NFL Picks Week 17: Advance Warning for Teams on Upset Alert

The 2011 NFL season definitely had its fair share of upsets and there's been an insane number of close games throughout the year.

That being said, here are three teams favored in Week 17 and are on upset alert.

Click the link for a full view of the Week 17 NFL Line. Also, FAVORITES are in ALL CAPS.

BALTIMORE RAVENS at Cincinnati Bengals -2.5

The Ravens are definitely capable of dropping their final regular season game to Cincinnati as evidence by their 3-4 road record. With losses to the Jacksonville Jaguars, Tennessee Titans, Seattle Seahawks and San Diego Chargers, it's difficult to be confident in such an inconsistent road team.

The Bengals, however, have hung on all season and almost upset the Ravens in Baltimore. This time, the Bengals need to zero-in on running back Ray Rice, double-cover wide receiver Torrey Smith, and blitz quarterback Joe Flacco relentlessly.

The Ravens offense is capable of being explosive. However, they lack in that area the most. As for their offense, Cincinnati needs wide receiver A.J. Green to dominate. Andy Dalton has other solid targets around him, but Green is their best shot to put up points.

TENNESSEE TITANS at Houston Texans -3

Somehow, the Titans are favored over the Houston Texans. Now, it's because Houston is banged up, and they just lost to the Indianapolis Colts. However, Tennessee lost to Indy the week before and barely beat Jacksonville at home in Week 16.

Neither team has been impressive the past few weeks and it's somewhat of a meaningless game for Houston as they already won the division. But, they're still vying for a bye-week and can get it if they win and both Pittsburgh and Baltimore lose.

Here, the Texans' top-five defense will blank the Titans inconsistent offense across the board and running back Arian Foster will run all over Tennessee's weak rush defense (allowing 126.7 per game).

Seattle Seahawks at ARIZONA CARDINALS -3

Both the Cardinals and Seahawks had excellent late-season surges but were defeated in Week 16, so the playoffs are now a no-go. This game however, is about pride and getting some momentum back heading into the 2012 offseason.

The difference here is Seattle running back Marshawn Lynch. Arizona's rush defense ranks No. 18 and allows 120.5 yards per game, so expect Seattle to feed the beast for 60 minutes.

Even if the Cardinals stack the box, it won't matter because Seattle can just punt the ball away and play defense. Defensive end Chris Clemons provides a pass rush that will cause havoc in the backfield and limit the wide receivers time to get open.

It was a barn-burner back in Week 3 and will be one again in Week 17.

Follow John Rozum on Twitter @ Sportswriter27