Cook’s 2021 NFL Gambling Picks: Week 13

Hi, hello & welcome to Week 13 of the National Football League! It’s been a bit of an unlucky year so far with the picks, but maybe an unlucky number will help us turn things around. It’s worth a shot!

You know who doesn’t need to turn things around? The NFL! Thanksgiving ratings were through the roof, even though every team playing that day was coming off a loss. Numbers keep going up & up. There was a point recently when it felt like the league had peaked. We’re not getting that feeling anymore. Lots of young stars & interesting teams…it’s a good time to be a football fan, no doubt about it.

Thursday, December 2

Dallas (-4.5) at New Orleans

Every Mike McCarthy picture looks like it is left over from the Treadstone operation he is now trying to blow the whistle on as the CIA hunts him through European capitals pic.twitter.com/1uj3wBPRxU

— Patrick Daugherty (@RotoPat) November 30, 2021

Head coaches missing games due to Covid haven’t really affected their team’s performance so far. If you ask most Cowboys fans, the team would be better off without Mike McCarthy anyway. They are getting healthier as a whole though, with Amari Cooper & CeeDee Lamb expected to be back in the lineup. On the Saints’ side of things, Taysom Hill is expected to make his first start at quarterback this season, while Alvin Kamara isn’t expected to play.

I’m liking the Cowboys to get things back on track this week. I feel like I’ve said this a few times and it hasn’t happened yet, but I’m sticking with it. They’re going to turn it around at some point, right?

Right?

Sunday, December 5

Minnesota (-7) at Detroit

Why did nobody tell me THIS was Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer's girlfriend?!?

Sign that man through forever. He is hands down most winning coach in Vikings history. #SKOL #NFL #Vikings pic.twitter.com/P1WLjONWVW

— VanillaGorilla (@Van1llaGorilla_) November 25, 2021

Speaking of teams I just can’t give up on, the 0-10-1 Lions certainly are one of them. Obviously they aren’t good, but they have that fire in them where they won’t give up. Why I told you to bet on them against the Bears if you must, and will tell you to bet on them here against a Vikings team that only beat them by two points earlier in the season. They’ll also be missing Dalvin Cook, so Kissin’ Kirk Cousins will be handling more of the offensive load than usual.

Arizona (-8) at Chicago

pic.twitter.com/N8D9bfTLod

— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) December 1, 2021

Eight points feels like a lot, but we’ve been saying these kinds of things about the Cardinals all season and they just keep winning. Justin Fields might be back for the Bears, which I don’t think will help their cause.

Tampa Bay (-11) at Atlanta

Cordarrelle Patterson really does everything huh? 😂

The current RB/WR is listed as a Reserve SAFETY for the Falcons pic.twitter.com/thHLlpeL1D

— BarnBurner Sports (@BB__Sports) December 1, 2021

Eleven points feels like a lot, but you gotta keep in mind that the Buccaneers won by seventeen points last time these teams played each other. So the line makes sense. The Falcons don’t seem very good, but they’re still on the fringe of the playoff hunt largely due to Cordarrelle Patterson. I’ve been slow to jump on the Patterson bandwagon out of spite…yeah, I was one of those people that predicted big things for him back in 2014 when he turned in a dismal sophomore season. Made things difficult for a number of my fantasy teams. He’s good now though!

Bucs win on the road, but the Falcons keep it close.

Indianapolis (-9) at Houston

The Texans are coming off a game where they gained 202 yards…against the Jets

The Colts had 532 yards against the Jets

— After Dayo Odeyingbo (@VeveJones007) December 1, 2021

The Texans are back to being the Texans, so expect Jonathan Taylor to run all over them and lead the Colts to a fairly easy victory.

Philadelphia (-6.5) at NY Jets

The Jets play the Eagles this week.

Reminder, the Jets have NEVER beaten the Eagles.

Philly's 11-0 record vs Jets is the best record by one team against an opponent in NFL history. pic.twitter.com/8ECTIdy9Fa

— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) December 1, 2021

It was nice to see the Jets get back on track last week. Too bad they’re getting knocked back off track this week. The Eagles continue their dominance over the New York team that isn’t in their division.

