NFL Predictions Week 17: Picks and Odds Advice for Final Schedule

The final day of the 2016 regular season is here, folks. By the end of Sunday, the playoff field will be set and the race to Super Bowl LI will be ready to begin. For the teams that have already earned their playoff passes, it's easy to start looking ahead.

Before we get to the postseason, though, we still have the one day to go—and it has the potential to change a lot.

Sure, Week 17 won't mean much for teams like the Dallas Cowboys (locked into the No. 1 seed) or the Cleveland Browns (nearly locked into the No. 1 pick), but there are plenty of playoff implications on the immediate horizon. The Oakland Raiders, for example, can enter the postseason as the AFC's No. 1 seed or as its No. 5 seed depending on how Week 17 unfolds.

We're here to take a look at the entire slate, along with the latest odds, according to OddsShark. We'll be making our picks against the spreads and examining some of the more interesting matchups of sendoff Sunday.

NFL Week 17

Game	Line	Prediction
Dallas at Philadelphia	PHI -4.5	DAL
Cleveland at Pittsburgh	PIT -5.5	PIT
Buffalo at NY Jets	BUF -3.5	BUF
Jacksonville at Indianapolis	IND -4.5	IND
New England at Miami	NE -9.5	MIA
Chicago at Minnesota	MIN -6.5	CHI
Houston at Tennessee	TEN -4	TEN
Baltimore at Cincinnati	BAL -1.5	BAL
Carolina at Tampa Bay	TB -3.5	TB
NY Giants at Washington	WAS -7.5	NYG
New Orleans at Atlanta	ATL -7.5	ATL
Arizona at Los Angeles	ARI -6.5	ARI
Oakland at Denver	DEN -1.5	DEN
Seattle at San Francisco	SEA -9	SEA
Kansas City at San Diego	KC -4.5	KC
Green Bay at Detroit	GB -3.5	GB

Matchups to Watch

New England at Miami

Normally, large spreads in divisional matchups can be a problem. Teams that play each other twice a year often have hotly contested games and experience close outcomes. When the New England Patriots are involved, however, this isn't always the case.

Yet it has been the case for New England when playing the Miami Dolphins in Florida. In fact, the Patriots have lost their last three road games against the Dolphins. This is part of the reason why, despite fully believing the Patriots will win, the Dolphins will cover such a large spread on Sunday. 

Both teams have something to play for here, so it should be a competitive matchup. The Patriots can secure the AFC's No. 1 seed with a win, while the Dolphins would move into the No. 5 seed with a win and a Kansas City Chiefs loss.

Don't expect either team to sit healthy starters early in the contest. The Dolphins insist they're playing to win, not to limp into the postseason.

"We have an opportunity to play after Week 17, but our main focus is this week," Dolphins head coach Adam Gase said, per James Walker of ESPN.com. "We’re going to stick to our plan that we’ve had this entire season of not looking past the opponent that we’ve had ahead."

The last time these two teams played, the Patriots leaped out to a 24-3 first-half lead. Yet Miami was still able to pull to within a touchdown before the final whistle. Expect something similar on Sunday, with a late Miami score making the cover.

Baltimore at Cincinnati

As we mentioned above, divisional matchups can often be physical, intense and close contests. This is the type of game we expect from the Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, even though there is nothing but pride and respect on the line.

Both the Bengals and the Ravens have been eliminated from playoff contention, but Baltimore does have a little something extra to play for. There's a good chance this will be the final NFL game for wide receiver Steve Smith.

"Football is a conduit," Smith said, per NFL Media's Kevin Patra. "It's a platform, good and bad, but it gives you an opportunity. Football's given me probably more than I probably could give football back. For 2016-17 and beyond, it is probably my last game."

The Ravens would probably love nothing more than to send Smith out with a victory.

In addition, the Bengals could be without several of their best players on Sunday. According to Richard Skinner of WKRC-TV, linebacker Vontaze Burfict and tight end Tyler Kroft are doubtful, while running back Jeremy Hill is questionable:

Star wideout A.J. Green recently joined tight end Tyler Eifert on injured reserve.

While the Bengals will still be playing for pride, they'll be playing shorthanded and against a team that may possess more motivation to win. We're going with the Ravens here.

Green Bay at Detroit

Perhaps the biggest game of the day will be the matchup between the Detroit Lions and the Green Bay Packers. Unsurprisingly, the league decided to make it the final game of the day—and the regular season.

The winner will become the NFC North champion, while the loser could miss the playoffs entirely. If the Washington Redskins defeat the New York Giants earlier in the day, the only way both the Packers and Lions get into the playoffs is with a tie.

The spread in this game isn't huge, but a motivated Packers team will win by roughly a touchdown here. Green Bay has ripped off five straight victories. The Lions have lost two in a row. It might also be worth noting that the Lions have only beaten one team with a winning record this year.

While neither defense has been terrific this season, the Packers have at least shown improvement over the latter half of the campaign. Pro Football Focus rates Green Bay 15th in overall defense for the year, while Detroit is rated 29th.

This game could well come down to defense, as each team fields a quality quarterback capable of delivering in clutch situations. Matthew Stafford has led Detroit to eight fourth-quarter comebacks this season. Aaron Rodgers has led the Packers from the brink of a lost season to the doorstep of the playoffs.

Expect the Lions to make it interesting late but the Packers clamp down and prevent them from pulling to within a field goal.