NFL Picks Week 17: Full Odds and Predictions for Marquee Matchups

It has come down to this. After 17 weeks covering 16 games and countless hours of work dating back to the offseason, the 2014 NFL regular season comes to an end on Sunday. As sad as it is to think about, it's going out in a blaze of glory. 

There are playoff ramifications everywhere you look. Two teams are still looking to lock down the final spots—one in each conference—and New England is the only playoff team that knows it doesn't have to worry about a game next week. 

With so much at stake, every game takes on an added sense of urgency and importance. Instead of going gently into that good night, the NFL will leave everyone with a rush of adrenaline that should carry over to the playoffs. 

To enhance the anticipation, here are the latest odds and predictions for every game on the schedule, as well as a deeper dive into the key games with playoff ramifications. 

Matchup	Spread	Pick
Cleveland Browns at Baltimore Ravens	Ravens (-14.5)	Ravens, 31-10
Jacksonville at Houston Texans	Texans (-10.5)	Texans, 24-13
San Diego Chargers at Kansas City Chiefs	Even	Chargers, 27-21
New York Jets at Miami Dolphins	Dolphins (-7)	Dolphins, 24-14
Chicago Bears at Minnesota Vikings	Vikings (-7)	Bears, 23-17
Buffalo Bills at New England Patriots	Patriots (-5)	Patriots, 27-20
Philadelphia Eagles at New York Giants	Giants (-2.5)	Giants, 31-27
New Orleans Saints at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Saints (-4)	Saints, 34-27
Indianapolis Colts at Tennessee Titans	Colts (-7.5)	Colts, 28-16
Dallas Cowboys at Washington	Cowboys (-4)	Cowboys, 27-17
Carolina Panthers at Atlanta Falcons	Falcons (-3)	Panthers, 27-24
Detroit Lions at Green Bay Packers	Packers (-7.5)	Packers, 27-23
Oakland Raiders at Denver Broncos	Broncos (-14.5)	Broncos, 34-17
Arizona Cardinals at San Francisco 49ers	49ers (-7.5)	49ers, 26-13
St. Louis Rams at Seattle Seahawks	Seahawks (-13.5)	Seahawks, 23-10
Cincinnati Bengals at Pittsburgh Steelers	Steelers (-3.5)	Steelers, 34-24

Odds via Odds Shark and current through December 27.

Carolina Panthers at Atlanta Falcons

Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

One of the least talked about aspects of the NFC South showdown between Carolina and Atlanta is that the Panthers have been playing better football lately. Their competition, which includes Cleveland and Tampa Bay, hasn't been great, but at least they are winning. 

Carolina's resurgence can be directly tied to the running game. During this three-game winning streak, the Panthers have 603 yards on the ground. Jonathan Stewart is finally healthy and looks like his old self, leading the NFL in rushing over the last four weeks, via the Panthers' PR staff on Twitter: 

"

#Panthers RB Jonathan Stewart's 437 rushing yards in last 4 weeks are most in the NFL

— Panthers PR Dept. (@PanthersPR) December 22, 2014"

In addition to Stewart's resurgence, Cam Newton is moving around as well as he has all year. The star quarterback has 146 rushing yards in his last two games. 

That will be critical against an Atlanta defense that has struggled on defense all year. The Falcons are weaker against the pass, but stopping the run isn't a strength. They allow the 18th-most yards per game on the ground—though that's offset by allowing an NFL-worst 20 rushing touchdowns. 

Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

It's no mystery what Atlanta will do in its quest to win. The Falcons allow more yards than anyone else and are 24th in rushing. Matt Ryan is going to air it out, and Julio Jones will be on the other side of those passes. 

Jones has been masterful this season with 1,535 receiving yards and six touchdowns. Marc Sessler of NFL.com noted the star wideout did practice on Friday, having been limited with a hip injury. There's no doubt Jones is going to play. He dominated New Orleans last week with 107 yards on seven catches after missing the previous game. 

