Super Bowl 2017: Predictions and Odds for Favorites Entering Week 17

Let's talk Super Bowl predictions.

Below, we'll take a look at the Super Bowl futures odds, lay out the playoff scenarios for teams that are still trying to earn a postseason bid and make predictions about how the playoffs will ultimately transpire.

Team	Odds
New England Patriots	19-10
Dallas Cowboys	16-5
Pittsburgh Steelers	8-1
Seattle Seahawks	11-1
Green Bay Packers	11-1
Kansas City Chiefs	11-1
Atlanta Falcons	11-1
New York Giants	20-1
Oakland Raiders	28-1
Detroit Lions	50-1
Houston Texans	50-1
Miami Dolphins	50-1
Washington Redskins	66-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	200-1

Playoff Scenarios

Based on OddsShark's figures, we can see how the betting site thinks the playoff picture will end up. While the AFC playoff teams are all set, with only the seeding to shake out, the NFC remains in flux.

Here's what we know for sure:

• The Dallas Cowboys won the NFC East and have clinched home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
• The Atlanta Falcons and Seattle Seahawks have each won their divisions.
• The New York Giants have clinched a wild-card berth.

So two playoff spots are left to decide: the NFC North winner and the second wild-card position.

It's hard to bet against the Green Bay Packers winning the NFC North. They will travel to Detroit on a five-game winning streak, while the Lions have lost two in a row. The loser of that game won't necessarily be out of the playoff mix, though.

If Washington loses Sunday to the Giants—a real possibility, given that Giants head coach Ben McAdoo said he'd play his starters for the entire game, per John Keim of ESPN.com—the loser of the Packers-Lions game would still have the better record.

If Washington wins, however, it clinches the final wild-card spot, whereas a Green Bay-Detroit tie would eliminate the Redskins.

Where things get interesting is if Washington loses and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers win. While Detroit would still win the tiebreaker over the Bucs if the Lions lose to Green Bay, the Bucs could get in over the Packers if the Lions win in Week 17.

According to ESPN.com, Tampa needs Washington to tie, Green Bay to lose and Tennessee, Indianapolis, Dallas and San Francisco to all win to ensure it has the strength-of-victory tiebreaker over the Packers.

In other words, Tampa's season is pretty much over.

Predictions 

Justin K. Aller/Getty Images

Green Bay is going to win the NFC North, but Detroit will sneak into the postseason after the Giants beat Washington and keep their rivals out of the postseason. It won't matter—Seattle will easily handle the Lions in the Wild Card Round.

In the other NFC wild-card matchup, the red-hot Packers will outlast the Giants.

The Packers won't beat the Cowboys, however, and home-field advantage won't do the Falcons any good against the Seahawks.

And in the NFC title game, the Cowboys—bolstered by the absence of Earl Thomas in Seattle's secondary—will ride a rookie quarterback (Dak Prescott) and a rookie running back (Ezekiel Elliott) to a berth in the Super Bowl.

In the AFC, Oakland's excellent season will end in the Wild Card Round, when the loss of Derek Carr will cost the Raiders against the Houston Texans. The Steelers, meanwhile, will ride their seven straight wins to close out the regular season to an easy victory over the Miami Dolphins.

The New England Patriots will hammer the Texans, while the Steelers will edge out the Kansas City Chiefs in one of the best matchups of the postseason. The Steelers will take their winning ways on the road and come away with a second straight win, knocking off the Patriots in Foxborough.

From there, it's on to a third straight upset win for the Steelers, as Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown, Le'Veon Bell and the team's improving defense will shock the Cowboys and earn the franchise's seventh Super Bowl title.

You can follow Timothy Rapp on Twitter.