A clean sweep with my underdog picks last week improved my overall record for the season to 25-20. While COVID-19 can change things on a dime, here are three more underdogs that might be worth taking on chance on in Week 16.
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Indianapolis Colts at Arizona Cardinals: Colts (+1)
The Colts are coming off of an impressive win at home against the Patriots in which Jonathan Taylor rushed for 170 yards and a touchdown. He received a whopping 29 carries, marking the third time in the last four games that he has reached that threshold. With Taylor leading the way, the Colts have won five of their last six games.
As good as the Colts looked last week, the Cardinals suffered an embarrassing loss to the Lions. The Lions limited Kyler Murray to three rushing yards while holding him to only one touchdown pass. Part of their offensive struggle is the loss of DeAndre Hopkins (knee), who won’t take the field again for the remainder of the regular season. Their offense could continue to underwhelm without him, and in the likely event that they can’t slow down Taylor, the Cardinals could be looking at their third straight loss.
Detroit Lions at Atlanta Falcons: Lions (+6)
It’s not often that you see a team knock off one of the best teams in the league, only to follow that up the next week as a significant underdog versus a team with a losing record. Part of the reason for this line is the status of Lions’ quarterback Jared Goff, who tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday. If he can’t return in time, then Tim Boyle would start, according to Lions’ head coach Dan Campbell.
Even if Goff can’t play, the Lions have fought hard all season. When Goff sat out Week 11 against the Browns, the Lions only lost by three points. This game being played in Atlanta isn’t exactly a great detriment, either, given that the Falcons are 1-5 at home. Winning this game without Goff would be difficult, but the Lions might still be able to keep things close.
Washington Football Team at Dallas Cowboys: Football Team (+10.5)
This is a tough spot for Washington. They just played Tuesday and are still dealing with the impact of a COVID-19 outbreak that forced that game to be moved from Sunday. Even with Garrett Gilbert starting that game at quarterback, they only lost by 10 points to the Eagles. They should be in much better shape for this game with Taylor Heinicke already off the reserve/COVID-19 list.
When these two teams faced each other in Week 14, Dallas won by seven points. Prior to that, Washington had reeled off four straight wins. While Dallas does have a sparkling 10-4 record, six of their 10 wins have come by 10 points or fewer. Of the four games that they won by more than 10 points, two of them came against the inept Giants. With the expectation that Washington’s roster is in much better shape for this matchup, I’ll take the points.
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