Rovell’s NFL Week 17 Bookmaker Q&A: What To Do With the New-Look Jets

For Week 17 of our NFL bookmakers report, we're trying something new — asking targeted questions of the most intriguing games of the week to the Superbook's Eric Osterman and the Circa's Chris Bennett.

Should the Jets Be an Underdog?

Darren: The Jets are a 3-point dog this weekend to the Patriots and holding steady? I'm a Jets fan and I think they are trying to win more than the Patriots and might be more talented.

Osterman: I think it's weird. I think the Jets are the better team.

Bennett: We've taken a little bit of money on the Jets. Nobody is interested in the Patriots. I bet the Jets myself. The Patriots don't deserve to be laying points. The Jets have been very competitive their last three games and should have beaten the Patriots in their first meeting.

Is This Steelers' Line Too High?

Darren: The Steelers are 9.5 point underdogs without Ben Roethlisberger. Do they deserve to be?

Osterman: I like the Steelers here. Mason Rudolph has a lot of experience from last year.

Bennett: I think Rudolph is very bad. It was just a question of how many Browns would be out with COVID.

How Good Are the Rams Without Goff?

Darren: The Rams are 9-6 at home against 8-7 Arizona and are 3.5 point underdogs. Goff is not available, but how good is the rest of the team?

Osterman: I think a lot people think this is free money for the Rams. They're at home and even though they have a backup quarterback (John Walford, who has never played in the NFL), they have a lot of other things going for them.

Has the Tide Turned on the Cowboys?

Darren: The Cowboys (-1 vs. the Giants) were abandoned earlier in the year when the public saw how bad they were. They've now won three in a row and scored more than 30 in each of them. Has the tide turned?

Osterman: We've taken a ton of Cowboys money. It's like people are back on the bandwagon, as if they haven't been crap all year.

Bennett: Early money was on the Cowboys. Understandable after beating the 49ers and Eagles. But a tsunami of money came in on the Giants on Wednesday. This game seems like a toss up to me. No reason for the Cowboys to be favored.

Is the Motivation Factor Real?

Darren: The Dolphins are only 3.5 point dogs at Buffalo. Feel like they should be getting more points, even with the Bills resting starters. What's the argument here?

Osterman: I think the public thinks that when a team is motivated to win to get into the playoffs, they are going to play better, so they're more likely this week to take those teams (Dolphins, Washington, Cleveland and Arizona). We've seen some Dolphins moneyline coming in.

Bennett: I'm not seeing a pattern of more money being bet on teams that have more to gain in terms of making the playoffs or positioning.