Early NFL bets for Week 17
Just two weeks of the NFL regular season are left and these can be tough weeks to handicap. Players with nagging injuries could shut it down. Teams could subtly (or obviously) tank for draft position. Teams in must-win situations will face inflated lines or experience faster line moves earlier in the week if the betting splits look imbalanced. There are a lot of moving parts at this time of the year and paying attention to the news and the playoff scenarios will be very important.
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With Week 16 mostly in the books, here are a couple of early lines I’m looking at for Week 17:
Chicago Bears at Detroit Lions (-5, 51.5)
The Lions return to the friendly confines of Ford Field after suffering a huge setback against the Panthers in a 37-23 loss last week. It was a stark reminder of just how bad the Detroit defense has been most of the season. It was not smoke and mirrors for the Panthers like the Seahawks game with turnovers and short fields. Carolina averaged 8.8 yards per play en route to 37 points. They just did whatever they wanted against the Lions defense.