NFL Week 17 Prop Bets: Expect Bounce-Back Effort From Cowboys

It can be termed a Christmas miracle! We were perfect on our prop bets last week, thanks to the offensive prowess of Baker Mayfield, Bijan Robinson, and Breece Hall. Mayfield has been one of the best quarterbacks in football over the past month, but the New Orleans Saints’ defense has proven to make life difficult for the Bucs in recent years, so we’ll pass on him this week.

Instead, our sights are set on another quarterback to have a big game. And speaking of the Saints, they’ll make an appearance in this column as well. Let’s present our top NFL Week 17 prop bets as we are set to ring in 2024.

Many NFL fans have short memories, and oddsmakers to take advantage of that fact. Dak Prescott is coming off two pedestrian games in losses at Buffalo and Miami. But it was just a couple of weeks ago that Prescott was in the MVP discussion.

That’s because at that point, the Cowboys were coming off of three wins at home. In those games, Prescott averaged 300 yards per game and threw nine touchdowns and zero interceptions.

On the season, Prescott is averaging just under 260 yards per game. However, at AT&T Stadium, that number is 303.5. And while Dak didn’t rack up a lot of yards in Miami, he had two touchdowns and no picks.

Prescott’s opponent this week is the Detroit Lions. Newly champions of the NFC North, the Lions are winning despite a shaky pass defense. In addition to allowing over 300 yards as of late to big names like Lamar Jackson, Justin Herbert, and Jordan Love, Detroit was torched by Nick Mullens for over 400 yards in Minnesota last week.

While there is still plenty for Detroit to play for, they are currently in the No. 3 spot in the NFC and can’t drop any lower. Dallas is likely the 5-seed. The NFC East is still in play, but even though that’s unlikely, look for the Cowboys to get back on track in what will likely be their final home game of the season.

The Saints, losers of four of their last six, are somehow just three-point underdogs at red-hot Tampa Bay. We already addressed that number this week. But if you are looking for more action on that contest from Raymond James Stadium, look to the Saints’ team total.

While New Orleans has scored over 20 points in each of their last four games, two of those were against Carolina and the New York Giants. The majority of the Saints’ 22 points last week in Los Angeles came long after the game against the Rams was decided.

This week, the Saints visit a Bucs team that has beaten them three times since the start of the 2022 season. New Orleans’ point totals in those three games: 9, 16, and 10. In the last game the Saints won over Tampa Bay, it was a 9-0 win for New Orleans.

On the other side of the ball, Tampa Bay has held its opponent to 20 or fewer points in three of their last four games — all wins. In last week’s 30-12 laugher over Jacksonville, the defense allowed just 305 yards and forced four turnovers.

Finally, the Bucs have all the motivation in the world to win on Sunday. A victory gives the Pewter Pirates the NFC South championship for a third consecutive season. Not too bad for a team with a coach (Todd Bowles) on the hot seat and a quarterback (Baker Mayfield) about to be run out of town.

Check out Sidelines’ Best Bets for Week 17 of the NFL season.

Not all player props are up, but once this one hits the board, take it — even at short odds. Against the Giants last week, Hurts was -200 to score a touchdown. Undaunted, we took it and won 2:35 into the game.

While Hurts has been inconsistent this year through the air, the “tush push” has led to the quarterback setting a team record for rushing touchdowns with 15. He hasn’t scored on the ground in just four of the 15 games he’s played.

Arizona comes to Lincoln Financial Field with the league’s worst defense against the rush. The Cards are giving up 147 rushing yards per game, and with the Eagles needing two wins to lock up the NFC East, don’t expect them to mess around.