NFL Predictions Week 17: Odds, Picks and Projections for Final Schedule

The New England Patriots appear to be one of the strongest teams in the NFL once again, having just clinched their 10th straight AFC East title, and they are sitting with the No. 2 seed in the conference as they approach their regular-season finale.

However, appearances can be deceiving. The Patriots are normally peaking at the end of the season, and they have often been the dominant team in the AFC as they prepare for the playoffs.

That is clearly not the case this year, as they lost their Week 14 and 15 games to the Miami Dolphins and Pittsburgh Steelers on the road before they took care of business at home against the Buffalo Bills in Week 16. 

The Patriots host the Jets in the season finale, and a victory will ensure a bye during the wild-card weekends, something that Bill Belichick, Tom Brady and New England fans have gotten used to seeing.

As a result, this last game is of great importance to the Patriots, and they are likely to keep their starters in this game until it is well in hand.

The Patriots are 13.5-point favorites over their long-time rivals, and look for the Patriots to use this game to improve their overall performance as well as clinching the No. 2 seed in the conference.

Brady has completed 65.4 percent of his passes for 4,105 yards with 25 touchdown passes and 11 interceptions. While those numbers are good, they are not Brady-like. He has missed open receivers, his TD numbers are down and his interceptions are up.

Additionally, the Pats are lacking in the wide receiver category with Josh Gordon leaving the team prior to the Week 16 game against the Bills. 

Julian Edelman, Rob Gronkowski and James White are Brady's primary pass-catchers, but Gronkowski has not been the player he has been in the past. He has caught 45 passes for 658 yards and three touchdowns, and he has looked slower and less powerful than he has been in his career.

The Jets had a big lead in Week 16 at home against the Green Bay Packers, but they blew the advantage and lost in overtime.

Sam Darnold has had an up-and-down season as a rookie quarterback, and it's difficult to see the Jets coming together in the season finale against a New England team that does not lack for motivation.

The Patriots win this game and cover the point spread. 

Week 17 NFL Odds and selections (per OddsShark)

Atlanta at Tampa Bay (-1) | O/U 51

Carolina at New Orleans NL

Chicago at Minnesota (-5) | O/U 41

Cincinnati at Pittsburgh (-14) | O/U 45.5

Cleveland at Baltimore (-5.5) | O/U 41

Dallas at N.Y. Giants (-7) | O/U n/a

Detroit at Green Bay (-7.5) | O/U 45

Indianapolis at Tennessee (-1) | O/U n/a

Jacksonville at Houston (-7) | O/U 40.5

Miami at Buffalo (-3.5) | O/U 38.5

N.Y. Jets at New England (-13.5) | O/U 45.5

Oakland at Kansas City NL

Philadelphia (-6.5) at Washington | O/U 42

Arizona at Seattle NL

L.A. Chargers at Denver NL

San Francisco at L.A. Rams (-10) | O/U 50

Chicago Bears at Minnesota Vikings

The Bears have a slim chance of moving up from the No. 3 seed to the No. 2 spot and gaining a playoff bye, but that scenario is unlikely because they would need to win this game and have the San Francisco 49ers upset the Rams in Los Angeles for that to happen.

While the Bears will play hard in this game, the Vikings are playing for their postseason lives. That gives Minnesota the edge in motivation, and the Vikings also have home-field advantage and two solid games in a row since firing offensive coordinator John DeFilippo and replacing him with Kevin Stefanski.

Head coach Mike Zimmer wants the Vikings to take pressure off quarterback Kirk Cousins by giving him a supporting running game with Dalvin Cook and Latavius Murray. That's just what has happened in victories over the Miami Dolphins and Detroit Lions the last two weeks.

It will be tough to run against a Chicago defense that features Khalil Mack, Akiem Hicks, Eddie Goldman and rookie Roquan Smith, but the Vikings are not likely to give up on that scenario.

If Cook and Murray can break one or two decent plays, that should open things up for Cousins, and wide receivers Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs.

Head coach Matt Nagy says the Bears are not going to back off in this game, but if the Rams are comfortably ahead of the Niners, he is not likely to risk the health of quarterback Mitchell Trubisky, running back Tarik Cohen and wideout Allen Robinson if a bye in the wild-card round is no longer in reach.

That's why we like the desperate and hungry Vikings to win and cover on their home field against the Bears.

Indianapolis Colts at Tennessee Titans

This is the most competitive game of the final week of the season, because both teams are in a win-and-in scenario as far as the playoffs are concerned.

The winner will be the No. 2 wild-card team (and the sixth seed) in the AFC playoffs if the Houston Texans beat the Jacksonville Jaguars in the regular-season finale. However, if the Jags pull off the upset, the winner will take the AFC South division crown.

The Colts have been the hottest team in the league with eight wins in their last nine games after starting the season with a 1-5 record. The Colts have played shockingly well on defense, allowing an average of 16.3 points over those last nine games.

Quarterback Andrew Luck has led the offense, and he has returned from the shoulder injury that sidelined him throughout the 2017 season and been impressive. Luck has completed 406 of 604 passes for 4,308 yards with 36 touchdowns and 14 interceptions.

Wideout T.Y. Hilton is a game-changing player who can dominate with his speed and skill, and he has caught 74 passes for 1,209 yards and six touchdowns. Tight end Eric Ebron has had the best season of his career with 12 TD receptions. Hilton goes into this game with an ankle injury that could slow him down, but the importance of the game means he will make every effort to play.

The Titans have injury problems of their own, as quarterback Marcus Mariota is contending with a stinger in his elbow. Mariota was forced out of Tennessee's victory over the Washington Redskins in Week 16, and if he is not at full strength, head coach Mike Vrabel may have to go with backup Blaine Gabbert.

The Titans feature the explosive running of Derrick Henry, who has rushed for 966 yards and 12 touchdowns.

The Titans will have a tough time establishing a consistent offense if Mariota is not at full health. The Colts defense will make stopping Henry its top priority, and that will make the challenge that much greater.

The Colts appear to be the more complete team at this point, and they will find a way to survive this game and advance to the postseason.

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