NFL Week 17 Predictions: Early Lines, Spreads, Odds, Season Finale Projections

The New England Patriots missed a chance to clinch the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs when they dropped a 26-20 decision in overtime to the New York Jets on Sunday.

The Patriots can still get that top seed by beating the Miami Dolphins in the regular-season finale. On the surface, it seems like it should be an easy assignment for Bill Belichick's team. The Patriots may have had some injuries that have taken away some of their firepower on the offensive side of the ball, but the Dolphins are playing out the string under an interim coach in Dan Campbell.

However, winning at Miami has never been an easy task for the Patriots. The last time they played a game in South Florida was Week 1 of the 2014 season, and the Dolphins punished the Patriots 33-20.

Ryan Tannehill may not be an elite quarterback, but he knows the Dolphins are likely to have a new coaching regime next year. If he can leave a strong performance on film of his last game against the Patriots, it will give him the opportunity to secure his position as the franchise's quarterback or at least give himself a fighting chance to be considered for the job.

The Patriots refused to put wide receivers Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola at risk by playing them against the Jets in Week 16. Why would Belichick suddenly change course and let them play in a game of limited importance?

Belichick likes to play the odds, and he knows his team has one bye week already in the first weekend of the playoffs and that they will play a home game in the divisional playoffs.

When it comes to home-field advanatage in the AFC Championship Game, that would be a good thing to have, but he is not going to put several of his key players at risk.

The Patriots are eight-point road favorites in this game, according to Odds Shark. They are not looking to step on the gas pedal here. The Patriots would like to win, but they don't need to crush the Dolphins. 

Look for Miami to keep it close and have a chance to win this game in the fourth quarter. The Dolphins get the cover.

Game	Line	Prediction
Philadelphia at N.Y. Giants	N.Y. Giants -3.5	Philadelphia
N.Y. Jets at Buffalo	N.Y. Jets -1.5	N.Y. Jets
Washington at Dallas	Dallas -4	Washington
New Orleans at Atlanta	No line	Atlanta
Oakland at Kansas City	Kansas City -6.5	Kansas City
Pittsburgh at Cleveland	Pittsburgh -8.5	Cleveland
Minnesota at Green Bay	Green Bay -3	Minnesota
Baltimore at Cincinnati	Cincinnati -7	Baltimore
Detroit at Chicago	Chicago -1.5	Detroit
Tampa Bay at Carolina	Carolina -9.5	Tampa Bay
Jacksonville at Houston	Houston -5.5	Houston
Tennessee at Indianapolis	No line	Indianapolis
New England at Miami	New England -8	Miami
San Diego at Denver	Denver -7.5	Denver
St. Louis at San Francisco	St. Louis -3.5	St. Louis
Seattle at Arizona	Arizona -3.5	Arizona

Ravens Still Have Plenty of Fight

The Baltimore Ravens have endured a nightmare of a season. At the start of the year, John Harbaugh's team suffered a series of tough defeats that put them in a big hole.

As the season progressed, devastating injuries mounted. Wide receiver Steve Smith, running back Justin Forsett and quarterback Joe Flacco all suffered season-ending injuries.

That meant the Ravens saw their chances for making the playoffs go down the drain. But even though this team has been through one of the most painful seasons in recent memory, it did not mean the Ravens were going to give up.

While they slipped to 4-10 heading into their Week 16 game against the playoff-hungry Pittsburgh Steelers, they played competitively. They were not about to give the Steelers any gifts, and they found a way to come up with the 20-17 upset behind new quarterback Ryan Mallett.

In Week 17, the Ravens have another difficult assignment as they travel to face the Cincinnati Bengals. While the Ravens may hate the Steelers more than any opponent, they don't have warm feelings for the Bengals, either. They are not going to roll over just because the Bengals are the AFC North champions and have an eye on the top seed in the conference.

The Ravens are seven-point underdogs in this game. They may not win, but they will make the Bengals fight for their lives to get it. The Ravens will get the cover.

Charlie Riedel/Associated Press

Chiefs Will Close Out Regular Season by Extending Winning Streak

It is one of the most memorable regular seasons in NFL history.

After starting the season with a victory over the Houston Texans in their season opener, the Kansas City Chiefs blew a late lead in Week 2 against the Denver Broncos and promptly went on a five-game losing streak.

Many had expected a lot from the Chiefs, but they were 1-5 and All-Pro running back Jamaal Charles was done for the year with an ACL injury.

It didn't look good as the Steelers came to town in Week 7. However, head coach Andy Reid managed to keep his team together and coaxed a winning effort out of them. He has also managed to coax eight more winning efforts out of his players since.

The Chiefs take a 10-5 record into the season finale at home against the Oakland Raiders. If the Chiefs win this game and the Broncos lose one of their last two, Kansas City will win the AFC West title. They have already clinched a wild-card spot at the least.

They simply have too much momentum right now, and they are not going to have a problem covering the 6.5-point spread against their old American Football League rivals. Our advice is to jump on this number early because the spread will only go up from here.

The Chiefs get the win and the cover.