Nat Coombs' NFL Week 17 Tips Including Jaguars @ Colts
It's the penultimate week of the regular season in the NFL, where play-off hopes can be enhanced with a win and dashed with a defeat.
The Detroit Lions were one of the pre-season favourites to win Super Bowl LX in Santa Clara in February, but they were eliminated from the post-season following their Christmas Day loss to the Minnesota Vikings.
Nat Coombs, who will be in the FIVE studio for Sunday night's game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Miami Dolphins, is sharing three more tips for this weekend's contests, using the latest odds from BetMGM.
Nat Coombs' NFL Week 17 Tips:
- Nat Coombs' Panel Pick 1: Jaguars @ Colts: Jaguars (-6) - 17/20 With BetMGM
- Nat Coombs' Panel Pick 2: Saints @ Titans: Saints (-2.5) - 17/20 With BetMGM
- Nat Coombs' Panel Pick 3: Cardinals @ Bengals: Bengals (-7) - 10/11 With BetMGM
Jaguars @ Colts: Delight In Duval
There’s a lot aligning in Duval County right now, which makes the Jacksonville Jaguars an intriguing prospect as we had towards the play-offs.
They’ve got a chip on their shoulder because no one is taking them particularly seriously – and “small market” jabs from rival coaches help to fuel the “us against the world” mindset.
This is a young and aggressive coaching set up led by the impressive head coach Liam Cohen, who is getting the best out of quarterback Trevor Lawrence - a player with tremendous upside, who is starting to fulfil his immense potential.
GAMES NOTES:
The Jaguars have won 4 of the last 5 meetings
Given that the AFC is so wide open, this may just be Jacksonville’s year, particularly as they still have a shot at the number one seed.
This means that they’re likely to be clinical against their old divisional rivals this weekend.
Speaking of old, the Philip Rivers story is an extraordinary one and the future Hall of Famer played pretty well against the San Francisco 49ers last week, showing up players 20 years younger.
Rivers may well end up with the comeback player of the year award and he’ll keep the Indianapolis Colts competitive, but I like the Jags to cover the spread on betting apps as they swagger towards the post-season.
Nat's Selection 1: Jaguars @ Colts: Jaguars (-6) - 17/20 With BetMGM
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Saints @ Titans: Shough To Shine For Saints
Given the struggles of New Orleans Saints this season, Tyler Shough’s impressive play has gone under the radar.
The quarterback has looked like he belongs. He's been composed and has read the situations quickly and has built a strong connection with wide receiver Chris Olave.
GAME NOTES:
The last 2 meetings have been decided by 1 and 2 points
Even if it’s too soon to call him a sure thing, in a league where competent quarterbacks are hard to find, the Saints should back their young quarterback for another season and use their inevitably high draft pick to strengthen elsewhere.
The Tennessee Titans have been showing signs of promise in recent weeks, including an improved ground game, but as long as this stays under a field goal, I’ll take the Saints.
Nat's Selection 2: Saints @ Titans: Saints (-2.5) - 17/20 With BetMGM
Cardinals @ Bengals: Trio To Lead Cincy To Victory
Both these teams might have new head coaches next season, with the Arizona Cardinals almost certainly moving on from Jonathan Gannon and quite conceivably quarterback Kyler Murray too.
The Cincinnati Bengals have had another disappointing year, which may prove to be the end of the Zac Taylor era.
They’ve been defensively calamitous for much of the season, and short stacked offensively with the prolonged absence of Joe Burrow.
GAME NOTES:
Joe Burrow threw 4 TD passes in last week's 45-21 win in Miami
But their quarterback is back, seemingly suffering an existential crisis, but Burrow can still sling it with the best of them.
To make things even worse for Arizona, they’re dealing with a lot of injuries both sides of the ball, so they should struggle to exploit since the Cincy defense.
And they won’t keep up with the high-wire stylings of Burrow, Chase, Higgins and co.
Nat's Selection 3: Bengals @ Cardinals: Bengals (-7) - 10/11 With BetMGM
Nat's Week 17 treble pays out around 11/2 With BetMGM.
Which bet do you like in the NFL this weekend? Let us know in the comments below.
