Smoove's NFL Week 17 Betting Preview & Best Bets Matchup Column

NFL WEEK 17 MATCHUPS PREVIEW

Seattle Seahawks @ Chicago Bears

• Opening Line: Seahawks -2 / Total: 41
• Current Line: Seahawks -3.5 / Total: 42.5
• Smoove Line: Seahawks -4.70 / Total: 44.85

Seattle is still in contention to win the NFC West, which would be their only path to make the playoffs, and the Bears have lost 9 of their last 10 games, with 5 of those games being losses by two possessions or more, so Seattle will have some added motivation in this matchup to keep their playoff hopes alive. Geno Smith is coming off a big game against Minnesota, throwing for 314 yards and three touchdowns, and will have a significant advantage against this Bears secondary that ranks bottom 10 or worse in most of the passing stats.

Best Bet: Seahawks -3.5

Los Angeles Chargers @ New England Patriots

• Opening Line: Chargers -6 / Total: 40.5
• Current Line: Chargers -4 / Total: 42
• Smoove Line: Chargers -5.98 / Total: 42.47

Drake Maye is showing a lot of promise for the Patriots as he’s coming off an impressive game against the Bills, throwing for 261 yards and two touchdowns. Still, he’ll be up against a more formidable defense in the Chargers that puts pressure on opposing quarterbacks, as they’re ranked 7th in sacks. Also, the Chargers running game could get a boost with JK Dobbins returning to practice this week. The Chargers also have the number one scoring defense, so it’ll be difficult for Drake Maye to put together another outstanding performance against this defense.

Best Bet: Chargers -4

Denver Broncos @ Cincinnati Bengals

• Opening Line: Bengals -3.5 / Total: 47.5
• Current Line: Bengals -3 / Total: 49
• Smoove Line: Bengals -0.33 / Total: 49.15

Joe Burrow has put up some MVP-caliber numbers this season, but this is a tough matchup facing this Broncos defense, which is ranked inside the top 10 and is the fourth-best scoring defense. Bo Nix has thrown five interceptions over his last three games, but he should be able to pick apart this Bengals defense, which has struggled all year and is the fifth-worst scoring defense.

Best Bet: Broncos +3.5

Arizona Cardinals @ Los Angeles Rams

• Opening Line: Rams -3.5 / Total: 49
• Current Line: Rams -7 / Total: 48
• Smoove Line: Rams -3.97 / Total: 47.91

If the Cardinals had won last week instead of being eliminated from playoff contention by the Panthers, this would’ve been a best bet for me, but now it’s just a lean now that their season is over. You’d have to question how hard this Cardinals team will play. With this being a divisional matchup, Arizona blew out the Rams in September 41-10, but that was when Los Angeles was dealing with a cluster of injuries on both sides of the ball, but now they’re healthy and are 4-0 SU and ATS over the last four weeks.

Lean: Cardinals +7

Indianapolis Colts @ New York Giants

• Opening Line: Colts -6.5 / Total: 40.5
• Current Line: Colts -7.5 / Total: 40.5
• Smoove Line: Colts -7.79 / Total: 40.60

Last week, the Giants secured the number one pick in the draft with a blowout loss to the Falcons 34-7, and the Colts are still fighting for their playoff chances and have a great shot of winning out as they face the Giants and Jaguars for their last two games. Indianapolis will have a significant edge in their rushing attack led by Jonathan Taylor. Their defense shouldn’t have any issues against this 32nd-ranked scoring defense that’s not interested in winning games at this point.

Best Bet: Colts -7.5

Atlanta Falcons @ Washington Commanders

• Opening Line: Commanders -3.5 / Total: 46.5
• Current Line: Commanders -4 / Total: 48
• Smoove Line: Commanders -8.07 / Total: 49.53

Washington has been one of the more explosive offenses in the league, especially at home, where they’re 5-3 to the over. The Falcons made a quarterback change last week expecting to be more explosive, and they scored 34 points, so this is a great spot to play the over for this total.

