Free NFL Picks For Today 12/24/2019
More NFL Picks Predictions Previews
LA Chargers vs. Kansas City Chiefs Pick Prediction 12/29/2019
Chargers at Chiefs—NFL pick is Kansas City Chiefs -7.5. KC are division winners and with a win and Patriots loss will earn a first round bye in the playoffs. Chiefs defensive in excellent form as in their past three games holding opponents to 254 yards and 7.3 points per game. KC has won and covered five straight four as a favorite. Recent covers were a 20 point home win to Denver as a ten point favorite and the Bears winning by 23 as a -6.5 favorite. Chargers a disappointment at 5-10. Team has failed to cover all five AFC West divisional games. They have dropped four of five after a 24-17 home loss to a bad defensive team in the Oakland Raiders held to 20 or fewer points in all of those defeats. KC fourth best in the league offensively on third down. LAC defense 27th defensively on third down and 26th on offense inside the red zone. Play Kansas City -7.5.
Miami Dolphins vs. New England Patriots Pick Prediction 12/29/2019
Dolphins at Patriots—NFL free pick is Miami Dolphins +16.5. This is an improved Dolphins team that was pounded by New England 43-0 in September. This is a good challenge and an important game for Miami as it does give them a clear picture of where this team is moving into the offseason by facing this caliber of opponent. Also, the challenge for the coaching staff to put together a game plan against this division opponent. Dolphins have covered nine of their past twelve. Ryan Fitzpatrick is playing for something and that is a job next season somewhere. Offensively Miami has averaged 26 points and 413 yards over their past three games. Dolphins has a winning overall spread record and spread record on the road. Patriot offense past three games averaging only 24.7 points and 327 yards per game. New England offense has been 27th in the red zone this season. Dolphins generates enough offense to cover this huge number. Play Miami +16.5.
New Orleans Saints vs. Carolina Panthers Pick Prediction 12/29/2019
Saints at Panthers—Free pick is New Orleans Saints -13. New Orleans still has a shot at earning a first round by and home field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs. Saints have won their past two games by double digits after their 38-28 road win at Tennessee. Carolina has lost seven straight after their 38-6 road loss at Indianapolis. Panthers will have no home field advantage in this game as the fans will stay home to watch this 5-10 team. New Orleans has won and covered six of their seven road games this season. Past three games Saints averaging 39 points and 422 yards per game. Panthers defensively in that span allowing 36 points and 404 yards per game. Carolina offense sits 30th in the league on third down and defensively 27th inside the red zone. They have turned the ball over ten times the past three games. Third string quarterback Will Grier had no touchdowns and three picks with only 5.1 yards per pass completion. As the early game the Saints must play at full strength to the very end with San Francisco and Seattle the Sunday night game. Play New Orleans -13.
Atlanta Falcons vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers Pick Prediction 12/29/2019
Falcons at Buccaneers—NFL pick is Atlanta Falcons +1. Atlanta has won and covered three straight after a dominating 24-12 home win to Jacksonville. They have won and covered three straight on the road with a notable win at San Francisco. Past three games Falcons are averaging 31 points and 423 yards per game. Buccaneers have failed to cover four of five at home. Tough to back Tampa Bay as they have averaged 3.5 turnovers per game. Buccaneers committed five turnovers in their home loss to the Texans last week. Falcons have shown well since their bye week. Play Atlanta +1.
Cleveland Browns vs. Cincinnati Bengals Pick Prediction 12/29/2019
Browns at Bengals—NFL free pick is Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals to play over the total of 45 points. Bengals perform better on offense with Andy Dalton rather than Ryan Finley. Past three games the Bengals are averaging 399 yards per game. In that span the defense surrendering 33 points and 375 yards per game. In that window of three games the Browns defense has been very poor by giving up 29.3 points and 459 yards per game. With no playoff implications and defenses failing this game has the look of a high scoring game. Play Cleveland and Cincinnati over 45.
New York Jets vs. Buffalo Bills Pick Prediction 12/29/2019
Jets at Bills—Free pick is New York Jets +1. The Bills are locked in as a number five seed in the playoffs and have nothing to play for in this spot. They will hit the road next week in the playoffs likely to meet either the Texans or Chiefs. It could also mean a short week for Buffalo for the AFC Wildcard round as there are two playoff games scheduled for Saturday and Sunday. New York showing no signs or quit as the team has won five of their past seven after beating a playoff contender in Pittsburgh at home last week 16-10. New York defense has allowed 22 or fewer points in five of their past six games. Would expect Buffalo to rest players here and their coaching staff to start prepping for KC or Houston the following week. Prep for Buffalo against the Jets is like a preseason game. Play New York Jets +1.
Washington Redskins vs. Dallas Cowboys Pick Prediction 12/29/2019
Redskins at Cowboys—NFL pick is Dallas Cowboys -10.5. There is chance that the Redskins will rest rookie quarterback Dwyane Haskins. He is dealing with an ankle injury and no reason to play in this spot against a Cowboys defense that has played well of late. In their past home game the Cowboys limited the Rams to 21 points and last week only 17 at Philadelphia. Dallas showed a bounce back from a bad stretch putting up 44 points on the Rams two weeks ago. Redskins defense allowing an average of 39 points and 483 yards per game against the Giants and Eagles at home. Washington offense 31st on third down and defense 32nd. The red zone numbers are bad on both sides as well. Redskins have lost all five division games and failed to cover four of five. Against the NFC East the Redskins is giving up 33 points and 452 yards per game. Play Dallas -10.5.
