NFL Predictions Week 17: Odds Guide, Vegas Spreads and Picks for All Matchups

Gift or trap?

Sometimes, the linemaker gives gifts, and other times traps are set. It's often hard to tell until the game starts to play out.

The Week 17 card presents one of those games when NFC East champion the Washington Redskins meet the Dallas Cowboys AT&T Stadium. It's been a disastrous season from start to finish for the Cowboys, while the Redskins are one of the biggest surprises of the season. Nearly every preseason publication had the Redskins finishing last in the NFC East, and many power rankings had them at No. 30, 31 or 32.

The Redskins paid no attention and just went out and played football. Actually, it is head coach Jay Gruden who made one of the gutsiest and best moves of the season when he named Kirk Cousins as his starting quarterback and benched Robert Griffin III in the process.

RGIII was the favorite of owner Daniel Snyder, and it would have been easy and politically correct for Gruden to stick with the second pick of the 2012 draft. But Gruden knew that was not a move that would lead to Washington victories.

Cousins has been fantastic for the Redskins this year, and he has completed nearly 70 percent of his passes (69.5 percent) and has a 26-11 TD-interception ratio. He may have been just "another guy" at the start of the season, but he is now an established NFL quarterback.

The Cowboys have not had Tony Romo through the vast majority of the season, and as they go into the last game of the season, they are going with Kellen Moore at quarterback. Moore started in Week 16 against the Buffalo Bills and has played in two games this season. He has completed 28 of 56 passes for 344 yards with one TD and four interceptions.

That's not exactly intimidating.

Here's the issue in this game. The last-placed Cowboys are 3.5-point favorites over the Redskins, according to Odds Shark.

Why would this troubled team be favored over any opponent, let alone the NFC East champion? It doesn't make a lick of sense. 

Yes, Gruden could give Cousins a bit of a rest, but that's not going to happen until the second half, if it happens at all.

So while the skeptics out there see this as a trap, we see this game as a gift. The Redskins may rest their most important players after halftime, but by that point, they should have a sizable lead.

Take the Redskins and the points and be thrilled about the new year's gift.

Game	Line	Over/Under	Prediction
Philadelphia at N.Y. Giants	N.Y. Giants -3	51.5	Philadelphia; Under
N.Y. Jets at Buffalo	N.Y. Jets -3	43	N.Y. Jets; Under
Washington at Dallas	Dallas -3.5	40	Washington; Under
New Orleans at Atlanta	Atlanta -4	53	Atlanta; Over
Oakland at Kansas City	Kansas City -7.5	43.5	Kansas City; Over
Pittsburgh at Cleveland	Pittsburgh -11	47	Cleveland; Under
Minnesota at Green Bay	Green Bay -3	45.5	Minnesota; Under
Baltimore at Cincinnati	Cincinnati -10	41.5	Baltimore; Under
Detroit at Chicago	Even	45.5	Detroit; Under
Tampa Bay at Carolina	Carolina -11.5	46.5	Tampa Bay; Under
Jacksonville at Houston	Houston -5.5	46	Houston; Under
Tennessee at Indianapolis	Indianapolis -6	--	Indianapolis
New England at Miami	New England -11.5	47.5	Miami; Under
San Diego at Denver	Denver -10	41	San Diego; Under
St. Louis at San Francisco	St. Louis -3	37	St. Louis; Over
Seattle at Arizona	Arizona -7	47	Arizona; Over

Gail Burton/Associated Press

Steelers' Offense Will Fire This Week

The Pittsburgh Steelers may have a very long offseason in front of them.

They were in control of their own destiny heading into Week 16, and they mailed it in against archrivals the Baltimore Ravens.

The Ravens are one of the most beaten up and injured teams in the league, and they have lost Joe Flacco, Justin Forsett and Steve Smith Sr. this season. Nevertheless, they refused to roll over when the Steelers visited M&T Bank Stadium.

Instead, the Ravens dictated the pace for 60 minutes and came away with a 20-17 triumph. The Steelers had scored 30 points or more in their previous six games, but they were flat against the Ravens.

Now, the Steelers have to become Buffalo Bills fans. The only way they will make the playoffs is if the Bills beat the New York Jets and the Steelers beat the Cleveland Browns.

The Bills may or may not come through, but look for a much better effort from Ben Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh offense. Look for the Steelers to get back to the 35-point mark.

The Browns should be able to do some damage against a Pittsburgh defense that ranks 23rd overall and 27th against the pass.

The over/under mark in this game is 47 points. The Browns only need to score two touchdowns because the Steelers should score at least five. That would put this game in the 49-point range, which would bring home the over.

Take the over 47 points in the Pittsburgh-Cleveland regular-season finale

Brad Penner/Associated Press

Pats Need 1 More Win for Home-Field Advantage

The New England Patriots have been evicted from Gillette Stadium by the NHL's Winter Classic, which means the Pats are on the road for a second consecutive week to close the season.

The Patriots will be in hot and humid Florida to try and close out the top seed in the AFC against the Miami Dolphins, who appear to be playing out the string.

The Dolphins fired head coach Joe Philbin early in the season, but after getting a momentary lift from enthusiastic interim head coach Dan Campbell, they have stumbled to a 5-10 record.

The Dolphins are not going to win this game, but they are 11.5-point home underdogs. In other words, they are getting zero respect from the linemakers.

Miami's players will push hard in this game because they are professional athletes with pride. They may be able to keep it close well into the second half and force the Patriots to play hard for 60 minutes.

The Patriots have lost their last two games in Miami, and that should give the Dolphins some confidence. New England will win and earn home-field advantage for the AFC playoffs, but the Dolphins will keep it close and get the cover.