NFL 2024 Week 17 Prequel
Merry Christmas. Happy Hanukkah. Now back to football.
This is when the Big Dogs come out.
Christmas Wednesday December 25th, 2024, 1pm
Kansas City Chiefs (-2 1/2) at Pittsburgh Steelers — The 10-5 Steelers are a good team. The 14-1 Chiefs are a great team. The Chiefs with a win lock up home field throughout the playoffs. The Steelers are tied for their division lead and they hold the tie-breaker. Betting against Patrick Mahomes is a fool’s errand and the Chiefs have the NFL’s top defense. Chiefs cover
4:30pm
Baltimore Ravens (-3 1/2) at Houston Texans — The 10-5 Ravens are tied for their division lead but they do not hold the tie-breaker. The 9-6 Texans have clinched their division and at this point are playing for seeding. Lamar Jackson and CJ Stroud are both playing well. The Ravens have more to play for. They want home playoff games, not road games. The spread is a bit high for a road team playing against a good team. Ravens win but fail to cover
Thursday, December 26, 8pm
Seattle Seahawks (-3 1/2) at Chicago Bears —The 8-7 Seahawks are one game out in their division and trying to fight off playoff elimination. The Bears are long done and have lost nine straight. Go with the team with everything to play for. Seahawks cover
Saturday December 28, 1pm
Los Angeles Chargers (-5 1/2) at New England Patriots — The 9-6 Chargers are all but in the playoffs but have not clinched a Wildcard yet. The Patriots are long done. Justin Herbert is playing solid football and Jim Harbaugh has improved the defense. The Chargers have everything ti play for. The Patriots gave Buffalo a scare last week but this week they return to form. Chargers cover
4:30pm
Denver Broncos at Cincinnati Bengals (-3) — The 9-6 Broncos are all but in the playoffs but have not clinched a Wildcard yet. The 7-8 Bengals are on life support. Joe Burrow is playing lights out but the defense has been awful. The Denver defense is good and Bo Nix is more than competent. The Bengals have the home field, the better quarterback, and most importantly, the momentum. The Bengals have won three straight. This could go down to the last play. Bengals cover
8pm
Arizona Cardinals at Los Angeles Rams (-5 1/2) — The 7-8 Cardinals are eliminated. The 9-6 Rams are one game up in their division but have not clinched anything yet. Home field rarely ever matters in this series. The Rams have everything to play for but Kyler Murray is surprising from week to week. An upset is certainly possible. Rams win but fail to cover
Sunday, December 29, 1pm
New York Jets at Buffalo Bills (-9 1/2) — The Jets are terrible. The 12-3 Bills nearly got shocked at home last week by lowly New England. The Bills already clinched their division but are holding out slim hopes to win the entire conference. That might be out of reach before this game starts. Expect the Bills to remain focused and put this game away early. Bills cover
Tennessee Titans at Jacksonville Jaguars (-1) — This is the Stupor Bowl. Both teams are 3-12. Home field means nothing. Mason Rudolph is against Mac Jones. It is tempting to with Rudolph during Christmas, but religion should not influence football. Tennessee showed a ton of fight last week in losing to Indianapolis while Jacksonville looked awful against a Raiders team that had previously lost 10 straight. Upset special, Titans win outright
Carolina Panthers at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-7 1/2) — The Panthers have been eliminated for weeks but have been playing better in recent weeks. The 8-7 Buccaneers are tied for their division lead but they do not hold the tie-breaker. They are fighting for their playoff lives. Baker Mayfield can play, and Bryce Young is improving. As desperate as the Buccaneers are, the spread is a bit high given Carolina’s recently improved play. Home field rarely matters in this series. Buccaneers win but fail to cover
Las Vegas Raiders at New Orleans Saints (-2 1/2) — The Raiders finally snapped their 10 game losing streak. The Saints are also eliminated. What would give the Saints an edge is if Derek Carr returns from injury. If he does and the Saints lose, Carr will have lost to all 32 NFL teams, an NFL first. Yet Carr has a burning fire. The Saints have more talent and will look to rebound from being the only team shut out all year last week. Saints cover
Dallas Cowboys at Philadelphia Eagles (-7) — The 7-8 Cowboys are eliminated. The 12-3 Eagles stumbled last week at Washington when Jalen Hurts left with a concussion. Backup Kenny Pickett is competent, but he is not Hurts. The Eagles clinch their division with one more win but are now one game back in conference race. The Eagles are at home and they will be angry. They will take it out on the Cowboys. The Cowboys this year tend to play better on the road while getting blown out at home. Saquon Barkley will be the key. Eagles win but fail to cover
Indianapolis Colts (-7 1/2) at New York Giants — The Giants are still in position to win the top pick in the Draft. The 7-8 Colts are clinging to playoff life and trying to fight off elimination. The Giants are on their third string quarterback. The team seems to have quit. Yet the Colts nearly blew a 31 point lead at home against lowly Tennessee. Colts win but fail to cover
4pm
Miami Dolphins (-5 1/2) at Cleveland Browns — The 7-8 Dolphins are one of three teams fighting to stay alive in the playoffs. The Browns are eliminated from ages ago. The Browns offense is anemic. The Dolphins hav talented players on offense but for whatever reason this year it has not clicked. The Browns have a decent enough defense. The Dolphins are too unspectacular to trust the spread on the road. Dolphins win but fail to cover
Green Bay Packers at Minnesota Vikings (-1 1/2) — The 11-4 Packers and 13-2 Vikings are both in the playoffs and amazingly only as Wildcards. The Vikings are tied for the division lead and the conference lead but they do not hold the tie-breaker. This is one series where home field usually matters. Sam Darnold and Jordan Love are both playing solid. Justin Jefferson is a true difference maker. Go with the home field. Vikings cover
8pm
Atlanta Falcons at Washington Commanders (-4 1/2) — The 8-7 Falcons are tied for their division lead and they hold the tie-breaker. The 10-5 Commanders mounted a stirring comeback to beat Philadelphia last week. Jayden Daniels has been playing lights out. The Commanders even have an outside shot at the division but that could be out of reach before this game starts. The Commanders are the better team. Michael Penix did well in his very first NFL start last week, but that was against the Giants. Go with the better team and the home crowd. Commanders cover
Monday, December 30, 8pm
Detroit Lions (-3 1/2) at San Francisco 49ers — The Lions were dominating this game 24-10 in last year’s NFC Title Game before the 49ers stormed back to win and deny the Lions their first ever Super Bowl trip. This year the Lions are 13-2 and possessed. They are tied for their division and conference leads and they hold the tie-breakers. They want it all and Dan Campbell is hell bent on getting them to the promised land. The 49ers are out of the playoffs. Expect the Lions to show no mercy and get revenge. Their offense is unstoppable. Lions cover