NFL Week 13 Picks: Early Odds Tips, Spreads and Predictions for Latest Schedule

We're almost through another week of the 2016 NFL season. This means that we'll soon be starting Week 13. Is it too early to look ahead? Of course it isn't.

There will be 15 total games in Week 13, which kicks off with the Dallas Cowboys and Minnesota Vikings on Thursday night. Only the Cleveland Browns and Houston Texans will be on bye. In addition to that Vikings-Cowboys tilt, there are some intriguing matchups on the coming slate.

We'll get a battle between the Detroit Lions and the New Orleans Saints, which could have playoff implications for both teams. We'll also get a matchup between potential playoff teams when the Atlanta Falcons host the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Seattle Seahawks will host the Carolina Panthers on Sunday night.

How do we think all of the action will unfold? Well, that's what we're going to determine today. We'll be looking at the early Vegas lines, relayed by Odds Shark, and making our predictions against them. We will also take an in-depth look at some of the top matchups.

NFL Week 13

Game	Line	Prediction
Dallas at Minnesota	DAL -3.5	DAL
Los Angeles at New England	NE -13.5	NE
Detroit at New Orleans	NO -4.5	NO
Philadelphia at Cincinnati	PHI -1.5	PHI
Houston at Green Bay	GB -4.5	HOU
Kansas City at Atlanta	ATL -4	ATL
Miami at Baltimore	BAL -3.5	MIA
Denver at Jacksonville	DEN -4.5	DEN
San Francisco at Chicago	CHI -2.5	SF
Buffalo at Oakland	OAK -3.5	OAK
Tampa Bay at San Diego	SD -4	TB
Washington at Arizona	ARI -2.5	ARI
NY Giants at Pittsburgh	PIT -5.5	PIT
Carolina at Seattle	SEA -6.5	SEA
Indianapolis at NY Jets	IND -1	IND

Matchups to Watch

Dallas Cowboys at Minnesota Vikings

The first game of Week 13 promises to set the tone for a strong round of action. The Dallas Cowboys haven't lost a game since the opening week of the season and are riding an incredible amount of momentum because of it. However, Dallas is about to come crashing into a talented and likely angry Minnesota Vikings defense.

This is the type of strength-versus-strength matchup that fans should love.

Dallas is averaging 28.7 points per game (third in the NFL) and is rated first in overall offense by Pro Football Focus. The Vikings, meanwhile, are allowing the second-fewest points in the league, just 17.5 per game.

This matchup should keep things relatively even. The question is whether Minnesota can muster enough on offense to keep pace with what the Cowboys manage to produce.

The Vikings seem to know they need to create new ways to attack downfield.

"We’ve probably got to try and find a way to create some explosive plays," Vikings quarterback Sam Bradford explained, per Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. "It’s hard when you’re only picking up five, six, seven [yards] at a time. There [are] things that we can do to try [to] figure out how we can create some more explosive plays."

If the Vikings can create some momentum on offense, they should have a shot in this game. Our guess, however, is that Ezekiel Elliott and the ground game allow the Cowboys to control the tempo and prevent the Vikings from finding an offensive rhythm.

Winning by a touchdown feels entirely realistic for the Cowboys.

Detroit Lions at New Orleans Saints

Butch Dill/Associated Press

Don't look now, but both the Detroit Lions and the New Orleans Saints are involved in the NFC playoff picture after overcoming slow starts to the season.

The 7-4 Lions are in control of the NFC North, while the 5-6 Saints are a couple of games behind the 7-4 Atlanta Falcons over in the NFC South. More likely for New Orleans, though, is a wild-card spot. The No. 6 seed is being held by the 6-4-1 Washington Redskins.

Because both teams are still alive for the postseason, there should be plenty of intensity in this game. There should also be a lot of firepower, as each team boasts a top-tier quarterback and a potent passing offense.

Pro Football Focus rates the Saints fourth overall in passing and the Lions ninth.

This should be a good game, but there are a couple of reasons to believe the Saints can come out on top. The first is home-field advantage. The second is an offense that is virtually unstoppable when it is hitting on all cylinders.

New Orleans just put up 49 points on the vaunted Los Angeles Rams defense and made things look relatively easy in the process.

Pro Football Focus rates the Rams fifth in overall defense. The Lions are rated 31st. The advantage here goes to the Saints.

Buffalo Bills at Oakland Raiders

Sunday's game between the Buffalo Bills and the Oakland Raiders suddenly looks like a marquee matchup. The Raiders are tied for the AFC's best record at 9-2, while the 6-5 Bills have played their way back into the playoff picture.

Both teams managed to pull out late wins on Sunday, though Buffalo's win came against the lowly Jacksonville Jaguars and Oakland's came against the suddenly surging Carolina Panthers.

Week 12 isn't going to matter much when these two teams take the field, though. Both teams are going to be hungry for the win.

Under normal circumstances, we would probably consider the Raiders big favorites here. They have been playing and winning more consistently and will be at home. However, Buffalo creates an interesting matchup, and it's worth noting that Oakland's two losses have come at home.

The reason the Bills have a realistic chance in this game is the team's rushing attack. LeSean McCoy and Co. are lethal when they get rolling, and they can help keep Derek Carr and the rest of the Raiders offense off the field and out of rhythm.

Pro Football Focus rates Buffalo first overall in rushing.

Expect a close game here, but we think the Raiders can pull out a four-point victory.