Week 17 NFL Predictions: Teams That Will Embarrass Themselves

This Sunday, the 2011 NFL regular season will come to a close. Indeed, we have come this far.

There are plenty of teams that still have something to play for. There are still a couple playoff spots up for grabs in both conferences, not to mention perks like first-round byes and home-field advantage. There are other incentives to play for as well, so you can expect most teams around the league to play hard.

You can also expect some teams to get a head start on their offseasons. They'll merely show up, take their butt-kicking and then go home for a few months of R&R. They will do nothing but embarrass themselves.

You and I both know this is going to happen. Personally, I'm looking for the five teams listed below to end their seasons with an epic fail.

5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Buccaneers head coach Raheem Morris probably needs to beat the Atlanta Falcons to save his job. But even if he does...

Let's stop right there. We certainly could entertain the notion of the Bucs beating the Falcons on Sunday, but they won't. The Bucs might just be the worst team in the NFL right now, and they'll be playing on the road against a Falcons team that still has incentive to win.

Morris probably won't be back next season, but Bucs fans should still tune in to this game to see what Josh Freeman is going to do. He played a solid game in Week 16, and another one of those will allow him to salvage some dignity from what has been a brutal season.

No matter what Freeman does, though, he won't save Tampa Bay's defense against Atlanta's explosive offense.

4. Philadelphia Eagles

Heading into Week 16, the Eagles still had a shot to make the playoffs. 

But that dream ended when the New York Giants won their game while the Eagles and Dallas Cowboys were just getting going at Cowboys Stadium. The Eagles deserve credit for fighting the good fight anyway.

The Eagles could fight the good fight again, but there would be no point in it. Their season is over, and pulling off a win against the lowly Washington Redskins doesn't have the same competitive appeal as pulling off a win against a sometimes-mighty Cowboys team.

Besides, the Eagles haven't exactly enjoyed home cooking this season. They've won just two games at home all season, and they'll be playing a Redskins team that has won some tough games in some tough places.

I'm not looking for the Eagles to get blown out, but they will lose. Failing to break even will be the final embarrassment in a season that has been full of them.

3. St. Louis Rams

According to Jeff Gordon of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Sam Bradford probably isn't going to play on Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers.

Not that it matters who will be under center, of course. The Rams are going to be badly overmatched against the 49ers, who have plenty of incentive to beat them. A win on the road in St. Louis will allow them to clinch the NFC's No. 2 seed.

The only way the Rams are ending their dismal season on a high note is if Bradford suits up and plays well. That would give them hope heading into the offseason that their franchise quarterback is indeed fit to be the team's leader for years to come.

But Bradford's not going to suit up. Even if he does, he won't play well against the 49ers killer defense.

2. Cleveland Browns

According to Pro Football Talk, Colt McCoy is not going to play on Sunday against the Steelers. He's still feeling the effects of a concussion he suffered earlier in December when he was Fus Ro Dah'd by James Harrison.

With McCoy out, the Browns will have to rely on Seneca Wallace to beat a Steelers team that has a shot of earning not just the AFC North title, but the No. 1 overall seed in the AFC playoffs.

To boot, the word from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is that Ben Roethlisberger, Troy Polamalu and Maurkice Pouncey are all expected to start for the Steelers.

The Steelers don't need these three to beat the Browns. But since they will have all three, the Browns are pretty well doomed.

1. Dallas Cowboys

Yup, I'm calling it right now. I was on the Cowboys bandwagon a couple weeks ago, but it has since become apparent that they just aren't very good.

The Giants aren't much better, mind you, but at least they've managed to show some grit in the last couple weeks after suffering through a bad losing streak. It helps that they will have the home-field advantage on Sunday night.

Don't get me wrong, the Cowboys will show up to play in this game. Or at least, they'll attempt to anyway. They're going to compete, but to win they'll need to buck up and somehow avoid making any crippling mental mistakes.

In the last four weeks, the Cowboys have done nothing to show that they are capable of doing either thing.

The Cowboys don't need to be blown out to get embarrassed. Simply losing will be embarrassing enough.