NFL Week 17 Predictions: Projecting the Week's Most Explosive Offenses

With playoff seedings and some berths still on the line, Week 17 is slated to be one exciting day of football.

That said, don't expect offenses like Green Bay and New Orleans to explode as there's not much else they can do—although it wouldn't be surprising either.

In turn, here are some other offenses that roll on pro football's final weekend of the 2011 regular season.

Atlanta Falcons (vs. Buccaneers)

Atlanta definitely did not live up to the challenge on Monday night and was blasted by the Saints. Fortunately for Atlanta, the Falcons host Tampa Bay in Week 17.

Here, we see the Buccaneers who rank No. 24 against the pass and No. 30 against the rush, hence, one of the NFL's worst defenses. Not to mention Tampa is on a nine-game skid.

As for the Falcons, a win with a Detroit loss to Green Bay gives them the NFC's No. 5 seed. So, expect The Dirty Birds to come out firing and wanting to build a big lead.

If anything, the Falcons need to dominate the Bucs to regain some level of confidence. So, expect Matt Ryan to sling the rock around all day while feeding RB Michael Turner sparingly until it's locked up.

It's not like anyone on Tampa can cover the Falcons "mano y mano" anyway. For as great as Ronde Barber is, his age has worked against him the past few years. Include the lack of a pass rush and Atlanta will thrive for 60 minutes.

Whether it's across the middle, stretching the field or settling in the zones, Ryan will find his targets with time and consistently move the chains.

New York Giants (vs. Cowboys)

For some reason everyone has that one team who they just play really well against. For Giants QB Eli Manning, that team is the Dallas Cowboys.

For his career, Eli has just a 9-6 record against Dallas but is 6-2 in the previous eight. Remembering the 2007 NFC Divisional playoff game, we have to expect that Eli will lead another charge over Big D.

It happened a few weeks ago in Dallas, where Eli went 27-of-47 for 400 yards and two TDs.

He didn't outplay Tony Romo but he got the win. This time around don't expect anything less than dominance from the Giants. The Dallas pass defense is arguably just as bad as the Giants', so it comes down to which offense is more effective.

For both teams it's a playoff game as the winner's season stays alive. And if history has told us anything, the Cowboys fold in the face of adversity while the Giants and Eli Manning have thrived.

Expect another big day for New York's offense and another playoff berth.

New England Patriots (vs. Bills)

The New England Patriots may have already locked up at least a bye in the postseason, but they want the AFC's No. 1 seed.

This week the Pats host the Buffalo Bills and it will be a roast.

For one, you know that Tom Brady and Co. haven't forgot about falling in Week 3 to Buffalo, so they're eager to dice up the Bills regardless of the stakes.

Plus, it's not like the Patriots have let up before when there wasn't much on the line. They played to win in 2007 against the Giants when they were 15-0, so why wouldn't they play hard now?

There's even more to play for because a loss would open up a window for the Baltimore Ravens to steal home-field advantage. As for this game, Brady is going to burn up the scoreboard as Buffalo's pass defense ranks just No. 15 against the pass (allowing 225.3 yards per game).

That number is also skewed since the Bills played Denver last week and the Broncos have no idea how to throw the ball consistently. On top of that, the Bills offense will move the ball against New England's vulnerable defense.

That will force Brady to run up the score and rack up yards. Can't risk playing not to lose with a No. 1 seed on the line.

Carolina Panthers (at Saints)

Unless the Saints have any reason to believe that the St. Louis Rams can beat the San Francisco 49ers, their offense isn't going to play nearly as hard as Week 16 when divisional implications were on the line.

So, that will open the window of opportunity for their opponent in Week 17, the Carolina Panthers.

Here we have a top-10 offense in Carolina led by rookie QB Cam Newton (over 3,800 pass yards) against the NFL's No. 30-ranked pass defense in New Orleans (allow 268 pass yards per game).

No one on the Saints can blanket Steve Smith in single coverage or TE Greg Olsen for that matter. Add in Newton's arm strength, mobility and pass-first/run-second presence and even if the Saints offense light it up, the Panthers aren't backing down.

This is a big momentum game for Newton heading into the 2012 offseason. For as great as he performed this year, there will be a higher standard in 2012.

To that end, what we see from him and the Carolina offense in this game is a prequel to how 2012 pans out. Therefore, be sure to tune in as the Panthers will be a playoff-contending team when next fall kicks off.

Follow John Rozum on Twitter @ Sportswriter27