Welcome back for another round of picks! Week 13 has us coming down the home stretch following the Thanksgiving week festivities. There are five weeks left in the season, and the playoff/top draft pick races are on fire right about now. This week's action opens with the Detroit Lions hosting the Green Bay Packers in a rare Thursday game that features two teams playing on normal rest. Both teams played on Thanksgiving, so this is sort of normal week for them.
I'll be posting my full picks against the spread on Saturday, but for today, I have posted my straight up picks down below, as well as my ATS pick for TNF. You can view the NN pick 'em contest results over here. I was 8-8 in Week 12, which brings me to 105-73 for the season.
The San Francisco 49ers are back on the road this week, the first of two straight road games. They travel to face the Chicago Bears, which means a matchup with old friend Vic Fangio, and almost friend Adam Gase. The 49ers are a touchdown underdog in this one, coming into it with a road record of 0-5 SU and 1-4 ATS. The Bears are 5-6 on the season, but have won three of their last four games, and covered the spread in all four.
The 49ers' defense have been brutal on the road, and one has to wonder if there is any reason to think they figure things out this week. Jay Cutler and Adam Gase are connecting and Cutler has put together a solid 2015 season since returning from injury. Of course, the 49ers offense is slowly starting to come together, and while Vic Fangio is a good defensive coordinator, the Bears defense still has some work to do. It makes for an intriguing matchup.
Thursday features the NFC North on display, with the Packers as a field goal road favorite. They opened at 5.5-points, but quickly came down in light of their recent struggles. The Packers have lost four of their last five games, failing to cover in all four losses. Could they be an undervalued option this week? I'm taking the Packers against the spread, but we'll see if they can actually turn things around.
Here are my Week 13 picks for our pick 'em contest.
Packers @ Lions: Packers
Jets @ Giants: Jets
Cardinals @ Rams: Cardinals
Falcons @ Buccaneers: Bucs
Seahawks @ Vikings: Seahawks
Texans @ Bills: Texans
Ravens @ Dolphins: Dolphins
Bengals @ Browns: Bengals
Jaguars @ Titans: Titans
49ers @ Bears: Bears
Broncos @ Chargers: Broncos
Chiefs @ Raiders: Raiders
Panthers @ Saints: Saints
Eagles @ Patriots: Patriots
Colts @ Steelers: Steelers
Cowboys @ Washington: Cowboys