Week 17 NFL Picks: Vegas Odds and Predictions for Final Schedule

The Kansas City Chiefs are on a glorious run as the regular season comes to a close, and they just might be the surprise team of the AFC playoffs when the postseason gets underway next weekend.

They have one game left in the regular season, and don't expect Kansas City express to slow down now. The Chiefs have reeled off nine straight victories, and Andy Reid's team should easily make it 10 in a row when it hosts the Oakland Raiders.

The Chiefs have turned things around after a miserable 1-5 start because they are controlling the ball on offense and avoiding turnovers. Even without All-Pro running back Jamaal Charles, they have had a productive running game with Charcandrick West (600 yards) and Spencer Ware (327 yards, 5.8 yards per carry).

Quarterback Alex Smith has completed 65.7 percent of his passes and has a ratio of 18 touchdowns to five interceptions. While the 18 touchdown passes may not sound like much, Smith has developed an excellent rapport with wideout Jeremy Maclin.

The former Philadelphia Eagle has caught 84 passes for 1,034 yards and seven touchdowns this season. Prior to Maclin's arrival, the Chiefs did not have a legitimate threat at the wide receiver position and had to depend on the running game, passes to the running backs and decent work from their tight ends. Maclin's presence has given the team a much more well-rounded attack.

Smith has tossed fewer interceptions than any quarterback who has thrown 300 passes or more, and his responsibility with the football has played a key role in the winning streak.

So has the improvement in the defense. Early in the year, opponents were finding wide-open spaces in the Kansas City secondary; however, the emergence of rookie cornerback Marcus Peters has been amazing. He is tied for the league lead in interceptions with eight and has 33 passes defensed.

The Raiders have shown improvement this year as well and have fine skill position players in quarterback Derek Carr, running back Latavius Murray and wideouts Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree. However, when the Chiefs played at Oakland in Week 13, they humbled the Raiders 34-20.

Kansas City showed its poise in rallying for 21 fourth-quarter points to beat the Raiders, and we expect more of the same in this game.

The Chiefs are seven-point favorites, according to Odds Shark. We expect them to easily cover that margin over their longtime rivals.

Game	Line	Over/Under	Prediction
Philadelphia at N.Y. Giants	N.Y. Giants -6	51	Philadelphia; Under
N.Y. Jets at Buffalo	N.Y. Jets -3	41.5	N.Y. Jets; Under
Washington at Dallas	Dallas -4	39.5	Washington; Under
New Orleans at Atlanta	Atlanta -6	52.5	Atlanta; Over
Oakland at Kansas City	Kansas City -7	43.5	Kansas City; Over
Pittsburgh at Cleveland	Pittsburgh -10.5	47	Cleveland; Under
Minnesota at Green Bay	Green Bay -3	45.5	Minnesota; Under
Baltimore at Cincinnati	Cincinnati -9.5	41.5	Baltimore; Under
Detroit at Chicago	Detroit -1	45.5	Detroit; Under
Tampa Bay at Carolina	Carolina -10	46	Tampa Bay; Under
Jacksonville at Houston	Houston -6.5	46.5	Houston; Under
Tennessee at Indianapolis	Indianapolis -6	--	Indianapolis
New England at Miami	New England -9.5	46.5	Miami; Under
San Diego at Denver	Denver -9.5	41.5	San Diego; Under
St. Louis at San Francisco	St. Louis -3.5	37.5	St. Louis; Over
Seattle at Arizona	Arizona -6	47	Arizona; Over

Packers, Vikings will try to limit mistakes Sunday night

The Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings are meeting Sunday night to decide the NFC North championship.

Both teams are taking a 10-5 record into their game at Lambeau Field, and the winner will earn the No. 3 seed and a home game during the Wild Card Round of the playoffs.

The loser will compete in the postseason but will be on the road next weekend. 

A night game in early January in northern Wisconsin is no picnic, and the temperature should be about 16 degrees, according to Weather.com.

The Packers are not the offensive juggernaut they have been in past years, and the Vikings' success has been predicated on the running game and the defense. As a result, this looks like a game that could be low-scoring because neither team wants to take risks with the ball that could end up being costly. 

Expect a conservative game plan from both teams. Per Odds Shark, the over/under is 45.5 points, and we think both teams will score in the teens. This game should reach the mid-30s, and that makes the under an excellent play in this important game.

Brad Penner/Associated Press

Jets ready to wrap up playoff spot in Buffalo

The New York Jets have been red-hot coming down the stretch. After stumbling in midseason with four losses in five games and slipping to the .500 mark at 5-5, they have roared back to prominence with five consecutive wins.

The winning streak has put the Jets in a position to clinch a playoff spot with a victory in the final game of the season against the Buffalo Bills. It won't be easy, because the game is at Buffalo and the Bills have beaten the Jets and covered the spread against them in four straight games.

However, this is a new Jets team that is getting decisive play from quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, running back Chris Ivory and wideouts Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker. Not only have the Jets reeled off five straight victories, but they have gone 4-0-1 against the spread.

The Jets are three-point favorites and will fight off an early challenge from the Bills, winning the game and covering the spread.