NFL Picks 2018: 5 Best Bets Against The Spread For Week 17 Include Eagles, Texans, Rams

There could be a bunch of one-sided games on the final day of the regular season. Several teams are looking to either make the playoffs or improve their postseason seed Sunday by beating opponents that have already been eliminated from contention.

There’s no such thing as a “sure thing” when it comes to gambling, but here are the five best bets against the spread for Week 17 of the 2018 NFL season:

Houston Texans (-6.5)

The Texans need to beat the Jacksonville Jaguars in order to win the AFC South and have a chance at getting a first-round bye. Houston is the much better team playing at home, and they should roll past an opponent that has long been out of postseason contention.

Houston has continued to take care of business against bad teams, winning their last seven games against teams that are currently out of the playoff picture. That stretch included a 20-7 victory in Jacksonville when Blake Bortles get benched. Bortles is back as the starting quarterback in Week 17, and he’ll struggle against the No.6 scoring defense. The Jaguars have scored 18 points or fewer in five of their last seven games away from Jacksonville.

Miami Dolphins (+3.5)

The Dolphins and Buffalo Bills are both bad teams that’s can’t make the playoffs. Buffalo shouldn’t be favored by more than a field goal, making Miami the easy pick.

The Bills have been mostly competitive since losing by 54 total points in the first two weeks, but their offense isn’t good enough to lay more than three points. Buffalo has won three home games by a total of six points. Miami is second in the NFL with 20 interceptions. Josh Allen has thrown two interceptions in three of his last four games.

Cleveland Browns (+6)

The Browns are a legitimately good team without Hue Jackson, having gone 5-2 since the head coach was fired. In a divisional game against a Baltimore Ravens’ team that they’ve already beaten, Cleveland shouldn’t be getting nearly a touchdown.

The Ravens probably have to win to make the playoffs, but that doesn’t mean they’ll cruise to a victory. It was just a year ago when Baltimore was defeated in Week 17 with a postseason berth on the line. The Ravens have had a few close calls since finding success with Lamar Jackson at quarterback, beating the Bengals by a field goal and squeaking past the Bucs 20-12. Baker Mayfield has thrown 20 touchdown passes and six interceptions in his last nine starts.

Philadelphia Eagles (-6.5)

It’s hard to believe Philadephia won’t win in Week 17. They need a victory in order to have a shot at making the playoffs, and they’ll be visiting a Washington Redskins’ team that’s seemingly suffered the most key injuries in the league.

FedExField is just a three-hour drive from Philadelphia and Redskins’ fans really don’t have much reason to go to this game, so Washington might not have much of a home-field advantage if any at all. Since Colt McCoy got hurt four weeks ago, the Redskins haven’t scored more than 16 points in a game. Philadelphia’s offense is clicking on all cylinders under Nick Foles with two straight 30-plus point games.

Los Angeles Rams (-10)

The Rams want to win this game so they can secure the NFC’s No.2 seed. They should cruise past the San Francisco 49ers, who still don’t have a win on the road and are 2-5 against the spread away from home, per OddsShark.

L.A. had no trouble winning 31-9 on the road against the Arizona Cardinals last week without Todd Gurley. That’s because they’ve dominated bad teams all year long. The Rams have a 5-0 record against teams that enter Week 17 with five wins or fewer. All of those victories came by at least two touchdowns, including their 39-10 win in San Francisco 10 weeks ago, The 49ers were beaten by 18 points and 27 points in their last two road games.