Finally, a chance to use the word “penultimate.” With just two weeks of regular-season NFL action left, 11 teams are still trying to lock up a playoff spot, meaning, unlike in many years past, the penultimate week of the NFL season still has stakes. Though it may not be the games anyone expected — looking at you, Kansas City Chiefs vs. Denver Broncos on Christmas Day.
With the Dallas Cowboys’ elimination in Week 16, two divisions in the NFC are fully clinched or eliminated: the NFC East and the NFC West. No AFC division can say that, and the AFC South still has three teams trying to lock down a postseason berth with only the Broncos and, as of last night, the New England Patriots in right now. For the most part, it’s jockeying for seeding at this point, but a few teams will be in desperation mode come Christmas weekend.
Christmas Day gets a tripleheader, but the marquee matchup for the night sees a Patrick Mahomes-less Chiefs team as 13-point underdogs to the rolling Broncos.
The big clashes of the week come a bit later, with the Houston Texans at the Los Angeles Chargers (-1.5) on Saturday, the Philadelphia Eagles at the Buffalo Bills (-2.5) Sunday afternoon and the Chicago Bears at the San Francisco 49ers (-3) Sunday night.
Looking at what we’ll call the NFL Desperation Meter (but is officially The Athletic’s Playoff Predictor), the most desperate teams are the Baltimore Ravens (+2.5 at Green Bay), Indianapolis Colts (+6.5 vs. Jacksonville), Detroit Lions (-5.5 at Minnesota), and with better chances of making it, the NFC South’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-5.5 at Miami) and Carolina Panthers (+7 vs. Seahawks).
The highest total for Week 17 goes to the Arizona Cardinals at the Cincinnati Bengals (53.5) if you need a reason to watch an otherwise somewhat meaningless game, and the lowest total goes to the Pittsburgh Steelers at the Cleveland Browns (34.5).
Here are all the odds, game times and networks for NFL Week 17.
NFL Week 17 odds
All games on Sunday unless otherwise indicated. Looking for NFL tickets? Find them here. For information on streaming, click here.
Dallas Cowboys at Washington Commanders (Christmas Day, Netflix)
Detroit Lions at Minnesota Vikings (Christmas Day, Netflix)
Denver Broncos at Kansas City Chiefs (Christmas Day, Prime Video)
Houston Texans at Los Angeles Chargers (Saturday, NFL Network)
Baltimore Ravens at Green Bay Packers (Saturday, Peacock)
Arizona Cardinals at Cincinnati Bengals (FOX)
Jacksonville Jaguars at Indianapolis Colts (FOX)
New England Patriots at New York Jets (FOX)
New Orleans Saints at Tennessee Titans (CBS)
Pittsburgh Steelers at Cleveland Browns (CBS)
Seattle Seahawks at Carolina Panthers (CBS)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Miami Dolphins (FOX)
New York Giants at Las Vegas Raiders (CBS)
Philadelphia Eagles at Buffalo Bills (FOX)
Chicago Bears at San Francisco 49ers (NBC, Peacock)
Los Angeles Rams at Atlanta Falcons (Monday, ESPN)