Bettors Giving Underdogs Love in NFL Week 13 Games

Posted on: December 6, 2020, 06:17h. 

Last updated on: December 6, 2020, 10:34h.

Big point spreads litter the NFL’s Week 13 schedule, with seven teams being more than one touchdown favorites for the Sunday-Monday-Tuesday lineup.

Tennessee Titans Derrick Henry
Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry ran for 178 yards last week against the Indianapolis Colts. The NFL’s rushing leader will attack the Cleveland Browns on Sunday. (Image: Trevor Ruszkowski/USA TODAY Sports)

Interestingly, sportsbooks are getting action on two of the big road underdogs. On Sunday, the host Green Bay Packers are 8.5-point favorites over the underachieving and mistake-prone Philadelphia Eagles. While Green Bay has 87 percent of the tickets at William Hill, the Eagles have 52 percent of the money.

The Pittsburgh Steelers, who are trying to make history as the third team in the Super Bowl era to go undefeated through the regular season, are 7-point favorites at home against the Washington Football Team on Monday. However, at William Hill, 71 percent of the dollars are on Washington.

Game of the Week

In a battle of 8-3 teams, the Cleveland Browns will play at the Tennessee Titans. The Titans are 5-point favorites over the Browns, who are looking for a signature win after being demolished at Baltimore and at Pittsburgh earlier in the season.

Even though they’re 8-3, they’ve actually given up more points than they’ve scored. You don’t see that too often,” said Johnny Avello, the director of race and sportsbook operations for DraftKings.

In a big NFC West game, it’s the Los Angeles Rams (7-4) at the Arizona Cardinals (6-5). The Rams have been favored all week, with the line moving from 1.5 to 3 points. But the Cardinals are getting more of the tickets and money.

Will this be the week the winless New York Jets finally are triumphant? They are 8-point underdogs at home against the Las Vegas Raiders, who won’t have star running back Josh Jacobs. Nonetheless, the Raiders have attracted the overwhelming majority of the tickets and dollars.

Jets fans can take solace in this: It doesn’t take long to turn things around in the NFL. Just look at the Miami Dolphins, who are 10-point favorites at home against the Cincinnati Bengals. Miami lost its first seven games last season, with some fans and insiders wondering if it was tanking to improve its draft position. Fast forward to today, and the Dolphins are 7-4 and in the thick of the AFC East race.

If you go back about a year ago, people were talking about the Miami Dolphins as the worst team to ever play in the NFL,” Avello said. “If I would have told you that the Dolphins would be 10-point favorites the following year, I don’t think you would ever think they’d be a double-digit favorite for many years.”

In the Sunday night game, it’s the Denver Broncos (4-7) at Kansas City Chiefs (10-1). It is the biggest spread of the week, with the Chiefs -13, and the most lopsided game, with the Chiefs getting 79 percent of the money at FanDuel.

Week 13 Schedule

Here is the lineup for the games Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. Lines are from DraftKings and all kickoff times are Eastern.

Sunday’s Games

  • New Orleans at Atlanta (+3), 1 p.m.
  • Detroit at Chicago (-3), 1 p.m.
  • Indianapolis at Houston (+3.5), 1 p.m.
  • Cincinnati at Miami (-10), 1 p.m.
  • Jacksonville at Minnesota (-10), 1 p.m.
  • Las Vegas at New York Jets (+8), 1 p.m.
  • Cleveland at Tennessee (-5), 1 p.m.
  • Los Angeles Rams at Arizona (+2.5), 4:05 p.m.
  • New York Giants at Seattle (-10.5), 4:05 p.m.
  • Philadelphia at Green Bay (-8), 4:25 p.m.
  • New England at Los Angeles Chargers (-2), 4:25 p.m.
  • Denver at Kansas City (-13), 8:20 p.m.

Monday’s Games

  • Washington at Pittsburgh (-7), 5 p.m.
  • Buffalo vs. San Francisco (-1) in Glendale, Ariz., 8:15 p.m.

Tuesday’s Game

  • Dallas at Baltimore (-7.5), 8:05 p.m.