Week 17 AFC East Games: Still a Lot to Play For
The New England Patriots have already wrapped up the AFC East title. They clinched it a long time ago. But that does not mean they can sit back and relax this week. They are still trying to secure a first round bye in the AFC playoffs. The Patriots still have a chance to grab the second spot in the AFC, which would mean a bye in the first round and home field in the second round. If the Pats can beat the Miami Dolphins and either get the Indianapolis Colts to help out by beating the Houston Texans or the Kansas City Chiefs to upset the Denver Broncos, they will get there. OK, Kansas City is not going to beat Denver. But the Colts could beat the Texans.
The game is also big for the Dolphins too. A win would give them a final record of 8-8. Avoiding a losing record and beating the division’s best team would be a real confidence boost going into next season. Rookie quarterback Ryan Tannehill has had a fine first year, although he happened to be a rookie in a year with Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III and Russell Wilson, so his accomplishments will go unnoticed. He may well already be Miami’s best signal caller since the great Dan Marino.
TopBet has odds for the two games in this week’s season finale in the AFC East:
Miami at New England- Miami is +10.5 -110 or + 550. The Patriots are -10.5 -110 or – 750. Over/under is 47.5. We hate to give up 10.5 points in an NFL game. So we like the Dolphins +10.5 and the over. The Patriots have been having trouble covering spreads lately. Normally this time of year they are money in the bank, but they have not been this year.
New York Jets at Buffalo- The Jets are +3.5 -10 or +160. The Bills are -3.5 -110 or -190. Over/under is 39.5. The season will mercifully end for the Jets this week. It has been a rough one. It hasn’t been a picnic in Buffalo either. But someone will end on a happy note this week. We like the Jets +3.5 and the under.
After this week, New England will go off to try and get to another Super Bowl while the other three teams in the AFC East go back to the drawing board. Sounds like a typical year in this division.
