It was almost destined to be a big week of upsets around the NFL in Week 12 with more games having at least a 5.5-point spread than I have seen all year. We saw a number of fascinating upsets throughout the week, starting with the Browns’ win over the Steelers in Cleveland all the way back on Thursday. What will we see from another fascinating slate of games in Week 13 with Thanksgiving and Black Friday on deck?
It’s arguably the single best time of year for the NFL with every team still playing, folks getting some time off of work to just veg out and watch ball, and the playoff race around the league heating up.
Which teams are going to be getting wins in Week 13? Who is going to get one step closer to the playoffs and who is going to be getting one step closer to focusing solely on 2025 NFL mock drafts?
2024 NFL picks and score predictions for Week 13 games; Thanksgiving Schedule and Predictions
Chicago Bears (4-7) @ Detroit Lions (10-1)
Thursday, November 28, 12:30 PM ET
We talked a little bit about how this past weekend was one of the craziest in the 2024 season so far with so many huge spreads, and the Week 13 slate of games kicks off with the Detroit Lions as 10.5-point favorites.
So should we be preparing ourselves mentally to be watching Jared Goff, Amon-Ra St. Brown, and Jahmyr Gibbs smashing a Turducken leg or two after the game? It might be shaping up that way.
The Lions are almost coasting into the #1 seed in the NFC at this point, but there are some teams nipping at their heels right now. Namely, the Philadelphia Eagles are absolutely white hot and the Lions don’t have the luxury of a slip-up, especially against a rookie quarterback. Caleb Williams has played better for the Bears as of late, but this is still very much a matchup that favors Detroit playing at home.
The Bears are going to be trying to play spoiler and Detroit can’t be sleep-walking through this game. We nearly saw the Bears upset the Vikings this past weekend. I don’t know if the Lions are going to cover the 10.5 points this weekend but I still think they will win.
Prediction: Lions win 30-23
New York Giants (2-9) @ Dallas Cowboys (4-7)
Thursday, November 28, 4:30 PM ET
You might have been expecting a drumstick on Thanksgiving, but can I interest you in some Tommy Cutlets?
The New York Giants are the most embarrassing franchise in the NFL right now, and that’s saying something. Every single week, Saquon Barkley is providing reminders that the Giants made one of the biggest mistakes of the 2024 offseason by not paying their own superstar playmaker. On top of that, the Giants have now cut former first-round pick and $160 million man Daniel Jones, who hit waivers late last week after being demoted to 4th on the pecking order at QB in New York.
The Giants made matters worse by inserting Tommy DeVito into the lineup instead of their listed backup Drew Lock, who is missing out on incentives every single week because the Giants won’t play him.
The disastrous Giants are set to take on the Dallas Cowboys, who just pulled off a fun upset over the Washington Commanders. It’s probably too late for the Cowboys to make much of what’s left of this season, but there’s a very real chance that they will be 5-7 by the time all of the tryptophan kicks in on Thursday night.
Given all of the injuries Dallas is dealing with, it really speaks volumes that they are favored by 3.5 points at home on a short week against the Giants.
Prediction: Cowboys win 23-19
Miami Dolphins (5-6) @ Green Bay Packers (8-3)
Thursday, November 28, 8:20 PM ET
We won’t just be waiting all day for Sunday night on Sunday this week. The biggest game on Thanksgiving Day is a “Sunday Night Football” production and matchup between the suddenly hot Miami Dolphins and the 8-3 Green Bay Packers.
Let’s set the stage for this one because there are tremendous playoff implications both ways. The Packers are trying to keep pace with their ridiculously good division at 8-3 right now. The Lions are 10-1 and the Vikings are 9-2, so the Packers – who would be in first place in a lot of divisions across the NFL – are currently a third-place team. They took care of business on Sunday against a really banged up 49ers team but this is going to be a different type of test.
The only reason the Miami Dolphins are 5-6 instead of 6-5 or better at this point is because Tua Tagovailoa suffered another scary head injury earlier this season and missed time. When Tua is out there, the Dolphins are probably one of the 7 or 8 best teams in the AFC easily.
And they’re heating up at just the right time. The Dolphins have AFC Wild Card teams looking over their shoulders right now after winning three straight games. They could be 6-6 with an upset win over Green Bay here in Week 13 but it’s not going to be an easy win, by any means.
