National Football League

NFL odds Week 13: Best bets for Commanders-Giants, Jets-Vikings

Updated Dec. 4, 2022 11:07 a.m. ET

Championship weekend has arrived in college football, and we’ve reached the home stretch of the NFL regular season. Time flies when you’re having fun.

Our best bets (29-27-1) are in the green, and I’m rolling with four plays over the next few days. This space isn’t the place for a million picks or five-team parlays, either. These are the games I love the most.

Let’s go to work with odds courtesy of FOX Bet.

No. 14 LSU vs No. 1 Georgia (4 p.m. ET Saturday, CBS)

The Bulldog buzzsaw is about to claim another victim.

LSU fans were all hyped after the Tigers upset overrated Alabama earlier this month, but all that jubilation quickly evaporated after Brian Kelly’s bunch got rolled by lowly Texas A&M this past weekend.

Yawn.

Georgia’s sensational defense will stuff LSU’s running game, which means Jayden Daniels will have to pick apart the Bulldogs’ elite secondary. Good luck. There’s also a strong motivational angle working in Georgia’s favor. The Bulldogs haven’t won an SEC Championship in five years. Odds are good that Kirby Smart will have them ready to rock and roll in a glorified home game.

LSU is good, but Georgia is great. Lay the wood.

PICK: Georgia (-17.5 at FOX Bet) to win by more than 17.5 points

Georgia-LSU, TCU-Kansas State, and Clemson North Carolina previews featuring Geoff Schwartz

FOX Sports’ RJ Young is joined by Geoff Schwartz to preview the SEC, Big 12, and ACC Championship games.

Toledo vs. Ohio (Noon ET Saturday, ESPN)

The Toledo disrespect is something else.

Bookmakers opened the Rockets as a 4.5-point favorite in the MAC Championship and the line got blasted to 1.5 in less than two days. Respected bettors certainly love wagering against Jason Candle, but I disagree with the movement this time around.

I’m hearing mostly good things about Toledo’s starting quarterback Dequan Finn. We’ve monitored Finn’s status for over a month since he took a crushing hit at the end of the game against Buffalo. He played in limited fashion last week [by design] and I expect him to be ready on Saturday.

This number has crept back up a bit, but I’ll still lay it.

PICK: Toledo (-3 at FOX Bet) to win by more than 3 points

Commanders at Giants (1 p.m. ET Sunday, FOX and FOX Sports App)

Speaking of disrespect, I can’t believe the Giants are dogs here.

Sure, they've suffered some injuries over the last couple weeks, but this team is still a cash cow for bettors. New York has covered eight of 11 games thanks to an extremely sharp coaching staff. Big Blue is rarely outmatched in the wits department and that’s a big deal.

Expect Brian Daboll and Mike Kafka to dial up Saquon Barkley’s number quite a bit to evade the Commanders' stout defensive line. Utilizing Barkley’s legs in the running game and his pass-catching skills out of the backfield will be crucial to keep those monsters on the line at bay. Washington would be a playoff team if the season ended today, but I have my doubts.

I think the Giants win outright.

PICK: Giants (+1.5 at FOX Bet) to lose by fewer than 1.5 points (or win outright)

Jets at Vikings (1 p.m. ET Sunday, CBS)

Minnesota’s pass defense is a big problem.

The Vikings got carved like a turkey last Thursday against an awful Patriots offense and that performance looks even worse after Mac Jones only passed for 195 yards last night against Buffalo. Remember, he somehow torched Minnesota for almost 400 yards through the air. Sheesh.

Enter Mike White. The former Western Kentucky Hilltopper got the start at quarterback last week for the Jets and pushed all the right buttons. Granted, Chicago’s defense is far from special, but White’s accuracy was pinpoint. He got the ball to his playmakers and let them do the rest.

The Jets’ defense is no joke, and they’ll bring plenty of pressure into Kirk Cousins’ kitchen. Robert Saleh has done a fabulous job coaching his guys up and they’ve made you money on the highway (4-1 ATS). This number has a bunch of built in respect for the dog and I completely agree.

New York, New York.

PICK: Jets (+3 at FOX Bet) to lose by fewer than 3 points (or win outright)

Sam Panayotovich is a sports betting analyst for FOX Sports and NESN. He previously worked for WGN Radio, NBC Sports and VSiN. He'll probably pick against your favorite team. Follow him on Twitter @spshoot.

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