NFL Picks Week 13: Road Underdogs Guaranteed To Cover

In what is a somewhat rare occurrence in the NFL, the majority of road teams are actually favored in Week 13.

While that may not mean much, it does tell me the superior team is on the road in most matchups. With that said, there are still several road underdogs to consider.

Home-field advantage can certainly mean something, but it usually isn't the deciding factor in a given game. There are a couple questionable point spreads with regards to road underdogs this week that I believe can be exploited.

Here are three road dogs that are guaranteed to cover this weekend.

Cincinnati Bengals (+7)

The Cincinnati Bengals may not be the flashiest or most exciting team in the league, but they have proven to be quite effective with a record of 7-4.

The Bengals lost to division rival Pittsburgh in a hard-fought game a few weeks ago, but they will have a chance to avenge that loss in a huge AFC North clash on the road.

While Pittsburgh is the team with a championship pedigree, the upstart Bengals gave the Steelers everything they could handle in their first meeting and figure to do the same this week.

Despite the fact that Cincinnati kept the game close last time, the Steelers are a healthy seven-point favorite at home.

The Steelers really struggled offensively last week against the Kansas City Chiefs, and some of that may have had to do with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger's thumb injury.

The Bengals have proven to have a stout defense, so it won't be any easier to move the ball this week. I ultimately think Pittsburgh's experience will win out, but the Bengals should keep it within a touchdown.

Tennessee Titans (+3)

Despite that fact the Buffalo Bills have lost four consecutive games and the Tennessee Titans have played much better football since being blown out by the Steelers and Houston Texans. The Titans will be three-point underdogs when they travel to take on the Bills.

The Bills awoke a bit from their month-long slumber by putting a scare into the New York Jets, but their defensive issues continue to be evident.

Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck and Tennessee's passing game has slowed down recently, but running back Chris Johnson is playing as well as he ever has after struggling mightily for most of the year.

Buffalo's offense made some progress last week, but injuries have certainly hurt the unit's effectiveness compared to what it was early in the season.

At this point, the Bills' playoff chances appear pretty slim, but the Titans have a real chance with Houston battling injuries. As a result, I think the Titans will be motivated and will win this game outright.

Kansas City Chiefs (+7)

The Kansas City Chiefs are certainly a pretty underwhelming team at this point, but they showed a lot of mettle against the Pittsburgh Steelers last week.

With quarterback Matt Cassel injured, the Chiefs were forced to turn to Tyler Palko. While Palko and the offense were awful, the defense was inspired and almost pulled off the upset.

Kansas City will have another tough matchup on Sunday on the road against the Chicago Bears.

At 7-4, the Bears are in playoff contention in the NFC, but an injury to quarterback Jay Cutler has forced backup Caleb Hanie into action. Hanie was shaky in his start last week, and I expect that to continue.

Ultimately, with or without Cutler, the Bears are more talented than the Chiefs. Kansas City proved capable of competing in a boring, low-scoring affair last week, however.

Provided the Chiefs can put a little pressure on Hanie and force him into some mistakes, I think KC will stay close enough to cover.