoring offense in the league averaging 17.1 points per game. If there’s one Thanksgiving game you can skip and you can utilize your time better helping your grandparents figure out their WiFi password.
The Falcons (3-8) host the Saints (9-2) for this week’s Thursday Night Football action. It’s also the final game of a three-game triple header on Thanksgiving. The Saints are seeking revenge after losing to the Falcons a couple of week’s ago at the Superdome in New Orleans. The Falcons defense went on the road and shut down Drew Brees and the Saints, which does not happen very often. Sean Payton’s Saints will be better prepared in this one.
Houston Texans +3
We’re treated to another excellent Sunday Night Football matchup with the Texans (7-4) hosting the Patriots (10-1) in Week 13. DeShaun Watson will try to work his magic with DeAndre Hopkins. The Texans are up against a Patriots juggernaut on defense that allows 10.6 points per game and only 158 passing yards per game, which is ranked #2 in the NFL.
The Texans cannot afford to lose any ground on their AFC South foes. Both the Indianapolis Colts and Tennessee Titans are eying the Texans’ current spot in first place. Even without their top defender, JJ Watt, the Texans have been grinding out wins.
Everyone knows the Patriots have an awesome defense, but their offense has been inconsistent at times. Then again, the Patriots are fifth in the league in scoring at 27.3 points per game. Perhaps their offensive woes are being exaggerated because sports talk radio in New England needs something to bitch about.
The Texans are 1-4 ATS in their last five games. The under hit in each of the last four games for the Texans, while the under is 8-3 for the Patriots this season.
Miami Dolphins +9 and Cincy Bengals +3.5
For a hot minute, the Dolphins (2-9) were a great team to back because they went 5-0 ATS over a five-game stretch that included back-to-back wins. Since then, the Fish dropped two in a row and they’re 0-2 ATS. The Eagles (5-6) have a long list of problems, but they’re in playoff mode and the Dolphins are thinking about vacation.
The Jets (4-7) are as hot as they’ve been in the last few years while riding a three-game winning streak. Sam Darnold looks like a different QB than the confused guy that got spooked by ghosts. The Jets scored 34 points in each of their last three games and Darnold tossed seven touchdowns and only one interception during their streak.
While the Jets are trending up, the Bengals (0-11) continue to trend down. They’re 0-11 and looking at an 0-12 start to the season. Andy Dalton lost his starting job during the bye week. Rookie Ryan Finley had a couple of starts, but that experiment did not go well. Dalton is back under center for this game, but the Bungles are still doomed.
NY Giants +6.5
The Giants (2-9) host Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers (8-3) coming off an ugly loss. The Pack are going to pummel the Giants this week so long as they can get the offense back up and running.
After starting out 7-1, the Packers lost two of their last three games. Both losses occurred in California against the San Francisco 49ers and LA Rams. The under hit in Green Bay’s last three games and they scored eight points and 11 points in two of those games.
Four of the Giants last five losses were close games and decided by one score or less.
Arizona Cardinals +3 and Pittsburgh Steelers +2
Kyler Murray had his moments this season, but he’s still looked like a rookie quarterback at times for the Cardinals (3-7-1). Murray has a chance to put a nail in the LA Rams’ playoff coffin. The Rams (6-5) are currently on the playoff bubble and would not qualify for the postseason. They need to run the table and win the rest of their games.
The over hit in seven out of 11 games this season for Arizona. The over is 3-0 in their last three games.
Pittsburgh (6-5) and Cleveland (5-6) meet for another AFC North smashmouth football game. Their last meeting ignited a brawl and Myles Garrett used Mason Rudolph’s head as a pinata. Duck Hodges gets the start at QB for the Steelers.
Denver Broncos +2.5
Oddsmakers set the total at 38.5 in this game. A blizzard pummeled Denver (3-8) this week. There is no snow in Sunday’s forecast, but it’s officially winter for many parts of the country including Colorado heading into NFL Week 13. The Broncos are a home dog once again with a backup quarterback at the helm.
The Chargers (4-7) play close games. Nine out of their 11 games this season were decided by one score or less.
The Broncos have the fourth-worst offense in the NFL averaging 15.9 points per game. Phil rivers and the Chargers are the tenth-worst offense in the league averaging only 20.4 points per game.
The under is 7-4 in Broncos games this season. The under is 8-3 for the Chargers this season.
