NFL picks: Week 13 big underdog predictions

There are four days of football in Week 13 of the NFL season with three games on Thanksgiving, one on Black Friday and, of course, one on Monday Night Football.

With no teams on bye this week (the final byes are in Week 14), there are also eight HBomb-eligible big underdog games with point spreads of at least 6.5. That included Thanksgiving night between the Ravens and Bengals with quarterback Joe Burrow returning to the field, an outright win for the Bengals, the Friday afternoon matchup featuring the Eagles and Bears and then the Broncos and Commanders on Sunday night and the Patriots and Giants on Monday night.

The combined spreads for the eight games are 66 points.

Week 12 was a difficult one for Jess Root and me, as we each lost. Jess went with seven-point underdog Carolina and the Panthers lost by 11, while I went down big-time as the 6.5-underdog Buccaneers lost by 27 to the Rams.

H-Bomb big underdog possibilities in Week 13

Here are the eligible games this week that have not been played.

• Philadelphia Eagles (-7) vs. Chicago Bears

• Jacksonville Jaguars (-6.5) at Tennessee Titans

• Los Angeles Rams (-10.5) at Carolina Panthers

• Seattle Seahawks (-11.5) vs. Minnesota Vikings

• Los Angeles Chargers (-9.5) vs. Las Vegas Raiders

• Denver Broncos (-6.5) at Washington Commanders

• New England Patriots (-7.5) at New York Giants

There are times when the spreads are examined that a game seems to jump off the page. Often, the H-Bomb games are tough choices because the underdogs are teams with the worst records in the league.

It’s certainly true this week in six instances with the Bengals (3-8), Titans (1-10), Vikings (4-7 and rookie undrafted free-agent Max Brosmer likely playing quarterback), Commanders (3-8), Raiders (2-9) and Giants (2-10). Of course, Cincinnati likely would have a better record had Burrow not been injured early and the same for Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels.

The outlier this week and that page-jumper was the 8-3 Bears, the first-place team in the NFC North yet being a touchdown underdog to the Eagles. Whether that’s because bettors still don’t believe in Chicago or they have too much faith in Philadelphia, it’s no surprise that both Jess and I are dropping the bomb on the Eagles.

Jess needs a win badly after losing in six consecutive weeks and now has to win in every remaining week to reach .500. However, I’m still in striking distance, leading by 2.5 games, although he can’t pick up any ground this week.

H-Bomb standings after 12 weeks

Direct hits (outright wins by underdogs) in parentheses

• Howard: 5-6-1 (3)

• Jess: 3-9 (1)

• Overall: 30-27-1 (10)

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This article originally appeared on Cards Wire: NFL picks: Week 13 big underdog predictions