NFL Picks Week 13: Advice on Latest Vegas Odds and Spreads for Upcoming Schedule

The Los Angeles Rams are not in any position to let up at this point in the season.

While they are four games ahead of the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC West, they are in a dogfight with the New Orleans Saints for the top seed in the NFC.

Both teams are 10-1, but the Rams' only loss came at the hands of the Saints, so that negative mark in head-to-head competition would give the tiebreaker to New Orleans if both teams end up with the same record.

A look at the schedules indicates the Saints have two tough road games against the Dallas Cowboys and Carolina Panthers, and two challenging home games against the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Panthers.

The Rams have a tough road game against Chicago in Week 14 and a home game with the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles in Week 15.

The Rams have the easier closing schedule, but only if they take care of business. They have to go on the road this week against the Detroit Lions, and that should be a relatively easy game since Matt Patricia's team is in last place in the NFC North.

Paul Sancya/Associated Press

Patricia was brought in to upgrade the defense, but the former New England defensive coordinator has not had much success. Additionally, the offense has taken a step backward as the team moved top wideout Golden Tate at the trade deadline.

The Rams have no such issues, as Jared Goff is the trigger man for one of the most dangerous offenses in the league. The quarterback has thrown for 3,547 yards while completing 67.7 percent of his passes. He has also thrown 26 touchdown passes and six interceptions.

They have a pair of dangerous receivers in Robert Woods and Brandin Cooks, while Todd Gurley is the best running back in the NFL this year.

The Rams have had a few struggles on defense, but head coach Sean McVay won't mind because his team also make big plays. Aaron Donald is one of the best interior defensive linemen in the NFL, and he has dominated this year with 14.5 sacks.

The Rams are seven-point road favorites, per OddsShark, and they should not have a problem winning the game and covering the spread.

Week 13 matchups, point spreads and predictions (All point spreads courtesy of OddsShark)

New Orleans (-7) at Dallas; New Orleans 32, Dallas 17
Arizona at Green Bay (-14); Green Bay 31, Arizona 10
Cleveland at Houston (-4.5); Houston 27, Cleveland 17
Baltimore (-3) at Atlanta; Atlanta 28, Baltimore 27
Carolina (-4) at Tampa Bay; Carolina 31, Tampa Bay 23
Chicago (-4) at N.Y. Giants; Chicago 24, N.Y. Giants 10
Buffalo at Miami (-7); Buffalo 17, Miami 13
Denver at Cincinnati (-1.5); Denver 20, Cincinnati 17
L.A. Rams (-7) at Detroit; L.A. Rams 33, Detroit 16
Indianapolis (-2.5) at Jacksonville; Jacksonville 23, Indianapolis 20
Kansas City (-13) at Oakland; Kansas City 38, Oakland 20
N.Y. Jets at Tennessee (-9.5); N.Y. Jets 20, Tennessee 14
Minnesota at New England (-4.5); New England 23, Minnesota 20
San Francisco at Seattle (-8); Seattle 28, San Francisco 14
L.A. Chargers at Pittsburgh (-3.5); L.A. Chargers 35, Pittsburgh 33
Washington at Philadelphia (-7); Philadelphia 23, Washington 20

Arizona Cardinals at Green Bay Packers

The Packers go into every season with high hopes that they will play well enough to either win the NFC North or make the playoffs as a wild-card team and then dominate during the playoffs. There appears to be little chance of that happening this year.

They lost to the Minnesota Vikings on the road in Week 12, and they have not won a road game all season. That loss dropped them to 4-6-1 with five games remaining.

That's the bad news. The good news is the Packers have one of the easiest schedules in the league in the final five weeks of the season. It starts with the Cardinals, a team that just absorbed a 45-10 beating from the Los Angeles Chargers.

While Aaron Rodgers and the Packers have not been their usual offensive powerhouse this season, they should be able to do well against Arizona.

Rodgers is throwing for an average of 297.1 yards per game and has an eye-catching 20-1 TD-interception ratio.

He has a couple of top receivers in Davante Adams and Randall Cobb, along with one of the most underrated runners in the league in Aaron Jones.

The Cardinals have turned to rookie quarterback Josh Rosen, and while he has the tools to be successful at some point in the future, he is not there yet. The Cardinals have beaten the 49ers twice, but they haven't won any other games.

It's not about to change against the desperate Packers. Green Bay wins and covers the 14-point spread.

Los Angeles Chargers at Pittsburgh Steelers

The Steelers are coming off a disappointing loss to the Denver Broncos, who are suddenly finding a way to beat good teams.

Prior to beating Pittsburgh, they beat the Chargers, so neither team can afford to lose any more games if they want to accomplish their goals.

The Chargers have designs on catching the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC West, while the Steelers would like to finish ahead of the Patriots so they can get a bye in the first round and and a divisional playoff game at home.

The Steelers are 3.5-point home favorites, and while playing at Heinz Field is always an advantage, the Chargers appear to be the better team. They are coming off a 45-point explosion in Week 12, and quarterback Philip Rivers (69.5 completion percentage, 26 TD passes) is coming off a record-setting performance.

On the other hand, Ben Roethlisberger (333.1 yards per game, 24 TDs) had a chance to tie the game at Denver and send it into overtime, but he threw a shocking interception with Pittsburgh knocking on the door.

While the Chargers have had issues with special teams, the Steelers have had letdowns at the wrong times in recent seasons, and while this isn't likely to be one of them, they just don't have the firepower to put the Chargers away.

Look for the underdog Chargers to win this game on the road.