NFL - Week 17 Predictions

Ringer's Record
Last Week ATS: 8-8
Last Week SU: 10-6

Season ATS: 122-114-1 (52%)
Season SU: 162-77 (68%)

Detroit (-1.5) at Green Bay
Mike McCarthy has yet to come out and say whether he plans to rest his starters or not for this game. All indications are that the Green Bay backups will see extended time. The Packers wrapped up home field throughout the NFC Playoffs with their win over Chicago on Christmas night. That means the road to the Super Bowl runs through Lambeau Field. One of those teams going through Lambeau could be Detroit. The Lions clinched their first playoff berth since 1999 last week. A win here means the Lions will be the 5 seed in the NFC and travel to the NFC East champion next week. So this game does matter to the Lions.

Prediction - Detroit 27 Green Bay 17

Tennessee (-3.5) at Houston
The Tennessee Titans are still alive in the AFC Wild Card hunt. The Titans need to take care of business against division nemesis Houston, and then get some help to continue playing next weekend. There are a couple of different scenarios in which the Titans move on. But I don;t have room to fit those in this paragraph. Let's just say that the Titans need a lot of chips to fall in the right place. The Texans are locked in at the 3 seed in the AFC, but have lost 2 straight. the Texans are slumping at the wrong time and could use a win to generate some momentum.

Prediction - Houston 21 Tennessee 20

Indianapolis (+4.5) at Jacksonville
Don;t look now but the Indianapolis Colts have won 2 games in a row. They are running themselves right out of the Andrew Luck sweepstakes. Peyton Manning should be happy about the way his team is playing. This is another winnable game for the Colts, which means they could draft 2nd instead of 1st overall in the April draft. They head to Jacksonville to take on a Jags team that quite frankly stinks every bit as much as they do. The Jags have not looked good in recent weeks, and will lose this game, probably to the dismay of Colts fans.

Prediction - Indianapolis 17 Jacksonville 15

NY Jets (+1.5) at Miami
It may seem weird that a team fighting for their playoff life is an underdog versus a team that started the season 0-7. Such is the case when the Jets visit Miami. The Jets have looked bad in recent weeks, and probably don't deserve to make the postseason. They need a win and some help to make their 3rd consecutive playoff appearance. Miami is 5-3 since their dreadful start to the season. They are certainly capable of blowing the Jets playoff hopes. Nothing would make Miami fans happier this weekend.

Prediction - Miami 19 NY Jets 16

Chicago (-1.5) at Minnesota
Boy how the wheel shave fallen off for both of these squads. Chicago began the season at 7-3 and appeared to be one of the most serious threats to Green Bay in the NFC. Then Jay Cutler got hurt. Then Matt Forte got hurt. The Bears haven't won a game since and now stand at 7-8. Minnesota had some hope to begin the season. There was still talent on their roster and they were hoping that Donovan McNabb could revive his career in the Twin Cities. Then McNabb got benched. Then he got cut. Now Adrian Peterson has a torn ACL. This game doesn't mean much for either team. I'll take the Bears because of their defense.

Prediction - Chicago 14 Minnesota 10

Buffalo (+12.5) at New England
Remember when the Bills beat the Patriots early on in the season, and everyone thought that Buffalo could be a contender in the AFC East? I vaguely remember that, but I bet the Patriots remember it much more vividly. New England won't take the Bills lightly, despite their 3-9 record since that game. The Patriots have a chance to clinch home field throughout the AFC Playoffs with a win. Gillette Stadium is not an easy place to win, and the Bills won't be able to get it done this week.

Prediction - New England 35 Buffalo 27

Carolina (+8.5) at New Orleans
Drew Brees broke Dan Marino's single season passing yards record last week as the Saints clinched the NFC South in a win over Atlanta. They still have a chance to get a bye through the Wild Card round if they beat the Panthers and get some help by the Rams upsetting San Francisco. New Orleans welcomes in another record-setting QB as Cam Newton and the Panthers come to town. Newton has set rookie records for passing yards and total TD. I think the Saints will play their starters and try to get that bye, and get a win in the process.

Prediction - New Orleans 30 Carolina 24

Washington (+9.5) at Philadelphia
The Eagles will end their season on Sunday without a playoff berth. That is a far cry from what most thought the Eagles would do this season. Vegas actually dubbed them as the favorites to win the Super Bowl. As disappointing as this season has been, the Eagles are playing good football now and have an opportunity to end the year with 4 straight wins. Washington had another poor season under Mike Shanahan. The 2-time Super Bowl winning coach has not been able to turn it around in the nation's capital. A win over the Eagles would help ease some pain, but they just don;t have the talent to win to hang with Philly when they are playing well.

