NFL Week 17 odds: 5 best bets for favorites

The 2020 NFL regular season is drawing to a close, but before it does, here are five favorites to bet on in Week 17.

5. Seattle Seahawks (-6) at San Francisco 49ers

The Seahawks — and the next four teams below — all have something to play for. If Seattle wins and the New Orleans Saints and Green Bay Packers both lose, it gets the No. 1 overall seed. While all of that happening is unlikely, it’s still a pipe dream for the Seahawks, and one they’ll try to attain. Meanwhile, the 49ers are finishing off what has been a very disappointing and injury-ravaged campaign.

4. New Orleans Saints (-6.5) at Carolina Panthers

New Orleans is still legitimately hopeful of getting the No. 1 seed and enjoying a week off. The Saints need to earn the season sweep of the Panthers while getting a Chicago Bears win over the Packers. There’s little reason not to expect a fairly lopsided win, especially with the Panthers having only won a pair of games over the final half of the season. Even with Drew Brees working his way back, Carolina may offer little resistance.

3. Arizona Cardinals (-3) at Los Angeles Rams

The Cardinals are going to have Kyler Murray under center, while the Rams are countering with Jared Goff’s replacement, John Wolford. Wolford has never thrown an NFL pass, so should Los Angeles win, it would be quite the upset. Arizona simply needs to avoid turnovers and not give away points to win. The Rams are going to struggle mightily to move the ball.

2. Tamp Bay Buccaneers (-6.5) vs. Atlanta Falcons

If the Buccaneers win this one (or the Rams lose to the Cardinals) they are locked into the fifth seed. Why does this matter? Because it guarantees a playoff game with either the Washington Football Team, New York Giants or Dallas Cowboys. That’s a great thing if you have to play in the Wild Card round. Tampa Bay is also getting a banged-up Atlanta team which at 4-11, is playing for little.

1. Baltimore Ravens (-13) at Cincinnati Bengals

The Ravens have a long-standing tendency to pound on bad teams, and despite the Bengals winning their last two games, they certainly qualify. Baltimore understands that a win means getting into the postseason, and so look for Lamar Jackson and Co. to put it on Cincinnati. It’s going to be a very, very long day to finish the campaign for Zac Taylor and Co.