Usually it's a good idea to lock your NFL bets in early. That was not a good idea last week with three games being rescheduled and more than 100 COVID-19 cases. I don't want to spoil the fun again, but I don't think this is another week you should be rushing to place your bets, either. The NFL has updated their COVID-19 protocols allowing for vaccinated individuals to "test out." But that didn't help the or last week.It's unfortunate because we are near the end of the regular season and most of these matchups have huge playoff implications. Below, I'll give you five against-the-spread picks I'm eyeing right now. Credit to the CBS Sports research team for providing the information found in this column. Let's jump into the picks. Peep the season stats below.Top five picks record: 40-35Overall ATS record: 105-118-1Straight up record: 139-84 https://www.capanthersfans.com/shaq-thompson-jerseys -12020 ATS record: 125-120-9(2 official picks mi sed due to COVID rescheduling)Saturday, 8:15 p.m. ET (NFL Network)One team is coming off of a monster win while the other is coming off of an embarra sing lo s. While the Cardinals' lo s to the was unpredictable, I think they bounce back this week. They have had time to proce s the lo s of and should now be 100 percent healthy.  All the trends centered around the Cardinals being favorites at home in primetime games say that Arizona is primed to drop another one, but c'mon, it's Christmas in the desert. No way it happens again! What you have to worry about in this matchup is obviously , who is a legitimate MVP candidate. He leads the NFL in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns, and has run in a score in 11 straight games. That's tied for the fourth-longest streak in NFL history. The Cardinals are middle of the pack when it comes to defending the run, but have allowed just eight rushing touchdowns all season -- which is tied for the third-fewest in the NFL.The public is beginning to view the Colts as a dark-horse postseason contender while simultaneously falling out of love with the Cardinals. Arizona wins this week and confuses everyone again concerning if it should be a legitimate Super Bowl contender.The pick:Cardinals -1Projected score: Cardinals 30-18  Sunday, 1 p.m. ET (Fox)I went 3-3 picking double-digit spreads last week and 1-1 in my best bets. The one I hit was against the Giants. In fact, this week marks the fourth straight week in which I've faded the Giants, and I anticipate going 4-0. Taking to lose by double digits to the and the was easy  https://www.capanthersfans.com/john-miller-jerseys money. Taking him to lose by four to the was easy money too.Apologies, enough railing on the Giants. Like CBS Sports' Pick Six Podcast host Will Brinson, I have many fond memories of watching Glennon tear it up in Carter-Finley Stadium. There is a kink in this pick, and that's that may be making his first career start. There's a chance he actually injects  https://www.capanthersfans.com/joseph-charlton-jerseys some energy into this team, but there's also a chance he flops. As for the Eagles, they are pumped up after their 10-point win over Washington. They have a legitimate chance at the playoffs, and will want to destroy a le ser division rival that beat them in a gro s game with last month.The pick:Eagles -9.5Projected score:Eagles 24-13Sunday, 1 p.m. ET (Fox)When you ask which NFL head coaches are on the hot seat, you may think about Matt Nagy or Joe Judge. I think we should start putting Matt Rhule's name in that conversation as well. The Panthers have completely bungled their quarterback situation over the past few years and are still finding ways to look foolish with it. We are in Week 16 and Carolina still wants to run a multiple-QB system -- even while switching up who those quarterbacks are. Against the a couple weeks ago, would step in for at times. Newton threw all the pa ses last week against the , but now Rhule wants to insert into the lineup at times against the Buccaneers? There are other problems such as last week's fourth-down call and criticism along with offensive line rotation that are stories for another time, but the Panthers have lost four straight and things aren't getting better.  The Buccaneers won't have or, and then and have their statuses in question as well. I don't care. can carry the load and is back. Brown returning is actually pretty notable. With him, is 5-0. Without him, the Bucs are 5-4.Brady hates being embarra sed and that's exactly what happened last week against the . The Buccaneers have been more profitable against the spread in their last four games going 3-1 (+190). The Panthers have gone 0-4 (-440).The pick:Buccaneers -10Projected score:Buccaneers 31-20Sunday, 4:05 p.m. ET (Fox)The Bears are 4-10 ATS this year. Even though they were up double digits on the in the first half a couple week ago, they failed to cover a double-digit spread. Then there was Monday night, where Chicago's lone touchdown came just before the final whistle. The Bears have lost their last three by at least eight points, and is nursing an ankle injury.  The Seahawks showed the some fight on Tuesday, and now get to return home. Seattle is 7-7 ATS this year and I think has more momentum than  https://www.capanthersfans.com/brady-ch … en-jerseys Chicago. should also get back, which is big.The pick:Seahawks -6.5Projected score:Seahawks 27-17Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET (CBS)Let's get wild. is starting in place of the injured . That means the Raiders are the easy pick, right? Wrong! Lock may not be the best quarterback for Denver, but he actually takes some shots downfield. He threw the Broncos' only touchdown of the game last week on the same https://www.capanthersfans.com/steve-smith-jerseys  series in which he replaced Bridgewater. Lock won't be shouldering the load with and to work off of either.Then, there's the Broncos defense. They haven't allowed more than 15 points in a game in over a month and have reason to be motivated this Sunday. Denver was one of six teams that did not have any Pro Bowl selections, although star safety , pa s-rusher , safety and rookie cornerback are alternates. I feel like this unit is going to be flying around the ball and wreaking havoc on an offense that is averaging just 13.3 points per game over the past three contests.  The pick:Broncos (PK)Projected score:Broncos 23-16 28-27 over (+3)Packers (-7.5) 30-21 over Browns (PK) 24-20 over Falcons (-5.5) 28-21 over LionsBills (+2.5) 27-24 over Chargers 30-21 over (+10) (+3) 26-23 over Rams (-3) 30-25 over  (-7.5) 28-20 over Cowboys 28-23 over Washington (+10.5)Dolphins (+3) 27-23 over Saints