Good morning, Pickswise Nation, and welcome to another wonderful week of sports. We hope you enjoyed your New Year’s weekend and the good news is there’s more coming up today. We have the final game of NFL Week 17, plus NBA, college football and NHL games today, so let’s get straight to making your next bet better.
About Last Night
Big wins for Packers and Bucs highlight NFL slate
Week 17 was another eventful Sunday in the NFL and there were some massive results that shaped the playoff picture. In the NFC, the Buccaneers clinched the NFC South with a massive comeback victory, while the Packers demolished the Vikings to bring themselves one step closer to a playoff berth. Over in the AFC, the Steelers knocked off the Ravens in dramatic fashion to greatly improve their chances of making the playoffs.
NHL picks stay hot
It’s been a rock solid weekend for our NHL handicapping team, including a massive +1002 NHL mega parlay winner on Sunday. In addition to this parlay winner, we’re also in the midst of a 5-0 run on NHL player props courtesy of hcokey handicapper Mark Lammey.
Today’s Slate
Bills vs Bengals on MNF
NFL Week 17 comes to a close as the Bills take on the Bengals on Monday Night Football at 8:15 pm ET on ESPN, in a game with massive AFC playoff implications.
11 NBA games tonight
There’s a solid 11-game NBA slate tonight including games between Pelicans vs Sixers and Hawks vs Warriors.
Last loaded College Football slate of the season
The College Football Playoff semifinals have come and gone, but Monday’s slate of bowl games still offers much to dig into. We’ve got the Rose Bowl Game featuring Utah and Penn State, along with the Cotton Bowl, Citrus Bowl and ReliaQuest Bowl.
There’s hockey for your consideration, too
After a busy weekend on the ice, Monday’s slate isn’t a packed one. However, we still have some intriguing matchups, including the Penguins against the Bruins and the Knights against the Avalanche.
Best Bet of the Day
NFL: Buffalo Bills -1 (-110) vs Cincinnati Bengals
8:15 pm ET, ESPN
It should be a great Monday Night showdown between the 2 of the top 3 teams in the AFC. By now you have heard that the Bengals are 19-3 ATS in Burrow’s last 22 starts. But you not all of that has come easily. They easily could have lost outright if not for Rhamondre Stevenson’s fumble inside the 10 but the Pats missed three extra points as well. The week before the Bucs were dominating the first half before a series of fluke turnovers gave the Bengals great field position in their win. Not all of these covers and wins have been blowouts. This great run is also baked into the line. Consider that the Chiefs were 2.5-point favorites in Cincinnati just a few weeks ago. The same Chiefs were 2.5-point underdogs at home against these Bills, meaning the market valued Buffalo as multiple points better than the Chiefs on a neutral field. So for the Bills to be 1.5 points less of a favorite in the same spot as the Chiefs were just a month ago means that there has been a big correction in the Bengals’ value. This line would likely have been Buffalo -3 if this game had been played just a few weeks ago. The question is if you feel comfortable to fade Joe Burrow and company right now, even if you think it’s the wrong price.
It’s a great matchup and there are not a ton of holes to be poked on either side. I will say that outside of Patrick Mahomes, the Bengals have not faced that many good QBs this season. In fact, the Bengals pass defense has faced the 4th easiest schedule of opposing pass offenses based on EPA. Dealing with Josh Allen is a step up in challenge that is tough to prepare for. I trust both of these QBs but I trust the Bills defense just a tad more and Allen’s ability to almost always make a play when needed.
Must-watch
Don’t forget to check out our daily show Let’s Bet It on our YouTube channel at youtube.com/c/Pickswise at 10:00 am ET.
Lauren Jbara and Mark Zinno are your hosts today and they will be previewing tonight’s NFL game and looking at today’s college football action before revealing their Plays of the Day.
You can also access the shows at any time through Spotify and Apple Podcasts (search for Let’s Bet It Presented By Pickswise).
Stat of the Day
The Tulane Green Wave are 5-0 against the spread away from home this season.