NFL Picks Week 13: New England Patriots and More Easy Choices to Win Big

If there's any doubt about the likelihood of some serious blowouts in the NFL in Week 13, then take a moment to look at some of the betting lines for Sunday's games. Bookies aren't usually inclined to give teams more than a touchdown. 

Yet this week, according to sportsbook.com, there are at least five teams getting seven points or more from the folks in Las Vegas (or Atlantic City, for folks on the East Coast). These three teams are all listed as heavy favorites in that regard and for good reason.

New England Patriots

There are so many ways to describe just how badly the Patriots are going to beat the Colts on Sunday—Tom Brady and company have won their last three games by a combined score of 109-39, the Colts are 0-11 and will start quarterback "blunderkind" Dan Orlovsky.

But no single anecdote is more telling than the fact that this game—once scheduled to be the featured on Sunday Night Football—was optioned out by NBC not long after the network realized how bad Indy would be without Peyton Manning.

At least the entire country won't have to see this one in full.

San Francisco 49ers

The 49ers looked anything but impressive in their 16-6 loss in Baltimore last Thursday, but a long week of rest and a home game against the Rams should prove to be medicine enough to get Jim Harbaugh's boys back on the winning track.

On offense, Frank Gore should have a field day against St. Louis' run defense (the worst in the NFL) and Alex Smith won't have to fear for his life assuming Chris Long's ankle will keep him sidelined. Defensively, San Fran will have the opportunity to tee off on AJ Feeley if Sam Bradford isn't healthy enough to play and figures to keep Steven Jackson out of the end zone, as it has every other running back it's come across this season. 

New Orleans Saints

To say that the Saints and the Lions are headed in opposite directions is something of an understatement. New Orleans has looked like a potential Super Bowl team of late, winning its last three games since a shocking loss to the aforementioned Rams.

Detroit, on the other hand, seems to have worn out its welcome in the winners' circle since its 5-0 start. The Lions have dropped four of six since and will be without star defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, who will be serving the first of a two-game suspension for a dirty stomp on a Packers lineman on Thanksgiving Day.

And without so much as a healthy 'back in the running game, Matthew Stafford will have a hard time helping his offense keep pace with Drew Brees and the Saints' spectacular attack.