NFL Week 13 Predictions: Early Vegas Odds Advice, Lines and Spread Picks

Week 12 of the NFL season was an important one that included three Thanksgiving games and a number of back-and-forth thrillers, but the entire league outside of the Green Bay Packers and Philadelphia Eagles already has its eyes on a critical Week 13.

While the Eagles and Packers still have to take the field Monday, every division except for the NFC West is realistically up for grabs heading into the stretch run.

The AFC North, AFC South, AFC West, NFC North and NFC South all feature at least two teams within a game of each other at the top. What's more, the New York Giants are two games behind the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC East with a head-to-head game remaining, while the Miami Dolphins are in the same situation chasing the New England Patriots in the AFC East.

That means there will be plenty on the line in Week 13, and bettors will have a number of crucial games to choose from in Las Vegas. With that in mind, here is a look at the odds and predictions for every contest in Week 13.

Point spreads are courtesy of Odds Shark, as of Monday at 1 a.m. ET.

Date	Time (ET)	Matchup	Point Spread	Predicted Winner Against Spread
Thursday, Dec. 1	8:25 p.m.	Dallas Cowboys at Minnesota Vikings	DAL -2.5	Cowboys
Sunday, Dec. 4	1 p.m.	Kansas City Chiefs at Atlanta Falcons	ATL -4	Chiefs
Sunday, Dec. 4	1 p.m.	Detroit Lions at New Orleans Saints	NO -5	Saints
Sunday, Dec. 4	1 p.m.	Los Angeles Rams at New England Patriots	NE -13.5	Patriots
Sunday, Dec. 4	1 p.m.	Denver Broncos at Jacksonville Jaguars	DEN -5	Broncos
Sunday, Dec. 4	1 p.m.	Houston Texans at Green Bay Packers	GB -3.5	Texans
Sunday, Dec. 4	1 p.m.	Philadelphia Eagles at Cincinnati Bengals	PHI -1	Eagles
Sunday, Dec. 4	1 p.m.	Miami Dolphins at Baltimore Ravens	BAL -3.5	Ravens
Sunday, Dec. 4	1 p.m.	San Francisco 49ers at Chicago Bears	CHI -3	49ers
Sunday, Dec. 4	4:05 p.m.	Buffalo Bills at Oakland Raiders	OAK -3.5	Raiders
Sunday, Dec. 4	4:25 p.m.	New York Giants at Pittsburgh Steelers	PIT -6	Steelers
Sunday, Dec. 4	4:25 p.m.	Washington at Arizona Cardinals	ARI -2.5	Cardinals
Sunday, Dec. 4	4:25 p.m.	Tampa Bay Buccaneers at San Diego Chargers	SD -5.5	Buccaneers
Sunday, Dec. 4	8:30 p.m.	Carolina Panthers at Seattle Seahawks	SEA -6.5	Seahawks
Monday, Dec. 5	8:30 p.m.	Indianapolis Colts at New York Jets	IND -2.5	Colts

Week 13 Game of the Week: Miami Dolphins at Baltimore Ravens

There are a number of marquee games in Week 13, including showdowns between the New York Giants and Pittsburgh Steelers, Dallas Cowboys and Minnesota Vikings, Buffalo Bills and Oakland Raiders, and Kansas City Chiefs and Atlanta Falcons.

However, the contest between the Miami Dolphins and Baltimore Ravens gets the nod as the game of the week because of its direct impact on the AFC wild-card race and the combined hot streaks from the two teams.

Baltimore comes into this clash with wins in three of its last four games, all of which were division victories over the Steelers, Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns. Miami has won six games in a row and thrown itself in the middle of the AFC East and playoff races at 7-4.

James Walker of ESPN.com said the Dolphins "have the look of a legitimate playoff team" and praised their ability to maintain focus during the streak: "The Dolphins are showing impressive maturity for a young team. They have 29 players age 25 or younger, and this is the first time many on Miami's roster are experiencing this level of success at the pro level. But Miami has kept its focus during this lengthy winning streak."

Dolphins head coach Adam Gase wasn't ready to think playoffs just yet, per Shandel Richardson of the Sun Sentinel: "We're so far away still. It's not even worth it to me to look at it."

Gase may not be ready to think postseason yet, but his team can still catch the Patriots in the AFC East, as it sits two games back with five remaining and still has a game left against Tom Brady and Co.

Still, the Patriots are arguably the best team in the league, and Miami may have to win out to have any realistic hope at reaching them in the division.

That leaves the wild-card race, which is crowded with the 6-5 Bills, 6-5 Ravens, 6-5 Steelers, 6-5 Houston Texans, 6-6 Tennessee Titans and 5-6 Indianapolis Colts. That's not even factoring in the loaded AFC West, where the 9-2 Raiders, 8-3 Chiefs and 7-4 Denver Broncos are battling for a division crown with wild-card spots as potential consolation prizes.

As for the Ravens, they are tied with the Steelers atop the AFC North but still have to travel to Pittsburgh and New England later in the season. The wild card may be their most realistic path to the playoffs as well, and the winner of this game will gain on the other and pick up an all-important conference victory.

That will put the onus on Baltimore's defense, which entered play Sunday as the best run-stopping group in the league at 76 rushing yards allowed per game.

That was before it held Jeremy Hill to 21 rushing yards on 12 carries and allowed a mere 14 points in Sunday's win over the Bengals. Baltimore dominated the line of scrimmage and will have to do just that against the Dolphins rushing attack that features Jay Ajayi.

Ajayi struggled to get going Sunday against San Francisco with just 45 yards on 18 carries, but he did score a touchdown. He has also been one of the best players in the league during his recent stretch:

Date	Opponent	Result	Rushing Yards	Total TDs
Sunday, Oct. 16	Pittsburgh Steelers	30-15, Dolphins	204	2
Sunday, Oct. 23	Buffalo Bills	28-25, Dolphins	214	1
Sunday, Nov. 6	New York Jets	27-23, Dolphins	111	1
Sunday, Nov. 13	San Diego Chargers	31-24, Dolphins	79	0
Sunday, Nov. 20	Los Angeles Rams	14-10, Dolphins	77	0
Sunday, Nov. 27	San Francisco 49ers	31-24, Dolphins	45	1

While the numbers are head-turning, there has also been a noticeable decrease in production since he exploded for more than 200 yards in two straight games. The second-year player had a mere 49 carries as a rookie and could be running into the proverbial wall with 161 carries already in his second season.

Baltimore's stifling run defense will keep him in check throughout the game, which will give Joe Flacco and the Ravens rushing attack an opportunity to put up points against a middling Miami defense that was just 15th in the league in points allowed per game entering Sunday's slate.

Miami's defense was also an abysmal 30th in the league in rushing yards allowed per game, which means Baltimore will control the clock on the ground and keep Ajayi off the field.

That strategy, along with its strong defense, will be enough to earn Baltimore a monumentally important win heading into the final weeks of the season.

Prediction: Ravens 28, Dolphins 17