Like: Falcons/Commanders over 48

New York Jets @ Buffalo Bills

• Opening Line: Bills -10 / Total: 48.5
• Current Line: Bills -9.5 / Total: 47
• Smoove Line: Bills -16.28 / Total: 51.95

Last week, Buffalo’s 8-game streak of scoring 30 points or more ended against the Patriots, and they’ll have to face another divisional opponent in the Jets that has a better defense than New England. Weather conditions for this matchup are expected to rain consistently throughout the game, which could affect the game plan and limit the explosiveness of the Bills offense.

Lean: Bills -9.5

Carolina Panthers @ Tampa Bay Bucs

• Opening Line: Bucs -8.5 / Total: 47.5
• Current Line: Bucs -8 / Total: 49
• Smoove Line: Bucs -14.28 / Total: 49.20

Tampa Bay is coming off a SU ATS loss to the Cowboys, and they’re 5-1 ATS coming off a loss, so I’m expecting a bounce-back performance. Tampa Bay won the first matchup in overtime back on 12/1, so I wouldn’t expect them to overlook the Panthers. As well as Bryce Young has played since returning from being benched, the Panthers still have the worst scoring defense, and it will have to face this explosive Tampa Bay offense that ranks 5th in scoring.

Best Bet: Bucs -8

Green Bay Packers @ Minnesota Vikings

• Opening Line: Vikings -1 / Total: 49
• Current Line: Vikings PK / Total: 48.5
• Smoove Line: Vikings -3.39 / Total: 45.90

Back on 9/29, Minnesota won the first matchup between these teams in Green Bay, so this is a potential revenge spot for Green Bay to try and win in Minnesota. Both teams have been 8-2 SU over their last 10 games, but Sam Darnold has been better than Jordan Love in their previous five games. This will be a tough matchup but look for Minnesota to win and keep the battle for the NFC North crown alive with their showdown with the Lions in the last week of the season.

Lean: Vikings PK

Dallas Cowboys @ Philadelphia Eagles

• Opening Line: Eagles -11.5 / Total: 44.5
• Current Line: Eagles -9.5 / Total: 41
• Smoove Line: Eagles -7.29 / Total: 46.18

Jalen Hurts left last week's game against the Commanders with a concussion, and he didn’t practice at the start of the week (still in protocol). There’s a chance he could miss this game, as the line has dropped from its opening number. Cooper Rush is coming off a great week against the Bucs, and he’s played great over his last five games, averaging 226 passing yards and nine touchdowns with just one interception. Taking the Cowboys with Jalen Hurts' status in question is worth a shot at this current number.

Lean: Cowboys +9.5

Miami Dolphins @ Cleveland Browns

• Opening Line: Dolphins -3 / Total: 42
• Current Line: Dolphins -6.5 / Total: 39.5
• Smoove Line: Dolphins -5.01 / Total: 37.86

Miami has a strong history of struggling to play in cold-weather cities late into the year, and the Browns still have a formidable defense. Cleveland has decided to start Dorian Thompson-Robinson, and I think he’s a 3-point downgrade from Jameis Winston, so there’s some value in playing this total under.

Like: Dolphins/Browns under 39.5

Detroit Lions @ San Francisco 49ers

• Opening Line: Lions -3 / Total: 51.5
• Current Line: Lions -3 / Total: 50.5
• Smoove Line: Lions -5.15 / Total: 47.87

This could be a potential revenge spot for Detroit, as the 49ers beat them in the playoffs last year to go to the Super Bowl after completing a 17-point comeback. The Lions have dealt with a cluster of injuries on defense since Thanksgiving, but the 49ers just haven’t been as efficient as they were last year in the red zone, finishing drives and with their scoring defense.

Lean: Lions -3

Justin 'Smoove' Everett (@Smoove_702)

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