This game could turn into a track meet rather quickly but I actually feel like Green Bay’s big advantage here is running back Josh Jacobs. They can dictate the pace of this game, but their defense is going to have to make life tough on Tua Tagovailoa as well.
Prediction: Packers win 31-29
Las Vegas Raiders (2-9) @ Kansas City Chiefs (10-1)
Friday, November 29, 3:00 PM ET
After three games on the Thursday Thanksgiving slate, NFL fans are going to be treated to an AFC West matchup on Black Friday in which the Kansas City Chiefs will welcome the Las Vegas Raiders to town.
And at this point, who will be playing quarterback for the Raiders in this one? Starter Gardner Minshew broke his collarbone on Sunday against the Denver Broncos, so it’s very possible that we would see Aidan O’Connell (broken thumb) activated off of IR to come and try to upset Patrick Mahomes and company just like the Raiders did last Christmas.
The Raiders are one of only two teams to beat the Chiefs since Christmas 2023. For whatever reason, you just can’t really count them out when they play Kansas City and with Maxx Crosby out there, you’ve got to expect the unexpected. He’s one of the biggest game-wreckers in the entire NFL.
I don’t think the Raiders have the talent to be able to keep up with the Chiefs but they have the types of guys who could key an upset on a short week. Brock Bowers and Maxx Crosby get going, and you never know what could start happening.
The Chiefs are favored by an outrageous 13.5 points at home on Friday and I just don’t see that happening. Kansas City was nearly upset by the Carolina Panthers this past week. They’ve been in close games all year. The Raiders might be 2-9 but they’re going to be competitive in this game and keep it close.
Prediction: Chiefs win 26-22
Los Angeles Chargers @ Atlanta Falcons (6-5)
Sunday, December 1, 1:00 PM ET
The Atlanta Falcons have a handful of things going for them here. First of all, they are getting the Los Angeles Chargers on a “shorter” week since the Chargers played on Monday night against the Ravens.
Second, the Falcons are coming off of a bye themselves. Historically speaking, that’s just a tremendous advantage for teams for obvious reasons like getting healthy, resetting mentally, etc.
Third, the Falcons were absolutely smoked in their last game (a road game vs. the Broncos). Sometimes, getting blown out like that can help your team refocus as well.
The early line has the Chargers favored by 1.5 points but I can definitely see this being a bounce-back game for the Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons are not in the clear in the NFC South by any means with the Bucs winning this past weekend and those running backs really coming on for Tampa Bay recently.
Atlanta has had some clunkers this year but they’ve also put up some huge offensive performances.
The Chargers are one of the toughest teams to beat in the NFL this season because they don’t make many mistakes offensively and they play really good defense. It’s not going to be easy for the Falcons with their lack of pass rush this season, but I’m predicting Atlanta gets back on track in Week 13.
Prediction: Falcons win 23-21
Pittsburgh Steelers (8-3) @ Cincinnati Bengals (4-7)
Sunday, December 1, 1:00 PM ET
As the snow started falling in Cleveland last Thursday, we saw the Pittsburgh Steelers start to play about as bad as we’ve seen offensively (and defensively, if we’re being honest) this season. The elements clearly played a factor in that game against the Browns but we also saw the Steelers experimenting with playing both Russell Wilson and Justin Fields more than any other game so far this season and it just didn’t work out.
The Steelers suffered an upset on the road against a division rival and they’re going to be working extremely hard to prevent that from happening again here in Week 13.
And the Bengals have become my Achilles heel when it comes to these NFL picks and score predictions every week. I am predicting Bengals games like this is the 2021 team that made it to the Super Bowl, apparently.
The Bengals record says they are 4-7 but my heart says they’re 7-4 or better. They have been in some tight, tough games and suffered some brutally tough losses this season. Coming off of their bye, I just have a sneaky suspicion that the Steelers are about to lose their second straight divisional game on the road.
The Steelers are not perfect, by any means, and this Bengals team is capable of absolutely lighting up the scoreboard. Joe Burrow likely just can’t believe his luck with the fact that he’s thrown a whopping 12 touchdown passes over the last three weeks and only has one win to show for it.
I’m going to say the Bengals, who are actually 2.5 point favorites at home this week, find a way to cover the spread and win by six or more.
Prediction: Bengals win 28-21
Arizona Cardinals (6-5) @ Minnesota Vikings (9-2)
Sunday, December 1, 1:00 PM ET
This matchup between the Vikings and Cardinals is going to be one of the best of the week in terms of what we’re looking at on paper here.
