With the holiday season in the rearview mirror, it’s time to get down to business as we head into Week 17 of the NFL season. The week got started with the Browns securing their spot in the playoffs after beating the Jets, and now just 2 wild-card spots remain in the AFC. We’ve also got a 3-way battle breaking out for AFC South supremacy, while the Dolphins and Ravens battle it out for the #1 in that conference. With so much going on, it’s sure to be another amazing weekend of NFL action.'Here at Pickswise, our handicappers have been red-hot throughout the season with their NFL best bets boasting a 49-37 record, which has delivered +17.13 units of profit! We’ve also got NFL picks for every matchup this week, but for now, let’s get the best bet from 3 of our best NFL handicappers.
Chris Farley: Houston Texans -4.5 over Tennessee Titans (-110)
The Houston Texans survived without their star and at 8-7, they have as good of a chance as any AFC South team to take home the division. That's good news for Texans' backers this weekend, and it's also good news for CJ Stroud. The NFL's rookie of the year (not official yet, but if you're asking us) is slated to finally return after missing two weeks of action. Suffering a concussion at the end of one of Houston's worst performances of the season against the Jets in Week 14, Stroud will surely be motivated and amped up to put the team on his back at home against a beatable opponent. Of course the Titans warrant some respect. Mike Vrabel has earned a reputation as a guy we should avoid fading as an underdog, but it really hasn't stood up this season. Tennessee is a good home pooch (3-1-1 ATS), but they're just 5-6-1 ATS overall. WIth nothing left to play for, the Titans would love to ruin the Texans' surge, especially since just two weeks ago Cas e Keenum took it to Vrabel's team in Nashville, beating them 19-16 in OT.
But we also like that for Houston. The Titans have yet to experience CJ Stroud in all his glory, and that should make all the difference in this contest. Sure, Vrabel is a defensive minded coach who can level up his squad's resistance in these scenarios, but we've seen Stroud's unflappable nature in big spots before. And we liked what we saw. The Titans bring in a pass-defense that allows opposing QBs to throw for 67.34% (29th) and 6.8 yards per pass (22nd), and no defense has fewer INTs. Tank Dell remains on the IR, but Nico Collins and Noah Brown, two of Stroud's most trusted catchers, are healthy. So is their offensive line, their backfield, and a defense that's also shown it can step up big under the leadership of Demeco Ryans, who led one of the NFL's premier defenses before taking the head job in Houston. There's a reason this spread has been ticking up and up, and we see only one way to look.
Be sure to check out our full Tennessee Titans vs Houston Texans predictions