The Saints and Ravens are among the five best bets in the NFL this week.
Week 17 is finally here and with it comes the end of the NFL’s regular season. There are plenty of games with playoff implications in the AFC and NFC but there are also cases where teams simply don’t have a lot to play for either.
Figuring out how to place your bets in Week 17 is always extremely difficult due to this fact but FanSided is here to help. Let’s break down the five best bets to make against the spread this week with all lines referenced in this story provided courtesy of the FanDuel Sportsbook.
5. NFL Week 17 best bets: Atlanta Falcons +6.5
You have to give credit to eliminated teams that are playing hard down the stretch like the Atlanta Falcons. Despite firing head coach Dan Quinn early on, Atlanta has played tough for interim head coach Raheem Morris, winning four games and coming within a missed field goal attempt of forcing overtime on the road against the defending Super Bowl champions in Week 16.
The Falcons are on the road again this week as 6.5-point underdogs against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who have essentially locked up the No. 5 seed in the NFC playoffs with the Rams being forced to start John Wolford at quarterback this week.
The Buccaneers really have nothing to play for in this game and will likely use Tom Brady for a cameo appearance before resting him and other key starters ahead of next week’s Wild Card matchup against the NFC East winner.
6.5 points is a big number to lay in that case and the Falcons jumped out to a huge lead when these teams met two weeks ago when Tampa Bay actually had playoff positioning on the line. Take the points with Atlanta to keep this game close as they have a tremendous chance to win outright.