NFL Betting: What We Learned from Week 13 (2020)
Week 13 is a long way away from being over as we’ll have two games on Monday and one on Tuesday. Nonetheless, with the Sunday games behind us, let’s take a look back and see what we learned from this week’s action.
Titans’ Third-Down Defense is Going to be Their Undoing
While the Tennessee Titans made it close in the end, they were essentially blown out by the Cleveland Browns on Sunday. As per usual, a big issue for them was getting off the field on third downs. On Sunday, they allowed the Browns to convert 10 of 16 on third down, which kept their defense on the field for huge chunks of the game. The Browns won the time of possession battle 36:46-23:14.
The Titans came into the game allowing a league-worst 52.6% conversions on third downs and that number is going to go up. Don’t bet any long-term futures with this team in terms of winning the AFC or Super Bowl because this will be their downfall.
Is Russ Cooking Too Much?
Something weird is going on in Seattle. Their offense, which was one of the most electric units early on in the year, just isn’t producing much these days. They scored 35.5 points per game over their first four contests. Over their last four, their average nearly half of that at 18.0 points per outing.
It appears that letting Russ cook has its downsides. It’s hard to whether maybe he’s fatigued – he’s on pace for a career-high 581.3 pass attempts – or maybe he’s just not getting much help from the ground game. The Seahawks are averaging just 116.3 rushing over their last four. It’s possible the offense has become too predictable. Whatever it is, the Seahawks have to figure things out quickly. They are now in a tie for first place in the NFC West as the Los Angeles Rams caught up with them on Sunday.
The Bears’ Defense is Also a Problem
The Chicago Bears offense gets much of the flack for holding the team back but it’s time to give a spotlight to the other side of the ball. The defense gave up 34 points to the Detroit Lions on Sunday while also coughing up 402 passing yards to Matt Stafford. There’s no question that the offense is not putting them in great positions but this is not the smashmouth, shutdown unit we’ve seen in the past. They’ve now allowed 75 points in their last two games and have a total of just 23 sacks on the season. They’re still a solid unit but they’re not good enough to carry this team.
Given the current six-game losing streak, the offensive struggles, and the coaching issues, with the defense also failing, the dam could (and is starting to) break for this team.
Be Careful Betting the Vikings
This might not seem like breaking news but it should be for some (I’m referring to those who laid 10.5 with the Vikings on Sunday). Be careful betting this team.
Take a look at their recent track record: they barely eked out a win over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday, probably should have lost at home to the Carolina Panthers last week, lost at home to the Dallas Cowboys, and squeaked out a win over the Chicago Bears on the road. They’ve won five of their last six but they’re not as good as that little spell indicates.
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Dave Golokhov is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Dave, check out his archive and follow him @davegolokhov.