Week 17 game picks are in ...
It's the last week we will be able to delve into the matchups that make an NFL season so fun. This was far and away the most difficult year to pick games, based on all the mediocrity and disproportionate amount of injuries in the league. This weekend's games will not be any easier to pick, as we have a couple of teams with little to play for (Seahawks and Redskins), while other organizations will do their best to manage injury concerns as they cruise into the postseason.
Because it's not already weird with Brandon Weeden ballin' ...
Will the Texans bring home the AFC South crown? How about the Broncos and Chiefs in the AFC West? The answers to those questions and more can be found below, with some fun facts and history thrown in. As for the rest, your thoughts are welcome: @HarrisonNFL is the place.
Now, let's get to it!
Elliot Harrison went 9-7 on his predictions for Week 16, giving him a record of 143-97 so far this season. How will he fare in Week 17? His picks are below.
**Playoff implications:** If the
Jets win, they are in. The only question will be whether they are the fifth or sixth seed. If Todd Bowles' group does finish in the sixth spot, and the
Patriots secure home-field, then we could be looking at a potential
Jets-
Patriots divisional round showdown. The last postseason game New York won came at New England following the 2010 season, when the
Patriots were the No. 1 seed. #Rex
#NYJvsBUF
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**He said it:** I asked
Drew Brees
during his Tuesday appearance on "NFL HQ" if it was better for young quarterbacks to sit, given the impressive play of fourth-year pro
Brock Osweiler and second-year pro
AJ McCarron on
Monday night, and the trend to throw guys like
Jameis Winston right into the fire. "Listen, it's difficult coming in as a young quarterback," he said. "Had I had to play right away, I don't know what it would've looked like. I certainly would have had my struggles." Interesting. Sounded like he was all for letting guys learn, listening to his tone. Oh, and Brees also said both he and Sean Payton
will be back in New Orleans in 2016.
#NOvsATL
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**Historical symmetry:** You always hear about the
Packers-
Bears rivalry, but did you know the
Lions and
Bears have been locking up since 1934 (when the
Lions moved to Detroit)? Previously, the
Lions were the Portsmouth Spartans. In 1932, these two franchises played
the first postseason game in NFL history, which is also, thus far, the
*only* postseason game in this long-standing series. The Spartans and
Bears finished that season tied for first place, and a blizzard forced the ensuing tiebreaker game to be held at Chicago Stadium -- the indoor home of the Chicago Blackhawks. The popularity and coverage of the unofficial '32 championship game led league owners to institute a
*real* NFL title game in 1933.
#DETvsCHI
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**Historical symmetry:** This isn't the first time in this long-standing series that a
Super Bowl-winning coach was rumored to be retiring while another controversial front man was on his way out. Go back 25 years, and you have the storyline of Bill Parcells and Buddy Ryan. When they faced off for the last time in 1990, Parcells' previously undefeated
Giants (10-0) took it on the chin against Ryan's
Eagles defense, losing 31-13. But Parcells would have the last laugh when Scott Norwood's field goal
sailed wide right two months later, giving Parcells his second ring. Ryan, meanwhile, was fired after Philadelphia lost a wild-card matchup with the
Redskins. #SBXXV
#PHIvsNYG
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**Historical symmetry:** The
Redskins and
Cowboys have linked up on the final game of the regular season many times, sometimes even with playoff spots on the line. But only twice have they met with the winner taking the NFC East. The last time was in 2012, when
Robert Griffin III and a pesky defense beat Dallas in D.C. The other was in 1979. Roger Staubach, playing in his final regular-season game, threw two touchdowns in the final three minutes to beat the
Redskins at Texas Stadium.
#WASvsDAL
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**Playoff implications:** If Indy wins, the
Texans lose, the
Falcons beat the
Saints, the
Bills beat the
Jets, the Smurfs beat Gargamel, the
Dolphins beat the
Patriots, the
Ravens beat the
Bengals, He-Man beats Man-e-Faces, the
Broncos beat the
Chargers, the
Steelers beat the
Browns, Keith Richards beats aging and the
Raiders beat the
Chiefs ...
*then* the
Colts will taste the postseason.
#TENvsIND
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**Playoff implications:** The
Bengals can earn a first-round bye with a win over the
Ravens and a
Broncos loss to the
Chargers. That is huge, considering that's something they've never secured in the Marvin Lewis era. All six of Lewis' previous playoff appearances with Cincinnati have ended in wild-card round defeats.
#BALvsCIN
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**Playoff implications:** Well,
Steelers fans will be the first to tell you that Mike Tomlin always loses to junky teams (like to the
Ravens twice this year, including
last week's jaw-dropper), so maybe stopping the Davis-led
Browns is the first concern. Presuming Pittsburgh
*does* win, they'll also need
the Jets to lose to the Bills -- which, we must point out,
has happened before this season, in East Rutherford, no less.
#PITvsCLE
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**Playoff implications:** If Kansas City wins this AFC West game, and if the
Chargers bring their best product
out on the field in Denver to beat the
Broncos, the
Chiefs will have gone from being written off at 1-5 to winning the division at 11-5.
Anyone remember Jamaal Charles?
#OAKvsKC
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**Relevant stat:** You know Denver defensive coordinator Wade Phillips will dial up pressure on
Philip Rivers. Careful, as Rivers isn't exactly
AJ McCarron. The veteran
Chargers quarterback has posted a 100.8 passer rating, with nine touchdowns and two interceptions, versus the blitz this season. Of course,
against the Broncos in December, Rivers was 1-of-7 with a pick against some well-timed blitzes ... and a passer rating of 0.0.
#SDvsDEN
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**Playoff implications:** Arizona can secure home-field throughout the playoffs with a win over the
Seahawks and a
Panthers loss. The
Seahawks aren't really playing for anything. At best, they can take the fifth seed. They'll be traveling to either Washington, Green Bay or Minnesota.
#SEAvsAZ
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**Historical symmetry:** It was 20 years ago that
49ers safety Tim McDonald uttered the phrase "same old
Rams," after San Francisco pasted the 5-1 upstart
Rams by five touchdowns in St. Louis. That was the
Rams' first year in Missouri, with that game being played at Busch Stadium.
*"Not the 'same old Rams' "* would become a mantra for the '99
Super Bowl champs. How time flies.
#STLvsSF
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**Historical symmetry:** Remember this
Week 17 matchup from 2012? The
Vikings were trying to secure a playoff spot -- and
Adrian Peterson had his eyes set on Eric Dickerson's single-season rushing record of 2,105 yards, set back in 1984. In one of the finest regular-season games of recent vintage, Minnesota won behind nearly 200 yards from Peterson (although he fell short of Dickerson's mark by 8 yards). The
Vikings would lose in the Wild Card Round at Lambeau
the next week, however, when
Joe Webb was forced to start in place of an injured
Christian Ponder.
#MINvsGB
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Follow Elliot Harrison on Twitter @HarrisonNFL.