NFL Picks Week 17 Against the Spread: Which Underdogs Will Cover?

Week 17 of any NFL regular season is always extremely tough to handicap and also causes Las Vegas bookmakers to drop their limits due to the amount of uncertainty.

Underdogs have registered a 116-112-10 against-the-spread (ATS) record this season heading into Monday night's contest between the Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints, while the 'over' enjoys a slight 118-116 advantage.

Due to the amount of unknown variables in the betting market, I'm abandoning my normal handicapper line, which has posted a 67-52-2 ATS mark since this particular article started in Week 7.

That mark includes a money-making 21-5 ATS record over the past two weeks.

Let's take a closer look at the final regular season games from a betting perspective.

Washington Redskins at Philadelphia Eagles

The Philadelphia Eagles have no chance of reaching the playoffs, but can finish off the regular season with a four-game winning streak that will supply plenty of momentum heading into next year.

Washington is certainly running out of gas due to the amount of injuries the roster has suffered, which will show up in a big way in trying to gain revenge from a 20-13 loss as three-point home underdogs in the first meeting in this series on Oct. 16.

Lay the points.

Pick: Philadelphia Eagles (-9)

Dallas Cowboys at New York Giants

The NFC East division is on the line and the New York Giants certainly hold a major edge with a healthy Eli Manning under center.

Dallas Cowboys signal-caller Tony Romo suffered an injury to his throwing hand in the early stages of last week's 20-7 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, which will likely limit him in practice.

It's hard for me to imagine that the Cowboys rally here after such an up-and-down first 16 weeks of the season.

Pick: New York Giants (-3)

Tennessee Titans at Houston Texans

The Houston Texans have suffered plenty of injuries this year and are hoping that wide receiver Andre Johnson can get some reps before heading into the playoffs.

Tennessee needs some help to reach the playoffs and the oddsmakers are certainly aware of the situation.

The Titans are also just 1-4 ATS this season when revenging a loss against an opponent, dropping a 41-7 decision to the Texans as three-point favorites on Oct. 23.

Texans head coach Gary Kubiak will also welcome back defensive coordinator Wade Phillips to the sidelines this week.

Pick: Houston Texans (+3)

Baltimore Ravens at Cincinnati Bengals

The Baltimore Ravens can secure at least the No. 2 seed in the AFC playoffs with a victory Sunday, which should have them motivated to take on the Cincinnati Bengals.

Cincinnati is also in the playoff hunt, but draws a bad hand in scheduling to end the regular season.

Don't go crazy—Baltimore is just 3-3 ATS as a road favorite of three points or less the last two-plus seasons.

Pick: Baltimore Ravens (-1.5)

Indianapolis Colts at Jacksonville Jaguars

Jacksonville Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew will enter the final week of the regular season with the most rushing yards in the NFL.

It's likely that he'll finish Sunday as the league's rushing champion due to facing a tired defense that ranks 29th in the league in allowing 140.9 yards per game on the ground.

Indianapolis secures the No. 1 pick in next year's draft.

Pick: Jacksonville Jaguars (-4)

New York Jets at Miami Dolphins

The New York Jets will have a hard time getting up for this game after dropping last week's 29-14 contest to the New York Giants.

Head coach Rex Ryan has no more cards to play in terms of motivation—the Jets aren't the best team in New York and have no chance of winning the Super Bowl.

Miami gets revenge from suffering a 24-6 loss to New York in Week 6, which also served as the third consecutive road game for the squad.

The Dolphins are a fantastic 9-3 ATS when revenging a loss against an opponent the last two-plus seasons.

Pick: Miami Dolphins (Pick)

Buffalo Bills at New England Patriots

The New England Patriots need to secure home-field advantage throughout the playoffs to have any chance of reaching the Super Bowl.

Bettors need to realize that Las Vegas bookmakers also know this to be true.

The Buffalo Bills take advantage of an inflated number and move to 4-1 ATS as an underdog of 10 or more points.

Pick: Buffalo Bills (+13)

San Diego Chargers at Oakland Raiders

The Oakland Raiders simply can't be trusted in laying points in a meaningful game, especially against a division rival that's seeking revenge from an earlier loss this season.

San Diego is knocked out of the playoffs and oddsmakers simply had to make this underachieving squad a slight underdog in this matchup.

The Chargers move to 3-0 ATS as a road underdog of three points or less, while the Raiders fall to 2-5 ATS when laying the same type of number.

Pick: San Diego Chargers (+3)

Kansas City Chiefs at Denver Broncos

The Denver Broncos jumped out to an early 7-0 lead last week against the Buffalo Bills, but everything went wrong afterwards in a 40-14 loss as 2.5-point road favorites.

Pressure is beginning to mount on a franchise that has actually been outscored by 77 points despite its 8-7 record this year.

The Kansas City Chiefs are playing for interim head coach Romeo Crennel and former Broncos quarterback Kyle Orton can spoil a potential party in the Mile High City.

Denver's rushing attack churned out 244 yards on 55 carries in the first meeting, which is very hard to ignore.

Pick: Denver Broncos (-3)

Seattle Seahawks at Arizona Cardinals

The Arizona Cardinals have won four of their last five games, but they still need to find out who their quarterback is going to be next season.

Seattle is playing with a lot of passion for second-year head coach Pete Carroll and should be the more motivated team in a matchup featuring two 7-8 teams.

The Seahawks are also 11-6 ATS versus divisional foes, while the Cardinals are just 7-10 ATS in the same situation.

Sharp bettors are getting the current number before it falls later in the week.

Pick: Seattle Seahawks (+3)