Week 16 of the NFL season features a crunch Saturday of match action.
As the games get underway our pigskin prognosticator Peter Sharland has racked up a super Multi-Match Bet Builder for both games.
NFL Saturday Multi-Match Bet Builder
6:01pm Houston Texans @ Kansas City Chiefs
Nico Collins anytime touchdown scorer
Kansas City total points – Under 22.5
9:31pm Pittsburgh Steelers @ Baltimore Ravens
Total Points – Under 45.5
Lamar Jackson 278.5 yards combined passing and rushing
- A Multi Match Bet Builder with these selections pays at approximately 21/1 with Paddy Power. CLICK OR TAP HERE TO ADD TO YOUR BETSLIP.
The NFL schedule waits for no man (or his ankle – more on that later), and we have four teams playing a day earlier this week on Saturday. That is so they can then turn around and play on Christmas Day as the NFL looks to dominate yet another public holiday.
First up, though, we have the Saturday games, and they are the definition of tasty. To begin, the defending champions welcome the Houston Texans to Arrowhead before later in the day it’s the best AFC North rivalry as the Steelers travel to Baltimore.
But yes, the question on everyone’s lips is, “How is Patrick Mahomes’ ankle?”. Well, at the time of writing (Thursday, December 19) Mahomes was listed as a full participant for practice and theoretically should play, albeit likely in a limited capacity. The problem for Kansas City is they still haven’t mathematically locked up the No. 1 seed, so they don’t really have the space to rest Mahomes.
Yes, they have a two-game lead over the Buffalo Bills, but not only do the Bills have the tiebreaker, but they also have a far easier schedule.
KC have to play Houston and then finish the season by travelling to two more AFC play-off hopefuls, Pittsburgh and Denver.
The Bills? They play the Patriots twice, with the Jets in between; that’s two teams who have won fewer games combined than each of the Chiefs’ three opponents individually.
Houston Texans @ Kansas City Chiefs – Nico Collins anytime touchdown scorer
The Chiefs offence has gone above the current points tally (22.5) just once in the past six games, and that was against the Panthers, whose defence has allowed more yards than all but one team in the NFL this year (Jacksonville, in case you were wondering).
The Texans defence? Well, only three have allowed fewer. Of course, total yardage is not a perfect defensive metric, but here it feels pretty instructive as to what KC is dealing with, especially with a hobbled quarterback. If the Chiefs win on Saturday it will be down to their own impressive defence, the offence just has to do enough to not lose the game.
Kansas City total points – Under 22.5
For the Texans we love Collins here as an anytime touchdown scorer, even if they’re hardly firing on all cylinders themselves on that side of the ball right now. Collins is CJ Stroud’s favourite target, and despite playing in just nine games, he leads the team in yards (849) and TDs (six).
The Chiefs have allowed the third-lowest rush yards per game figure this season but are 14th in pass yards per game. The Texans should find joy with someone like Collins.
Pittsburgh Steelers @ Baltimore Ravens – Total Points – Under 45.5
Sometimes, it can feel like a slog when two divisional rivals play each other in the space of a month, and sometimes, it can feel like the gap can’t be short enough. This is the latter.
Steelers and Ravens games are never high-octane thrillers, but they always seem to produce the kind of tight, low-scoring affair that you can’t keep your eyes off. This should be no different.
The points total for this game is currently set at 45.5, and you should absolutely hammer that under. This will be the tenth regular season game these two have played this decade. Of the previous nine, just one hit over that score, and that came in November 2020. These two teams play defence just far too efficiently for this to be over.
Lamar Jackson – Over 278.5 passing & rushing yards
Elsewhere, given the randomness of the Steelers offence right now we’re looking towards the Ravens for a second bet, specifically Lamar Jackson.
The MVP candidate does have a losing record against Pittsburgh, but with the level he is playing at right now, we feel confident he’ll reach 278.5+ yards combined.
NFL Sunday Betting Tips
6:01pm Houston Texans @ Kansas City Chiefs
Nico Collins anytime touchdown scorer
Kansas City total points – Under 22.5
9:31pm Pittsburgh Steelers @ Baltimore Ravens
Total Points – Under 45.5
Lamar Jackson 250+ yards combined passing and rushing
- A Multi Match Bet Builder with these selections pays at approximately 21/1 with Paddy Power. CLICK OR TAP HERE TO ADD TO YOUR BETSLIP.
*All odds and lines quoted are accurate at time of publication but are subject to change
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