Sportsnaut
The NFL schedule this week is unique with the National Football League taking full advantage of Christmas Day and no major college football on Saturday. As a result, NFL Week 17 delivers three games on Thursday, two on Saturday and then a slimmer Sunday slate followed by things closing out with Monday Night Football.
Let’s dive into our NFL Week 17 predictions, delivering picks for every matchup from the NFL Christmas Day triple-header to Monday Night Football.
A Christmas Day matchup between the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Commanders seemed like a dream for Netflix. Now, there is a chance that Josh Johnson is the Commanders’ starting quarterback in Week 17 with Jayden Daniels out and Marcus Mariota dealing with a hand injury. So, we get a matchup between an explosive Cowboys’ offense and a defense that has allowed a 110.0 passer rating, 247.8 passing yards per game, and 2.1 passing touchdowns per game. We cannot even get excited about the possibility of a shootout given that Johnson might be starting at quarterback for Washington.
One theme with the Christmas Day games on the NFL schedule this week, injuries to quarterback. Minnesota Vikings signal-caller J.J. McCarthy injured his throwing hand on Sunday, putting his status in doubt for this Thursday matchup. That could mean that Minnesota is forced to start Max Brosmer, who has a 0-4 TD-INT ratio this season with 5 sacks taken and a 41.1 passer rating. If Brosmer starts, the Detroit Lions win this one convincingly.
As if things were not bad enough for the Kansas City Chiefs after Patrick Mahomes suffered an ACL tear, backup quarterback Gardner Minshew also suffered a suspected ACL tear in his first start on Sunday. Consequently, Kansas City will be forced to roll with former UDFA Chris Oladokun as its starting quarterback against one of the league’s best defenses. This is also a short week, so it is a safe bet that the Chiefs will sit any injured players. This is all a recipe for a one-sided victory for the Denver Broncos that could get ugly by the third quarter.
In a rematch of the AFC Wild Card Round matchup from January, in which Justin Herbert was picked off four times, this should be one of the most intriguing games in Week 17. The Houston Texans have the best pass rush in the NFL and are facing an injury-decimated Los Angeles Chargers’ offensive line that allowed 28 sacks (4.7 per game) from Weeks 9–15. Now, Houston is coming off a narrow victory over Las Vegas, and Jesse Minter’s defense will find its own ways to pressure C.J. Stroud. However, Houston’s massive advantage in the trenches against the Chargers’ offensive line feels like the X-factor that will determine this game.
We could be seeing a...
