NFL Predictions Week 13: Early Odds, Picks and Projections for Upcoming Schedule

A weird thing happened last Sunday, when nothing weird happened in the NFL.

Perhaps the Oakland Raiders consumed all the week's crazy by picking up their first win of the season over the Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday night. After that stunner, everything went according to plan during Sunday's 12-game slate.

Not a single outcome defied logic or caused mass confusion. Instead, they all confirmed everyone's assumptions heading into Week 12. The Cleveland Browns were the only underdogs to prevail, but that's the oddsmakers' fault for not favoring a 6-4 team getting their best player back to defeat the 4-6 Atlanta Falcons, who still haven't topped anybody outside the eye-gouging NFC South.

Sure, the Arizona Cardinals lost for just the second time, but it didn't take a genius to expect the law of averages to sink in without Carson Palmer and Larry Fitzgerald at Seattle against the defending Super Bowl champs, no less. Everything that was supposed to happen on paper played out, which marks a real football rarity.

Don't get used to the comforting predictability. Even though something unexpected is bound to return chaos, let's look at three games in which the favorites should continue last week's trend.

Date	Away	Home	Spread*	Prediction
Thur., 11/27	Chicago Bears	Detroit Lions	DET -7	23-14 DET
Thur., 11/27	Philadelphia Eagles	Dallas Cowboys	DAL -3	34-27 DAL
Thur., 11/27	Seattle Seahawks	San Francisco 49ers	Even	17-16 SEA
Sun., 11/30	San Diego Chargers	Baltimore Ravens	BAL -4.5	27-20 BAL
Sun., 11/30	Cleveland Browns	Buffalo Bills	Even	23-21 BUF
Sun., 11/30	Tennessee Titans	Houston Texans	HOU -7	14-13 TEN
Sun., 11/30	Washington Redskins	Indianapolis Colts	IND -10.5	30-17 IND
Sun., 11/30	New York Giants	Jacksonville Jaguars	NYG -1	27-13 NYG
Sun., 11/30	Carolina Panthers	Minnesota Vikings	MIN -2.5	20-16 MIN
Sun., 11/30	New Orleans Saints	Pittsburgh Steelers	PIT -3	34-28 PIT
Sun., 11/30	Oakland Raiders	St. Louis Rams	STL -7.5	23-20 STL
Sun., 11/30	Cincinnati Bengals	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	CIN -3.5	23-13 CIN
Sun., 11/30	Arizona Cardinals	Atlanta Falcons	ARI -1	20-14 ARI
Sun., 11/30	New England Patriots	Green Bay Packers	GB -3	31-27 NE
Sun., 11/30	Denver Broncos	Kansas City Chiefs	Even	30-24 DEN
Mon., 12/1	Miami Dolphins	New York Jets	MIA -4	24-6 MIA

Chicago Bears vs. Detroit Lions (-7)

The Detroit Lions were never an elite NFL team. That 7-2 start smelled like a fluke a mile away, and they fell down to earth with road losses against the Arizona Cardinals and New England Patriots. Over the past five games, opponents have outscored them by 27 points.

Typically one of the NFL's most explosive offenses, it's fizzled under Jim Caldwell's watch at the expense of a much-improved defense. Pro Football Focus' Mike Clay shows just how poorly it's performed this season.

Despite all that, the Lions are rightfully a touchdown favorite over the Chicago Bears. For all of the offensive struggles, the No. 3 defense is well-positioned to bother Jay Cutler's unit on a short week.

Chicago is in the same boat, as it averaged 3.6 yards per play against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who improved to No. 22 defensively after limiting Cutler to 130 passing yards. It also always takes time for the offense to get going, as the Bears haven't scored in the first quarter since Week 5.

Marc Trestman addressed his team's constant slow starts, per the team's official Twitter account.

The Bears' No. 29 passing defense gives Matthew Stafford a golden opportunity to catch fire at home. Freed from Revis Island, Calvin Johnson should also enjoy his Thanksgiving enough to help Detroit bounce back with a strong win over a wounded NFC North foe.

Cincinnati Bengals (-3.5) vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Scott Halleran/Getty Images

This is how terrified everyone has become of the erratic Cincinnati Bengals. A 7-3-1 team vying for its fourth straight playoff appearance is only a slight favorite against the Buccaneers.

Leading the league's most inconsistent team, Andy Dalton continues to befuddle as the ultimate Jekyll and Hyde quarterback. Following an all-time bad Thursday night game against Cleveland, "The Red Rifle" has bounced back to complete 70.2 percent of his passes with four touchdowns and a pick during two ensuing games.

Then again, that one turnover resulted in a pick-six. It's far from the first time he helped the other team score, per ESPN Stats & Info.

Flashbacks of tying the Carolina Panthers may have caused this spread to stay small, but the Bengals have only lost to the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts in Sunday games. They won't need a career game from Dalton to defeat the Buccaneers by four or more points.

No NFC club has a worse record (2-9) and point differential (-93) than the Buccaneers, who refused to let the Bears give them a victory with four costly turnovers. Trusting the Bengals is not for the squeamish, but they're certainly better than the Buccaneers.

New York Giants (-1) vs. Jacksonville Jaguars

Elsa/Getty Images

Look, nobody is confusing the New York Giants with a high-caliber NFL team. But, jeez, they're getting one point on the Jacksonville Jaguars?

The G-Men are 3-8, currently enduring a six-game losing streak. Take a look at those losses though, as every team that bested them already has compiled at least seven victories this season. Those seven teams—the Dallas Cowboys beat them twice—are a combined 53-24.

They at least played the San Francisco 49ers and Cowboys close in recent weeks, falling short by six and three points, respectively. A now-healthy Rashad Jennings is in a golden position to torch his former team and its No. 28 rushing defense.

The Giants also have a wide receiver who can do this:

Julio Cortez/Associated Press

Quick recap: The Giants are 0-8 against winning teams and 3-0 against losing teams, outscoring their more manageable opposition by 18 points per victory. The Jaguars are the Jaguars, ranking No. 29 in total offense, No. 30 in total defense and last in point differential with a minus-144.

Look for Eli Manning and Co. to unleash weeks of boiling aggression on the hapless Jaguars. This isn't a toss-up; this is a matchup with a clearly superior team, even if that squad isn't good itself.