Week 17 NFL Picks: Final Vegas Odds and Predictions for Sunday's Slate

The NFL point spreads are going to get a lot tighter following Week 17 once the playoffs begin. No longer will bettors have the opportunity to gamble on games between the Denver Broncos and the Oakland Raiders or the Dallas Cowboys and Washington.

With that in mind, here is a look at the point spreads and some predictions against the spread for every Week 17 game.

Point spreads are courtesy of Odds Shark, as of Saturday at 1 p.m. ET.

Matchup	Point Spread	Prediction Against Spread
Chicago Bears at Minnesota Vikings	MIN -7	Vikings
Cleveland Browns at Baltimore Ravens	BAL -14	Browns
Dallas Cowboys at Washington	DAL -5	Cowboys
Indianapolis Colts at Tennessee Titans	IND -7.5	Colts
Jacksonville Jaguars at Houston Texans	HOU -10.5	Texans
San Diego Chargers at Kansas City Chiefs	Even	Chargers
New York Jets at Miami Dolphins	MIA -7	Dolphins
Buffalo Bills at New England Patriots	NE -5	Patriots
Philadelphia Eagles at New York Giants	NYG -2.5	Eagles
New Orleans Saints at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	NO -4	Saints
Carolina Panthers at Atlanta Falcons	ATL -3	Falcons
Detroit Lions at Green Bay Packers	GB -7.5	Packers
Oakland Raiders at Denver Broncos	DEN -14.5	Broncos
Arizona Cardinals at San Francisco 49ers	SF -7	Cardinals
St. Louis Rams at Seattle Seahawks	SEA -13.5	Seahawks
Cincinnati Bengals at Pittsburgh Steelers	PIT -3.5	Steelers

Sunday Night Showdown: Cincinnati Bengals at Pittsburgh Steelers

AJ Mast/Associated Press

The Cincinnati Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers already played once this season, and the Steelers dominated the fourth quarter in Cincinnati and won 42-21.

The winner of Sunday’s rematch clinches the AFC North and home-field advantage in a playoff game. Both teams have plenty of momentum entering play. The Steelers have won three in a row and are 7-2 in their last nine, while the Bengals broke through some of those prime-time struggles that have haunted them in the past in Week 16 with a win over the Denver Broncos.

Cincinnati is also 7-2 in its last nine.

Justin K. Aller/Getty Images

Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger discussed the high-stakes matchup, per STATS LLC, via ESPN.com: "We're going to treat that like a playoff game like we've had the last three weeks. We still have work to do."

The Steelers are 13th in the league in rushing yards per game thanks to the emergence of Le’Veon Bell as a bona-fide star this season with 1,341 rushing yards. He torched the Bengals for 235 yards from scrimmage and three touchdowns in the first meeting. 

NFL on ESPN and Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk both pointed out how effective Bell has been this season:

If the Bengals devote defensive attention to stopping Bell, it could open things up for the Pittsburgh passing attack, which is second in the NFL with 300.5 yards per game. Roethlisberger also had his way against Cincinnati in the first matchup with 350 passing yards and three touchdowns.

The Bengals defense is certainly vulnerable and is 23rd against the run and 16th against the pass. It would not be a surprise if the Steelers offense controlled the flow in the rematch in Pittsburgh just like it did in the fourth quarter of the game in Cincinnati.

On the other side of the ball, Cincinnati will rely on breakout rookie Jeremy Hill and speedster Giovani Bernard as the anchors of the league’s fifth-best rushing attack. However, Pittsburgh counters with the sixth-best rush defense in the league, and it held the Bengals to 86 rushing yards in the first game.

The matchup may ultimately come down to weakness against weakness.

Cincinnati is a measly 22nd in the league in passing offense, while the Steelers are an abysmal 27th against the pass, largely because the secondary has suffered a number of injuries this season. A.J. Green was held without a catch against Denver and will look to have a bounce-back game against the Steelers after lighting them up for 224 receiving yards and a touchdown in the last meeting.

Outside of the Green wild card, the Steelers seem to have the advantage in most other areas, especially if the strong rush defense can contain Hill and Bernard.

While Green destroyed the Steelers in the first matchup, Pittsburgh can counter with the fact that Bell dominated the Bengals on the other side of the ball. The home-field advantage, where the Steelers are 5-2, will make the ultimate difference in this one.

Look for a costly turnover from Andy Dalton as he tries to force the ball into Green in the fourth quarter. The Steelers will be AFC North champions. 

Prediction: Steelers 27, Bengals 20

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