NFL Week 17 Betting Picks: Against The Spread

Dec 29, 2021

Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images

As we reach Week 17, we have a small battle victory in the ongoing war of attrition that is 2021. The NFL and NFLPA agreed this week to mitigate isolation periods for COVID-19 positive players to five days. While this will not magically bring many teams back to full strength, it will help with the availability of some players who otherwise would not have been able to play. Particularly, those with positive tests early in the week. One week earlier and this would have likely made Travis Kelce available last week, among others.

Speaking of last week, we were cautious with our amount of betting plays, and rightfully so. We had more absences pop up on Saturday and Sunday, with some of those absences resulting in shockingly-bad performances by teams such as the Ravens and Chargers.

Our two plays were not immune to poor performances, going 1-1 on the week. The Eagles took a bit to get rolling but owned their matchup with the Giants in the second half and easily covered. The Broncos on the other hand were simply hapless on offense and were a land mine that could not be avoided. They played in exactly the slow-paced, low-scoring game we thought they wanted. I’m sure they thought they wanted it, too, considering the success they have had in that environment. Alas, they fell short, losing 17-13 to the Raiders. They did not score in the second half and blew a 13-7 halftime lead.

Onto this week where we have three betting picks, all on road teams with favorable lines.