NFL Picks Against the Spread 2017: Week 17 Games

Before the 16th Sunday of the 2017 NFL regular season kicks off, let’s have some fun by taking a look at the spreads for today’s games. (Click here for NFL Week 17 picks without regard to the spread.)

Here are suggestions when trying to beat the odds. You can find all of today’s NFL betting lines and more via SB Nation. My regular season record after the 16th week is 104-92-9. Let’s get to the picks.

NFL Week 17 Games

Cleveland Browns at Pittsburgh Steelers (-7): The Steelers are still playing for a chance at getting the No. 1 seed in the AFC. They should be able to take care of business against a bad Browns team that’s poised to go 0-16. I mean, the Steelers could probably still beat Cleveland even if they rested their starters. PICK: Steelers -7

Washington Redskins (-3) at New York Giants: This Giants team is just completely depleted. Winning this game would be so bad for them because it would jeopardize losing the No. 2 overall pick. Washington’s been winning some meaningless games lately and I think that’ll continue in the season finale. PICK: Washington -3

Green Bay Packers at Detroit Lions (-7): Brett Hundley is bad. I just can’t take him on th road. Green Bay might be able to recover, but I certainly think the Lions win this one. They’ll send off Jim Caldwell with a win. PICK: Lions -7

Chicago Bears at Minnesota Vikings (-12.5): The Vikings still need to win in order to clinch the No. 2 seed. I don’t see how Chicago will be able to do anything against their defense. To no surprise, the John Fox era is set to end on a low note. PICK: Vikings -12.5

Dallas Cowboys (-3) at Philadelphia Eagles: Doug Pederson said he’s going to play the Ealges’ starters in this game. Now, it’s unclear how long they’ll stay in, but it seems like he wants to see some good things out of the offense. I think the Eagles take an early lead before pulling some of the starters. Then Nate Sudfeld aka Nate STUDfeld comes in and does enough to make sure Philadelphia remains undefeated at home and against the NFC East in 2017. Happy New Year. PICK: Eagles +3

New York Jets at New England Patriots (-15): The Patriots can clinch the No. 1 seed in the AFC with a win over the Jets. New York has shown some good fight this year, which is why Todd Bowles received a contract extension, but that won’t be enough to cover in this game. The Pats will roll. PICK: Patriots -15

Houston Texans at Indianapolis Colts (-5.5): Yeah, I just can’t pick T.J. Yates. Especially since DeAndre Hopkins is out as well. The Colts were able to beat the Texans by six points in Houston last month. I think they can do it again in Indy. PICK: Colts -5.5

Buffalo Bills (-3) at Miami Dolphins: The Bills need help, but they’re still alive in the playoff race. They could actually end their playoff draught — the longest one in sports! But that won’t happen because they’ll choke, right? PICK: Dolphins +3

Carolina Panthers at Atlanta Falcons (-4): Speaking of choking, I’m surprised to see the Falcons are favored by this much. Look, I’m not really big on either of these teams. I think they’re both the least threatening opponents to the Eagles in the NFC playoff picture. But I think the Panthers are better than the Falcons, and I think it’s hard to trust Atlanta not to choke. At the very least, this easily be a three-point game, so I like the points here. PICK: Panthers +4

New Orleans Saints (-7) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers: For some reason, the Bucs have already committed to keeping Dirk Koetter around for another season. I think they won’t be feeling all that great about that decision after they end their season with a big loss to the Saints. PICK: Saints -7

Cincinnati Bengals at Baltimore Ravens (-9): It’s a “win and in” situation for the Ravens this week. They should be able to take care of business against a Bengals team likely playing their last game under Marvin Lewis. Lewis had his last hurrah last week by beating Detroit. They’re not going to play spoiler again here. PICK: Ravens -9

Jacksonville Jaguars at Tennessee Titans (-3): The Titans are bad and don’t deserve to be in the playoffs. The Jags will remind them of that fact on Sunday. PICK: Jaguars +3

Arizona Cardinals at Seattle Seahawks (-9): It would be very Bruce Arians to go all out in his potential last game with Arizona. He’d love to play spoiler against the Seahawks. But I don’t think Seattle loses at home with the post-season on the line. The Cards might cover, but the Seahawks will win. I’ll take them to cover, too, since the Cards are just so banged up. PICK: Seahawks -9

Oakland Raiders at Los Angeles Chargers (-7.5): The Bolts need to win and get some help in order to make the post-season. You can’t put it past the Chargers to choke in this spot, but they’ve got some things going for them. They’re at “home” and Oakland is coming off short rest after playing on Monday night. I like the Chargers in this one. PICK: Chargers -7.5

Kansas City Chiefs at Denver Broncos (-4): The Broncos stink. I’m riding with Pat Mahomes, baby! PICK: Chiefs +4

San Francisco 49ers (-4) at Los Angeles Rams: With the Rams resting their starters (in a possible effort to get matched up against the Eagles), I’m taking Jimmy G-sus all day. The 49ers could really end their season with a five game winning streak! PICK: 49ers -4