Intro by Sam
Yank and I are naturally tentative heading into this week after being completely bamboozled last week. The goal going into Week 17 is to not overreact, steer into our strategies, and get back to raking in the dough.
Recap
Week 16 was one to forget. Santa filled our stockings with coal but he didn’t stop there. Every present under the tree was also filled with coal. In fact, there was only one present for Yank – the Chargers and Easton Stick – yes that Easton Stick – covered +13 against the Bills. Much to me, I had the Bills-12 as the Confrontation pick.
Last week was actually so bad, I’m even interested in rehashing every loss – and yes – I mean every loss. What I will say is that I lost every bet and 39 cold hard dollars, while Yank lost all but the one bet above for a total of -$20.60. Even though we’ll remember this week in our bones, we’re actively choosing to forgive and forget. Week 17 couldn’t come fast enough.
Week 17 Picks
The Collaboration:
The Carolina Panthers @ the Jacksonville Jaguars-4
Yank: Come with us on a journey! We said three weeks ago we were going against the Panthers no matter what like Kevin Costner taking Vontae Mack on draft day. Since we made that declaration the Panthers have looked…fairly competent? Meanwhile, the Jags have been terrible and Trevor Lawrence definitely looks hurt. All logic is against it but I don’t care I’m riding with the Jags against the Panthers.
Sam: We’ve got two more weeks to take advantage of this miserable Panthers team. The Panthers have gotten away with being terrible the last two weeks. And while I’ve never believed in the Jaguars, they have a defense that can hold the Panthers down. In order to hit on the bet, we’ll have to hope the Jaguars can do enough to move the ball down the field. Let’s hope the Jags feed Etienne and Lawrence doesn’t need to do much.
Sam’s Pick: $10.00 on the Jaguars-4 (-110)
Yanks Pick: $5.00 on the Jaguars-4 (-110)
The San Francisco 49ers-13.5 @ the Washington Commanders
Sam: Our strategy of hammering the 49ers hasn’t panned out the way we had hoped the last few weeks, but overall it’s been a reliable strategy. This strategy is particularly successful when they are facing a bad team. This is the case this week, despite going up an upstart Commanders team that has seen some juice from putting Brissett under center. Brissett is the perfect .500 quarterback, so don’t expect him to solve all of the Commanders’ problems. They’ll fall back to earth against a 49ers team eager to put last week’s disappointment behind them.
Yank: This is another set-a-strategy and stick with it bet for me, as Sam mentions above. When Trent Williams and Deebo Samuel play the 49ers have largely been outstanding. They will be motivated to return to form coming off the loss last weekend. I would take them against anyone here, but I’m always happy to go against the hapless Commanders.
Sam’s Pick: $7.00 on the 49ers-13.5 (-110)
Yanks Pick: $5.00 on the 49ers-13.5 (-110)
Tease Killer of the Week:
No identified TKOW this week.
The Confrontation:
No identified Confrontation this week.
The Isolation:
The Atlanta Falcons @ the Chicago Bears-2.5
Yank: Why are the Bears favored in this game? Ultimately I don’t care, Atlanta has been stealing money from me all year. The fact that they looked great against the Colts last week makes it even more likely they will stink this week in my estimation. I don’t love backing the Bears but they should be able to win this one at home. I’m throwing in the Bills and Eagles who are huge favorites against tanking teams to boost the odds.
Yanks Pick: $10.00 on a Bears/Bills/Eagles ML parlay (+107)
The Los Angeles Rams-5.5 @ the New York Giants
Sam: I like the Giants with Tyrod at QB as the Tease Killer of the week. Yank has to abstain for personal reasons, otherwise it would be in the TKOW category. The Giants have shown they can win games without a competent offense, and throw in a QB that can actually push the ball down the field, you have a recipe for a +5.5 cover. I also like them to win straight up, given that the Rams are traveling across the country to play in a cold, outdoor New York stadium – hard to simulate that in sunny LA.
Sam’s Pick: $3.00 on the Giants+5.5 (-105) and $3.00 on the Giants ML (+210)
The Bank – Week 17
| Yank | Sam | |
| Starting: | $97.68 | $89.11 |
| Risk: | $20.00 | $23.00 |
| Record: | 39 – 44 – 4 | 62 – 66 – 6 |
| Record Against The Spread: | 27 – 25 – 4 | 46 – 40 – 6 |
| Record on the Tease Killer of the Week: | 1 – 2 | 2 – 4 |
Authors: Sam Mattson and Michael Yanckello
One Last Line 