Average Joe Contest
If Thanksgiving and Black Friday were any indication of what’s in store for Week 13, the sportsbooks are going to be laying on a bed of money making snow angels and those of us on this side of the counter will look like Mr. Monopoly when he has his pockets turned inside out.
Underdogs ruled the roost on the holiday and the biggest shopping day of the year, much to the chagrin of most Circa Survivor contestants. A similar Sunday/Monday would not be good for most of the field in the Edge Boost/VSiN Average Joe Contest either. If fading the public is your thing, then you’ve got some extra jangle in that holiday fund. If not, well, I’m sorry.
The consensus has not done well in the Edge Boost/VSiN Average Joe Contest thus far, but any week could be the one that turns things around. This is the third week of the third quarter, as a $500 weekly prize is available thanks to our friends at Edge Boost, as well as quarterly prizes. That means you can still look over the Average Joe Contest Rules and sign up for this FREE contest because there are still several chances to win.
Also, if you use the promo code VSiN and set yourself up with an Edge Boost account, that $500 weekly prize becomes $1,000, just for already having an account. The prize money will be sent to one anyway, so why not get ahead of the curve on that?
NFL Picks Week 13
With no lead time to talk about the college football picks, this article focuses on the NFL and the focus will be almost entirely on the NFL in the contest moving forward since the last week of the regular season for college is taking place.
Let’s look at those for this week.
Getting a survey of what “Average Joes” are thinking on the NFL is always intriguing. Of course, you can also do that with our DraftKings NFL Betting Splits and Circa NFL Betting Splits, but we’re here to look at what contest players are thinking.
Here are the most popular ATS Picks for Week 13:
Seahawks -12.5 (81%) vs. Vikings
It would seem that Average Joes have no interest in learning more about Max Brosmer, who gets the start because JJ “Nine” McCarthy is in concussion protocol. To be honest, based on how he talked about his “Nine” alter ego, he may have had a brain injury for a while now. Anyway, Brosmer, who was a star at New Hampshire and a viable QB for the Minnesota Golden Gophers, now gets an NFL start.
The undrafted signal caller has a tough assignment here and apparently 81% of the people who picked this game agree, given that Seattle took the cake as the most popular play of the weekend. It isn’t just about Brosmer, as the Sam Darnold Revenge Game is also a storyline in this one. This is a big ol’ number and usually bettors don’t like laying double digits in the NFL, but the Joes have had no problems with it lately.
Of the 356 picks on this game, there are 288 12th Men on the Seahawks.
Dolphins -5 (78%) vs. Saints
November 1 is All Saints Day. December 1 seems to be No Saints Day based on how the Joes have approached this game. Miami is coming off of a bye and the Dolphins host the Saints with extra rest and a little bit of momentum, having won three of their last four games.
Even though Tuanigamanuolepola Donny Tagovailoa is tied with Eugene Cyril Smith III for the most interceptions in the league, it would seem that the litany of problems with New Orleans supersedes any concerns about backing Ray Finkle’s former team in this early-window contest. The Saints will be missing Alvin Kamara in this one, likely another factor behind the popularity of this pick.
Of the 331 picks on this game, 257 are on the Dolphins.
Chargers -9.5 (74%) vs. Raiders
It wouldn’t be a consensus week in this contest without another big favorite, right? The Chargers narrowly edged out the underdog Giants, as we have to round down to get to 74% on this game and round up to get to 74% on the other game. As I just mentioned, Eugene, the wily NFL vet, is tied for the league lead in interceptions and that’s usually a good way to lose a lot of football games.
The Chargers are back on the West Coast, which is good because they’ve had some major problems going west to east. The Raiders at least had the luxury of flying over the miserable Las Vegas to Los Angeles traffic of a holiday weekend, but it might be the only “win” that they end up with this weekend.
Of the 263 picks on this game, 195 are on the Chargers.
Here are the three most popular totals of Week 13:
Another week where totals were far less popular than sides. I feel like totals are the less efficient of the two major NFL markets, but maybe the less enjoyable wagers to root for. And by less popular, I mean that not a single side of a total had more than 99 picks. That being said, we did have some very big splits by pick count.
Cardinals/Buccaneers Over 44.5 (91%)
The Cardinals have to get an early start on Sunday, as they’re on the Gulf Coast of Florida to take on the Buccaneers. As he has done many times throughout his career, it seems as though Baker Mayfield will play through injury. And the Cardinals will roll with Jacoby Brissett once again and he’s been able to put up some strong numbers in relief of Kyler Murray.
The Cardinals defense has allowed 40+ points twice in the last three games and 27 in the other, so it sure does seem like the Bucs will get their opportunities in this one.
Of the 94 picks on the game, 86 are on the Over.
Broncos/Commanders Under 43.5 (91%)
Denver’s defense continues to stand out in a big way, as the Broncos lead the NFL in a variety of different metrics and categories. The offense, though, has been downright offensive at times. Jayden Daniels is unable to return for Washington here in this one and that means that their offense will continue to be neutered.
Denver is on some extra rest here, so the expectation is that Sean Payton and the defensive staff has concocted a good gameplan here. I’d be concerned that Bo Nix and the Broncos offense will start to improve as we go along here, especially with some extra prep time and rest, but Joes don’t seem concerned about that at all.
Of the 65 picks on this game, 59 are on the Under.
Texans/Colts Under 44 (86%)
A rivalry game in the AFC South brings together the Texans and Colts with two banged-up QB groups. Daniel Jones is playing through a fractured fibula and CJ Stroud will be back on the field after clearing the final concussion protocol hurdles. Houston’s defense has been feisty all season long and is a major contributing factor as to why the team is on a bit of a heater.
We’ve seen a lot of picks that hint towards Joes looking for regression out of Jones and the Colts offense and this is just another example of that.
Of the 115 picks on this game, 99 are on the Under.
See all of the pick counts, including college football, on the Average Joe Contest Betting Splits page.
