Week 13 in the NFL should be interesting, to say the least.  Apart from the fact that it’s the first time in two months that all 32 teams are scheduled to play, there isn’t a single game with a betting line above ten points in the opening NFL betting lines.  This should make for some close games such as Saints vs Falcons, and, possibly, some surprise wins as the regular season starts to wind down.

Wins On the Road Expected

Over half of the road teams are expected to win this week, with the Dallas Cowboys being one of the few exceptions.  They will take on the Buffalo Bills and the opening line has them as 6.5-point favorites.  The teams will be part of the action on Thanksgiving and the Cowboys have been anything but consistent this year.

Also getting things going on Thursday are the Chicago Bears and the Detroit Lions.  The Bears are going to have to spend Thanksgiving in Detroit and will be looking to give a little thanks for at least one additional win on the season.  They open at -3 to win and this should prove to be a tough game with a lot of excitement – at least for fans of those two teams.

New Orleans Saints vs Atlanta Falcons

What will most likely be the most watched game on Thanksgiving will be the New Orleans Saints/Atlanta Falcons matchup.  The Falcons humiliated the Saints already this season and would love to do it again, especially on their own turf – again.

It isn’t very likely, though, given some of the injuries Atlanta has to deal with and the fact that the Saints are coming in for blood this time.  New Orleans expected to walk all over Atlanta in their October meeting, but they won’t make that mistake again.  They’re coming in strong and oddsmakers know it.  At -6.5, the Saints are solid for the win.

Best of the other games

When Sunday rolls around, the New England Patriots are going to face the Houston Texans on the road.  This game will take place after most of the other action has wrapped up, so the Patriots will be able to see where they stand in the playoff race and what they need to do against the Texans to advance further.  They’re -3 to win and there’s no real surprise expected in this contest.

The Green Bay Packers will be away to take on the New York Giants and both teams are trying to keep things together after recent losses.  Neither team has been great this season, despite some decent talent, but the Giants are the worst between the two.  They’re in the bottom ten in defensive control and it’s not too early to say that they’re no longer trying.  The Packers open at -6.5 and this is an easy bet.

In one surprise for this week’s matchups, the team most likely to win hasn’t been chosen by oddsmakers as the probable winner.  The Arizona Cardinals are set to take on the LA Rams at home and they just had an extra week to recover.  The Rams, on the other hand, just got taken down by the Baltimore Ravens and are nowhere near the level they should be.  This is why an opening line of -3.5 for the Rams is shocking, but it will move before the week is up.

One game that will be closely watched is Monday night’s fight between the San Francisco 49ers and the Ravens.  If any team has the potential to hand the Niners their second loss on the season, it’s the Ravens and they’re prepared to do whatever it takes.  The Ravens defense is flying high this season as it maintains control and is working doubly hard this week to prepare for this important game.  It’s because of this that the Ravens are currently favored at -4.5.