The holiday season is always a bittersweet one for me. On one hand I get to see family, celebrate Christmas and stuff myself full of candy for about a week straight. On the other hand, football season is coming to a close. The last week of the 2019 NFL regular season is upon us and while it may be tempting to look back on some of the surprises and disappointments that have come and gone, we are always looking forward to the next week. So for one final time this season, let’s take a look at three of the best parlay bets you can place as this NFL season comes to a close.
While parlays are always the riskiest bets you can place compared to spreads, we’ll break down the safest parlay you can place, another will make you some money but carries some risk, and the riskiest but most fruitful one you can place.
For this article, we will take a look at 3-team parlays based on each team’s money line with each one based off its level of risk. For the NFL Week 17 parlay bets, LAFB Network is bringing you the best three team money lines to place your bets on. All lines are based on the books at MyBookie.
Safest Parlay
3-team parlay: Kansas City Chiefs (-440) vs. Los Angeles Chargers, Philadelphia Eagles (-210) vs. New York Giants, Dallas Cowboys (-550) vs. Washington Redskins
The Chiefs are in the rare position of being guaranteed a playoff spot no matter what the outcome is during the final week of this season but it still has significant ramifications. Due to their head-to-head tiebreaker against the New England Patriots, if they were to beat the Chargers and New England lost to the Miami Dolphins, Kansas City would lock up a first-round bye. The Patriots losing to Miami is a tall ask but both games are being played at the same time so it’s likely the Chiefs’ starters play most, if not all, of the game this weekend. The only bright side of the last few weeks for L.A. has been their blowout victory over the Jaguars but other than that, they have lost to lowly teams like the Broncos and the Raiders (twice). I think this game will be closer than expected but the Chiefs will still be the victors heading into the postseason.
The next two safe bets ironically make up an entire division. To start it off, we have the Philadelphia Eagles going against the New York Giants. The situation is simple: this is a playoff game for the Eagles. If they beat New York, they win the division and go to the playoffs. If they lose, they have to hope the Cowboys lose against Washington which is not likely for reasons to be discussed later. This game will likely be tight especially given the fact the Giants are riding a two-game win streak and the combination of Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley finally hitting their stride. Not to mention six of their last eight meetings have been decided by five points or less. However, with their fate in their own control and coming off their biggest win of the season last week, expect the Eagles to step up big in the spotlight.
On the other side of the NFC East, the Cowboys need one domino out of their control to fall in order to make the playoffs. Dallas would need to beat the Redskins and the Eagles to lose against the Giants to win their division. Luckily for Dallas, winning against Washington is not a tall order this week. Rookie quarterback Dwayne Haskins has been ruled out meaning Washington’s offense will likely be hindered and with an extra motivated Cowboys squad at home, it’s hard to imagine Dallas losing this one. While the Cowboys making the playoffs is far from a guarantee, a win by them is the closest thing you will get to a guarantee for your wallet this weekend.
Riskier Parlay
3-team parlay: Kansas City Chiefs (-440) vs. Los Angeles Chargers, Dallas Cowboys (-550) vs. Washington Redskins, Pittsburgh Steelers (-125) vs. Baltimore Ravens
Despite their 8-7 record, it is very possible the Pittsburgh Steelers will likely miss out on the playoffs. Mike Tomlin and his team will have to beat their division rival Ravens and hope the Titans fall to the Texans to secure the sixth seed in the AFC. Luckily for them, Baltimore has already announced it will be resting key starters on both sides of the ball including Lamar Jackson, Mark Ingram, and Earl Thomas so it is very possible that Pittsburgh can walk away from this normally tough matchup with a win.
Unfortunately for the Steelers, Mason Rudolph has been ruled out of the rest of the season due to injury leaving Devlin Hodges to step in as the starter in this crucial game. Not only will the Steelers be without their second-string quarterback but running back James Conner has yet to practice this week leaving his status very much in question for Sunday. So what this comes down to is essentially the battle of backup offenses. Pittsburgh could stumble here but playing a Ravens squad resting its starters with little to no motivation is always worth taking a flyer on.
Riskiest Parlay
3-team parlay: Kansas City Chiefs (-440) vs. Los Angeles Chargers, Pittsburgh Steelers (-125) vs. Baltimore Ravens, San Francisco 49ers (-170) vs. Seattle Seahawks
The 49ers can either finish Sunday as the top seed in the NFC or as a wild card team. Nothing wrong with that at all. Sarcasm aside, this is shaping up to be a great final Sunday night game of the season. The Seahawks are looking to bounce back from a surprising loss against the Cardinals last week in which they looked utterly lost on both sides of the ball while the Niners are trying to solidify their first-round bye.
The last few weeks have not been kind to Seattle’s offense as they have lost Rashaad Penny, Chris Carson, and C.J. Prosise to injuries for the rest of the season. While the return of Marshawn Lynch is exciting for even non-Seattle fans, it’s still a question worth asking: how much of an impact can the 33-year-old make? Meanwhile, the 49ers are almost completely healthy and other than a surprising loss to the Falcons, have enjoyed a fairly successful six weeks.
If this game were being played in San Francisco, I think the line would be much bigger so take advantage of the 49ers small favoritism and go with the red and gold to be the top seed in their conference this year.