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

Week 17 of the NFL season can be a tricky time to peg when it comes to wagering.

For some teams, they are trying to maintain or improve their playoff seeding. For others—like the Los Angeles Chargers, Buffalo Bills and Seattle Seahawks—they are fighting for their playoff lives.

Other teams are playing for pride, to play spoiler or just improve their draft position.

Either way, every team has its own motive.

Thanks to OddsShark, we have all the odds for the upcoming games in Week 17. And guess what? We are here to make predictions and also highlight a few games in particular.

NFL Week 17 Predictions

Cleveland Browns at Pittsburgh Steelers

Score: Steelers 27, Browns 14

ATS Pick: NL (PIT)

Washington Redskins at New York Giants

Score: Redskins 24, Giants 17

ATS Pick: WAS -3.5

Buffalo Bills at Miami Dolphins

Score: Dolphins 20, Bills 18

ATS Pick: MIA +2.5

Green Bay Packers at Detroit Lions

Score: Lions 24, Packers 13

ATS Pick: DET -9

Carolina Panthers at Atlanta Falcons

Score: Panthers 20, Falcons 17

ATS Pick: CAR +3

Chicago Bears at Minnesota Vikings

Score: Vikings 33, Bears 16

ATS Pick: MIN -12.5

New Orleans Saints at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Score: Saints 24, Buccaneers 20

ATS Pick: TB +7.5

Dallas Cowboys at Philadelphia Eagles

Score: Eagles 28, Cowboys 17

ATS Pick: NL (PHI)

New York Jets at New England Patriots

Score: Patriots 35, Jets 7

ATS Pick: NL (NE)

Houston Texans at Indianapolis Colts

Score: Colts 23, Texans 20

ATS Pick: Ev (IND)

Cincinnati Bengals at Baltimore Ravens

Score: Ravens 24, Bengals 17

ATS Pick: CIN +10

Jacksonville Jaguars at Tennessee Titans

Score: Jaguars 27, Titans 18

ATS Pick: NL (JAC)

Arizona Cardinals at Seattle Seahawks

Score: Seahawks 30, Cardinals 14

ATS Pick: SEA -7

Oakland Raiders at Los Angeles Chargers

Score: Chargers 31, Raiders 21

ATS Pick: LAC -7

Kansas City Chiefs at Denver Broncos

Score: Chiefs 14, Broncos 10

ATS Pick: KC +2.5

San Francisco 49ers at Los Angeles Rams

Score: Rams 27, 49ers 24

ATS Pick: SF -6.5

Top Games to Watch

Buffalo Bills at Miami Dolphins

Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images

Coming in as 2.5-point favorites, the Buffalo Bills will have a tougher task than you would initially think going into Hard Rock Stadium to take on the Miami Dolphins.

First, quarterback Jay Cutler has played decently. Sure, he makes his fair share of, well, Cutler plays, but with wide receivers Jarvis Landry, Kenny Still and DeVante Parker in tow, the Dolphins have a suitable offense.

Not to mention their highly utilized running back Kenyan Drake.

The Dolphins will look to play spoiler here.

Should the Bills win, they would need the Los Angeles Chargers to lose to make the postseason.

The Bills are playing for their lives here, but the Dolphins are not going to be an easy out. This will be one of the few upsets for Week 17, and the Bills will be on the outside looking in after a close loss to the Dolphins.

Houston Texans at Indianapolis Colts

Patrick Smith/Getty Images

A couple of lame teams, so who cares, right?

Well, for betting purposes, taking the Indianapolis Colts at even odds is the way to go here—you also don't see the Colts with even odds often, so take advantage.

The Houston Texans have a putrid pass defense, and Colts quarterback Jacoby Brissett should be able to throw the ball around at will.

In their most recent meeting, Brissett chucked more than 300 yards.

At home this time, the Colts will pull off the win, and for the first time for what could be a while, you will cash in on Indianapolis at even odds.

A win-win situation.

Cincinnati Bengals at Baltimore Ravens

Patrick Smith/Getty Images

The Baltimore Ravens may be a playoff team when this game is all said and done, but 10-point favorites? That might be a bit much.

Yeah, they are at home and have a solid enough defense, but let's not forget the Cincinnati Bengals have a gritty defense.

Both offenses have been lackluster this season, but without cornerback Jimmy Smith, the Ravens might have trouble containing Bengals wide receiver A.J. Green.

The Ravens will win this one, but the Bengals should keep it close enough to cover the 10 spot.

Bet the Bengals here. All the money will go on Baltimore most likely, but that's not the smart way to play.

Kansas City Chiefs at Denver Broncos

Charlie Riedel/Associated Press

Locked into the fourth seed, the Kansas City Chiefs could easily sit quarterback Alex Smith here and go with rookie Patrick Mahomes to see what he can do.

Even if that happens, the Chiefs are just a better team.

Should they sit running back Kareem Hunt, they still have Charcandrick West who has been around the block.

Bottom line: The Denver Broncos and their offense, led by Brock Osweiler, stink. They are going to be hard to rely on to put up a couple touchdowns in any game given their state.

Mahomes was an excellent college quarterback, and that will translate here against the Broncos, even if it is on the road.

Book it.

Kansas City wins because Denver can't find the end zone.

Statistics courtesy of Pro Football Reference. All odds according to OddsShark.