NFL Picks Week 13: Updated Lines and Final-Score Predictions for All Games

While Week 12 produced few upset victories—most teams that were expected to win actually won—there was no shortage of surprising scores once again.

The Detroit Lions were held without a touchdown for the second consecutive week, the Arizona Cardinals no longer look like a powerhouse, and the New Orleans Saints dropped their third straight at home, looking less like a playoff contender with every passing week.

The unpredictable nature of the NFL continues to rear its ugly head. As bettors, we must be sure to do our due diligence early in the week in an effort to make sound decisions on which games to wager and which to completely avoid.

Week 13 will likely feature plenty of close contests as teams continue jockeying for playoff position. Apparently, Las Vegas thinks so as well, providing zero double-digit point spreads off the bat. Which games feature this week's most favorable odds?

Before we take an in-depth look at the contests sure to line bettors' pockets with some extra cash, let's first comb over the odds for every Week 13 game and give a final-score prediction for each.

Matchup	Spread	Prediction
Chicago at Detroit	DET -7	Lions, 24-13
Philadelphia at Dallas	DAL -3	Cowboys, 34-26
Seattle at San Francisco	Even	Seahawks, 23-18
Cleveland at Buffalo	BUF -1	Bills, 24-20
New Orleans at Pittsburgh	PIT -3	Steelers, 30-23
San Diego at Baltimore	BAL -5.5	Ravens, 27-20
Carolina at Minnesota	MIN -3	Vikings, 23-17
NY Giants at Jacksonville	NYG -2.5	Giants, 30-17
Washington at Indianapolis	IND -9.5	Colts, 31-16
Cincinnati at Tampa Bay	CIN -4	Bengals, 26-19
Tennessee at Houston	HOU -6	Titans, 27-23
Oakland at St. Louis	STL -7	Rams, 24-23
Arizona at Atlanta	AZ -2.5	Cardinals, 23-17
New England at Green Bay	GB -3	Packers, 34-30
Denver at Kansas City	DEN -2	Broncos, 30-27
Miami at NY Jets	MIA -5.5	Dolphins, 27-13

All game odds courtesy of Odds Shark and current as of November 25.

Week 13 Odds to Bet

Philadelphia Eagles at Dallas Cowboys (-3)

Kathy Willens/Associated Press

The name of the game here is efficiency. Turnovers are a key element in determining the success or failure of a team playing within its division against another playoff hopeful. In this case, the upper hand goes to Dallas.

We all know running back DeMarco Murray is an absolute beast. He leads the NFL in rushing yards and probably will for the remainder of the season. One big reason for his success, however, is the phenomenal play of quarterback Tony Romo.

The veteran signal-caller has been overwhelmingly accurate this season, completing 68.8 percent of his passes. Since a three-pick debacle in Week 1, Romo has only thrown three interceptions since and has been free of picks over his last three games.

History shows that Romo plays well in November. NFL on ESPN tweeted his impressive November record:

On the other hand, Mark Sanchez leads the Eagles due to an injury sustained by Nick Foles. As we know from his professional career, Sanchez isn't exactly heralded for his ball security. Over his last two games, the quarterback threw four interceptions and fumbled three times. That's not a favorable statistic heading into hostile territory in a pivotal game.

Prediction: Cowboys 34, Eagles 26

Tennessee Titans (+6) at Houston Texans

Matt Rourke/Associated Press

Quarterback play will be extremely important in this contest, and Tennessee has the sudden advantage in this department due to a season-ending injury to Texans starter Ryan Mallett. Houston is in flux at the quarterback position entering this game. Ryan Fitzpatrick was benched earlier in the season, rookie Tom Savage is completely unproven and, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter, a new signal-caller is being brought into the mix:

"

With Ryan Mallett out for the season, Texans are signing former Bills QB Thaddeus Lewis, per league source.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 24, 2014"

The Titans, however, are committed to rookie Zach Mettenberger, who has improved over his last several starts. In Week 12 against the Eagles, he completed 20 of his 39 passing attempts for 345 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. His long pass on the day went for 68 yards, and his big arm continues to benefit his speedy wide receivers.

Houston hasn't been very good against the pass this season, ranking 31st in that category and allowing an average of 274.0 yards per game through the air. Expect Mettenberger and Co. to take advantage of that fact this time around.

The last time these teams met, it was only Mettenberger's first career start, and he still manged to throw for 299 yards and two scores. His experience will lead to an improvement in those numbers Sunday.

Prediction: Titans 27, Texans 23

Miami Dolphins (-5.5) at New York Jets

Jack Dempsey/Associated Press

This is a matchup between two teams heading in opposite directions. The Dolphins have hit their stride, and despite coming off a three-point loss in a shootout against Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos, Miami should be chock-full of confidence right now. On the other hand, the Jets were just torched 38-3 by the Buffalo Bills on Monday night.

Ryan Tannehill and the Dolphins offense has been on the upswing lately. The emergence of wide receiver Jarvis Landry has benefited the team's passing game greatly, and Lamar Miller continues to look better than ever out of the backfield.

The Jets aren't in a similar situation. Michael Vick was horrible Monday night, completing seven of his 19 passing attempts for 76 yards and one interception for a passer rating of 27.5. He was taken out of the game due to injury, but head coach Rex Ryan says he'll be sticking with the quarterback if his health permits, via ESPN's Rich Cimini:

Even if Vick can't go, New York wouldn't be in any better of a situation, as the embattled Geno Smith would be expected to reclaim his starting spot against Miami's fourth-ranked pass defense.

Prediction: Dolphins 27, Jets 13