AFTER overdosing on pre-game shows and actual games all day, coupled with a hearty Jamaican traditional Sunday dinner with the requisite bottle of wine, the missus and I stayed awake to watch Sunday Night Football and our favourite broadcast crew of Al Michaels and Chris Collingsworth call the game of the week, perhaps of the season, between the New England Patriots and the Denver Broncos. It was the much-anticipated clash of Titans, Tom Brady and Peyton Manning, and it promised to be a barn burner in Foxboro. At half-time the scoreboard read Broncos 24 Patriots 0. This made my better half very happy, because she dislikes Tom Brady and adores Peyton Manning. We did not see any purpose in trying to stay awake for the second half because, for us, the outcome was a sure thing. The Broncos were going to murder the Patriots and all that was in question was by how much. So we promptly turned in at half-time to sleep the sleep of the just and the satisfied.

It was a lucky thing that I did not have my cup of tea in my left hand and the remote in my right as I fired up the TV and went directly to ESPN’s SportsCentre on Monday morning, only to see an elated Tom Brady and his animated team looking very pleased. The score at the bottom of the screen read Patriots 34, Broncos 31 in overtime. The impossible had happened. The Broncos, who were 2.5 point JustBet favourites in the game, blew their half-time lead as the Patriots made an amazing comeback to send the game into overtime and eventually win it outright.

Watching the highlights was painful, because I was counting on a Broncos victory to boost my poor picks performance, but it was not to be. Kudos to both Brady, Patriots coach Bill Bellichick and the entire New England Patriots team who never quit and hung in there to the very end. What this does is confirm, without a doubt, that they are the most dangerous team in the AFC and a team that can never be counted out.

It’s Thanksgiving weekend in the USA, and over and above stuffing themselves with that highly overrated bird, the majority of the American populace will be glued to their televisions watching football. There are three games on Thursday, Thanksgiving Day: the Green Bay Packers face the Detroit Lions, the Oakland raiders are up against the Dallas Cowboys, and the Pittsburgh Steelers face off against the Baltimore Ravens. Personally, I am hoping that the Lions, the Cowboys and the Steelers win for obvious reasons — I picked them. Now, normally the JustBet NFL feature appears on a Friday, but because of all the Thanksgiving Day games, we decided to drop in on everyone a bit earlier.

It was another tough week in that most of the teams I picked to win, lost. I consider them upsets. For example, the high-flying Kansas City Chiefs lost to the San Diego Chargers 41-38 in a thriller, as Chargers QB Phillip Rivers engineered a game-winning drive with only seconds left in the fourth quarter. The Chiefs have lost back-to-back games and have some major injuries to their defensive ends, Justin Houston and Tamba Hall. How badly did this affect them? They gave up 38 points in 31 minutes after Houston left the game on Sunday.

Near the bottom of the pile, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers somehow outscored the Detroit Lions 24-21. The Bucs’ rookie quarterback , Mike Glennon, played a reasonably good, mistake-free game while the Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford, was off target, missing his receivers and looked generally sub-par. The Houston Texans sank lower down the scale when they could only muster six points to the Jacksonville Jaguars’ 13. I fully expected Geno Smith and the New York Jets to put up a better showing against the Baltimore Ravens. Instead, Smith put on a pathetic display of rookie indecision as the Jets ended up losing 19-3. I like Geno Smith and want him to succeed. The kid’s got lots of talent but needs to be more consistent. I sincerely hope that coach, Rex Ryan sticks with him and gives him a chance to really shine. Meanwhile, Tony Romo and the Cowboys may have ended Eli Manning and Giants’ playoff hopes this season, with an impressive 24-21 road win last week. Ouch. The ever-improving Arizona Cardinals, quarterbacked by veteran Carson Palmer, put a heavy licking on the Indianapolis Colts 40-11. The Colts have been outscored 93-9 in the first half of their last four games. That’s an interesting stat to ponder, but by far the most fascinating result was the tied game between the Green Bay Packers and the Minnesota Vikings 26-26. One seldom sees tied games in the NFL. One also seldom sees a week like the one we’ve just had.

How did we do in our picks against the spread last week? I would prefer that you not ask. Yours truly had the worst-ever record in making NFL predictions. I only managed to go 3-11, while Pete Lindo and Andrei Roper went 4-10 and 5-9 respectively. Leading the way last week was Andre Hutchinson with an 8-6 mark. Way to go Dre.

Apart from Thursday’s Thanksgiving Day action, here are some other Week 13 games that are worth a watch. The Eagles (who have won three in a row) vs the Cardinals (who have won four in a row) should be a good one, the Chiefs will play the Broncos for the second time in three weeks, after Denver beat up on KC in week 11, The Chargers coming off that big win over the Chiefs are home to the Bengals and, on Sunday night, the still struggling Redskins, coming off yet another loss last week, are at home to the Giants who also lost in week 12 (to Dallas). Then on Monday Night Football, the Seattle Seahawks, one of the best home teams in the league, with the famous “12th man” home field advantage, will take on the New Orleans Saints.

