NFL Week 13 Picks: Vegas Odds, Advice and Midweek Score Predictions

Like the NFL on a down-by-down basis, the Week 13 odds continue to change by the minute.

Why not? This time last week, odds suggested the Green Bay Packers would dissect the Chicago Bears by almost 10 points. No blaming bettors for believing it, either—but the Bears pulled off the 17-13 upset.

The key is using the ever-changing lines to one's advantage to find great value. Whether it's the house shifting or bettors influencing lines, the current odds won't last long.

Here's a look at each and some to pounce on before they change.

NFL Week 13 Odds

Game	Spread	O/U	Predicted Winner
Green Bay at Detroit	GB -3	46.5	GB 33-30
Houston at Buffalo	BUF -3	41.5	HOU 24-17
San Francisco at Chicago	CHI -7.5	43.5	CHI 28-20
Cincinnati at Cleveland	NL	--	CIN 30-13
Baltimore at Miami	MIA -4	43	MIA 23-14
Seattle at Minnesota	E	41.5	MIN 23-20
N.Y. Jets at N.Y. Giants	NYJ -1	45	NYJ 24-23
Arizona at St. Louis	ARI -7	43	ARI 35-20
Atlanta at Tampa Bay	TB -1	46	TB 28-24
Jacksonville at Tennessee	TEN -1	43	TEN 20-13
Kansas City at Oakland	KC -2.5	44	OAK 24-20
Denver at San Diego	DEN -4	43	DEN 27-23
Carolina at New Orleans	CAR -7.5	49	CAR 33-28
Philadelphia at New England	NE -10.5	49	NE 32-17
Indianapolis at Pittsburgh	NL	--	PIT 27-20
Dallas at Washington	WAS -4.5	42	WAS 23-14

Odds courtesy of Odds Shark. 

Midweek Odds to Bet

San Francisco at Chicago (-7.5)

This prediction has little to do with the aforementioned Chicago upset. 

It's more about the woeful, three-win San Francisco 49ers. The team has lost four of its last five, and other than a Week 1 win against Minnesota, there hasn't been much in the way of an impressive performance to mention.

Last time out in a 19-13 loss to the Arizona Cardinals, Blaine Gabbert tossed just one score with an interception, and the team rushed for 3.9 yards per carry. As Rotoworld's Evan Silva pointed out, the San Francisco defense downright collapses on the road:

So no, this spread isn't too large. The Bears are winners in three of four, the exception a two-point loss to another great team, the Denver Broncos. Quarterback Jay Cutler has thrown six touchdowns to two interceptions in that span, and it seems the offense can plug in almost anyone at running back.

Given how terrible the 49ers have looked on the road and how quietly the Bears have surged as of late, bettors should expect to see Chicago keep San Francisco at an arm's length by grinding it out on the ground. 

Prediction: Bears 28, 49ers 20

Kansas City (-2.5) at Oakland

How odd has this year been?

It's all right to lean on the 5-6 Oakland Raiders, a team with the playoffs on its mind. Just ask breakout rookie receiver Amari Cooper, as captured by Vic Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle:

The Raiders are on the mend after losing three straight, but they sit just behind the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC West, and the two sides still have two games against one another.

There's plenty of reason to like the Raiders, starting with quarterback Derek Carr, who has 24 touchdowns to six interceptions this year while leaning on the explosive duo of Cooper and Michael Crabtree, who tout minimums of 715 yards and four scores.

The Chiefs aren't pushovers, of course. Kansas City has won five games in a row to salvage the season, but beating a Ben Roethlisberger-less Pittsburgh Steelers team and picking off an injured Peyton Manning four times before he got benched smells more of a favorable schedule than anything.

At home, Oakland has the talent to run with the Chiefs, as they did last year when they split the season series with a win at home. Oakland's better this time around, and the Chiefs have struggled to stop competent passing attacks all year, so expect Cooper and Crabtree to run wild.

Prediction: Raiders 24, Chiefs 20

Dallas at Washington (-4.5)

Another first of two meetings between divisional rivals figures to go to the home team this weekend when Washington hosts the Dallas Cowboys. 

The Cowboys won't leave the cellar of the NFC East now that Tony Romo is out once again, this time for the season. It's a situation leaving Matt Cassel out to dry. He didn't stand a chance last week in a 33-14 whipping at the hands of the Carolina Panthers.

Washington shouldn't have any issues taking advantage. The Kirk Cousins-led offense has continued to surge in recent weeks, hanging 47 points on New Orleans and 20 on the New York Giants with a loss to Carolina (see a trend here?) sandwiched in between.

Over that three-game span, Cousins had six touchdowns to one interception as the weapons around him got healthy. Wideout DeSean Jackson personifies this with his nine catches and two scores in that span—he has 12 catches and the two scores on the season.

Washington's clicking at just the right time, while the Cowboys hobble through the season with one win to speak of outside the season's first two weeks and little to no success without Romo under center.

These factors won't change as Washington cruises at home against a husk of the usual Cowboys roster.

Prediction: Washington 23, Dallas 14

Stats courtesy of NFL.com and accurate as of December 1. All advanced metrics courtesy of Pro Football Focus.