The Washington Redskins will be gunning for the final NFC wild card berth on Sunday when they take on the division rival New York Giants in their regular-season finale as heavy 8-point betting favorites on the NFL lines at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
Washington kept its playoff hopes alive with last week’s decisive 41-21 win over the Chicago Bears as 3-point road favorites and can clinch a playoff berth with a straight-up win in Sunday afternoon’s Giants vs. Redskins betting matchup at FedExField.
The 8-6-1 Redskins have recorded consecutive SU wins just once in their past nine games, while amassing a middling 4-4-1 record. But the Redskins have been strong performers at the sportsbooks, covering in 10 of 13, including four against-the-spread wins in their past five home dates.
New York is coming off a disappointing 24-19 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles as a 1-point road underdog, but clinched a playoff berth on the strength of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ 31-24 loss in New Orleans.
The Giants have won eight of 10 outright en route to their first playoff berth since 2011, but are winless SU and ATS in two straight on the road, and are locked in as the NFC’s No. 5 seed regardless of the outcome of this weekend’s matchup.
A Washington outright win would have serious implications later in the day when the Detroit Lions host the rival Green Bay Packers as 3.5-point underdogs on “Sunday Night Football.”
Green Bay and Detroit enter Week 17 deadlocked atop the NFC North with identical 9-6 records. While the winner will claim the division crown, a Redskins win over New York means the loser of Sunday night’s matchup will see its season end.
The 9-6 Lions blew a second opportunity to lock up a playoff spot with a 42-21 loss in Dallas as 6.5-point underdogs last week, and are winless ATS in their past three games. The 9-6 Packers have won five straight SU to claw their way back into the division hunt and are unbeaten in their last three trips to Detroit as betting favorites.
And the New England Patriots will be aiming for a seventh straight SU win when they visit the playoff-bound Miami Dolphins as 9.5-point betting favorites this weekend, while the Pittsburgh Steelers look to post a seventh straight win as they host the Cleveland Browns as 6.5-point chalk.
Miami is 3-3 SU and ATS in its last six games against the Patriots and can still climb to No. 5 in the AFC with a win and a loss by the Kansas City Chiefs, while the 1-14 Browns are winless SU in their last 12 visits to Heinz Field.
Thumbnail photo via David Butler II/USA TODAY Sports Images