The Cardinals are coming off of one of the worst offensive performances we’ve seen from them all season, and we can expect to see the Vikings take some pages out of Mike Macdonald’s book and figure out ways to make life difficult for Kyler Murray and company again in Week 13. The Cardinals turned the ball over and couldn’t convert on third downs (3-of-12) in their loss to Seattle in Week 12
The Vikings, meanwhile, let the Chicago Bears come storming back into the game before they ended up winning a nail-biter in overtime.
The Vikings are on a four-game winning streak but to find a matchup in which they beat a team with a winning record, you have to go all the way back to September when they barely beat the Green Bay Packers. We’re going to find out what this Vikings team is made of as the Cardinals come in with a chip on their shoulders.
This is a tough one to call because the Vikings have so many playmakers offensively that it’s going to require the Arizona defense creating probably at least two turnovers in order to pull off the upset on the road. The Vikings are 3.5-point favorites at home and they’ll have the benefit of seeing everything that happens with the rest of their division before this game is even played.
I really want to pick the Cardinals coming off of a tough game, but the Vikings’ playmakers offensively will take this game over.
Prediction: Vikings win 29-24
Indianapolis Colts (5-7) @ New England Patriots (3-8)
Sunday, December 1, 1:00 PM ET
Alright, hear me out with this game...
Everyone’s going to look at this game on the surface and thing, “Oh nice, the Colts are in the playoff hunt and coming off of a loss, they’ve got a bit of a ‘gimme’ against the hapless 3-8 Patriots.”
Not so fast…
The Patriots might be 3-8, but I do think we’re going to continually see Drake Maye make life difficult on everyone the Patriots play. They were getting smoked against the Dolphins and somehow clawed back and at least made things interesting for a bit, giving them something to build on for this coming week.
When you are going up against a quarterback like Anthony Richardson, who has been every bit as unpredictable as a rookie quarterback, I think any outcome is on the table. I’m going to spoil my pick here because I actually like the Patriots a little bit in an upset this week. If this game were being played at Indianapolis, it might be different, but the Patriots are going to get up for this game and that fan base is going to continually rally around Drake Maye.
They’ve got a shot this week to crush the hopes of the Colts, who are still in the playoff race there in the AFC but with absolutely no margin for error. The NFL playoff predictor model has the Colts’ chances of making the postseason at 20 percent right now and I think we see the Patriots absolutely bury them.
Prediction: Patriots win 19-17
Seattle Seahawks (6-5) @ New York Jets (3-8)
Sunday, December 1, 1:00 PM ET
The New York Jets are just completely off the rails at this point.
They’ve fired head coach Robert Saleh. They’ve fired general manager Joe Douglas. It’s almost like everything that Aaron Rodgers reportedly wished he could do while he was in Green Bay has come to fruition.
The Jets gave Rodgers the keys to the franchise and he’s done worse than what we saw from Russell Wilson in Denver with the Broncos. The Jets have nothing to show for their troubles here, and I hate to say I told you so, but I definitely called it before the season for months.
But none of that matters as we enter the 13th week of the regular season. The Jets were on a bye this past week which should help them in a game like this, in theory, but the Seahawks have all kinds of weapons to be able to hang with New York in any type of game.
The Seahawks have come out of their bye week extremely focused as well, especially defensively. They shut down two of their division rivals (49ers, Cardinals) and clawed their way back into the playoff race in the process. But any team going from the West Coast to the East Coast to play in the 1:00 PM ET window is usually always brutal.
That’s not to say the Seahawks can’t win, but you can tell the hesitance of Vegas with this one considering Seattle is only 1.5-point favorites despite being the much better overall team to this point.
I’m going to take the bait again and pick the home team Jets…
Prediction: Jets win 23-20
Tennessee Titans (3-8) @ Washington Commanders (7-5)
Sunday, December 1, 1:00 PM ET
Every time I watch the Tennessee Titans, I just have absolutely no clue what I’m supposed to think of Will Levis. There are clear traits there to work with, but then there is an element of recklessness to his game that simply can’t be ignored as far as the future of the franchise is concerned.
He’s got just a handful of games to continue to prove to Titans GM Ran Carthon and head coach Brian Callahan that he is someone this franchise can truly build around going forward, and he’s given them reasons to at least think about it. The Titans pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the week with a win over their division rival Texans, and they’re going to be trying to play spoiler once again in Week 13.
