What’s better than opening presents on Christmas Day? Opening presents on Christmas and watching the NFL, of course!
We have ourselves a tripleheader of NFL action on the holiday, and some of these contests have legitimate playoff implications. For instance, the Detroit Lions are trying to keep their postseason hopes alive and need to win out (and have the Green Bay Packers lose out) to sneak in, so this is very much a playoff game in their eyes. Meanwhile, if the Denver Broncos win out over these next two games, they’ll be the No. 1 seed in the AFC.
While those are the playoff implications for this Christmas Day slate, one of the other storylines will be the onslaught of injuries at quarterback for an array of these teams suiting up on Thursday. The Commanders, Vikings and Chiefs will all be starting backups, which sort of feels like a lump of coal, but we’ll make do.
As we do every week, we’ve collected all of the best picks and gambling content from CBSSports.com and SportsLine and put them in one place, so you can get sports betting picks against the spread from our CBS Sports experts as well as additional feature content for each game, including plays from top SportsLine experts and the SportsLine Projection Model, best bets from our staff, survivor picks and more this Christmas.
NFL odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.
Thursday, 1 p.m. ET on Netflix
Cowboys -7: “This looked like it might be a big Christmas Day game before the season, but it’s not close to being one. Both teams are eliminated, and the Commanders don’t have their starting quarterback or likely their backup in Marcus Mariota. It could be Josh Johnson. Look for Dallas and Dak Prescott to go in and light up the Washington defense. Cowboys win it.” — CBS Sports Senior NFL analyst Pete Prisco on why he likes the Cowboys to cover with a 31-23 victory over the Commanders. To see the rest of his Week 17 picks, click here.
Detroit Lions at Minnesota Vikings
Thursday, 4:30 p.m. ET on Netflix
The SportsLine Projection Model has been a must-use resource for serious NFL bettors. It’s 53-37 on top-rated picks since last season, and we’ve now aimed it at this Christmas Day matchup between the Lions and Vikings. In terms of the spread, the model projects Minnesota covering roughly 50% of the time. However, when looking at the total, the model has one side hitting more than half the time. To see that play, go check out SportsLine.
Vikings +7.5: “The Lions need this game to have any playoff chance, but it won’t be easy on the road. Minnesota has played outstanding defense. The problem is the Vikings have rookie Max Brosmer playing for the injured J.J. McCarthy. That could be an issue, even against a Lions defense that has struggled.” — CBS Sports Senior NFL analyst Pete Prisco on why he has Detroit winning, but the Vikings pulling off the cover 21-19. To see the rest of his Week 17 picks, click here.
Denver Broncos at Kansas City Chiefs
Thursday, 8:15 p.m. ET on Prime Video
Are you still kicking in your survivor pool? If so, you’re coming down to the wire, and each decision you make over these next two weeks could be the difference between outlasting the competition or falling just short. To give yourself the best shot of making it all the way, allow SportsLine’s R.J. White to help make your decision this week. White has been a must-see source when it comes to betting on the NFL and has been remarkably sharp in survivor pool settings. While White has this game between Denver and Kansas City circled as one of his options for Week 17, it’s not his top choice. To see that play, head over the SportsLine.
Chiefs +13.5: “The Broncos are coming off a bad loss to the Jaguars, so their focus will be good here. The Chiefs are done and hardly look like the team we’ve come to know the past eight years. Chris Oladokun will start at quarterback against a good Denver defense. Good luck with that. The Broncos will rebound, but pride might keep the Chiefs in it for a bit.” — CBS Sports Senior NFL analyst Pete Prisco on why he has Denver pulling out the 24-13 victory over Kansas City. To see the rest of his Week 17 picks, click here.
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