Ross Williams returns to preview Week 17 in the NFL, with Jaren Hall to score a touchdown among his selections at a nice price.
NFL betting tips: Week 17
1pt Jaren Hall (Vikings) To Score A Touchdown at 9/2 (bet365)
Green Bay Packers @ Minnesota Vikings
- Monday, 0120 GMT
With a close, edgy game anticipated on Sunday Night Football, with a potential wildcard play-off spot on the line, I’m wary of going too big on either the Packers or the Vikings. Instead, there may be some value in the touchdown market.
JAREN HALL – the latest player off a seemingly never-ending conveyor belt – is set to start at quarterback for Minnesota and this does seemingly offer an opportunity.
Although he’s appeared in two games this season, Hall’s snaps have been sparing and there’s little to take from the regular season tape. However, it’s telling that his rushing yardage line is set at 27.5 this weekend, notably higher than many quarterbacks around the league.
In his two almost-full seasons as quarterback at Brigham Young University in 2021 and 2022, Hall rushed for 657 yards and scored six touchdowns. He’s not a natural runner akin to a Lamar Jackson or Jalen Hurts, but he is very capable of moving outside of the pocket and he leant on his athletic ability plenty in preseason.
Back in August, in his first taste of professional action, Hall regularly moved to the edges when he sensed pressure and I suspect he’ll follow suit on Sunday.
He’s not a dead-cert to find the endzone, but at a price of around 9/2, he’s worth a sprinkle due to his rushing previous form in college and the league-wide trend of the ‘tush-push’, with teams opting to sneak with their quarterbacks whenever they’re inside the two-yard line.
Sunday's earlier action
1pt Tyreek Hill (Dolphins) 100+ receiving Yards & a touchdown at 11/4 (Sky Bet)
3pts Rashee Rice (Chiefs) over 63.5 receiving yards at 5/6 (Sky Bet)
Miami Dolphins @ Baltimore Ravens
- Sunday, 1800 GMT
The game of the week sees the Baltimore Ravens – fresh off a major, statement-making win over the 49ers – take on the Miami Dolphins, in a match-up that may well be repeated when the play-offs get under way next month.
It’s a game full of superstars, and I’ll focus on perhaps the brightest of the bunch with my selection in this one.
TYREEK HILL may be the most dynamic receiver to have ever played in the NFL and the numbers he has put up this season are mind-blowing.
So far, he has racked up 1,641 yards in just 14 games, at a rate of 117 per appearance. Had he not missed a game due to injury a couple of weeks ago, Hill could well have been over the 1,750 mark with two games to play.
As things stand, his current mark is already the 19th-highest in NFL history. If he keeps pace in the final two games of the season, he should end up tallying around 1,875 yards. That would put this season as the third-greatest by a receiver in the history of the NFL.
There’s an ‘if’ in that statement, but even the Ravens will struggle to contain Hill on Sunday and, with Jaylen Waddle likely on the sidelines, plenty of Miami’s offence will be going through the star wideout.
Raheem Mostert, who has a touchdown tally into the twenties this season, is also questionable to appear on Sunday so even more emphasis will be on Hill to shoulder the scoring responsibility. Of course, he’s more than capable, having scored 12 touchdowns of his own within his 14 appearances this season.
In what should be a blockbuster of a game, look for Tyreek to do what he does best and light up the big stage.
Cincinnati Bengals @ Kansas City Chiefs
- Sunday, 2125 GMT
He’s been well off his usual boil this season but dealing with Travis Kelce is still the priority of defences league-wide and I suspect that will still be the case this Sunday. With every passing week, the temptation grows to back the inevitable Kelce ‘bounce-back’ game, but for now we’ll ride with the player with the hotter hand, who should continue to get decent looks with Kelce the defensive focal point.
In what has been a relatively poor year for the Chiefs’ offence by their lofty standards, receiver RASHEE RICE has been a revelation.
His receiving yardage line is set at 63.5 against the Bengals on Sunday and that feels like an opportunity. Rice has been great all year, but he’s taken an even bigger role in the previous five weeks of the season.
Rice has been targeted on at least nine occasions in each of those five games and he’s averaged 78.2 yards per match-up.
Just a fortnight ago, he was perfect against the Patriots, catching each of his nine targets to the tune of 91 yards and a touchdown.
Patrick Mahomes has his connection with Rice firing on all cylinders and as we approach January, the Chiefs will be keen to cultivate this relationship.
Against a fragile defence that conceded over 250 yards to Steelers wide receivers last week, Rice should have every opportunity to go off in a big way, perhaps even matching his previous single-game best of 107 yards and a touchdown.
Posted at 1815 GMT on 30/12/23
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