NFL Week 16 teasers: A holiday feast to make you salivate

The teaser basket can only be stopped by two entities: COVID-19 and Jonathan Taylor.

The Browns leg was removed from our list of options in Week 15 due to a postponement, leaving us with eight legs that went 7-1, with Taylor's late touchdown scamper causing Patriots teasers to go up in flames.

Not all teaser legs are created equal. The biggest mistake novice bettors make is teasing through zero because they're wasting valuable price points on a number the game probably won't land on: a tie. So, how can we maximize the six-point move? How can we get what we're paying for at -270 per leg?

Let's use one of the Christmas Day matchups (Browns-Packers) as an example:

The alternative spread gives you the Packers -2.5 at -275. Would you rather that, or the -2 that a teaser leg provides at the same price? What about Packers -2 at -270 versus the moneyline of -370?

While that's a good exercise to determine value, several players could come back for the Browns, which would drop the line. At that point, a teaser wouldn't be viable. So we turn to the teaser basket for the best options to capture as many key numbers as possible.

Teaser basket

Let's look at the mathematically optimal plays available for Week 16:

The Colts are in a tough spot after their win over the Patriots, so I might be less likely to fade the Cardinals in the Christmas Day nightcap.

I'm all about those three Sunday options that provide an opportunity to tease short underdogs up to +8.5. For the Ravens specifically, I would deploy that teaser leg sooner than later, as Lamar Jackson's return would alter that line and ruin the teaser leg. If he doesn't play, you're still getting a functional team at +8.5.

You could throw the Chargers at -2 into any teaser and probably not be all that upset. Even if a few more players land in COVID-19 protocol, it's hard to imagine they lose to the Texans.

Despite Drew Lock probably getting the call for the Broncos, the Browns just covered with Nick Mullens at the helm versus the Raiders, so Denver can stay inside a touchdown in Las Vegas.

Both the Vikings and Dolphins have close-game DNA, so capturing all the key numbers in their games is worth a look there.

Matt Russell is a betting writer for theScore. If there's a bad beat to be had, Matt will find it. Find him on Twitter @mrussauthentic.