Redskins at Cowboys and Beating the Book

The Washington Redskins have clinched the NFC East and are locked in as the number four seed in the NFC playoffs. They have little to play for as their game versus the Dallas Cowboys this week means nothing in the standings. However, the Redskins are playing the Cowboys and that should be motivation enough.

The Cowboys are favored by four points as they are at home. Dallas will be without their top receiver, Dez Bryant, and are starting young Kellen Moore at quarterback. Moore completed 13 of his 31 passes in the first start of his career versus the Buffalo Bills last week. They will be motivated to beat the Redskins at home where they lost last season.

What is unknown is who may sit out this game for the Redskins and when their head coach Jay Gruden may decide to pull his starters. I like the Redskins as four point underdogs but I cannot recommend laying too much on them this week due to not knowing who plays and how long they play.  Take the Redskins on a small play plus the four points.

Redskins +4 over the Cowboys

The Philadelphia Eagles fired their head coach, Chip Kelly, this week. The Redskins beating them for the division title last week was apparently the last straw for Eagles owner Jeff Lurie. The Eagles still have a chance to end the season on a high note with a victory in New York over the Giants.

The Giants had their own drama last week with their star receiver Odell Beckham suspended for their game in Minnesota.  Beckham returns this week and will be motivated to make amends for missing last weeks game. The Giants should put plenty of points on the scoreboard with Beckham back in the lineup.

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The Eagles will likely score a lot of points against the weak Giants defense also. I don’t think they will keep pace with the Giants with Beckham back in the lineup though. Take the Giants to cover the 3.5 points in a tough week as my Best Bet of the Week.

Best Bet of the Week

Giants -3.5 over the Eagles

The New York Jets can make the playoffs with a win in Buffalo over the Bills. Ex-Jets coach, Rex Ryan wants to keep that from happening and will have his new team, the Bills, ready to play. The Jets are currently favored by three points.

The Jets have been on a roll with five wins in a row including a win over the Patriots last week. The Bills will play their best game at home where they have won three games in a row. They will keep the game close enough to make it worthwhile to take the three points.

Bills +3 over the Jets

I also like Minnesota, the Bengals, Chiefs, Lions and Steelers this week. Last week, the Redskins win over the Eagles pushed my NFL Best Bet record to 11-6. My Top Bets only went 2-4 to give me a 37-32-1 record. My overall record is 87-56-4.

My College Best Bets went 1-1 for a 3-1 record in bowl games and 10-3-1 on the season. Top College Bets went 6-1 for a 13-8-1 bowl record and a 38-19-1 record on the season. I went 13-10 overall for the week for an overall bowl game record of 22-12-1 and a 149-95-4 record overall for the entire season.

To get updates on my NFL picks and the remaining bowl games, please follow me on twitter @westcoast_skins. Good luck this week!

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