NFL Week 13 What We Learned: Turn this week's lessons into Week 14 winners
Week 13 was a crazy week to say the least. Deshaun Watson looked really bad in his Browns debut following his 11-game suspension, Jimmy Garoppolo is done for the season, pretty much ending the Niners' Super Bowl aspirations, and the Chiefs' November/December winning streak is officially over. Meanwhile on the betting front, there's a new favorite to win the Super Bowl and AFC, there's no longer a three-way tie for the best against the spread record, and maybe most surprisingly, the under finished way below .500. Read all about it this week's NFL Week 13 Recap.
Unders fail to hit for just second time this season
The under this season has absolutely dominated with a 56% success rate, but that was far from the case in Week 13. With the "Monday Night Football" game still to go, the under finished just 6-8 this week, marking just the second time all season the under failed to finish .500 or better.
Week 13 belongs to ... the AFC North
It's super rare all four teams from the same division win in a given week, but it happened in Week 13. All four teams in the AFC North —Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Cincinnati — won outright this week. Meanwhile, the exact opposite happened in the AFC South, as all four teams — Indianapolis, Houston, Tennessee and Jacksonville — lost.
Two teams stand alone against the spread
Entering Week 13, Tennessee, Cincinnati and the New York Giants were tied for first in the NFL against the spread at 8-3, but after the Titans (+4.5) failed to cover against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, the Giants and Bengals are now tied for the NFL lead ATS at 9-3. The Giants (+2.5) finished in a tie against Washington, while the Bengals (+2.5) defeated Kansas City, 27-24.
Chiefs' November/December winning streak ends
Entering Sunday, the Kansas City Chiefs had won 26 straight games in November and December, but that streak ended after KC lost to Cincinnati, 27-24. Dating back to last season (including the playoffs), the Chiefs have now lost three consecutive games to the Bengals.
Broncos continue to dominate the under; Bears continue to smash the over
The Broncos have hit on a league-best eight straight unders and improved to a league-best 11-1 against the under after nailing the under on Sunday against the Ravens. The total points was set at 40.5, and the game finished with just 19 total points (Baltimore 10, Denver 9). Meanwhile the Bears have covered against the over in seven straight games, and are a league-best 9-4 against the over after eclipsing the set line of 45 total points (Green Bay 28, Chicago 19).
Heinicke fails to cover the spread for first time all season
Taylor Heinicke was a perfect 6-0 as a starter against the spread entering Week 13, but not anymore. Washington, who were 2.5-point favorites against the New York, finished in a 20-20 tie against the Giants.
Watson struggles in debut, but Browns still win
For the first time in exactly 700 days, Deshaun Watson played in an NFL regular-season game. And as some may have expected, the Browns quarterback struggled in his Browns debut, completing 12 of 22 passes for 131 yards and an interception against his former team. However, the Browns still defeated the Texans, 27-14.
Chiefs no longer favorites to win Super Bowl or AFC
With Kansas City losing to Cincinnati on Sunday, the Chiefs are no longer the favorites to win the Super Bowl, AFC Conference Championship or serve as the No. 1 seed in the AFC Conference. Buffalo, who's currently atop the AFC, are now once again favored to win the Super Bowl (+400), the AFC (+180) and serve as the No. 1 seed in the AFC (+100).
49ers odds to win Super Bowl drop big time following Garoppolo injury
Following Sunday's win over Miami, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan announced quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo will be out for the remainder of the season with a broken ankle after breaking it in the first quarter against the Dolphins. Following Garoppolo's injury, the Niners Super Bowl odds dropped from 20/3 to 10/1.
Heading into Week 14
There have now been two ties this season — Week 1 Indianapolis vs. Houston and Week 13 Washington vs. New York Giants — and if there's another over the next five weeks, it'll be there first time in the modern era there's been three ties in a single season.
The Detroit Lions might only be 5-7 on the season, but they've now won four of their last five games and have covered the spread in five straight games after blowing out the Jacksonville Jaguars, 40-14.
The Houston Texans remain on track for the No. 1 pick in this year's NFL draft after losing their seventh straight game on Sunday. Houston, is now 1-10-1 and have yet to win a home game.
The Chicago Bears became the first team in the NFC to be eliminated from making the playoffs after losing to rival Green Bay on Sunday. The Bears are currently 3-10 after dropping their sixth straight game, and have yet to win a divisional game this year.
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