NFL Week 13 Vegas contest picks: Top spread selections from Las Vegas contest expert

Remember a few weeks ago when we referred to the upcoming schedule in the NFL as "The Gauntlet?" After the results on Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday, we rest our case. My goodness.

Circa Survivor came into the holiday with 898 entries still alive. As we have explained here previously, Circa makes one choose two winners in Week 13 – one from the four games over the Thursday and Friday of Thanksgiving Weekend – and another game from the Sunday schedule. Call it Week 13A and Week 13B. If you survive 13A, you must choose again for 13B and hope to emerge unscathed.

We have also noted here previously that last season, only 54 entries were left standing in Circa Survivor after the Thanksgiving Weekend. With every favorite losing on both Thursday and Friday, the Lions, Chiefs, Ravens, and finally Eagles on Friday, have reduced the Circa Survivor contest to just 49 live entries. It's not even Sunday yet – and the 2025 edition of Circa Survivor had nearly 4,500 entries more than did the 2024 contest. It really is remarkable.

If you are one of the 49 entries still alive and heading to Week 14, that contest entry that you purchased for $1K over the summer now carries an inherent value of $382,000. Congratulations. You've made it this far – it's time to monetize.

And how about this? There were two "No Picks" in Circa Survivor for the four-game Thanksgiving slate – Week 13A as we're calling it. Word has gotten out that one of the remaining entries that failed to submit a pick prior to the contest deadline was unaware of the specific Thanksgiving Week unique rules. As it turns out, the only teams this person had left to use for these four games were all of the underdogs – the Packers, Cowboys, Bengals, and Bears. Had they known the rules, this entry would be one of 50 remaining with $18.7M on the line. Ouch.

Equally compelling is Circa Grandissimo. This is a Survivor Contest with a $100,000 entry fee in which the same 13A and 13B rules apply. Only six entries of an original 69 remained heading into the holiday. Three of those entries lost with the Ravens on Thanksgiving night. The other three entries were on the Eagles on Friday. Bang! Contest over. All six entries that made it to Thanksgiving are now eliminated and thus, they all split the $6.9M prize pool. A pretty nice "win" despite suffering a "loss."

In the $5K SuperSurvivor contest over at Westgate Las Vegas, the unique holiday weeks do not apply. Eight remaining entries entered Week 13 with over half a million dollars on the line. One entry was eliminated on the Lions and four were sent home by the Baltimore Ravens losing to the Bengals. Two entries are on the 49ers on the road at Cleveland on Sunday and one entry, which could end up being the sole survivor, was successfully on the Cowboys, who upset the Chiefs on Thanksgiving Day.

My goodness -- all of that and we haven't even touched on the against the spread contests yet.   

So which teams have strong value on the spread for Week 12... Join SportsLine right now to see who you should back in Week 12, all from Las Vegas contest expert Brady Kannon!