Aaron Rodgers and company have Arizona's number as they face life without Tyrann Mathieu, plus four other picks from Sunday's action
7/4 – Green Bay Packers to beat Arizona Cardinals
After a blip during the middle of the season, the Green Bay Packers are back on track with three straight wins.
A win against the Arizona Cardinals will give them an outside chance of getting a first-round bye and they are a dangerous team to give one last chance to.
Bruce Arians’ men have been superb this year but an injury to Defensive Player of the Year cadidate Tyrann Mathieu hurts them significantly in this kind of match-up.
With an offence to match that of the NFC West champions – who also have worries about Carson Palmer’s finger – they should just shade it in what promises to be a real shoot-out.
10/17 – Tampa Bay Buccaneers to beat Chicago Bears
Two middling offences and two average defences come up against each other in this match-up – but with one side that week in, week out seems to choke in the big moments.
The Chicago Bears followed two bitter losses with a thumping defeat to the Minnesota Vikings last week, and look like a team ready for their holidays already.
Tampa Bay are much-improved from last season, and, with a viable quarterback and some interesting receiving weapons, they can rack up points quickly.
That should happen here and with Jay Cutler not being the best player to pull you out of a hole and the Bears running in mud, expect a nice finish from the Buccaneers.
5/13 – Buffalo Bills to beat Dallas Cowboys
The Buffalo Bills will be bitterly disappointed that their talented team has not come closer to the play-offs this season, with their defence really letting them down.
They are blaming it on the schemes, but, thankfully for them, their offence is strong enough to batter a dreadful Dallas team.
This season has been horrific for the Cowboys, who will always wonder what this solid team would do with Tony Romo at the helm.
Both will stumble across the line but back the Bills to lift a little bit of misery on their season.
10/17 – New England Patriots to beat the New York Jets
The Patriots with Rob Gronkowski are a completely different team since the tight end gives Tom Brady such confidence and is a mis-match for anyone.
They are slowly striding to the No. 1 seed in the AFC with the third-best offence in the NFL on points scored and a defence currently ranked sixth in the same category.
However, they will not have an easy ride against a Jets unit that are looking at getting to the post-season too, behind a rejuvenated Ryan Fitzpatrick.
They have playmakers on both sides of the ball and a real confidence with four wins in a row – admittedly against a bad set of teams – which is why they’ll come up with nothing against New England.
10/27 – Minnesota Vikings to beat the New York Giants
Minnesota have been excellent all season and one more win will seal their deserved spot in the play-offs.
They have been terrific on defence, their offence is growing under the ever-improving Teddy Bridgewater and the ever-reliable Adrian Peterson and they will be one to avoid in the post-season.
The Giants season is practically over, and, after Odell Beckham Jr.’s antics last weekend resulting in his suspension, their good offence has been all but killed as well.
Their defence allows at least 25 points per game so expect this to be a very one-sided affair in favour of Mike Zimmer’s team.
A £10 bet on this five-fold accumulator returns £131.62*.
*Odds and amounts correct at time of publication but subject to change. See site for latest.
