NFL Predictions Week 17: Last-Minute Picks and Advice for Sunday's Schedule

Every NFL team wants to end the regular season on a high note, and, of course, bettors will be looking to do the same.

Week 17 can be a tricky wagering endeavor due to an entire slate of divisional rivalries, teams potentially resting starters prior to postseason action and the sheer intensity of games featuring at least one squad aiming to gain entrance into January's action. Needless to say, plenty of research must be done to avoid ending the week in the red.

If researching these contests before placing your wager was your intention, you've come to the right place. Below you'll find the full slate of games, their corresponding odds and a pick against the spread for each, followed by the obligatory lock of the week.

Matchup	Spread	Pick ATS	Reason
San Diego at Kansas City	KC -1	Chiefs	No Alex Smith means no playoffs for Kansas City.
Jacksonville at Houston	HOU -10.5	Jaguars	A stagnant Houston offense will ensure this game stays close.
Philadelphia at NY Giants	NYG -2.5	Giants	The Eagles will not have an answer for Odell Beckham Jr.
Buffalo at New England	NE -5	Bills	Buffalo will cover if New England yanks its starters early enough.
Dallas at Washington	DAL -4	Cowboys	Dallas' starters will play, and Washington will notch a loss.
Cleveland at Baltimore	BAL -13	Ravens	See analysis below.
Chicago at Minnesota	MIN -6	Bears	Jay Cutler's future may hinge on his Week 17 performance.
Indianapolis at Tennessee	IND -7	Colts	If the Colts play their starters long enough, they'll cover the spread.
Carolina at Atlanta	ATL -3	Falcons	Atlanta's offense is red hot right now, and it will take the NFC South.
NY Jets at Miami	MIA -6	Jets	New York's ground game will control the clock and keep this close.
New Orleans at Tampa Bay	NO -4	Saints	Drew Brees shouldn't find trouble torching Tampa Bay's secondary.
Oakland at Denver	DEN -14	Raiders	Oakland is playing just well enough to cover this spread.
St. Louis at Seattle	SEA -13	Seahawks	Expect Seattle to make a statement in its regular-season finale.
Arizona at San Francisco	SF -6.5	49ers	Arizona's offense won't be able to move the ball against the 49ers.
Detroit at Green Bay	GB -7.5	Packers	There's no stopping Aaron Rodgers at Lambeau Field.
Cincinnati at Pittsburgh (Mon.)	PIT -3.5	Bengals	A steady, run-heavy offense will lead to a win for Cincinnati.

All game odds courtesy of Odds Shark and current as of December 27.

Lock of the Week

Cleveland Browns at Baltimore Ravens (-13)

Remember when the Browns were thought to be a contender this season? Yeah, that was fun. Unfortunately for Cleveland, that is now a distant memory, and the team is once again in complete turmoil as the season comes to a close.

First, wide receiver Josh Gordon was suspended for the season finale against Baltimore due to a violation of team rules, according to Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk. Making matters even worse, the team later fined rookie quarterback Johnny Manziel for being late to a treatment for his injured hamstring, according to Mary Kay Cabot of The Cleveland Plain Dealer (h/t Smith).

Well, the good news is Manziel wasn't slated to start anyway. The bad news is Connor Shaw will be making his first NFL start after spending Week 16 on the team's practice squad. In fact, the team announced that the quarterback was starting before promoting him to the active roster, via NFL Network's Ian Rapoport:

Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com relayed a rather telling quote from head coach Mike Pettine regarding the change under center: "You're starting an undrafted rookie quarterback—I don't think we're going to look to go down there and win one 41-38. We need to be along the lines of 3-2."

That, as they say, is a pipe dream.

While Cleveland will surely have difficulty scoring points against the Ravens with an untested quarterback at the helm, the same can't be said for Baltimore's offense.

The Ravens own the league's seventh-ranked rushing attack, which features the prolific Justin Forsett. He's been a revelation out of Baltimore's backfield this season, racking up 1,147 yards and eight touchdowns while averaging an impressive 5.3 yards per carry. Expect him to have a field day against a Browns run defense that ranks dead last in the league, allowing an average of 142.4 yards per game.

While quarterback Joe Flacco has been inconsistent this season, he's put up some gaudy numbers at times, and he'll get another shot in Week 17 against a Browns secondary that may be missing its best cornerback once again, with Andrew Gribble of ClevelandBrowns.com reporting that Joe Haden's status is once again up in the air.

Not only will Baltimore's offense have an advantage over Cleveland's defense, but the Ravens should be expected to work with plenty of short fields. The Ravens have accumulated 45 sacks this season, good enough for the third most in the league, and they will give Shaw many confusing looks on Sunday. This will lead to short drives for the Browns and short fields for the Ravens.

Cleveland is officially out of the playoff picture, but Baltimore still has a chance to clinch the No. 6 seed with a win and a loss by the San Diego Chargers. The Ravens will be treating their Week 17 contest like a playoff game against a Browns team that is starting an undrafted rookie at quarterback. A 13-point spread almost seems generous.

Prediction: Ravens 30, Browns 13