NFL betting preview: Week 13 lines, totals
After uncovering some betting tips and offering our five best selections for Week 13, let's dig into the lines and totals for every game on Sunday's slate.
Chicago Bears at New York Giants
Opening odds: CHI -3.5 / 45.5
Current odds: CHI -4 / 44.5
The Chicago Bears will once again turn to backup quarterback Chase Daniel, as Mitchell Trubisky will miss his second straight game due to injury. The New York Giants briefly stopped their bleeding with two consecutive wins before a close loss to the Philadelphia Eagles last weekend, but still covered as 4.5-point underdogs. However, the Giants are on a 2-13-1 run against the spread in the game after covering. The Bears had four times more wagers on them than the Giants did at MGM Grand as of Saturday night.
Los Angeles Rams at Detroit Lions
Open: LAR -8.5 / 55
Current: LAR -10 / 54
The Los Angeles Rams are public favorites nearly every week, and this matchup is no different. They also get some extra rest coming off their bye week and face a Detroit Lions team that's 1-4 straight up and against the spread over its previous five games. L.A. climbed up to -10 early in the week while the total fluctuated between 54.5 and 55 before dropping to 54 on Sunday morning.
Baltimore Ravens at Atlanta Falcons
Open: BAL -3 / 49
Current: ATL -2.5 / 48.5
The Baltimore Ravens-Atlanta Falcons game has seen a 5.5-point swing in line movement after the former initially opened up as the favorite. It'll be the third career start but the first on the road for Ravens rookie quarterback Lamar Jackson, who's riding a two-game winning streak. Meanwhile, Atlanta hasn't been able to figure out AFC teams under head coach Dan Quinn, failing to cover the spread in nine straight out-of-conference matchups. One bettor at MGM Race & Sports laid $330,000 on the Falcons at -2.5, according to ESPN's David Purdum.
Arizona Cardinals at Green Bay Packers
Open: GB -14 / 46
Current: GB -13.5 / 42.5
Weather should play a role at Lambeau Field on Sunday when the Arizona Cardinals travel to take on the Green Bay Packers. The forecast is calling for winds of up to 20 miles per hour with a possibility of snow - perhaps the reason the total dropped all week. Green Bay hit -14.5 early on before sliding to -13.5 on Sunday morning.
Carolina Panthers at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Open: CAR -3 / 56.5
Current: CAR -3 / 53.5
Sunday's game is huge for the 6-5 Carolina Panthers, who are riding a three-game losing streak. These teams combined for 70 points in their last meeting, so the high total should be no surprise. However, it's dropped three points since opening at 56.5, perhaps due to the expectation of 15-mph winds at kickoff.
Indianapolis Colts at Jacksonville Jaguars
Open: IND -3 / 47.5
Current: IND -4 / 47
The Indianapolis Colts and Jacksonville Jaguars met a mere three weeks ago, as the Colts came away with a 29-26 win as three-point favorites. The Jaguars announced Monday they'll start Cody Kessler at quarterback, which likely prompted the moves from Indianapolis -3 to -4 and the total from 48 to 47. At MGM, Indy was garnering 12 times more wagers than Jacksonville as of Saturday night.
Denver Broncos at Cincinnati Bengals
Open: DEN -3.5 / 42.5
Current: DEN -4.5 / 45
The Denver Broncos are riding high following wins over the Los Angeles Chargers and Pittsburgh Steelers and will face a Cincinnati Bengals offense starting backup quarterback Jeff Driskel - two reasons why the public loves them on Sunday. Meanwhile, the total opened up at 42.5, but bumped up to 45 shortly after the news that A.J. Green was taken off the injury report. Denver had 10 times the ticket count over Cincinnati at MGM.
Cleveland Browns at Houston Texans
Open: HOU -4.5 / 45
Current: HOU -5.5 / 47.5
The Houston Texans and Cleveland Browns are both coming off wins in which they scored 34 and 35 points, respectively. That may have played a part in the total jumping from 45 to 48 before settling in at 47.5. The Texans, who moved from -4.5 to -5.5 during the week, own an eight-game winning streak and have covered four of their past five spreads.
Buffalo Bills at Miami Dolphins
Open: MIA -6.5 / 41
Current: MIA -3.5 / 40
It's been better late than never for the Buffalo Bills, who trounced the New York Jets in Week 10 before taking down the Jaguars at home last weekend. They've seen one of the bigger dips from the opener, going from +6.5 all the way down to +3.5 during the week.
New York Jets at Tennessee Titans
Open: TEN -9.5 / 41
Current: TEN -9.5 / 40.5
It'll likely be Josh McCown under center for the New York Jets when they travel to take on the Tennessee Titans, as rookie Sam Darnold's expected to miss his third straight game. This line has jumped all over the place - the Titans hit as high as -10.5 and came all the way down to -7.5 before another rise to -9.5.
Kansas City Chiefs at Oakland Raiders
Open: KC -15 / 55
Current: KC - 14 / 54.5
Bettors might be shying away from the Kansas City Chiefs after they cut ties with star running back Kareem Hunt. Following the release, the Chiefs dropped from -15 to -14 against the Oakland Raiders while the total trickled down from 56 to 55 in most shops.
San Francisco 49ers at Seattle Seahawks
Open: SEA -10 / 46
Current: SEA -10 / 45.5
Sunday's game between the San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks has seen little movement on both the line and the total. The Seahawks were taken down from -10 to -9.5 earlier in the week for a short window of time, but essentially held steady at -10.
Minnesota Vikings at New England Patriots
Open: NE -7 / 48.5
Current: NE -5 / 49.5
Smarter players might be waiting to see if the line drops a bit more before pouncing on a team that's been lethal at home during the month of December in recent memory. As of Sunday, the line had already moved by two points.
Los Angeles Chargers at Pittsburgh Steelers
Open: PIT -3.5 / 56
Current: PIT -3 / 51.5
The Los Angeles Chargers-Pittsburgh Steelers game saw more movement on the total than the spread all week, as the number slid from 56 all the way down to 51.5 before finally moving back up a tad. The Chargers, who will be without running back Melvin Gordon, also saw a key move from +3.5 to +3.
Alex Kolodziej is theScore's betting writer. He's a graduate of Eastern Illinois who has been involved in the sports betting industry for 11 years. He can quote every line from "Rounders" and appreciates franchises that regularly wear alternate jerseys. Find him on Twitter @AlexKoIodziej.