The 3 Most Popular NFL Bets for Week 17
Over the last couple of weeks, you either ended your championship run or were lucky (or good) enough to win your league's fantasy football title. Either way, the fun continues this week with DFS, betting and much more.
This Sunday, and Monday provide plenty more opportunities to get in on the action at FanDuel Sportsbook. There are 16 games ahead of us (with no Thursday or Sunday action), including a full 15 on the final Sunday of the regular season.
But which games and lines are getting the most action? Thanks to numberFire's new oddsFire tool, we can see exactly that -- where the public is laying the most bets, and what percentage of money is on which team and which side of the total.
Using oddsFire as our guide, let's dive into the three lines (one spread, one moneyline, one over/under) getting the most love, with the goal of deciding whether the numbers support or contradict the public's heavy investment.
Indianapolis Colts (-3.5) at Jacksonville Jaguars
The line on the spread has yet to budge in the Indianapolis Colts' favor despite them drawing 93% of the bets and 82% of the money. That's a formula for the sharps being on the home Jacksonville Jaguars even with Gardner Minshew and his team's struggles of late.
Following last week's loss to the Atlanta Falcons, the Jags are 5-10, with a 1-6 record going back to the beginning of November. Their defense has allowed at least 24 points in their six losses, but their offense has failed to score more than 20, averaging 12.7 points a game -- 8.0 in their three road matchups.
Meanwhile, Indy is fresh off a dominant 38-6 win and has topped 30 points in three of their last six. They have gotten back a number of weapons from injury, so there's no reason to think they'll slow down against a Jacksonville team that's fallen to 29th in our power rankings and 25th defensively.
The Colts have been much better than the Jaguars against the spread this season, and -- according to Killer Sports -- they have covered the points three times and pushed once in their last six games. They are 4-3 when favored and 3-1 when giving up no more than six points. Backing the Colts is a smart move in Week 17.
Oakland Raiders (+154) at Denver Broncos
Maybe it's because the season is winding down, but there just seems to be little movement around the sportsbooks this week (at least so far). On the road at Mile High, the divisional foe Raiders are decent underdogs on the moneyline, and they aren't far from where they started (+157). The same goes for the spread, yet the public sees value in going against the Drew Lock-led Denver Broncos.
The Raiders lead all teams by getting 80% of the moneyline bets in addition to 84% of the overall money at FanDuel Sportsbook. They return $254 on a $100 bet, but is that a justifiable cause?
Denver recently learned that veteran safety Kareem Jackson would be suspended for the remainder of the year. However, Oakland seems more dinged up. A number of players have failed to practice in recent days -- a list that includes two offensive linemen, running back Josh Jacobs and receiver Tyrell Williams. Derek Carr could be under some extra heat and possibly without two of his best weapons, so betting on Oakland to win looks risky.
Plus, these Broncos are 4-3 at home and undefeated in their last three on their turf. It's best to fade the Raiders despite their crazy outside chance at a playoff spot.
Pittsburgh Steelers at Baltimore Ravens (Under 38.5)
Speaking of injuries and players sitting out, no one game could be more impacted by them then this. These two bitter rivals -- the Steelers and Ravens -- are playing for two totally different things, as far as the playoffs are concerned. But they share one thing in common, and that's the fact that they're starting backup quarterbacks.
For Pittsburgh, Devlin "Duck" Hodges will make his sixth start and eighth appearance in the absence of both Ben Roethlisberger and Mason Rudolph, whereas Baltimore -- with the divisional crown and 1 seed locked -- has opted for Robert Griffin III in order to rest Lamar Jackson heading into what could be a long playoff run.
The spread is close (Pittsburgh -2.5), but the total is where the public is looking to take full advantage of a potential low-scoring game. A whopping 92% of bets and 96% of the cash has been laid on the under, which has dropped 1.5 points since the open. The combination of quarterback play and the league's third- and ninth-ranked defenses could produce a game that fails to hit 30 -- let alone 39.
Of their combined 30 games in 2019, 19 have already hit the under this season before you account for the head-to-head between Duck and RG3. It will be a pain for fans of offensive football, but you should feel safe siding with the majority on this.
