Seven Divisional Games Headline NFL Week 13 Betting Slate

• Seven of the 14 games in Week 13 are between divisional opponents.
• Most of the games are expected to be lopsided, featuring a heavy favorite.
• Both the Sunday and Monday night games are for leads in divisions.

LAS VEGAS – Half of the games on the Week 13 slate are divisional games and the league’s standings could see some major changes after the conclusion of the week.

The Early Slate On Sunday

The 1 p.m. EST slate of games for Week 13 has a trio of divisional games, all separated by at least a touchdown according to the legal sports betting sites. The first of the three games is the Indianapolis Colts and the Houston Texans matchup.

Indianapolis is 5-2 after starting the season 1-4 while the Texans are 2-9 on the season and are fresh off of an embarrassing loss to the New York Jets. The Colts won this matchup 31-3 earlier in the year and a similar result could be in play.

The second divisional matchup on the early slate is the Minnesota Vikings going up against the winless Detroit Lions. NFL betting sites have the spread set at 7.0 points despite the Vikings barely getting by in their first meeting.

Despite being 0-10-1 on the season, the Lions are 7-4 ATS due to only five of their 10 losses coming by more than one possession. The Lions keep things close more often than people realize.

The final 1 p.m. EST game is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Atlanta Falcons. The first time the two met Tampa Bay won by three possessions, making it not all that surprising to find them as big favorites in the rematch.

Atlanta is a bottom-five scoring team and allows the second-most points per game, making it a tough matchup against the reigning Super Bowl champs who are currently scoring more points per game than every other team in the NFL.

The Afternoon Slate On Sunday

Both of the 4:25 p.m. EST games on Sunday are between division rivals as the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers are in action as well as the San Francisco 49ers and the Seattle Seahawks. Both road teams are favored, starting with the Ravens.

The games between these two teams are always close as the Steelers only have a 16 point advantage over the course of their 50-game rivalry for an average difference of 0.32 points per game.

Another underdog could be a viable option in the same time slot as the Seahawks are home underdogs to the 49ers. However, Russell Wilson has performed well against San Francisco with a 15-4 record in his career.

However, Wilson has yet to win a game at home this season and has overall not looked like himself, which is likely the reasoning behind his team being underdogs to begin with.

The Primetime Games

The Sunday Night Football matchup between the Denver Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs could potentially be for first place in the division as the entire AFC West is separate by just one game.

Andy Reid has a 19-3 record coming off of a bye in the regular season and is 7-1 with Patrick Mahomes off of a bye as well (playoffs included). The Broncos are likely in trouble on Sunday night.

The final game of Week 13 is between the New England Patriots and Buffalo Bills. New England is the hottest team in the league while many still believe the Bills are the best the AFC has to offer. The odds agree with the latter.

The Patriots have won six straight games and now have the best point differential in the NFL as well as the lead in the AFC East. While Buffalo has struggled a bit as of late, there wouldn’t be a better team to right the ship than on their home field in a primetime matchup against their division rival.

News tags: Atlanta Falcons | Baltimore Ravens | Buffalo Bills | Denver Broncos | Detroit Lions | Houston Texans | Indianapolis Colts | Kansas City Chiefs | Minnesota Vikings | New England Patriots | NFL | Pittsburgh Steelers | San Francisco 49ers | Seattle Seahawks | Tampa Bay Buccaneers