The Commanders just played sloppy for way too long against the Dallas Cowboys before they finally started making plays, and their sloppiness cost them dearly. They’re going to have to bounce back quickly at home against the Titans this week and they’ve now learned the hard way – there are no gimmes in the NFL.
Jayden Daniels had this offense humming before an injury earlier this season, and while he’s still played solid, you can tell that the offense hasn’t been nearly as dynamic in recent weeks. The oddsmakers have the Commanders favored at 5.5 points going into this game and I would say that’s pretty reasonable.
There are a lot of teams clawing and jockeying for playoff positioning in the NFC right now and the Commanders need a win in the worst way to keep pace. I think they will get it, but it might be another nail-biter and too close for their fans’ liking.
Prediction: Commanders win 26-23
Houston Texans (7-5) @ Jacksonville Jaguars (2-9)
Sunday, December 1, 1:00 PM ET
Well I just got done saying that there are no gimmes in the NFL but this is about as close as you’re going to get, isn’t it?
As of right now, we don’t know whether or not Trevor Lawrence is going to be playing for the Jaguars in this game. The safe assumption is that he won’t be playing, but you never know. And regardless of whether or not Lawrence plays, does it really matter?
The Jaguars have been the saddest of sadsacks in the league this season. They have been a “get right” game for most of the teams that have played them. And even coming off of their bye week, it is looking pretty darn good for the Houston Texans to be able to come into Jacksonville and get themselves a win.
The Texans suffered an ugly loss against the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, a game in which they pretty much matched the Atlanta Falcons’ entire season total of sacks. Like, let’s seriously look at this for a second.
The Texans sacked Will Levis a whopping total of eight times. The Titans lost two fumbles. Levis threw a pick-six to Texans safety Jimmie Ward…And Houston still found a way to lose the game. The Texans have been rather fraudulent all year long and have won some games they could have easily lost, but I digress.
I suppose we shouldn’t call this a gimme game for the Texans and frankly, Vegas isn’t calling it a gimme by any means. They have the Texans as early 5.5-point favorites but with the way the Jaguars have played this year and uncertainty over Trevor Lawrence’s availability, that’s telling of what they think of Houston right now.
Prediction: Texans win 24-20
Los Angeles Rams (5-6) @ New Orleans Saints (4-7)
Sunday, December 1, 4:05 PM ET
Here is another game I just have no idea how to predict from a mile away.
Let’s start off by talking about the Los Angeles Rams, who ran into the buzzsaw that is the Philadelphia Eagles this past week. The Rams got wrecked on Sunday Night Football and are clearly the definition of a toss-up team every single week in the NFL right now. There are some weeks that the Rams have you believing – or wanting to believe – that they can be a legitimate playoff team in the NFC West.
And then there are weeks like we saw from them against the Eagles.
The Rams have the playmakers offensively to be able to hang with any team, and the Saints are, in some ways, a carbon copy of the Rams this year.
When the Saints are healthy, they look like a pretty dangerous team. They have plenty of guys who can take over games offensively and they’ve had their share of success defensively this year.
This is one matchup where it feels like the unstoppable force meeting the immovable object, yet these aren’t elite teams. This isn’t a mid-off either. These two teams have legitimate playoff hopes late into the season, but they also both have very little margin for error. Vegas has the Rams as early 2.5-point favorites on the road but the Saints are coming off of a bye week.
I’ll go ahead and take the Rams in this game but I think it’s going to be close and I could see it going either way.
Prediction: Rams win 27-23
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-6) @ Carolina Panthers (3-8)
Sunday, December 1, 4:05 PM ET
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are another team that I just can’t bring myself to quit this season.
The Bucs just got themselves a much-needed win over Tommy Cutlets and the New York Giants on Sunday, and they are right back into the conversation in the NFC South with the Atlanta Falcons losing in Week 11 and having a bye in Week 12.
It’s been a rough season for the Bucs when it comes to injuries the team has had to deal with, but Mike Evans is back and the Bucs are finally seeing their running backs really start to get involved more heavily in the offensive gameplan.
The only thing standing in the way from the Bucs getting back to .500 this season is old friend Dave Canales and a suddenly jumpstarted Bryce Young at the quarterback position. The Carolina Panthers almost pulled off a major upset this past week and they’ve honestly been playing well for a handful of weeks here.
