Best NFL Week 17 Opening Lines for Bills, Giants, and Jets

The NFL shifts to the penultimate slate of its regular season schedule this weekend, with playoff implications spread throughout these contests. All three New York teams have postseason positioning to play for, which hasn’t been the case very often over the last few years. Surprisingly, the Week 17 opening lines set each squad as the betting favorite in their matchups.

Week 16 saw an even split across the board at sportsbooks. Home teams and road teams went 8-8 both outright and against the spread last week. Away favorites and home underdogs went 3-3, while away underdogs and home favorites also split 5-5. For the season, underdogs sport a 128-105-7 mark against the spread, with home underdogs enjoying the best cover percentage (56.5 percent, 52-40-3). Point Totals went to the Under once again, going 10-6 last week, which followed the season-long trend. The Under enters Week 17 with a 132-105 mark so far in 2022. 

Here’s a look at the NFL Week 17 opening lines for all three New York teams, the Bills, Giants, and Jets.

The Buffalo Bills (12-3, 7-7-1 ATS) won their six game in a row, defeating the Chicago Bears 35-13 to clinch the AFC East division title for the third year in a row. Buffalo holds the AFC’s top seed entering the weekend thanks to a tie-breaker over the Kansas City Chiefs. That makes Monday night’s tilt in Cincinnati crucial, and the Bills see the Week 17 odds having set them as slight favorites against the Bengals. 

The Cincinnati Bengals (11-4, 12-3 ATS) are actually the only AFC team hotter than the Bills these days, as Cincy’s won seven straight. The Bengals could snag the conference’s No. 1 seed with a win this weekend and a Chiefs loss along the way. This would push the Bills to the 3-seed heading into the season’s final week. 

This primetime game features the shortest spread among the NFL Week 17 opening lines. The Bills enter as slight road favorites, but Buffalo’s just 1-4 against the spread in their last five games versus winning teams. What’s more, the Underdog has covered the spread in seven of the last nine meetings between these clubs. While the Bills have seen the Under hit in seven of their last eight road games, the Over has hit in seven of the last 10 contests in this series. 

The New York Giants (8-6-1, 11-4 ATS) took a tough loss on the road last week, falling to the Minnesota Vikings 27-24 on a 61-yard field goal as time expired. The G-Men pushed one of the NFC’s elite teams in their home stadium, which gives New York hope with a potential Wild Card road game down the line. Despite the loss, the Giants actually hold their playoff destiny in their own hands. The Giants need a win in either of the final two games in order to snap a playoff drought that’s extended since 2016. 

The Indianapolis Colts (4-10-1, 6-9 ATS) had high hopes heading into 2022, having acquired Matt Ryan at quarterback. But Indy flopped this season and fired head coach Frank Reich as a result. The Colts are one of four teams eliminated from playoff contention in the AFC, and they’ve lost five games in a row. At minus-109, Indy sports the NFL’s worst point differential so far this season. 

While these teams don’t play very often, the road team has found success in this series. Away teams hold a 4-1 mark against the spread in the last five matchups. New York enters 4-1 against the spread in its last five games overall, and 20-9-1 against the spread in its last 30 games versus teams with a losing record. The Over is 4-1 in the last five meetings between these clubs, but the Colts have seen the Under hit twice as much as the Over so far this season (10-5).

The New York Jets (7-8, 8-7 ATS) dropped a difficult game in inclement weather last Thursday, falling 19-3 to the Jacksonville Jaguars. That contest put their playoff hopes on life support, but there’s still a path for Gang Green to make the postseason for the first time since 2010. Paramount in any postseason scenario for New York is winning its final two games this season, including this one in the Pacific Northwest. 

The Seattle Seahawks (7-8, 6-9 ATS) find themselves in an unlikely playoff race of their own heading into Week 17. The Seahawks need to win this game as well, and get some help of their own in order to make the field on the NFC’s side. The Jets will see a familiar face at quarterback in Seattle, as Geno Smith’s enjoying a career resurgence for the Seahawks after a three-year stint in New York with the Jets. Mike White could be in line to start in Seattle for the Jets after being cleared by doctors. 

While these teams don’t face each other very often, the Seahawks have covered in each of the last four meetings. The favorite holds a 5-1 against the spread advantage in the last six games in this series. The home team also holds a 5-1 ATS mark. The Jets have struggled to cover against teams with a losing record of late, going 8-17 against the spread. New York’s seen the Under hit in eight of their last 10 games overall, while the Seahawks have seen the Over hit in each of their last five home games against teams with a losing record.