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NFL lines, Week 14: 5 best bets

By John Buhler

OAKLAND, CA - DECEMBER 03: Cordarrelle Patterson No. 84 of the Oakland Raiders reacts to a play against the New York Giants at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on December 3, 2017 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA - DECEMBER 03: Cordarrelle Patterson No. 84 of the Oakland Raiders reacts to a play against the New York Giants at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on December 3, 2017 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images) /
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We did it! Going a perfect 5-0 last week in Week 13 was pretty sweet. Here are the five best bets against the spread in the NFL heading into Week 14.

After going 0-for during Week 12 of the 2017 NFL season, I somehow got over my tryptophan enduced coma and picked five games correctly against the spread last week. So if you took my advice last week, good job by you! I’ll quickly recap how I went 5-0 against the spread in Week 13.

It all started by taking the New York Jets getting 4.5 points at home versus the awful Kansas City Chiefs. That was easy money because the Chiefs can beat the Denver Broncos and that’s about it now. New York not only won, but won easily over a reeling Chiefs team.

The two late afternoon games I picked went my way. Getting the New York Giants at +8.5 was a sneaky-good play. Though they lost to the Oakland Raiders and former head coach Ben McAdoo got fired, New York was good enough to only lose by a touchdown on the road to at .500 Oakland team.

Knowing that the New Orleans Saints were going to avenge their Week 12 road loss to the Los Angeles Rams was spot on by me. They were able to cover the four-point spread against the division rival Carolina Panthers and won by 10 points at home to improve to 9-3.

I didn’t believe that the Philadelphia Eagles stood a chance to win on the road against the Seattle Seahawks in primetime. Getting the Seahawks at +5.5 at home in front of the 12th Man was a laughably easy play.

Then it all came down to the Cincinnati Bengals. They needed to not lose by a touchdown and I would be 5-0 in Week 14. Siding with Andy Dalton in primetime against the Pittsburgh Steelers was an incredibly risky play, but it paid off for me. The Bengals covered, as they only lost by a field goal.

Here’s to Week 14 being another winning week. Here are my five best bets against the spread. All lines are by OddsShark.

Green Bay Packers (-3) at Cleveland Browns

One thing I haven’t done a lot of this season is bet against the Cleveland Browns. They haven’t won any games so picking against the Browns should be a staple in these weekly five best bets, right? Well, maybe not so much, but I am swallowing the three points to take the visiting Green Bay Packers to win and cover.

This line is reasonable to work with, as Brett Hundley will again be the starting quarterback for the Packers. Could you even imagine what this line would look like if Aaron Rodgers was under center for Green Bay in this one? Good lord, that would be a fat line. Can an NFL team lay 21 points on the road?

The biggest reservation here for me is that Hundley is playing quarterback for the Packers. I don’t trust him and you shouldn’t either. That being said, he is playing against the Browns, who aren’t going to win a game this season. No way, not happening. So Green Bay it is!

Another reason I’m including this as one of my best bets for the week is that Green Bay will be one week closer to potentially having Rodgers back from a broken collarbone. The pressure to get this win over Cleveland by Green Bay looms large. I think Packers head coach Mike McCarthy will have his boys ready to play. Green Bay wins by more than a touchdown to cover the three-point spread.