Monday Night Football Predictions & Best Bets Week 17

Week 17 of the NFL season concludes with one of the best games—on paper—as the Buffalo Bills travel to take on the Cincinnati Bengals.

At 23 combined wins, this is the most wins between two teams to ever play on Monday Night Football.

These teams compete for the top seeds in the AFC, so which team comes out on top?

Here, we’ll examine the best bets. 

Bills -1.5 (-110) at DraftKings

With a point spread of just 1.5, we’re essentially picking who will win the game. 

It isn’t easy to make a decision in a game like this, especially when both teams have been playing excellent football. 

The Bengals defense may not be as talked about as the Bills, but over the last three games, the Bengals defense has accomplished the following:

• Zero rushing touchdowns allowed

• 74.7 rushing yards allowed

• 267 passing yards allowed 

• Two passing touchdowns allowed per game

The passing numbers are most concerning, especially in a game against a Josh Allen-led Bills team. 

The Bills have been putting more of an emphasis on the run game lately, headlined by running back James Cook. Cook is coming off a 99-yard game in just 11 games and also found the endzone. It was against the Bears, but you need to start somewhere. 

In the passing game, Allen seemed to get a bit careless against the Bears, throwing two interceptions. Still, before that, he had multiple touchdown passes in three of his last four games and three rushing touchdowns over his previous five games. 

While Allen has been playing great, Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow has been excellent, throwing 16 touchdowns over his last six games. However, in that stretch, he does have six interceptions. 

Buffalo is allowing just 193 passing yards and one passing touchdown over their last three games. Against the run, they’ve also played well, allowing less than one touchdown per game over their previous three but over 114 rushing yards in that same span.

This will be a close game for the Bills, especially on the road. Allen will need to play sharp here, but the Bengals have been getting passed on lately. If Allen can stay clear of turnovers and get a run game going with Cook, the Bills should pull this one out. 

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Over 49.5 (-110) at Caesars

Approaching 50 points, we’re taking the over here based on the quarterbacking alone. Both guys have been playing exceedingly well over the last few weeks, whether Burrow’s passing touchdown totals or Allen’s passing touchdown totals coupled with his rushing ability. 

There’s defensive talent on both sides, but these quarterbacks are matchup-proof and equipped with fantastic weapons. 

We should see a shootout in Cincinnati with forecasted temperatures in the 50s and some light rain. 

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