NFL Week 17 – Playoffs, Predictions, Parlays – Oh My!

It was a pretty good week, I went 10 and 2 on Sunday. The Chargers got me too, even though I have a soft spot for the Texans. Christmas Eve I had the 49ers who lost, Christmas I had the Packers who came away with their game, and I didn’t bet on the outcome of the game, but I have a few family members who could vouch for me talking about why the Colts still had it even without most of their offensive line. Or at least that the Cardinals were overrated. Saturday I had put my faith in Bill which did not pan out.

There is no game tonight with almost all of the games are on Sunday this week. Several divisions have been clinched. The playoff picture is becoming clearer with 8 teams being eliminated and 6 punching their ticket, but there are still a lot of unknowns.

The Cowboys won last week and remain undefeated in their division. They face off with the Cardinals this week which should be a fun game. The Vikings are coming into Green Bay off an ugly loss to the Rams. The Packers haven’t lost at home all season. The Raiders came away with a win as well, hanging onto playoff hopes. They pretty much need to win this week against the Colts, at least to have some control of their own destiny. That sounds like a fun game for a parlay

Predictions for the Playoffs

I can’t believe how many teams are still hanging on, particularly in the AFC. It’s another week where so many games matter. The Raiders vs Colts game is a big one to help determine spots. The Rams vs Ravens is another, the Rams are in but could get a better seed and the division and the Ravens are on the bubble. Broncos vs Chargers is a division matchup this week that means a lot for that whole division. Similarly the Browns and Steelers face off and it sounds like it will be Big Ben’s last game at home, although some crazy things could happen to eliminate those teams before they even play Monday.

Since there are still the most teams ever left this late in the season, I decided to make some playoff bets this week. I had a few early season Super Bowl picks of a Bucs vs Chiefs rematch, Rams vs Chiefs, and for our household Rams vs Raiders.

I used the ESPN NFL Playoff Machine to help determine seeding and simulate a few different iterations of the outcomes of the last two weeks of the regular season. Lately, I am favoring the Colts and the Packers, so I’m placing a bet with them in the Super Bowl.

Picking the remaining division winners wasn’t very fun odds. Instead I picked a couple of Wild Card winners, although unfortunately you can’t parlay those picks. I went with the Saints and the Raiders since they gave me the best odds of the teams in my simulations.

Check back Sunday for this weeks picks and parlays. If you want to join me on FanDuel, using my link gets us both bonus funds.

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