Heading into Week 13 of the NFL please note these stats (all are ATS – against the spread, unless otherwise noted) are definitely items to consider as you look at the deep NFL card. However, this does not mean these are “plays” in the true sense of the word. That said the hope is that the ATS information below helps you as you “traverse” this week’s NFL card! As always, best of luck in all your sports gaming from Scott Rickenbach

1) Buffalo is 6-2 when facing an opponent from the NFC. You might think that would be a ‘let-up spot’ or a ‘let-down’ spot but as evidenced by this stat, the Bills generally have no problem putting away non-conference opposition. Helping them this time around is who that opponent is! The Bills are hosting the 49ers on Sunday and like many teams from the West Coast, San Francisco struggles when playing in the Eastern Time zone as they’ve gotten the cash just 8 times in their last 33 game! Also, the 49ers can’t seem to get motivated on the road unless they’re playing a team from the NFC West! The Niners have failed to cover the spread eight straight times when on the road against non-divisional opposition!

2) Carolina is 2-5 as a “small dog”. In this case we use “small dog” to mean +3.5 or less. This is significant because, overall, the Panthers have a reputation as a good road team. However, they are about a field goal underdog at Green Bay this week and the Packers have lost the money just five times in their last 17 games as a favorite! Carolina has covered just twice in their five road games this season and these stats favor another ATS loss for the Panthers this week.

3) San Diego is 8-3 as a home favorite. This week they’re laying a fairly sizable number to the Falcons. However, to ease your mind about laying the points, note that Atlanta is just 2-5 as a road dog. So we’ve got the Falcons, who don’t travel well, going all the way to the West Coast for this one and facing a Chargers team likely to be fired up after losing at home to the Colts in a tight game on Sunday Night Football. Indeed, laying the points may very well be the way to go in this match-up!

4) Tampa Bay is on a 10-3 run at home. The Bucs are laying a handful of points here – about 4 – but note that the Saints are just 3-7 in their last ten divisional games. Also, New Orleans is coming off of that big win on Monday Night Football over the Packers. So the Saints are on a short week and facing a Buccaneers team that has performed very well in this role in the past. The Bucs have lost the money just once in their last eight games a home favorite in a divisional match-up!

5) New England is on a 2-9 run at home. This includes their home playoff games but, even so, you get the point! The Patriots have been a money burner at home for quite awhile now! This won’t be helped by the fact that this week they must deal with the #1 defense in the league. New England is coming off of a big divisional win at Miami and they threw all over the Dolphins but Miami is quickly dropping in the rankings and is now becoming one of the worst teams in the league when it comes to defending the pass. Now the Patriots will have to deal with the defense that is ranked #1 both against the pass and against the run! This will be a much bigger challenge for the Pats this week and Miami did throw for 330 yards against them last week. Pittsburgh also brings some momentum into this game from dominating the Bengals last week. Sure it was “only” Cincinnati, but the offense was able to develop a nice rhythm in the game and we know all about this Steelers defense! The oddsmakers tight line here could very well be justified as the road team looks quite inviting in this match-up!

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