Week 17 NFL Picks: Road Teams That Will Roll over Division Rivals

Rivalries reign supreme in Week 17 of the 2011 NFL season, when every team plays inside the division to settle the blurry playoff picture on New Year's Day.

Most of the Super Bowl XLVI contenders are locked comfortably into the postseason, but there is still some seed-shuffling to be done before the matchups become official. 

The Tennessee Titans and New York Jets are two playoff hopefuls on the outside looking in that will need road wins and some help to get into the postseason on the season's final weekend.

But only one of them will roll their rival on the road to end the season, here are my lucky road winners for Week 17:

San Francisco 49ers Over St. Louis Rams

The Niners just blanked the Rams at home in Week 13, 26-0. St. Louis is 2-13 overall, but just 1-6 at home this season, so there will be no home-field advantage for the NFC West bottom-feeder in Week 17.

Did I mention the Rams have lost six straight games overall and are in contention for the No. 1 pick in the 2012 NFL draft next April?

San Francisco is in the hunt for the NFC's second first-round bye and a win on Sunday will lock that up for them.

Rams RB Steven Jackson will find running lanes tough to come by as well considering the Niners boast the league's No. 1 rushing defense.

New York Jets Over Miami Dolphins 

Similar to the 49ers, the New York Jets steamrolled their rival earlier in the season. Mark Sanchez and Gang Green topped the 'Phins 24-6 at MetLife Stadium back on MNF in Week 6 to get back to .500.

On Sunday, the Jets will need another win over the Dolphins to avoid falling to .500 and missing the playoffs for the first time under Rex Ryan. 

For as well as Miami has played late, the Jets are by far the better team and have the defensive pieces in place (ranked fifth in the league against the pass) to make a run in the AFC this January.

Motivated by the potential of a Cincinnati and Oakland loss in Week 17, the Jets will end their two-game losing streak and top the Dolphins in South Beach.

Pittsburgh Steelers Over Cleveland Browns

The Steelers looked mighty suspect against the Browns back in Week 14 at home, escaping Heinz Field with a 14-3 win.

Pittsburgh will be playing for a shot at the AFC North, a subsequent first-round bye and potential home-field advantage throughout the playoffs with Ravens and Patriots losses in Week 17.

The league's top passing defense (172.2 passing yards allowed per game) will quickly make the Browns one-dimensional in Cleveland on Sunday, giving whoever is starting under center for the Steelers an excellent chance of notching a win.

The road has been tough to Pittsburgh in 2011, but the entire schedule has been tough to Cleveland this year. The Steelers should run away on New Year's Day, sweeping the Browns and claiming their fourth win inside the division while running their record to 12-4.