NFL Week 17 Picks: Prop Bets, Vegas Lines, Over/Under Predictions and Advice

Predicting Week 17 NFL games is a tricky proposition, mainly because we don't always know if (or for how long) starters will sit in anticipation of this year's playoffs or next year's regular season (if eliminated teams want to get a look at backup talent).

Still, we can make educated guesses based on reports, so we'll do so here as we navigate through each Week 17 game and make picks.

All spreads and over/under totals are via OddsShark, and all props are through OddsChecker. Analysis below will focus on three matchups where either (a) a coach has given insight or (b) a beat reporter has provided commentary on starters' playing time for Sunday.

Green Bay Packers at Detroit Lions (-7, 43 O/U)

Pick: Lions 24, Packers 20 (over)

Prop Bet: Total Green Bay Packers Points (Over 18.5)

Houston Texans at Indianapolis Colts (-4, 41 O/U)

Pick: Colts 21, Texans 20 (push)

Prop Bet: Winning Margin (Indianapolis Colts 1-6)

Chicago Bears at Minnesota Vikings (-12, 39.5 O/U)

Pick: Vikings 20, Bears 17 (under)

Prop Bet: Winning Margin (Minnesota Vikings 1-6)

New York Jets at New England Patriots (-15.5, 45 O/U)

Pick: Patriots 31, Jets 7 (under)

Prop Bet: Total New York Jets Points (Under 10.5)

Washington Redskins (-3.5, 38 O/U) at New York Giants

Pick: Redskins 24, Giants 10 (under)

Prop Bet: Total New York Giants Points (Under 12.5)

Dallas Cowboys (-2.5, 41 O/U) at Philadelphia Eagles

Pick: Cowboys 24, Eagles 13 (under)

Prop Bet: Total Points (Under 37.5)

Cleveland Browns at Pittsburgh Steelers (-13.5, 39.5 O/U)

Pick: Steelers 34, Browns 7 (over)

Prop Bet: Total Touchdowns (Over 5)

Buffalo Bills (-3, 42.5 O/U) at Miami Dolphins

Pick: Bills 21, Dolphins 17 (under)

Prop Bet: Total Miami Dolphins Points (Under 18)

Carolina Panthers at Atlanta Falcons (-3.5, 45.5 O/U)

Pick: Falcons 24, Panthers 20 (under)

Prop Bet: Winning Margin (Atlanta Falcons 1-6)

San Francisco 49ers at Los Angeles Rams (-1.5, 44.5 O/U)

Pick: 49ers 28, Rams 14 (under)

Prop Bet: Alternate Point Spread (49ers 14-plus)

Cincinnati Bengals at Baltimore Ravens (-9.5, 40.5 O/U)

Pick: Ravens 27, Bengals 10 (under)

Prop Bet: Total Touchdowns (Under 5)

Arizona Cardinals at Seattle Seahawks (-9.5, 39 O/U)

Pick: Seahawks 31, Cardinals 7 (under)

Prop Bet: Alternate Point Spread (Seahawks -12.5)

New Orleans Saints (-7, 50.5 O/U) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Pick: Saints 28, Buccaneers 20 (under)

Prop Bet: Total New Orleans Saints Points (Over 27)

Kansas City Chiefs at Denver Broncos (-3.5, 38.5 O/U)

Pick: Chiefs 20, Broncos 17 (under)

Prop Bet: Total Denver Broncos Points (Under 18)

Jacksonville Jaguars at Tennessee Titans (-4, 41.5 O/U)

Pick: Jaguars 24, Titans 13 (under)

Prop Bet: Total Touchdowns (Under 5)

Oakland Raiders at Los Angeles Chargers (-8, 43 O/U)

Pick: Chargers 24, Raiders 17 (under)

Prop Bet: Total Los Angeles Chargers Points (Under 25)

Three Game Breakdowns

Kansas City Chiefs at Denver Broncos

The Kansas City Chiefs clinched the AFC West last Sunday and know that they will host a wild-card game either January 6 or 7.

With that in mind, head coach Andy Reid has announced that 2017 first-round pick Patrick Mahomes will be the starter on Sunday at the Denver Broncos, per Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star:

Mahomes starred at Texas Tech, throwing 41 touchdowns and completing 65.7 percent of his passes in his final season as a Red Raider.

NFL draft analyst Mike Mayock provided the following quote on Mahomes prior to this year's draft: "He is a big-time gunslinger like Brett Favre. He's got the athletic ability. My question is can he learn to win in the pocket because to play in the NFL, at a certain point, you have to."

Mahomes will be facing a 5-10 Broncos team trying to figure out what went wrong following a 3-1 start. Denver just lost 27-11 to the 7-8 Washington Redskins as it allowed three touchdown passes from signal-caller Kirk Cousins.

Ultimately, the Broncos are not playing for much, and Mahomes certainly wants to prove that he has what it takes to lead the Chiefs next year in what would amount to his only regular-season audition in 2017. Give the slight edge to the road team to take this one.

San Francisco 49ers at Los Angeles Rams

According to Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.com, Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay cleared up any questions regarding his team's status for Sunday:

That sentiment certainly makes sense. With a home wild-card game already locked in, it's best to look toward the postseason at this juncture.

Oddly enough, the Rams might even benefit from a loss. If the New Orleans Saints win and the Rams lose, Los Angeles will drop to the No. 4 seed.

Also, if the Saints and Rams both win in the wild-card round, then Los Angeles would play the No. 1-seed Philadelphia Eagles (who have struggled after star signal-caller Carson Wentz suffered a torn ACL) as opposed to the No. 2-seed Minnesota Vikings (who beat the Rams 24-7 in Minneapolis earlier this year).

Meanwhile, the San Francisco 49ers are 4-0 in the Jimmy Garoppolo era, with wins against the 10-5 Jacksonville Jaguars and 8-7 Tennessee Titans. They'll want to finish the season with five straight victories as they look toward next year, which should have great expectations.

On paper, the 49ers-Rams matchups for next season may have a lot on the line, but for this one, it's clear that the motivations for both sides are different. L.A. has no need to play any starter for more than one drive, if that, so the clear edge goes to San Francisco playing against Rams backups.

Carolina Panthers at Atlanta Falcons

The Carolina Panthers are almost certainly going to be the No. 5 seed in the NFC playoffs barring the New Orleans Saints—who are seven-point favorites on Sunday, per OddsShark—losing to the 4-11 Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

However, head coach Ron Rivera said his team will be "going to out and play with the intent of winning the football game," per Bryan Strickland of panthers.com.

It makes sense why. The Saints and Panthers games are at the same time, so Carolina will still have a shot at winning the division when it kicks off on Sunday.

Also, the Panthers are riding the high of a 7-1 stretch, and beating the 9-6 Atlanta Falcons on the road going into the playoffs would give Rivera's team an extra boost.

However, two factors are working against the Panthers.

First, Falcons star wideout Julio Jones always seems to save his best for Carolina. In his past two games versus the Panthers in Atlanta, Jones has amassed 21 catches for 478 yards and two touchdowns.

Second, the Panthers' pass-catching corps has suffered two season-ending injuries to Curtis Samuel and Damiere Byrd within the past six weeks, and No. 1 wideout Devin Funchess is playing through a shoulder issue that has landed him on the injury report from Weeks 14 through 16.

This should be one of the best games of the week, but look for Jones and the Falcons to earn a playoff berth with a victory.

Writer's Note: Predictions may change over the course of the week given a variety of factors, most notably breaking news regarding key players.