Arizona Cardinals vs. LA Rams Pick Prediction 12/29/2019
Cardinals at Rams—NFL free pick is Arizona Cardinals and LA Rams to play under the total of 49. This game will have the feel of a preseason game. Cardinals starting quarterback Kyler Murray suffered a hamstring injury and the team would be wise to not take a chance with it and let him end his rookie campaign on a high note with their best win of the season going into Seattle for a 27-14 win. Good chance that veteran journeymen Brett Hundley gets a look at quarterback. Sean McVay is not a head coach to do too much in meaningless games. We have seen McVay take no chances in the preseason for injuries to starters by not playing them. There is nothing worse for a professional athlete than must rehab an injury in the offseason. Without many draft picks, LA can’t afford any injuries. Look for a vanilla game plan for the Rams to get this game over. Play Arizona and LA Rams under 49.
Philadelphia Eagles vs. New York Giants Pick Prediction 12/29/2019
Eagles at Giants—Free pick is New York Giants +4.5. Tough to lay points on the road with the Eagles as their defense performed poorly. On the highway the Eagles defense surrendered 29 points and 390 yards per game. Their past two road games, Philadelphia allowed 352 yards and 27 points to the Redskins then 409 yards with 37 points to the Dolphins. Eagles are also dealing with many injuries on both sides of the football. New York has won two straight and covered three straight after their 41-35 overtime win on the road to Washington. In their last home game, the Giants played well in a 36-20 win to Washington behind 412 offensive yards. New York posted 552 yards on the Redskins. Giants quarterback Daniel Jones has looked good in the team’s recent wins against bad defense. He gets another bad defense in the Eagles here and it is at home. Play New York +4.5.
Tennessee Titans vs. Houston Texans Pick Prediction 12/29/2019
Titans at Texans—NFL pick is Tennessee Titans -5. Titans control their destiny for a playoff spot with a win the team gets in the postseason. Tennessee has shown improvement offensively with the switch to Ryan Tannehill at quarterback. Houston has won the AFC South and cannot earn a first round bye so the Texans figures to rest starters to avoid injury. With the Texans going to the wild card round there is a chance the team will be on a short week with the AFC playoffs beginning on Saturday. The approach to this game is a playoff game for the Titans while it is a preseason approach for the Texans. Houston wide out Will Fuller has a groin injury. Deshaun Watson had an ankle injury that forced a trip to the injury tent. Expect to see AJ McCarron under center for Houston. Play Tennessee -5.
Indianapolis Colts vs. Jacksonville Jaguars Pick Prediction 12/29/2019
Colts at Jaguars—NFL free pick is Indianapolis Colts -3.5. With a win the Colts can avoid a losing season. Indianapolis showed they care about finishing the season winning after their 38-6 home win to Carolina. Jacksonville comes off the 24-12 road loss at Atlanta. Jaguars have failed to cover six of their past seven. They have been held to 12 points or fewer in three of their past four games. Past three games Jaguars offense putting up only 267 yards. There is no home field advantage for Jacksonville with a 5-10 record and their poor play. Play Indianapolis -3.5.
Oakland Raiders vs. Denver Broncos Pick Prediction 12/29/2019
Raiders at Broncos—Free pick is Denver Broncos -3.5. Oakland needs help getting into the playoffs but with the Texans likely to rest starters and the Titans bringing a playoff intensity their game could be decided by halftime. Denver has shown improvement as the Broncos have covered six of their past eight games after a ten point home win to Detroit. Oakland is without their starting right tackle and running back Josh Jacobs for the rest of the season. Their absence will be felt in Denver. Raiders had failed to cover five straight until they traveled to a down Chargers team. Oakland defense 28th on third down and 30th in the red zone. Broncos defense best in the NFL inside the red zone. Play Denver -3.5.
Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Baltimore Ravens Pick Prediction 12/29/2019
Steelers at Ravens—NFL pick is Baltimore Ravens +1. Ravens likely to rest starters but their backups are pretty good based on what we saw in the preseason. Robert Griffin III figures to see playing time in this spot. Pittsburgh needs the Titans to lose to make the playoffs and with the Texans most likely resting starters it could be Tennessee up big and decided in the second half. Scoreboard watching for the Steelers will take the wind out of their sail in this spot. Steelers have lost two straight behind poor quarterback play held to ten points in losses at home to Buffalo and the New York Jets. Pittsburgh offense past three games averaging only 254 yards. Steelers offense 26th on third down and 32nd and last inside the red zone. Ravens kicker Justin Tucker is making 96% of his kicks which could be the difference in what figures to be a close decision. Play Baltimore +1.
San Francisco 49ers vs. Seattle Seahawks Pick Prediction 12/29/2019
49ers at Seahawks—NFL free pick is San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks to play over the total of 47 points. Both defense struggling. Past three games 49ers allowing 383 yards and 35.3 points per game with 291 through the air. In that span the Seahawks giving up 427 yards and 26.3 points per game. Teams are running for 186 yards and 5.4 yards per carry on this Seahawks defense in that window of three games. Seattle is dealing with cluster in injures at running back missing all three. Seattle is trying out veteran free agents but reality is the division is in Russell Wilson hands. Seahawks will be pass heavy here considering how badly the 49ers have played pass defense of late. This has the look of a high scoring game. Play San Francisco and Seattle over 47.