Whether it was by luck or skill, the NFL has put together quite a great Week 17 schedule for the last bit of narrative building before next week’s finale is all divisional rematches.
You get an excellent choice for Saturday night between the Lions and Cowboys, two teams still competing for a lot in the NFC. We get to see if Dallas is going to simply revert to looking unbeatable at home after a couple of tough road losses. That won’t do them any good in the playoffs if they have to travel every week, and maybe they could even end up in Detroit, a team that’s clinched the NFC North and is now looking for that first playoff win since beating the 1991 Cowboys. This is a big game for them to show how good they are in this NFC.
I’d prefer the big one in Baltimore to be a 4:25 kickoff, but for a change we get a monster game at 1 p.m. on a Sunday. This one has everything from control of the No. 1 seed to the MVP race to Tyreek Hill also pursuing 2,000 yards. Miami is 2-0 against the Ravens since 2021 thanks in part to beating them deep on passes. There was that wild 42-38 comeback win last year, literally the only time Mike McDaniel has beat a quality road opponent in his career. It was also arguably the best game of Lamar Jackson’s career, and we’ll see if he can come close to anything like that again as his stats are not up to par for the MVP he is favored to win. We’ve seen teams falter immediately after getting praised all year, and everything is turning up Baltimore right now. This game has a chance to clean up so many narratives going into the final week.
Later in the afternoon, you’d normally expect big things from Bengals-Chiefs and that growing rivalry, but it is a little different now that the Bengals don’t have Joe Burrow and are in some trouble for the playoffs. But it is still an important game, and the Chiefs need to show up after last week’s embarrassing effort. If the Chiefs lose this game, the Bengals will have the same 9-7 record and a H2H win to boot. Fortunately for the Chiefs they are playing in the division known for firing coaches and trying to bench a QB at the midseason point after a big win. But this one still has some drama to it. Can Mahomes rebound? Can Travis Kelce step up against the worst defense against tight ends? Is Jake Browning some hidden gem when he’s not playing the Steelers, and can he pull out another 3-point win for the Bengals over the Chiefs? I’m still interested in this one.
This Week’s Articles
NFL 2023 Year in Review: The Unstable Quarterback Position in a Changing League – My epic 7,500 word review of the year that was 2023 for the quarterback position. I touch on all 32 teams and everything from the rash of injuries to Patrick Mahomes’ struggles to the way Tua and Brock Purdy are destroying the discourse, forcing Lamar and Hurts into MVP by team record, the disastrous 2021-22 drafts, the rookie class led by C.J. Stroud, if anyone is actually thriving this year, and what if Joe F’n Flacco has another Super Bowl run in him for the Browns?
- Scott’s Seven NFL Picks: Week 17 – Parlays for DET-DAL, CIN-KC, SEA-PIT, and more
- Computer Picks (BMR)
- Computer Picks (OT)
- Prime Time Picks (BMR)
- Prime Time Picks (OT)
- Upset Pick – Falcons over Bears
- Best Bets (OT)
- Player Props (BMR)
- Player Props (OT)
NFL Week 17 Predictions
What an odd game on Thursday night. I had Browns winning 20-10 and they about blew that total out of the water by the first quarter. But despite 51 points in the first half, there wasn’t a single touchdown after halftime.
DET-DAL: The spread was originally Dallas -6, which I was liking Detroit for. But the closer it gets to Dallas, the more I think the Cowboys win by a touchdown at home. Should be a good one though, but just keep in mind games with a total over 50 points this year have seen the under go 10-1.
MIA-BUF: For the big one, I think the Ravens are legitimate and the Dolphins are paper tigers. Miami struggles to score against teams like this, and the Ravens have the No. 1 defense. Baltimore avenges the blown lead last year and wins this one.
Bills avoid a NE sweep but it’s hard to trust them to make anything look easy right now. They nearly blew it against Easton Stick last week.
Probably will avoid TEN-HOU. Titans blew a 13-point lead a couple of weeks ago but struggled to score on the Texans. C.J. Stroud is back. Trusting Houston there.
Raiders are showing me something on defense to think they can get after Gardner Minshew and make that one interesting. Need to complete some passes on offense though.
Hedging on CAR-JAX with Trevor Lawrence expected to miss his first NFL game due to injury. C.J. Beathard is hard to trust, Bryce Young is coming off his best game, and the Jaguars are struggling. Should be interesting and I expect the worst given my AFC South futures bet from before the season.
Do the Eagles ever win by 12 points these days? Arizona was the only team to push them in the 4Q during their dominant 8-0 start in 2022. Hoping for a repeat and a James Conner TD run.
Bucs are simply outplaying the Saints and I think they take control of the division with a sweep there.
PIT-SEA is a perfect game for the wild card races as neither team really belongs in the tournament, but someone is getting to 9-7 here. I have a parlay in my Scott’s Seven Picks that sees a game decided by 1-4 points either way.
I don’t know if it will be by exactly 3 points again, but I do think Bengals push the Chiefs in a good game. Still taking KC to pull it out.
Football Gods are chiming in with a middle finger to Sean Payton and the Broncos for the Russell Wilson treatment. I’ll take Easton Stick over Jarrett Stidham.
I really wanted to see 2023 end with Nick Mullens passing for 500 yards, 7 TDs, and 5 INTs against a Joe Barry defense, but I guess we’ll have to settle for Jaren Hall lighting it up instead.
See you in 2024, but first let’s win something big since this damn goofy regular season is almost over.
Captain Comeback: NFL Analysis by Scott Kacsmar 