NFL Week 13 Picks for Every Game Against the Spread

Last week: 9-7.  Season totals: 96-74-5, Pct. .563.  Best Bets: 22-13-1, Pct. .625. 

Home team in capital letters; point spreads (opening line) in parentheses after underdog team; selections with point spreads in bold. 

THURSDAY NIGHT

Philadelphia 21, SEATTLE 16 (+3)

Not only are the Eagles 10-2 on Thursdays in franchise history, but four of the wins have come during seasons in which they won three or fewer games.  And over the past calendar year, Philadelphia is 5-2 straight up and 4-2-1 against the spread on the road compared with 1-8 both ways at home. Speaking of both ways, the home team in this series has lost six in a row both ways. 

SUNDAY 

WASHINGTON 13 (+3), N.Y. Jets 10

Four touchdown passes is all well and good, but Mark Sanchez was 13-of-31 for 129 yards and an interception in the rest of his attempts last week, and the Jets are 1-8 lifetime against the 'Skins. Spot for an upset. 

Green Bay 35, N.Y. GIANTS 14 (+7)

Who knows? Maybe Tom Coughlin will return to the Jaguars!  But one thing's for certain: His job with the Giants could be in serious jeopardy if, as now seems increasingly likely, he presides over yet another late-season meltdown—and the Giants have lost their last three versus Green Bay at home by a combined 106 to 41.

NEW ENGLAND 58, Indianapolis 0 (+21)

Guess Bill Belichick hasn't accumulated any bad karma from his past cheating: For the third consecutive week, his defense will get to face a non-first-string quarterback. The 58 points, by the way, represents eight touchdowns (against the team that is allowing the most points in the league) and a safety—as in the safety Dan Orlovsky, who will start at QB for the winless Colts here, conceded by running over his own end line while with the winless Lions in a game at Minnesota three years ago.

BUFFALO 21, Tennessee 14 (+1 1/2)

At least the Bills showed some signs of life last week.  And, while he was with Seattle, Matt Hasselbeck was 4-14 straight up and 6-12 against the line as a visitor in cold weather.  

Carolina 17 (+3 1/2), TAMPA BAY 13

To prove who's the worst in the NFC South.  

Oakland 24 (+1), MIAMI 17

Michael Bush continues to impress in Darren McFadden's injury-driven absence, and the Dolphins are 0-9 outright and 1-8 pointwise in their last nine home games against teams with winning records.

PITTSBURGH 16, Cincinnati 13 (+7)

Big Ben's thumb has to be cause for concern based on what we saw on Sunday night, and the Bengals haven't been blown out all year, so take the points.

CHICAGO 10, Kansas City 6 (+9)

How can you possibly lay this number on Caleb Hanie? And the total opened at 37 1/2?  If Kyle Orton sees any significant action, the Chiefs win outright—and, in any case, the "under" would appear to be an absolute gift. 

Denver 17 (+1), MINNESOTA 10

Where do they get off making the 6-5 Broncos an underdog to the 2-9 Vikings?  Interestingly, this will be Tim Tebow's first NFL start on artificial turf—but, if anything, that figures to actually help Tebow more than hurt. 

Atlanta 20, HOUSTON 0 (+1)

Maybe the Texans should have inquired about JaMarcus Russell instead of signing Jake Delhomme, who is going to be as useless to them as Kerry Collins proved to be to the Colts.  Get in as soon as you can on the Falcons, because this line will be a lot higher come kickoff time.

Baltimore 21, CLEVELAND 17 (+6 1/2)

The Ravens have beaten the Browns six straight and covered in five of them.  But, Peyton Hillis seemed to wake up Cleveland's offense in his return last week, and the matchup of Hillis against Baltimore's 3-4 defense is worth a flyer at this price despite the streak. 

Dallas 23, ARIZONA 21 (+6)

The Cowboys refuse to do things the easy way; they've dropped six of their last seven in the desert and could very well be looking ahead to next Sunday night's huge NFC East battle against the reeling Giants.  So, this is an obvious trap game, and Dallas will be fortunate to escape with a narrow victory. 

SAN FRANCISCO 35, St. Louis 13 (+13 1/2)

This will be a real beating.  The 49ers can clinch the NFC West with a win, while Sam Bradford is well on his way to clinching being proclaimed a colossal bust. 

NEW ORLEANS 45, Detroit 27 (+9)

The Saints are averaging a staggering 41.6 points per game at home this year, and if the way Detroit's defense played after Ndamukong Suh got ejected on Thanksgiving is any guide, New Orleans shouldn't have any trouble at all topping the four-decade mark once again.  

MONDAY NIGHT

JACKSONVILLE 16 (+1 1/2), San Diego 10

Will the Chargers be taking a two-hour ride up Interstate 5 on the team bus the next time they play the Jags on the road?  Regardless of how you get there, the road is everywhere you don't want to be when these two teams meet, as in losing the last four both ways.  One head coach is already out, and the other almost certainly will be in about a month. 

BEST BETS: NEW ENGLAND, DENVER, ATLANTA