Intro by Doug Kezirian
With five games isolated individually on the television schedule, Christmas weekend offers NFL oddsmakers a chance to generate strong betting handles. However, as is the case with most 2021 storylines, COVID-19 is playing a major role.
"Normally in the NFL, you don't have to watch for things like this. You're just watching for sharp play and when you want to move the line or not. You don't have to worry about half the team being out," DraftKings sportsbook director Johnny Avello told ESPN. "We had a couple games last week that I had never seen move that much this time of the year."
Some sportsbooks require a game be played on the scheduled day, or all bets are refunded. Other fine print allows for the game to be played within a week, as long as the venue is unchanged. Still, as is always the case, bettors are ready to pounce as soon as information surfaces.
"If you get caught snoozing on this, you're liable to have more than one bet - like a thousand bets. You got to just stay on top of this more so now than ever before," Avello said.
Every Friday during the season, betting analysts Doug Kezirian (16-25-2, 0-2 last week), Tyler Fulghum (25-27, 2-3), Joe Fortenbaugh (43-40-1, 3-4), Anita Marks (260-218, 33-19) and Erin Dolan (2-2, 2-2 last week), fantasy and sports betting analyst Eric Moody (118-117, 6-12), ESPN Stats & Information's Seth Walder (59-50, 2-3) and Mackenzie Kraemer (7-14, 1-0), sports betting deputy editor David Bearman (28-26-1, 1-2) and Football Outsiders' Aaron Schatz (50-40, 3-3) will provide their top plays across the NFL landscape. (Records through Week 15.)
Here are their best bets for Sunday's Week 16 games.
Note: Lines from Caesars Sportsbook as of Wednesday (unless otherwise indicated).