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Week 17 NFL Picks: Vegas Odds, Prop Bets and Predictions for Final Schedule
- Updated: January 1, 2017
The Oakland Raiders have a huge task in front of them Sunday when they take on the defending Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos at Sports Authority Field.
If the Raiders can win this road game in front of the Broncos’ loud and vociferous fans, they will clinch the AFC West title and no worse than the No. 2 seed in the AFC playoffs. If the New England Patriots lose their season finale at Miami, a victory would also bring the Raiders the top seed in the AFC playoffs.
However, if the Raiders lose at Denver and the Kansas City Chiefs win their road game against the San Diego Chargers, the Chiefs will win the AFC West and the Raiders will slide down to the No. 5 seed in the AFC playoffs.
Winning at Denver is tough enough under the best of circumstances, and the Raiders don’t have anything close to that scenario. They will go into this game with backup quarterback Matt McGloin under center, as he takes over for starting quarterback Derek Carr (broken fibula).
Carr was having a sensational season and was in the conversation for the MVP award before he suffered his injury against the Indianapolis Colts last week.
The Broncos are the last team to offer any sympathy. They did not earn a playoff spot this season and were eliminated from postseason consideration last week in a loss at Kansas City.
Despite that defeat, the Broncos still have the No. 6-ranked defense in the league and are No. 1 against the pass. Von Miller is one of the most impactful defensive players in the league with 13.5 sacks and two forced fumbles, and he will come after McGloin with full force.
According to OddsShark, the Broncos are 1.5-point favorites in their season finale, and it’s tough to see the Raiders getting a win here.
McGloin is relatively untested this year even though he closed out the Raiders’ Week 16 win over the Colts after the Carr injury. He is not going to feel comfortable playing on the road against one of the best defensive teams in the league.
Head coach Jack Del Rio might want to rely on his defense to get the job done in this important game, but that might be impossible. While the Broncos struggle on offense with Trevor Siemian at quarterback, the Raiders rank 27th in yards allowed and have given up 24 points or more nine times this season.
Look for the Broncos to take out a season’s worth of frustration on their longtime rivals and win the game by at least seven points.
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