Best Sports Betting Picks Today: NFL Monday Night Football, NBA Predictions December sixteenth

It is another two-game NFL Monday night, but don’t run out to purchase that second TV yet. 

Only one team in these two matchups can be considered any good. 

Giving us the Atlanta Falcons and Las Vegas Raiders in mid-December is kind of comical. And we get the Chicago Bears against the Minnesota Vikings, that one good team we were discussing.

In the NBA, the Denver Nuggets are still trying to find their form, but three-time MVP Nikola Jokic is always worth watching. Denver is playing the Sacramento Kings, a team showing signs of awakening.

Let’s look at the two NFL games and the Nuggets-Kings matchup.

ATLANTA FALCONS AT LAS VEGAS RAIDERS

The Raiders have lost nine straight games since winning on Sept. 29, and the Falcons have dropped four in a row since prevailing on Nov. 3. Not the type of marquee game you expect on Monday Night Football.

Even with the skid that includes a 38-6 loss to the Denver Broncos and a 42-21 setback against the Vikings, Atlanta is still part of the playoff mix. Beat the Raiders, and the Falcons are just one game behind the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC South.

However, Kirk Cousins hasn’t thrown a single touchdown pass during the four-game slide while being intercepted eight times. The Raiders have their own quarterback problems after Aidan O’Connell injured his left knee in last week’s 28-13 loss to the Buccaneers. Desmond Ridder, the Atlanta starter last season, is prepared to start if necessary.

In addition, Las Vegas star defensive end Maxx Crosby (ankle) won’t play and is likely done for the season. The Raiders are 5 1/2-point underdogs, and there is no telling who might win this game.

Kirk Cousins to throw an interception, -140 (FanDuel)

CHICAGO BEARS AT MINNESOTA VIKINGS

Chicago was supposed to be an improved team with No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams running the show, but it has lost seven straight games since last winning on Oct. 13. One encouraging sign is that Williams has thrown seven touchdown passes without an interception in the past three games. However, he has been sacked 56 times this season.

There have been some embarrassing setbacks. Consider the infamous loss in which cornerback Tyrique Stevenson was taunting Washington fans and wasn’t in position to prevent the Commanders’ from converting the game-ending Hail Mary, or the awful defeat when coach Matt Eberflus (fired the next day) failed to call a timeout from the sidelines as the team ran one play in the final 30-plus seconds while losing to the Detroit Lions.

The Vikings are headed to the playoffs but needed a field goal in overtime to beat the Bears in the first meeting on Nov. 24. Sam Darnold passed for 330 yards and two scores while Jordan Addison (eight catches, 162 yards, one TD) and T.J. Hockenson (seven for 114) had huge days.

Minnesota star Justin Jefferson had only two catches for 27 yards that day but has 99 and 132 yards in the past two games. Hard to believe the Bears will shut Jefferson down again.

Justin Jefferson over 81.5 receiving yards, -113 (FanDuel)

DENVER NUGGETS VS. SACRAMENTO KINGS

The Nuggets won their past two games by an average of 26 points after struggling through a 4-7 stretch. Jokic scored a career-high 56 points in a loss to the host Washington Wizards on Dec. 7 and scored 48 in a road win over the Atlanta Hawks the next night.

Perhaps the tiring effect hit Jokic on Friday as he had just 16 points in a 120-98 home win over the Los Angeles Clippers. Six Denver players scored in double digits, led by Jamal Murray’s 20 points.

The Kings have won three straight games, and the first two were by an average of 35.5 points. Sacramento then notched a 111-109 victory over the host New Orleans Pelicans on Thursday as Domantas Sabonis scored a season-best 32 points and matched his season high of 20 rebounds.

DeMar DeRozan added 29 points against New Orleans and was 3-for-3 from 3-point range. The Kings went 3-1 against the Nuggets last season and are ready to post another triumph.

Kings +1 spread, -115 (DraftKings)