NFL Week 13 Tips: San Francisco 49ers can beat in-form Dolphins

The 2022 NFL season is as competitive as ever and multiple teams still have a realistic chance of making the postseason. Here, expert Tom Collins offers his week 13 predictions.

Pittsburgh Steelers (-1) @ Atlanta Falcons (+1)

Kick-off: 6pm Sunday GMT

The majority of NFL punters would assume that the Atlanta Falcons should be home favourites in a match-up against the Pittsburgh Steelers, right? Wrong - that is not the case. This market is still very close, but the Steelers are one-point favourites to win on the road.

Perhaps that is due to the emergence of rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett, who has undoubtedly improved with his efficiency and production over the last couple of weeks. Running back Najee Harris has begun to carry the ball with better effect and the Steelers defence is beginning to show up, as proven against the Indianapolis Colts last week.

For all of those reasons, and the fact that the Steelers have a dominant head-to-head record against the Atlanta Falcons in their franchise history (14-2-1), I want to back Pittsburgh despite their surprise favouritism. Atlanta threw away a golden chance to beat the Commanders last week - situations like that are difficult to overcome.

Prediction: Pittsburgh Steelers -1 @ 1.91

Miami Dolphins (+4) @ San Francisco 49ers (-4)

Kick-off: 9.05pm Sunday GMT

San Francisco have won their last four games with an aggregate score of 104-40 - they have been completely dominant on both sides of the ball. What is notable is that they showed flashes of offensive brilliance against the Cardinals in week 11, while their week 12 victory over the Saints showed that this team has the defensive quality to make a long playoff run.

Running back Elijah Mitchell’s injury will force head coach Kyle Shanahan to give the ball to Christian McCaffrey, which is no bad thing, while Deebo Samuel, George Kittle and Brandon Aiyuk may see an increase in targets. The 49ers defence is giving up the fewest total yards per game, fewest rushing yards per game and fewest points per game, so there are no worries there. 

The Miami Dolphins enter this match-up on a five-game win streak, but beating the Pittsburgh Steelers, Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, Cleveland Browns and Houston Texans doesn’t take much. Miami lost momentum and rhythm in the second-half against Houston on Sunday when Tua Tagovailoa was taken out of the game, and now they travel across the country to face a red-hot defence. 

Miami are 3-2 on the road this year, but they have given up an average of 34.2 points per game in those matches and are susceptible to both big plays and long drives. Expect San Francisco to score early and often.

Prediction: San Francisco 49ers -4 @ 1.91

Kansas City Chiefs (-2) @ Cincinnati Bengals (+2)

Kick-off: 9.25pm Sunday GMT

This is going to be an absolute corker, so make sure you get your evening snack of choice and buckle in pre-kickoff. There have been a fair few defensive battles this season, but this figures to be a proper shootout. 

Kansas City Chief quarterback Patrick Mahomes and Cincinnati Bengals signal caller Joe Burrow have combined for a total of 52 (yes, 52!) touchdown passes so far this season. Unsurprisingly, they are ranked first and second in that statistic, while also sitting first and third respectively in total passing yards this term.

Largely thanks to Burrow’s performances, the Cincinnati Bengals look to be right back to something like their best and enter this game on a three-game win streak. Their numbers are ridiculously similar to this point last season - don’t forget that they made it to the Super Bowl back in February. 

Meanwhile, the Chiefs have won five straight, which include road wins against the talented Chargers and 49ers. Something has to give! I really like the Bengals this year, especially from a punting perspective as following them has served me well. But I’m going to side with the Chiefs on Sunday. This strikes me as an end-to-end game where Mahomes will have the last laugh.

Prediction: Kansas City Chiefs -2 @ 1.91

NFL Week 13 Tips

Pittsburgh Steelers -1 @ 1.91
San Francisco 49ers -4 @ 1.91
Kansas City Chiefs -2 @ 1.91

Accumulator odds: 6.97 decimal, 5.97-1 fractional