NFL Picks Week 13: Odds and Over-Under Advice Before Sunday Kickoff

There are few things on this Earth better than Thanksgiving football, but the one downside is that there are only 13 games remaining in the Week 13 NFL schedule to bet on. That means bettors may have to try some unique gambles, such as wagering on the over-under lines.

With that in mind, read on for some Week 13 predictions against the spread and picks for the over-under line on every single game.

The odds and over-under lines are courtesy of Odds Shark, as of Saturday evening at 7 p.m. ET.

Matchup	Spread	Over/Under	Predicted Winner Against Spread	Over/Under Prediction
San Diego Chargers at Baltimore Ravens	BAL -7	45.5	Ravens	Over
Cleveland Browns at Buffalo Bills	BUF -3	42	Bills	Over
Tennessee Titans at Houston Texans	HOU -7.5	43	Texans	Under
Washington at Indianapolis Colts	IND -11.5	51	Colts	Over
New York Giants at Jacksonville Jaguars	NYG -3	45	Giants	Under
Carolina Panthers at Minnesota Vikings	MIN -2.5	42.5	Vikings	Over
New Orleans Saints at Pittsburgh Steelers	PIT -5	54.5	Steelers	Under
Oakland Raiders at St. Louis Rams	STL -7	42	Rams	Over
Cincinnati Bengals at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	CIN -3.5	44.5	Bengals	Over
Arizona Cardinals at Atlanta Falcons	EVEN	44.5	Cardinals	Under
New England Patriots at Green Bay Packers	GB -3	58	Patriots	Under
Denver Broncos at Kansas City Chiefs	EVEN	49.5	Broncos	Over
Miami Dolphins at New York Jets	MIA -7	42	Dolphins	Over

Take the Over: Washington at Indianapolis Colts

Joe Robbins/Getty Images

The over-under line in the showdown between Washington and the Indianapolis Colts is 51, which is certainly a large number. However, Andrew Luck and the rest of the Colts offense will do their part to ensure the combined score reaches the over.

The Colts are second in the league in points per game at 30.3, while Washington is a lowly 21st in the league in scoring defense. Luck is going to find the end zone against virtually any team, so you can bet he will put up some serious points against a vulnerable defense like this one.

Luck is a wizard under center for the Colts, and his squad is first in the league in passing yards per game. That Luck-and-T.Y. Hilton combination is downright scary for opposing defenses. What’s more, Luck is capable of running the ball when the pocket collapses and has Reggie Wayne or Coby Fleener as options if Hilton isn’t open.

Bettors who are relying on the over need two teams to score, though, and Washington will turn to Colt McCoy after Robert Griffin III was benched for far too many mistakes. Mark Bullock of The Washington Post discussed McCoy’s game and what he has to do Sunday:

"

What he proved in his two games this season is that he can execute the basics of the offense well enough to make use of the many weapons the Redskins have. With DeSean Jackson, Pierre Garcon, Jordan Reed and Andre Roberts, among others, simply doing the basics well and efficiently should be enough to make the offense competitive.

"

McCoy did just that to beat the Dallas Cowboys 20-17 in overtime earlier in the season. For as great as Luck is, the Colts defense is nothing special and is 20th against the pass and 16th against the run, so McCoy will have some opportunities to make plays. 

Patrick Semansky/Associated Press

Bettors don’t need McCoy to win the game, just to get the ball into his playmakers’ hands enough times that Washington can combine with Luck to reach that 51 over-under line.

Take the Under: Tennessee Titans at Houston Texans

David Richard/Associated Press

The over-under line in the game between the Tennessee Titans and Houston Texans is 43, but these two offenses will both struggle so much that they won’t even combine for that low of a number.

Houston is 20th in the NFL in scoring offense, and Tennessee is even worse at 28th. The Texans will get a boost with the return of Arian Foster after he missed two games with a groin injury, but it’s difficult to imagine him at close to 100 percent for Sunday’s game.

Head coach Bill O’Brien discussed Foster’s status, via Deepi Sidhu of HoustonTexans.com:

"

Soft tissue injuries, those are things that happen quite a bit. I would say in our time this year that we haven’t had as many soft tissues as teams that I’ve been associated with in the past. But yeah, you have to let them heal and you have to listen to the player about where he thinks he’s at, and definitely communicate on those things.

"

Foster will be less than 100 percent, but that is more than can be said about quarterback Ryan Mallett, who was placed on injured reserve. That means the same Ryan Fitzpatrick who started earlier in the season and boasted only 11 touchdowns to his eight interceptions and five fumbles will take the field.

On the other side, Tennessee does nothing particularly well on offense. The Titans are 21st in passing yards per game and 28th in rushing yards per game and rely on two rookies in quarterback Zach Mettenberger and running back Bishop Sankey.

Good luck countering J.J. Watt and company with that on Sunday. 

There is simply not enough firepower from either team to reach the over-under line in this one, even if it isn’t particularly high at 43.

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