It's all getting serious in the NFL now and Paul Higham has the best bets of Sunday's fixtures including the Patriots, Packers & 49ers.
Recommended bets
2pts Over 46.5 points in Buccaneers @ Lions at 23/20
1pt Patriots (-10.5) to beat the Bengals at 11/10
1pt Packers (-4.5) to beat the Chicago Bears at Evens
1pt Raheem Mostert to score a touchdown in Falcons @ 49ers at 13/10
For details of advised bookmakers and each-way terms, visit our transparent tipping record
Chicago Bears @ Green Bay Packers
This famous old rivalry kicked off this 100th NFL season, and they meet with a lot on the line as the Bears cling on to their slim play-off hopes while NFC North leaders Green Bay have Minnesota still on their tails. Chicago have kept themselves alive with four wins in the last five, but their record against the Packers, at Lambeau Field in particular, is pretty dreadful.
Green Bay are 15-3 in their last 18 against Chicago, including a 6-1 recent run, which matches their season so far at home as they close out their regular season schedule looking to take a huge stride towards the post-season.
First year head coach Matt LaFleur's side have been inconsistent and probably not as good as their record suggests, looking at who they've beaten. Even Aaron Rodgers has thrown in a handful of bad games with a mixture of great displays, while the defence and run game have also both failed to find a consistent high level of performance.
Atlanta Falcons @ San Francisco 49ers
It's a welcome return to home surroundings for San Francisco after a brutal road trip taking in Baltimore and New Orleans, where they impressed in both the tough loss to the Ravens and the epic win over the Saints. Anything like that form will see them get the win they need to book a deserved play-off spot.
The Niners do have some key injuries though and they'll have to recover from that exhausting road trip and beware of a potential banana skin against the Falcons, who have won three of the last five. San Francisco are 11-point favourites, the first time they've been double-digits fancies for five years.
The Niners should win easily enough, but that 11-point spread would concern me after such a draining couple of games and their obvious injury problems. One man who most certainly isn't injured is running back Raheem Mostert, who seems to have nailed down the feature running back spot, has three touchdowns in the last two games, and should be able to grab another againt Atlanta's ordinary run defence.
Best bet: Raheem Mostert to score a touchdown in Falcons @ 49ers at 13/10
New England Patriots @ Cincinnati Bengals
Enough's enough now, it's bounce back time for the Patriots after consecutive defeats and three losses in five all told to finally get the win that would book their play-off spot. It looks like they may finish behind Baltimore in the AFC but they were second seeds last year when they went on to win the lot...
The 1-12 Bengals offer no threat to anyone other than those wanting to land the first pick of the draft, and New England have a 19-1 record when favoured by 10 points (as they are here) or more. But there are a few concerns with injuries especially on the offensive side of the ball.
Tom Brady is nursing a shoulder injury and Julian Edelman and Mohamed Sanu are both struggling, and there were already concerns about their attack as the Patriots have gone six games without scoring 30 points - if they fail to reach that mark this time it'll tie the longest streak in the Bill Belichick & Brady era.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Detroit Lions
Tampa Bay are rare road favourites, but that's hardly surprising considering Detroit have been on a truly awful run, losing six on the spin and nine out of their last 10 while the Bucs are as good as anyone in the NFC recently with a 4-1 record over the last five. They're even still mathmatically in with an admittedly unlikely play-off shout.
QB Jameis Winston is struggling and receiver Mike Evans is out, which is a concern, but only for Tampa Bay's ability to put up points, as we're not too bothered about the result here just the total! The Bucs have been scoring for fun and in fact hold the NFL's best record with 10 of their 13 games going over the total point spread.
There's been 50 points or more in five of their seven road games, while four of Detroit's six home games have hit the half-century mark. When you look at the total lines set by the bookmakers it's even more impressive - five of Tampa Bay's last six away and five of Detroit's last five at home have come in as 'over'.
Best bet: Over 46.5 points at 23/20
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