LA Chargers at Cincinnati (-3)

Society if the NFL flexed Chargers Vs Bengals pic.twitter.com/zb5Jk2vb87

— sam hubbard enthusiast (Vince) (@qsmartreviewer) November 23, 2021

We’ve got two teams that could be defined by their 2020 NFL Draft first round quarterbacks for years to come. Justin Herbert & Joe Burrow have given their fanbases hope, and have been part of moving their teams up the standings. This will be their first meeting, and hopefully many more will follow. The Bengals have looked great since their bye week, while the Chargers have been up and down. Since the Chargers were down last week, I expect them to be up this week.

NY Giants at Miami (-4)

The Miami Dolphins’ defense looking at Mike Glennon under center for the New York Giants on Sunday: pic.twitter.com/YGbSsOvevF

— Moody (@EricNMoody) November 30, 2021

I told y’all that the Dolphins were going to make a run here against inferior competition. That run will continue against a Giants team that’s actually been tougher to beat than one would think. Too bad about Mike Glennon though.

Washington at Las Vegas (-2.5)

Any chance Jon Gruden uses his Allegiant Stadium credential to “have a word” with Dan Snyder or his wife during Sunday’s game? #RaiderNation

— Alan in Vegas (@alaninvegas) November 30, 2021

The Raiders are a confusing bunch. In Week 11, they couldn’t have looked much worse. In Week 12, they had people hyping them up as actual playoff contenders. Washington is an equally confusing bunch, so I’m really not sure what to expect here. Take the Raiders as the home favorite.

Baltimore (-4.5) at Pittsburgh

The Ravens are a 3.5-point favorite at Pittsburgh.

This marks the first time Baltimore has been favored in Pittsburgh vs. Ben Roethlisberger.

The other four times Baltimore was favored to win, the Steelers QBs were: 2000 (Graham), 2012 (Leftwich), 2015 (Vick) and 2019 (Rudolph)

— Jamison Hensley (@jamisonhensley) November 30, 2021

The Steelers probably hit rock bottom with their showing against Cincinnati in Week 12. It looked like a typical Bengals/Steelers game, except the Steelers were playing the role the Bengals usually play. As proud an organization as that is, surely the Steelers will show up this week motivated to prove some people wrong. They might not be as good as the Ravens, but it’s not like Baltimore has been clicking on all cylinders lately. Take the Steelers to keep things close.

Jacksonville at LA Rams (-13)

Don’t worry Rams, help is on the way. Sincerely, The Jacksonville Jaguars

— oxgator (@oxgator) November 29, 2021

It’s been a struggle for the Rams lately. Surely they can get things right against Jacksonville, but 13.5 is a lot of points. Take the Jaguars to get closer than that.

San Francisco (-3.5) at Seattle

I see fans telling other fans not to take the Seahawks lightly and I’m confused frankly.

The #49ers shouldn’t take the Seahawks lightly.

I mean, they are the ones playing the game, right?

— Jason Aponte (@JasonAponte2103) November 30, 2021

The Seahawks’ offense is a dumpster fire, and the 49ers are on a hot streak. The way things have been going this year tells me that the Seahawks are the pick. Makes no sense, but what has this year?

Denver at Kansas City (-10)

The last Broncos QB to beat the Chiefs was… Peyton Manning 😳😳 pic.twitter.com/vyoXlbz27e

— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) December 1, 2021

There actually are AFC West ramifications here, so even though everybody would have rather seen Herbert vs. Burrow flexed to SUNDAY NIGHT IS FOOTBALL NIGHT, there are reasons other than “Patrick Mahomes” to air this in prime time. The Broncos actually have a winning record, to the shock of many. They’re not a sexy pick like the Chiefs are. KC has won eleven straight games against Denver, and I expect the Chiefs to make it twelve. Gonna go with the Broncos keeping things within 10 points.

Monday, December 6

New England at Buffalo (-2.5)

The #Patriots got a kick out of Bill Belichick reenacting Kendrick Bourne’s stiff arm.

Dare I say they’re having #fun. pic.twitter.com/yeN40luSZE

— Keagan Stiefel (@KeaganStiefel) November 30, 2021

The last thing the Bills need right now is for the Patriots to roll into Buffalo and take a win, further establishing themselves as the team to beat in the AFC East again. We know what’s going to happen though, right? The Patriots are going to win because that’s what the NFL is doing this year. The Empire has risen again.

Week 12 Results: 7-8

Overall Results: 76-101-3