NFL Picks Against The Spread 2016: Week 17 Games

Carson Wentz. (Jeff Fusco)

Before Week 17 of the 2016 NFL season schedule kicks off, let’s have some fun by taking a look at the spreads for this week’s round of games. (Click here for our NFL Week 17 straight up predictions.)

Here are suggestions when trying to beat the odds. You can find all of today’s NFL betting lines and more via Bovada. My record so far this season is 107-97-14 after going 8-7 last week. Let’s get to the picks.

Dallas Cowboys at Philadelphia Eagles (-4.5): The Cowboys are going to rest their starters. The Eagles are going to want to win this game in order to end the season on a high note. Philadelphia should win this game comfortably. This isn’t a big spread to cover. PICK: Eagles -4.5

Cleveland Browns at Pittsburgh Steelers (-6): The Steelers better watch out for the Browns because Cleveland is on a (one-game) winning streak! Just kidding. Pittsburgh will rest some of their players but Cleveland is still really bad. And the Browns don’t want to blow their shot at the No. 1 overall pick. PICK: Steelers -6

Buffalo Bills (-3.5) at New York Jets: Anthony Lynn is going to want to make a good impression after taking over as interim head coach. The Bills are a dysfunctional mess right now so there’s reason not to like them, especially with Tyrod Taylor benched and E.J. Manuel starting, but it’s not like the Jets’ quarterback situation is much better. Picking Buffalo to win is easy. Will they cover? That’s more difficult, but I’ll still take them. PICK: Bills -3.5

Jacksonville Jaguars at Indianapolis Colts (-4.5): Jacksonville looked surprisingly competent in a win over the Titans last week. Interim boss Doug Marrone is trying to coach his way into earning the Jaguars’ job. I could see this game being close, so I’ll take the Jacksonville. PICK: Jaguars +4.5

New England Patriots (-10) at Miami Dolphins: The Dolphins have been playing well without Ryan Tannehill, but the Patriots are a different beast. New England is still playing to lock up the No. 1 seed. The Patriots will win this game. PICK: Patriots -10

Chicago Bears at Minnesota Vikings (-6.5): The Eagles really need the Bears to win this game in order to make the first-round pick they received from the Vikings more favorable. It’s funny, then, that this game features a battle of two former Eagles quarterbacks: Matt Barkley and Sam Bradford. Barkley is coming off a five interception performance but overall he’s exceeded very low expectations. The Vikings, meanwhile, look like they’re done. Or at the very least their offense isn’t good enough to put up points to win comfortably over Chicago. PICK: Bears +6.5

Houston Texans at Tennessee Titans (-4): The Titans blew their shot at winning the AFC South by losing to the Jaguars last week. The Texans, meanwhile, backed into another division win despite bad quarterback play. Houston doesn’t have a lot to play for after winning the division. Marcus Mariota is out for the season, so that hurts, but Matt Cassel can be competent enough to guide the Titans to a win. Tennessee should want to make a statement that they’re going to win the division next year. PICK: Titans -4

Baltimore Ravens (-1.5) at Cincinnati Bengals: Steve Smith Sr. is playing his last NFL game on Sunday. He’s bound to want to go out with a bang. The Bengals won’t have A.J. Green and they just lost to a bad Texans team so they’re not very inspiring. Baltimore gets it done in honor of No. 89. PICK: Ravens -1.5

Carolina Panthers at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-3.5): The Buccaneers are still mathematically alive in the NFC playoff picture. Tampa Bay needs a lot of crazy things to happen in order for them to make it, so it’s not likely, but they’ll be motivated to win in order to give themselves a chance. PICK: Buccaneers -3.5

New York Giants at Washington Redskins (-7.5): The Giants are locked in at the No. 5 seed. It remains to be seen how long New York’s starters will play. One would figure they’re likely to get pulled at some point. The Redskins are at home and they need a win in order to ensure they make the playoffs. Washington is the safer bet here. PICK: Washington -7.5

New Orleans Saints at Atlanta Falcons (-8): Atlanta can secure a first-round bye by defeating the Saints. Atlanta’s high-powered offense shouldn’t have any trouble putting up points on the terrible’ Saints defense. New Orleans is also poised to score but the Falcons’ home field advantage gives them the edge. The Dirty Birds have more motivation in this game. PICK: Falcons -8

Arizona Cardinals (-6.5) at Los Angeles Rams: The Cardinals are coming off a road win over the Seahawks. Impressive. The Rams are coming off a home loss to the 49ers, who had lost 13 straight. That’s the opposite of impressive. Jared Goff will continue to struggle against Arizona’s defense. Bruce Arians might not be able to make the playoffs but he’ll have his team playing hard in order to be half a game shy of finishing the season at .500. PICK: Cardinals -6.5

Oakland Raiders at Denver Broncos (-2): Call me crazy but I have faith that Matt McGloin will be better than expected. Denver has been trending in the wrong direction thanks to bad quarterback play. The Raiders will be desperate to step up in the absence of Derek Carr. PICK: Raiders +2

Seattle Seahawks (-10): at San Francisco 49ers: The Seahawks are going to put a beatdown on Chip Kelly’s 49ers. They’ll be desperate to get back on track after losing to the Cardinals last week. Seattle can finish as high as the No. 2 seed if they take care of San Francisco. PICK: Seahawks -10

Kansas City Chiefs (-4.5) at San Diego Chargers: The Chargers just lost to the Browns. The Browns! The Chiefs still have an opportunity to win the AFC West so they’ll certainly be motivated in this game. Again, you can’t trust the team that just lost to the Browns. PICK: Chiefs -4.5

Green Bay Packers (-3.5) at Detroit Lions: Aaron Rodgers wasn’t joking around when he said he felt the Packers could run the table. Green Bay is running red hot. The Lions are banged up and coming off short rest after playing on Monday night. The Packers are headed to the playoffs. PICK: Packers -3.5