Prediction - Philadelphia 27 Washington 16

San Francisco (-11.5) at St. Louis
The 49ers have an opportunity to clinch a bye in the NFC Playoffs by beating the lowly Rams on Sunday. San Francisco has surpassed all expectations in Jim Harbaugh's 1st season on the sidelines. Not much was expected of the 49ers but they are on the verge of a 13-win season. On the other side, Saint Louis was thought to be one of the favorites to win the division. Instead they are in the hunt for the #1 overall pick in the NFL Draft. Sam Bradford wants a win here to avoid any chance of the Rams selecting Andrew Luck as his replacement. He won't have anything to say about it though. 49ers win easy.

Prediction - San Francisco 30 St. Louis 10

Tampa Bay (+14.5) at Atlanta
The Falcons clinched their 2nd straight playoff berth by virtue of a Bears loss on Christmas night. This is the 1st time in franchise history that the Falcons have made consecutive appearances in the postseason. Then they promptly went out and laid an egg versus the Saints. They will look to bounce back against Tampa Bay. The Bucs have been absolutely abysmal. They have gotten blow out in 4 straight weeks. Raheem Morris has gone from one of the hottest young coaches to having his seat scolding hot. I don't see the Bucs turning it around this week.

Prediction - Atlanta 33 Tampa Bay 14

Baltimore (-2.5) at Cincinnati
This is one of the most important games of the weekend. Baltimore clinches the AFC North and at least a 1st Round bye with a win. Cincinnati clinches a playoff berth with a win. Both teams control their own destiny and do not want to leave it up to others. A loss for Baltimore means that they could potentially end up as a Wild Card and play all games away from M&T Bank Stadium. A loss for the Bengals means they could miss the playoffs entirely. The Ravens are a veteran team that knows how to win in important situations. The Bengals are a young team that has never been in this position. I'd rather have the veterans.

Prediction - Baltimore 21 Cincinnati 16

Pittsburgh (-7.5) at Cleveland
A lot happened to alter the season the last time these 2 bitter rivals met. Ben Roethlisberger's ankle was sandwiched in between 2 Browns defenders causing a high ankle sprain. It actually looked much worse, but Ben returned to the game and lead the Steelers to victory like he has done many times before. Since then, Roethlisberger looked very immobile in a loss at San Francisco and was left out of the game last week versus Saint Louis. The Steelers need to win this game in order to have a chance to win the AFC North. Odds are that Ben will find his way on to the field. Colt McCoy was also injured the last time they played. He hasn't played since. That means Seneca Wallace gets the start for the Browns, and also means they lose again.

Prediction - Pittsburgh 23 Cleveland 13

Seattle (+3.5) at Arizona
Neither one of these teams have anything to hang their heads about. Both teams started off the season poorly, before coming on late. Both of them actually had a chance to make the playoffs as recently as last week. Those dreams were dashed though and now they are playing for pride and the chance to finish the season at .500.  This should be a hard fought game that's tough to call. I'll say the Cardinals win closely.

Prediction - Arizona 23 Seattle 20

Kansas City (+3.5) at Denver
This is probably the juiciest game of the final weekend. Kyle Orton and the Kansas City Chiefs head to Mile High to try and ruin the playoff aspirations of Tim Tebow and the Broncos. Orton began the year as the starting QB in Denver. The Broncos started the year 1-4, and Orton was benched and subsequently released. Denver went with Tim Tebow at QB and the Broncos quickly went from worst to 1st in the AFC West. But the Broncos need to win this game to win the division. Tebow is 1 game away from his 1st playoff appearance, but Orton would love to spoil that. I just can't go against Tebow here.

Prediction - Denver 20 Kansas City 17

San Diego (+3.5) at Oakland
The Oakland Raiders are alive heading into the season's final weekend. This has not been the case in almost a decade. It has been an amazing season for the Raiders in which they lost their starting QB and RB to injury, and their owner passed away. Despite all of this, Oakland needs to win and get some help from Kansas City to make it into the AFC Playoffs. They face the Jekyll and Hyde Chargers. San Diego was making their typical late season surge before running into a Detroit buzzsaw that ruined their season. If the Chargers play with any type of motivation, I think they will ruin the Raiders' postseason plans.

Prediction - San Diego 27 Oakland 24

Dallas (+3.5) at NY Giants
The final game of the NFL regular season will decide the final playoff spot in the NFC. The NFC East is up for grabs when 2 bitter rivals square off in the Meadowlands. Both of these teams have been hard to figure out. The winner of this game, no matter who it is, will have the talent to do some damage in the playoffs. These teams have been eerily similar. Their QBs have been magnificent most of the time, but have also given some games away. Their defenses are very talented but injuries have caused them to be exposed more times than not. The QB that can avoid mistakes and take advantage of some poor defense will win the game. That will be Eli Manning.

Prediction - NY Giants 34 Dallas 28