Week 17 picks from a “dog or pass” point of view”
Here in the Tuley’s Takes home office, we hope all our readers/followers had a Merry Christmas (or however you celebrate the holiday season) and are looking forward to a Happy (and prosperous New Year).
We had so much fun over the past holiday weekend with friends and family, plus we went 5-2 ATS with our NFL Best Bets here in this column and 2-1 ATS with our college bowl picks (note: that weekly “takes” column will be posted per usual on Thursday at VSiN.com).
It started with a loss on the Saints +4 at the Rams on Thursday Night Football, but the Chargers +12.5 covered in a 24-22 loss vs. the Bills on Saturday night, we split 1-1 ATS on Sunday with a win on the Panthers +5 in a 33-30 SU defeat vs. the Packers and lost on the Vikings +3 in a 30-24 defeat vs. the Lions, but then Monday/Christmas was full of gifts as we swept 3-0 ATS with the Raiders +10 in a 20-14 outright upset at the Chiefs, the Giants +12 covered in a 33-25 loss at the Eagles and the Ravens +5.5 pulled a 33-19 outright upset at the 49ers.
Hopefully, we can end 2023 on a similar winning note as we have a full 16-game schedule in NFL Week 17 that has standalone games on Thursday and Saturday with the other 14 games on Sunday and no Monday Night Football (the NFL steps aside for the New Year’s Day bowl games and the CFB Playoff semifinals on Monday, January 1.
For newcomers to this column, I’m a “dog-or-pass bettor,” and my breakdown of each game will usually be from that point of view as we try to determine if the dog is getting enough points to make them a play – or if I recommend passing on the game, which is a very valid and valuable betting decision when trying to come out ahead against the books! Even if I don’t have an official Best Bet, I’ll still at least give my recommended “pool play strategy” for those who are in contests where you have to pick every game.