It’s going to be fun to see these two teams go at it in Week 13. It might be a matchup between two teams who end up missing out on the playoffs, but there is still a lot on the line here. Bryce Young’s future is seemingly hanging in the balance. The Bucs could find themselves with the same record as the Falcons by the end of the weekend.
There’s a lot going for this game and it’s much better than it looks on paper. The Bucs are 6.5-point favorites and I think they will end up pulling away and winning by a TD late.
Prediction: Buccaneers win 31-23
Philadelphia Eagles (9-2) @ Baltimore Ravens (
Sunday, December 1, 4:25 PM ET
The only team that’s hotter in the NFL right now than the Philadelphia Eagles is the Detroit Lions. The Eagles have won seven straight games and look like they are clear contenders for the third straight season.
Unlike last year, however, the Eagles seem to be catching fire right now and not watching the fire slowly dissipate. Last year’s Eagles team started off 10-1 and slowly faded into irrelevance, including a brutal playoff loss in the Wild Card round.
This team looks focused, they are improving defensively, and Saquon Barkley has played like a legitimate MVP candidate coming over from the division rival Giants. That has to be extra sweet for Philly fans considering they stole arguably their best player right now from a division rival.
This matchup between the Eagles and Ravens is not only the top bird matchup of the week, but it’s a potential Super Bowl preview of two teams whose acquisitions of running backs this offseason have made all the difference. The Ravens have lost a number of close games this season but they still have the look of a true Super Bowl contender in the AFC.
This is going to be a really fun matchup for NFL fans to get the chance to see as one of the only late-afternoon games in Week 13. Historically speaking, it’s really tough for teams to go into Baltimore and get a win. They are favored by 2.5 points and this game could really go either way if both teams are playing mistake-free football.
I’m going to take the home team in a tight one.
Prediction: Ravens win 27-26
San Francisco 49ers (5-6) @ Buffalo Bills (9-2)
Sunday, December 1, 8:15 PM ET
This is a really brutal situation right now for the San Francisco 49ers.
Things are relatively wide open in the NFC West, and there’s no doubt that a 49ers team at full strength can hang with pretty much anyone in the NFL. But at this point, the 49ers are absolutely not at full strength and they are what they are. They’re a 5-6 team with a lot of flaws and they are running out of chances.
Catching the Buffalo Bills – who are playing at home – coming off of their bye week? It’s a brutal task for the 49ers given the current state they’re in right now.
But this team has played in bigger games, so the moment won’t be too big for them by any means. The Niners trotted out Brandon Allen against the Green Bay Packers and the results were predictable. Is there a chance we could see former Giants first-round pick Daniel Jones playing in this game?
You never know…
Regardless of who the 49ers have out there at the quarterback position, the Bills are set up pretty nicely at this one. They’ve had extra/ample time to get healthy and prepare for this matchup and the Bills are 6.5-point favorites early in the week.
Who could have seen that coming at the beginning of the season? Such is life in the NFL.
I think Josh Allen and the boys are going to come out of their bye week swinging.
Prediction: Bills win 30-22
Cleveland Browns (3-8) @ Denver Broncos (7-5)
Monday, December 2, 8:20 PM ET
The Denver Broncos are one of the most fascinating teams in the NFL right now and they’ve got to keep their focus for one more game before they get a chance to reset at the bye week in Week 14.
How has every NFL team not already had a bye week, by the way?
The Broncos return home after beating the Raiders in Las Vegas for the first time since they became the Las Vegas Raiders. As a matter of fact, the Broncos hadn’t beaten the Raiders on the road since 2015. It’s been a long spell of bad football in the Mile High City.
Bo Nix is playing like an NFL Rookie of the Year candidate right now and even with the Broncos sort of struggling in the first half against the Raiders, they managed to put up 29 total points and beat the Raiders by 10. In other words, as the season has gone along, the Broncos have built a little margin for error for themselves.
That will be tested on Monday night as they take on the Cleveland Browns, who are fresh off of an upset win against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday and obviously out for blood. Nobody will be more out for blood in this matchup, however, than wide receiver Jerry Jeudy, who was traded by the Broncos early this year.
Jeudy has played great lately and it’ll be interesting to see if the Broncos match him up with his old buddy Pat Surtain as much as possible.
The Browns are obviously not a team the Broncos can overlook. They are 5.5-point favorites and if they can get their running game and pass rush going, I think they could end up covering.
Prediction: Broncos win 24-16