BY ADAM GREENE<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Last week was a picks against the spread disaster so we\u2019re not even going to talk about it. We\u2019re burning the film and making a fresh start as we prepare for a postseason run for the ages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Week 17 is always tricky, with teams playing for nothing, some even angling to lose, while others are facing playoff games to get into the playoffs. Injuries and the COVID-19 list aren\u2019t helping as the coronavirus makes one more charge before the postseason begin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
MIAMI<\/strong> DOLPHINS AT BUFFALO BILLS (-3, O\/U: 43)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Ryan Fitzpatrick is on the COVID-19 list, so this one will be all Tua Tagovailoa. Lucky for him he\u2019ll probably be playing a Bills team resting its starters, if not the whole game, at least part of it. Dolphins 20, Bills 17<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n DALLAS<\/strong> COWBOYS AT NEW YORK GIANTS (+1, O\/U: 44.5)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n As silly as it might be, one of these teams could make the playoffs. The winner slides in with a Washington loss. Giants 17, Cowboys 16<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n NEW YORK<\/strong> JETS AT NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (-3, O\/U: 39.5)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Nothing would sum up this Jets season and Adam Gase\u2019s tenure as a meaningless victory over the New England Patriots. Jets 20, Patriots 17<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n PITTSBURGH<\/strong> STEELERS AT CLEVELAND BROWNS (-9, O\/U: 42)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n A week after losing every good wide receiver on the roster, the Browns are once again in COVID-19 trouble. They do get their WRs back, but Denzel Ward, Harrison Bryant, Malcolm Smith, Karl Joseph and Andrew Sendejo are all on this week\u2019s COVID list. On the bright side, Mason Rudolph is starting for Pittsburgh in what\u2019s a meaningless game to them. On the not so bright side, the last time Cleveland played the Steelers starting a backup QB, they lost 20-13. I\u2019m reversing it this time. Browns 20, Steelers 13<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n MINNESOTA<\/strong> VIKINGS AT DETROIT LIONS (+7, O\/U: 54)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n You know, if you switched the QBs on these teams Minnesota would be resting starters in preparation for the playoffs and Matt Patricia would have been fired in September. As usual, I have two picks here because Matthew Stafford has been hurt all season. If Stafford plays; Lions 23, Vikings 20<\/strong>. If Stafford is out; Vikings 27, Lions 10<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n ATLANTA<\/strong> FALCONS AT TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS (-7.5, O\/U: 50.5)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Bucs have already clinched a playoff spot, but they can secure a Wild Card game against the NFC East champion (and avoid the Saints or Seahawks) with a win. I think they\u2019ll go for it. Buccaneers 31, Falcons 27<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n BALTIMORE<\/strong> RAVENS AT CINCINNATI BENGALS (+13, O\/U: 44)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Cincinnati is suddenly a tough out, but Baltimore has a guaranteed playoff spot with a victory. Ravens 31, Bengals 13<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n LOS ANGELES CHARGERS AT KANSAS CITY CHIEFS (+3.5, O\/U: 44)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Chad Henne will start for Kansas City and I can\u2019t see them playing many of their key starters in this one. Anthony Lynn would love nothing more than to finish 7-9 and pretend he did a professional coaching job on a team that would have been 10-6 or better with a capable person in charge. Chargers 26, Chiefs 23<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n JACKSONVILLE<\/strong> JAGUARS AT INDIANAPOLIS COLTS (-14, O\/U: 49.5)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Colts have to win this game, and that shouldn\u2019t be a problem, and then have either the Browns, Dolphins, Ravens or Titans lose to make the playoffs. Colts 31, Jaguars 10<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n GREEN BAY PACKERS AT CHICAGO BEARS (+5.5, O\/U: 51)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Pack needs to win to keep the No. 1 seed in the NFC. The Bears need to win to make the playoffs. Considering Green Bay is 21-5 against Chicago since 2008, I feel good about this pick, though David Baktari being out (not just this game, but the rest of the year) makes this one interesting with Khalil Mack coming from the outside. Packers 27, Bears 16<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n NEW ORLEANS<\/strong> SAINTS AT CAROLINA PANTHERS (+6.5, O\/U: 47.5)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Saints still have a shot at home field, but don\u2019t expect to see Drew Brees in the game in the fourth quarter if the Packers-Bears score gets out of hand. Saints 28, Panthers 17<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n SEATTLE<\/strong> SEAHAWKS AT SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS (+6.5, O\/U: 46)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Seattle sits at the No. 3 seed, but if the Pack and Saints both fall Sunday, they\u2019ll take over the No. 1 spot. That\u2019s probably bad news for a San Francisco team that\u2019s fought the good fight all year. Seahawks 27, 49ers 13<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n LAS VEGAS<\/strong> RAIDERS AT DENVER BRONCOS (+2.5, O\/U: 51)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Jon Gruden needs a win here to keep Las Vegas from its fourth consecutive losing season and his third straight losing campaign since returning to coaching. This has been a disgraceful display and Gruden has no one to blame but himself. I figure he\u2019ll get it. Barely. Raiders 20, Broncos 17<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n ARIZONA<\/strong> CARDINALS AT LOS ANGELES RAMS (+3.5, O\/U: 40.5)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Here\u2019s a fun fact, in two of the Rams\u2019 four Super Bowl appearances, a guy that supposed to be the backup took them to the big game. In the 1979-80 season it was Vince Ferragamo, who replaced injured starter Pat Haden. In the 1999-2000 season, it was Kurt Warner replacing injured starter Trent Green. Jared Goff has been the Achilles heel of his own team this season and John Wolford can stake a claim to this job for good with a solid playoff run. If he doesn\u2019t turn the ball over, he\u2019ll be an instant improvement. He\u2019ll have to do it without Cooper Kupp, who is on the COVID-19 list along with Michael Brockers on defense. Rams 24, Cardinals 20<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n TENNESSEE<\/strong> TITANS AT HOUSTON TEXANS (+7.5, O\/U: 56)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Here\u2019s what\u2019s a stake for Tennessee; if they win, they\u2019re AFC South champions and host a playoff game. If they lose, it\u2019s entirely possible they could miss the playoffs. It\u2019s time to break out the woodshed and secure this spot. Titans 42, Texans 23<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Last week<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Straight up: 9-7<\/p>\n\n\n\n Against the spread: 3-13<\/p>\n\n\n\n Season<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Straight up: 157-82-1<\/p>\n\n\n\n Against the spread: 120-120<\/p>\n\n\n\n Follow our BetOnline Twitter accoun<\/a>t for the latest sports news and betting odds, and stay tuned on the Instagram feed<\/a> for more good information too.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" BY ADAM GREENE Last week was a picks against the spread disaster so we\u2019re not even going to talk about…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":15095,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[129],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15090","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15090","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15090"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15090\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15096,"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15090\/revisions\/15096"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15095"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15090"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15090"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15090"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}