Week 17 Picks

Hi all,

No way to sugarcoat it, we were bad last week. A few really nice plus-money winners, but far too many losers overall.

We did cash both Saturday plays. Goedert and Bears ML. The Commanders are in a complete free fall, not much else to say there. Are the Eagles back? Hard to tell when the last two games were against Vegas and Washington.

How about those Bears. I still cannot believe that collapse from the Packers. Flashbacks to the NFC Championship game in Seattle. The Cardiac Bears and Caleb “Iceman” Williams made the plays when it mattered most. That fourth-down throw and the overtime winner were absolute dimes. Happy for Chicago. They have lightning in a bottle right now in a wide-open league.

The Panthers now control their destiny to make and host a playoff game. The problem is they play Seattle this week and finish the year against Tampa. If Carolina loses this week, we get a winner-take-all game in Tampa in Week 18. It is unfathomable that the Bucs still have life given how poorly they have played. Bowles is gone after this year. This team simply cannot finish games and has not for the past two months.

There are not many storylines this week with the playoffs mostly locked up. Grandpa Phil threw for 277, but the Colts could not generate enough offense to keep up with the red-hot Niners. With the Colts loss, the Bills, Chargers, and Texans all clinched. A brutal collapse after such an exciting start to the season in Indianapolis.

There are two major storylines over the next two weeks. The one seed is wide open in both conferences. In the AFC, you have the Broncos, whose defense has struggled lately. The Patriots are young but feisty under Vrabel, and Drake Maye looks like an MVP contender for years to come. The Jaguars are a scary team as well. Liam Cohen has Trevor Lawrence playing like he did back at Clemson.

In the NFC, the Seahawks and Niners control their own destiny as they face each other in Week 18. The Bears can secure the one seed with a win in San Francisco on Sunday night and a Week 18 win against the Lions at Soldier Field, provided the Seahawks slip up against either the Panthers or the Niners.

The second storyline is Lamar Jackson. What a ground-breaking report out of Baltimore this week. Lamar is reportedly falling asleep in meetings?? He has not played anywhere near his MVP standard this season, and if the reports about disengagement are true, especially when challenged by the coaching staff or front office, serious questions have to be asked. At some point, the organization has to consider whether it is time to move on. You could easily get at least two first-round picks for him.

Now let’s get into the picks this week. A brutal Christmas slate, so I do not blame anyone for flipping over to basketball. But if you ride with me, we might make a few extra bucks heading into the new year.

Let’s ride.

Week 17 Picks

Parlay +727

• Bears ML
• Saints ML
• Steelers ML
• Buccaneers ML

Let's Have a Weekend