The National Football League has made it to Week 17 on its calendar, the final week of the regular season, after an abnormal year thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic.
You will remember that the 2020 NFL Draft had to be held virtually with commissioner Roger Goodell announcing the first round of picks from the basement of his home in New York.
There were no training camps or preseason games as the league did its best to avoid a rash of outbreaks at team facilities in the lead up to kicking off the 2020 campaign.
16 weeks later, and with only a handful of games having been rescheduled due to coronavirus outbreaks, the league is entering the most exciting time of the year.
There are seven games scheduled to kickoff at 1 p.m. on Sunday, eight more will begin at 4:25 p.m. — many of them with playoff implications — and the lone prime time game is Sunday night between Washington and Philadelphia that will determine which team lays claim to the NFC East crown.
I went 12-4 straight up last week and 7-8-1 against the spread, the latter of which puts me four wins away from my goal of at least 100 correct picks against the number for the season.
Week 17 is trickier to predict than other weeks because some teams who have already clinched a playoff spot may decide to sit their star players to prepare for the post-season.
Miami Dolphins at Buffalo Bills (-1) The Bills can’t catch Kansas City for the AFC’s No. 1 seed, but they would clinch the second seed in the conference with a win over a division rival that is trying to secure a playoff spot. I don’t see Buffalo resting its best players because they want to keep their great mojo going as they head into the playoffs. Buffalo 23-20
Pittsburgh Steelers at Cleveland Browns (-10) Mason Rudolph will get the start at quarterback for the Steelers in place of Ben Roethlisberger. That’s a clear indication that Pittsburgh head coach Mike Tomlin is putting the health of his team going into the post-season ahead of a chance at getting the No. 2 seed in the AFC. The Browns will be motivated by that and will want to prove that they’re much better than the club that lost to the Jets last Sunday. Cleveland 24-17
Baltimore Ravens at Cincinnati Bengals (+12) Cincinnati has won its last two games and would like nothing more that to play spoiler against Baltimore. The Ravens are in the playoffs with a win here and I don’t think QB Lamar Jackson is going to be denied. Baltimore 31-17
New York Jets at New England Patriots (-3.5) After starting the season 0-13, can the Jets finish off their miserable campaign with three consecutive wins? The Patriots were eliminated from post-season contention a couple of weeks ago and were absolutely throttled by Buffalo on Monday night. The Pats look disinterested, but it’s still the Jets. New England 20-19
Dallas Cowboys at New York Giants (+3) Both the Cowboys and Giants can win the NFC East division with a victory coupled with a loss by Washington. The G-Men have lost three straight games and have not been in sync. Dallas is on a three-game winning run thanks in large part to the play of QB Andy Dalton. Dallas 30-20
Minnesota Vikings at Detroit Lions (+6.5) Neither team is going to the playoffs. Minnesota is a little more rested after last playing on Christmas Day when they got roasted by Saints running back Alvin Kamara. Detroit won’t have injured QB Matthew Stafford for this game and they are coming off a humiliating loss against Tampa Bay. Minnesota 33-24
Atlanta Falcons at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-6.5) Atlanta blew a 17-0 lead against the Bucs two weeks ago and nearly upset Kansas City at Arrowhead Stadium last week. In his last four quarters of play, Tampa Bay QB Tom Brady has thrown for 668 yards and six touchdowns, with zero interceptions. Brady and the Bucs keep rolling. Tampa Bay 34-24
New Orleans Saints at Carolina Panthers (+6.5) The Saints can still grab the NFC’s top seed, and a first round playoff bye, with a victory over Carolina along with a loss by Green Bay and a win by Seattle. Long story short, the Panthers are playing out the string and New Orleans still has something to play for. New Orleans 28-20
Green Bay Packers at Chicago Bears (+5.5) Future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers is having an MVP-caliber season and can help the Packers clinch the NFC’s top seed with a win over Chicago. The Bears will earn a playoff spot with a win or an Arizona loss against the L.A. Rams. Both teams are playing really well but the Pack have a little more punch. Green Bay 31-28
Jacksonville Jaguars at Indianapolis Colts (-14) Jacksonville beat Indianapolis 27-20 in Week 1 but have lost every game since then. In doing so, the Jags have secured the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 draft. After blowing a big second half lead against the Steelers last week — and needing a win this week to get into the playoffs — the Colts will get the job done. Indianapolis 33-14
Tennessee Titans at Houston Texans (+7.5) A win by Tennessee will give the Titans the AFC South crown. It doesn’t get any easier than that. But the Titans were blasted by the Packers on Sunday night and are playing on the road for the second consecutive week. Will J.J. Watt’s impassioned speech after Houston’s defeat against Cincinnati last week make a difference for the Texans in this one? Tennessee 28-24
Los Angeles Chargers at Kansas City Chiefs (+3.5) K.C. is locked into the top seed in the AFC and head coach Andy Reid will more than likely keep his star players out of the lineup for some extra rest as they make another run at the Super Bowl. The Chargers have long been eliminated from the playoffs but are on a three-game winning run. L.A. Chargers 23-21
Las Vegas Raiders at Denver Broncos (+2) The Raiders were eliminated from the playoff race by Miami in dramatic fashion last Saturday. They will either let that result bring them down or they — mostly head coach John Gruden — will save some face. Neither team has anything to play for and neither has been consistent enough to trust. Las Vegas 27-24
Arizona Cardinals at Los Angeles Rams (-1) Arizona QB Kyler Murray is expected to play despite nursing a leg injury. Rams quarterback Jared Goff is out with a broken thumb. Enter John Wolford, who will be making his first NFL start, and it sounds like L.A. also won’t have running backs Cam Akers and Darrell Henderson. Arizona 23-17
Seattle Seahawks at San Francisco 49ers (+4.5) Seattle has locked up the NFC West and can still earn the top seed in the conference if Green Bay and New Orleans both lose. That’s a big ask. The 49ers looked good in beating Arizona last week but the Seahawks have won three games in a row and are playing really well. Seattle 27-24
Washington Football Team at Philadelphia Eagles (+1.5) Washington wins the NFC East with a victory but they will try to do so with either a hobbling Alex Smith at quarterback or an untested Taylor Heinicke under center. The Eagles were eliminated from the playoff race last week against Dallas and can play the role of spoiler and help save head coach Doug Pederson’s job with a win. Philadelphia 30-24
Overall straight up 159-83-1
Overall against the spread 96-139-5
Rick Zamperin is the assistant program, news and senior sports director at Global News Radio 900 CHML.
Comments