NFL Pick: Betting on Week 17 Games We Don’t Recommend

We recently published an article on NFL week 17 games we recommended betting on, those we thought you should avoid, and others about which we were up in the air. For fun, and with a little bit of analysis, we’re offering how we think those games that we deemed anathema or felt unsure of will go. We’re not recommending these bets. But if you have a few extra bucks, go with minimum stakes, and are curious to see how these work out, then make these bet (judiciously). What the heck it’s these are NFL week 17 games, making it the final time in 2016 that you’ll have a complete slate of games on which to bet.

Games We Said To Avoid

There were three. Here they are!

• Baltimore Ravens at Cincinnati Bengals (1 p.m.): When we wrote this we noted, “Most books have these teams even. Hard to say what will happen here.” They are still even. Take the Ravens.
• New Orleans at Atlanta (4:25 p.m.): Originally, Atlanta was favored by 7.5. Now at some books it’s nine. Atlanta won the first meeting 45-32. We don’t anticipate much defense today in this game, so forget the spread and take the over at 57.5.
• Arizona Cardinals at Los Angles Rams (4:25 p.m.): The Cardinals are at -7.0. Early in the season, they lost to the Rams 17-13. This time the Cards win. Take Arizona at -7.0.

Our Maybe/Maybe Nots of Our NFL Week 17 Games

There were a lot of these that we felt had big question marks. Here’s what we think.

• Houston Texans at Tennessee Titans (1 p.m.): The Titans are still at -3.0. Take Tennessee at -3.0.
• Buffalo Bills at New York Jets (1 p.m.): This one is still perplexing. The Bills have gone from -3.5 to -4.5. Bet the Bills at -4.5
• Jacksonville Jaguars at Indianapolis Colts (1 p.m.): Colts started at -7.0 and went down to -4.5 and are now at -5.5? We like the Colts (sort of). Take Indy at -5.5.
• New England Patriots at Miami Dolphins (1 p.m.): The spread on this game started with the Pats at -6 and then it went up to -10.5. Now New England is at -7.5. With the way the Patriots are play, take them at -7.5.
• San Francisco 49ers at Seattle Seahawks (4:25 p.m.): Originally we wrote, “The point spread ranges from 9.5 to 10.5 and the Seahawks are the favorites.” Now the spread ranges from 11.0 to 12.5. Okay,
• Seattle, out the pedal to the metal. Take the Seahawks at -11.0.

The Final List

Here’s our final list of bets not to make unless you have some cash to burn. Then don’t burn it, bet it on these.

• Baltimore Ravens at Cincinnati Bengals- Ravens
• New Orleans at Atlanta- Over 57.5
• Arizona Cardinals at Los Angles Rams- Cardinals
• Houston Texans at Tennessee Titans- Titans
• Buffalo Bills at New York Jets- The Bills
• Jacksonville Jaguars at Indianapolis Colts- The Colts
• New England Patriots at Miami Dolphins- The Patriots
• San Francisco 49ers at Seattle Seahawks- The Seahawks.

Good luck to you!