As inconsistent as Carolina's defense has been this season, it's been more productive lately and ranks in the top 10 with 228 passing yards allowed per game. Unless the Falcons can execute their passing game perfectly, they will have a hard time winning. 

The Panthers have hit their stride at the right time and look like the best team in the NFC South. They deserve to win the division, even if it is by default. 

Panthers 27, Falcons 24

San Diego Chargers at Kansas City Chiefs

Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press

The dynamic has changed for the final playoff spot in the AFC over the last seven days. San Diego started the madness with a 21-point comeback in Week 16 against San Francisco. Baltimore helped the equation by laying an egg against Houston. 

The final piece of the puzzle came on Friday, when Kansas City trainer Rick Burkholder announced that Alex Smith wouldn't play due to a lacerated spleen, via BJ Kissel of Chiefs.com:

The Chargers catch a break by getting to face Chase Daniel in a must-win game. The Chiefs are in a bad spot without their starting quarterback, but they do have the magic formula to give San Diego's defense problems. 

San Francisco torched San Diego on the ground last week for 355 yards. Frank Gore and Colin Kaepernick each went for more than 150 rushing yards. 

Jamaal Charles is a better runner than Gore or Kaepernick, though Andy Reid seems to have forgotten that recently, via Patrick Daugherty of NBC Sports:

Reid will call Charles' number a lot, both to run the ball and screen passes. The Chargers should load the box early to force Daniel to beat them down the field. If that happens, San Diego can tip its hat to a surprising effort from the backup. 

Even though the Chargers are hobbling, with Philip Rivers battling a bulging disc and Ryan Mathews out with an ankle injury, they still have their starting quarterback. That's all you need in the NFL, especially when the opposing quarterback is a career backup making his second start. 

Chargers 27, Chiefs 21

Cincinnati Bengals at Pittsburgh Steelers

Andy Lyons/Getty Images

The final game on the schedule has all the makings of a letdown for Cincinnati. The Bengals had their moment in the sun in Week 16, defeating Denver in prime time on Monday Night Football to clinch a playoff berth. 

As a follow-up to that win, Marvin Lewis' team has to travel to Pittsburgh for a showdown against the Steelers. These two teams met three weeks ago in Cincinnati, where the Steelers won 42-21 (though it was closer than the final score indicates). 

The Bengals led the first game 21-17 at the end of the third quarter and were only down 28-21 nearly halfway through the fourth quarter. Pittsburgh's offense was firing on all cylinders in Week 14, racking up 543 total yards. 

All eyes will be on Andy Dalton in this game. He was credited with the win last week against Denver but wasn't asked to do much because Jeremy Hill went off for 147 yards on the ground. 

Coley Harvey of ESPN.com addressed Dalton's importance to the Bengals and how his performance three weeks ago could translate to success in Week 17:

"

...Dalton very nearly played a big role in a potential Bengals win over the Steelers three weeks ago. His two-touchdown, no-interception, 302-yard, 93.8-QBR performance almost was enough. Had it not been for a fumble on a handoff from Dalton to Hill at the start of the fourth quarter, the Bengals might have won. Instead, Pittsburgh rattled off 25 unanswered points on a defense that couldn’t stop it. 

"

That was the last good game Dalton played. He's thrown for 263 total yards in the last two weeks with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Fortunately, Hill has picked up the slack with 295 rushing yards and three touchdowns during that span. 

The Steelers are sixth in the league at stopping the run, so Dalton will have to step up his game to give the Bengals a chance.

There are so many ways for Pittsburgh to beat a team on offense. Ben Roethlisberger is second in the league with 4,635 passing yards. Le'Veon Bell is second with 1,341 rushing yards. Antonio Brown has 122 catches for 1,570 yards and 12 touchdowns. 

If a team has to trust Dalton to win a game, something bad usually happens. The Steelers are building momentum heading into the playoffs and will win the AFC North. 

Steelers 34, Bengals 24

If you want to talk sports, hit me up on Twitter.