The average gambler can sometimes look at NFL betting lines and get a little confused as to what those lines mean. How do you win? How do you lose? The price per head bookie websites will give you several ways to bet on football games. The easiest ones to understand are usually the ones that most people follow. Let’s take a quick look at football betting lines and how they work.

Let’s say you had a line that looked like this:

Buffalo Bills -3

New England Patriots +3

This means that the Bills are spotting the Patriots three points right out of the gate. If you bet on the Bills, then the Bills need to win by four or more points for your bet to be good. If you bet on the Patriots, then the Patriots just need to win outright or lose by two points or less. If the Bills win by exactly three points, then the bet is a push and you get your money back.

Another kind of NFL bet is when you bet on the NFL scores themselves. This is called an over/under bet. Let’s say that the over/under on the previous example was 38 points. You can bet that the combined score between the two teams will either be under or over 38 points. If the game winds up with the two teams scoring a combined 38 points, then it is a push and your money is refunded. Remember that the over/under is always the combined score of both teams. Some websites will allow you to bet the over/under on an individual team, but you need to read the website closely to make sure that you understand what you are betting on.

The sports betting sites are still listing the teams that are on the NFL playoff bubble. Some teams are making their move while others keep fading into the sunset. In week 14, NFL fans all over the country will watch as some of the bubble teams get popped and their playoff hopes get dashed with untimely wins in week 14.

Buffalo Bills @ San Diego Chargers (-7)

At 5-7, you would think that the Buffalo Bills would stop showing up on the list of AFC teams on the bubble. The San Diego Chargers claim that they can pull off another miraculous end of the season run to finish the season at 9-7. According to the price per head bookmaking experts, the Chargers at 9-7 may not be enough to win the AFC West or get an AFC wild card spot. But the Chargers have a better shot at making the playoffs than the Bills do.

Pick: San Diego Chargers

New York Giants @ Dallas Cowboys (-3 ½)

The thud of a playoff collapse is a sound that New York Giants fans know all too well. Even though the Giants put up a great fight against the undefeated Packers that does not mean that New York can stop the rolling Cowboys. Dallas is playing some impressive offense right now and should be able to crush the Giants’ playoff hopes.

Pick: Dallas Cowboys

Kansas City Chiefs @ New York Jets (-9)

The Jets’ defense has been giving up rushing yards in huge chunks lately. With Kyle Orton having more time to become familiar with the Kansas City offense, it will give the Chiefs an advantage over the Jets. The only question is whether or not Mark Sanchez can rally the Jets to save its season and the answer to that is no.

Pick: Kansas City Chiefs

Week 12 on the NFL schedule is here, and there are several teams in the thick of a playoff battle. The sports betting sites are keeping a close watch on the teams and trying to separate the contenders from the pretenders. Some teams have hit major lows while others are still flying on major highs. Here are some of the upsets to watch for this weekend.

Carolina Panthers (-3) @ Indianapolis Colts

There is nothing in this pick other than a gut feeling. The Colts will win the Andrew Luck sweepstakes, and they will probably take Luck. But the Colts will not go 0-16. The defense on this team can win this game if it can just contain Cam Newton. Defenses all over the league are figuring Newton out, and Indianapolis has a pretty decent pass rush.

Pick: Indianapolis Colts

Chicago Bears @ Oakland Raiders (-4 ½)

The Bears’ fans are panicking over the loss of quarterback Jay Cutler to injury. But all backup Caleb Hanie has to do is give the ball to running back Matt Forte and not give the ball away with interceptions. The rest of this Chicago team is still a championship caliber team, and Hanie does not need to be great to win this game.

Pick: Chicago Bears

Denver Broncos @ San Diego Chargers (-6 ½)

The Chargers keep giving up points with the odds makers each week because every one of them believes that San Diego should start winning. At some point, price per head NFL defensive coordinators will figure out the Denver offense and Tebowmania, but it won’t be this week.

Pick: Denver Broncos

The sports betting sites are getting ready for the mid-point of the NFL season as some teams prepare to make their playoff moves this week. Teams that have been struggling are starting to put together wins and are making things exciting for the fans. Let’s take a look at the pay per head sportsbook odds on the teams that are starting to make some progress after a rough start to the season.

Tennessee Titans @ Carolina Panthers (-3)

Losing is a hard habit to break, and the Carolina Panthers were so used to losing that star wide receiver Steve Smith almost left the team. But there is hope now in Carolina with the arrival of rookie quarterback Cam Newton. The entire team is slowly improving thanks to the influence of Newton, and that will carry over into next season as well.

Pick: Carolina Panthers

Washington Redskins @ Miami Dolphins (-4)

The Washington Redskins really need a quarterback, and they do not have one. The Miami Dolphins need a franchise quarterback to replace Dan Marino who retired 11 years ago, but Matt Moore will do for now.

Pick: Miami Dolphins

Denver Broncos @ Kansas City Chiefs (-3)

The NFL schedule has been pretty generous to the Denver Broncos this season as it has been a string of winnable games for new quarterback Tim Tebow. But Tebow has been struggling and it is unsure as to how much longer Tebowmania will rule in Denver. One thing that should happen is Tebowmania should be enough to roll over the wildly inconsistent Kansas City Chiefs.

Pick: Denver Broncos