National Football League

Look Between the Lines: Handicapping the NFL's Week 17 slate

Published Dec. 22, 2014 3:19 p.m. ET

foxsports

James Hernandez has more than 15 years in the sports handicapping industry and will contribute weekly for Foxsports.com as our betting expert. Have comments or questions? Make sure to email him at jameshernandez1981@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @jhern81.

Detroit Lions (+7.5) over Green Bay Packers

The battle for the NFC North concludes Sunday at historic Lambeau Field as the Lions and Packers leave it all out on the field in search of a home playoff game and possibly a first round bye. Detroit's defense has been among the stingiest units in the league allowing only 16.8 PPG which is the second fewest in the NFL. When these two teams met in Detroit in Week 3, the Lions D was able to smother Rodgers, limiting him to only 162 yards through the air while allowing just one touchdown in a 19-7 victory. The Green Bay offense has been lights out at home, but the Lions have the defensive line to neutralize the running game and put consistent pressure on Rodgers with their front four. As long as Stafford doesn't give the ball away Detroit will hang right in this game and cover the number.

New England Patriots (-9.5) over Buffalo Bills

I generally shy away from laying numbers this high, but when it comes to Week 17 you have to focus on backing the teams that still have something to play for. In this case a win at home Sunday will ensure the Pats that the AFC's road to Glendale goes through Foxboro as long as New England is still alive in the playoffs. No team in the NFL owns a winning record against Tom Brady, and he has been especially unkind to the Bills. Over his career Brady has compiled a 23-2 record against his rivals from upstate New York and has defeated them more than any other team in the league. Buffalo has fought the good fight all year long and established some legitimate optimism moving forward, however the Pats just have too many weapons and too much motivation to let this game be close. Lay the points here as New England attempts to win at least 13 regular season games for a mind-blowing sixth time under the great Bill Belichick.

San Diego Chargers (+3) over Kansas City Chiefs

This San Diego Chargers team just won't die! Much like Jason Voorhees in a “Friday the 13th” sequel, no matter what you do or how many times you think you have put these Bolts down for the count, they just keep coming back for more. Even with a bulging disk in his back Philip Rivers will attempt to win his 14th career game versus the Chiefs and guide his team to a second consecutive playoff berth. San Diego just doesn't get swept in this series; in fact, you have to go all the way back to the 2003 season to find the last time Kansas City beat the Chargers twice in the same year. Stick with the theme here and take the points in a back and forth division battle that is sure to go down to the wire.

Carolina Panthers (+3.5) over Atlanta Falcons

This division continues to be the laughing stock of the entire NFL and finally on Sunday in Atlanta the misery concludes ... kinda. Generally these win-and-in games bring joyful bliss to the winner and eternal misery to the other, but not in this NFC South comedy of errors. You see, the consolation prize for the loser of this game is a top-10 pick in the upcoming 2015 draft. Not a bad alternative to hosting an 11 or 12-win wild card team and getting smashed in front of a national audience. Siding with the underdog here is purely a "lesser of two evils" theory as neither team deserves to qualify for the postseason. When these two teams met in Week 11, it was a 19-17 snoozer that went down to the wire. Take the points in this divisional showdown.

Cleveland Browns/Baltimore Ravens under 44

Both of these offenses have gone dormant for the winter. Cleveland has only managed to score 13 points (6.5 PPG) the last two weeks and the Ravens haven't been much better scoring only 33 points (16.5 PPG). Baltimore is technically still alive for a wildcard berth, but after the way they played last week in Houston maybe someone may want to remind them. Flacco was extremely careless with the pigskin throwing three picks and managing only 195 passing yards on 50 attempts. It won't matter if Manziel or Hoyer is under center for the Browns, because their depleted offensive line and lack of a running game will doom the team’s chances of producing much offense. Nine of the last eleven in this series have seen the under cash so ride the trend to the winners circle as both teams continue to struggle on the offensive side of the ball.