So that’s it for another week folks. Enjoy all the week 13 games, especially those on Thanksgiving Day. Place your NFL bets early and often with JustBet, Jamaica’s number one sports betting game and you could win BIG. Remember to give us a listen on HITZ 92FM at 6:05pm every Friday, during the NFL Gameday Forecast. And of course, “Just win baby, just win”.

To find a JustBet location near you, visit: www.supremeventures.com/justbetlocations. To find out more about JustBet, and how to bet on the NFL and other sports, visit www.supremeventures.com/justbet, www.facebook.com/justbet, www.twitter.com/justbet_ja , or call 1-888-429-5785 (toll-free).NFL WEEK 13 SCHEDULE & JUSTBET HANDICAPSThursday, Nov 28Sunday Dec 1Monday Dec 2EXPERTS’ PICKS AGAINST THE SPREADPeter Lindo’s Week 13 PicksLIONS v PACKERSCOWBOYS v RAIDERSRAVENS v STEELERSPANTHERS v BUCCANEERSBROWNS v JAGUARSPATRIOTSTITANSVIKINGS v BEARSDOLPHINSCARDINALSBILLS v FALCONSRAMSBRONCOSBENGALSREDSKINS v GIANTSSEAHAWKS v SAINTSTony Scott’s Week 13 PicksLIONS v PACKERSCOWBOYS v RAIDERSSTEELERSPANTHERS v BUCCANEERSBROWNS v JAGUARSPATRIOTSCOLTS v TITANSVIKINGS v BEARSDOLPHINSEAGLES v CARDINALSBILLS v FALCONS49ERS v RAMSBRONCOSBENGALSGIANTSSEAHAWKS v SAINTSAndre Hutchinson’s Week 13 PicksPACKERSRAIDERSSTEELERSBUCCANEERSJAGUARSPATRIOTSTITANSVIKINGS v BEARSDOLPHINSEAGLES v CARDINALSBILLS v FALCONS49ERS v RAMSBRONCOSBENGALSGIANTSSEAHAWKS v SAINTSAndrei Roper’s Week 13 PicksLIONS v PACKERSCOWBOYS v RAIDERSRAVENS v STEELERSPANTHERS v BUCCANEERSJAGUARSPATRIOTSCOLTS v TITANSVIKINGS v BEARSEAGLES v CARDINALSBILLS v FALCONS49ERS v RAMSBRONCOSCHARGERS v BENGALSGIANTSSAINTS

(*JustBet Handicaps for each game in bracket, Under/Over for each game listed)

DET LIONS v GB PACKERS (+ 9.5), U/O 45.5

DAL COWBOYS v OAK RAIDERS (+ 8.5), U/O 45.5

BAL RAVENS v PIT STEELERS (+ 2.5), U/O 40.5

CAR PANTHERS v TB BUCCANEERS (+ 8.5), U/O 41.5

CLE BROWNS v JAC JAGUARS (+ 7.5), U/O 39.5

HOU TEXANS (+ 6.5) v NE PATRIOTS, U/O 46.5

IND COL_S v TEN TITANS (+ 5.5), U/O 43.5

MIN VIKINGS (+ 3.5) v CHI BEARS, U/O 47.5

NY JETS v MIA DOLPHINS (+ 1.5), U/O 38.5

PHI EAGLES v ARI CARDINALS (+ 2.5), U/O 48.5

BUF BILLS v ATL FALCONS (+ 3.5), U/O 45.5

SF 49ERS v STL RAMS (+ 2.5), U/O 49.5

KC CHIEFS (+ 3.5) v DEN BRONCOS, U/O 47.5

SD CHARGERS v CIN BENGALS (+ 1.5), U/O 47.5

WAS REDSKINS v NY GIANTS (+ 2.5), U/O 47.5

SEA SEAHAWKS v NO SAINTS (+ 6.5), U/O 46.5

TEXANS v

COL_S v

JETS v

EAGLES v

49ERS v

CHIEFS v

CHARGERS v

Last week’s record: 4-10

Season record: 88-88

RAVENS v

TEXANS v

JETS v

CHIEFS v

CHARGERS v

REDSKINS v

Last week’s record: 3-11

Season record: 87-89

LIONS v

COWBOYS v

RAVENS v

PANTHERS v

BROWNS v

TEXANS v

COL_S v

JETS v

CHIEFS v

CHARGERS v

REDSKINS v

Last week’s record: 8-6

Season record: 84-92

BROWNS v

TEXANS v

JETS v DOLPHINS

CHIEFS v

REDSKINS v

SEAHAWKS v

Last week’s record: 5-9

Season record: 77-99