Ridin' Pine Week 17 Picks with ALL Playoff Scenarios

 


It’s the regular season finale across the league!


A lot of not just seeding to sort out, but a few more Wild Card spots and the NFC Least are all up for grabs.


There are only 3 games without playoff implications so get ready for a big day!

Jake: 154-82

Sam: 150-86

Johnny: 131-90

SUNDAY

1 O’clock Window:

New York (A) @ New England

Both teams ELIMINATED

  • Jake: Patriots

    • Toilet Bowl of the AFC East. I’m unfortunately not 100% confident in the Patriots to pull this off (which is extremely depressing) however, I would nonetheless be shocked to see the Pats lose to the Jets.

  • Sam: Jets

    • The Jets almost won this matchup earlier in the season with a depleted team. Now they go into this matchup not only with all their weapons, but as a team that's figured some things out and has some confidence.

  • Johnny: Patriots

    • I think I don’t care who wins

Dallas @ New York (N)

Winner clinches NFC East w/ WSH L

  • Jake: Cowboys

    • Joe Judge was having a few good weeks as Giants HC, but his handling of Daniel Jones’s injury has been an absolute mess. If the Giants had a full strength Jones, I’d pick them to win this game, but there’s simply no way DJ can play well with this poor of an offensive line while he is completely unable to move around in or outside the pocket.

  • Sam: Giants 

    • The Giants have lost three straight and the Cowboys have won three straight. This is true. However the Cowboys wins have come against teams like the Bengals while the Giants loses have come against teams like the Browns. With the return of Daniel Jones, I think the giants take this one. 

  • Johnny: Cowboys

    • Neither of these teams deserve to punch their ticket to the playoffs but I think one of them will, and I think Joe Judge will be a threat to the NFC one day, but not this year.

Pittsburgh @ Cleveland

PIT: W & BUF L clinches #2 seed; CLE: W & TEN or IND L + MIA & BAL W/tie clinches WC spot

  • Jake: Steelers

    • The Steelers have been struggling over the last few weeks—specifically offensively—but with the Browns in many ways controlling their own destiny, I’m not gonna count on that team to pull it off. Baker has improved immensely this year, but the Steelers defense is still a tough matchup with injuries and all. Mike Tomlin’s history of resting players could be a factor in favor of the Browns potentially though.

  • Sam: Steelers

    • This is a matchup of two collapsing teams, but the difference is the Browns have a large segment of their roster missing to COVID.

  • Johnny: Browns

    • The Browns might miss the playoffs, I’m not sure if they’ll even win this game given the COVID protocols they have been hit with, I may shed a tear

Miami @ Buffalo

MIA: W or CLE or BAL or IND L clinches WC spot; BUF: W or PIT L clinches #2 seed

  • Jake: Bills

    • The Bills offense has been red-hot as of late, and with the defense playing better as of recently it's gonna be a tough task for the Dolphins to beat them. Since Ryan Fitzpatrick is out this week, it’s gonna be up to Tua to play less conservatively, and though I’m a huge fan of his, I don’t keeping up with Josh Allen’s offense as a rookie is going to be a cake-walk, especially because Allen has the ability to change the game with one throw no matter where on the field he is.

  • Sam: Bills

  • Johnny: Bills

    • Buffalo doesn’t have to try as hard given the fact that Pittsburgh isn’t trying as hard, but they still need to give some effort towards the #2 seed because the Steelers opponent is COVID ridden

Tampa Bay @ Atlanta

TB: W clinches top WC spot, already clinched playoff berth

  • Jake: Bucs

    • The Bucs are ROLLING into the playoffs, and the Falcons will not be standing in their way.

  • Sam: Buccaneers

    • Maybe the Falcons will a solid lead early and blow it, that'd be fun to watch again

  • Johnny: Buccaneers

    • Even with Smith out, Brady should roll the Falcons for 3 quarters then hand it to  the second stringers

Minnesota @ Detroit

Both teams ELIMINATED

  • Jake: Vikings

  • Sam: Vikings

  • Johnny: Vikings

    • If Cousins & Stafford weren’t the QBs in this game it might not’ve been played let alone televised

Baltimore @ Cincinnati

BAL: W or CLE or IND L clinches WC spot

  • Jake: Ravens

  • Sam: Ravens

  • Johnny: Ravens

    • Baltimore should be careful

Late afternoon slate (425 p.m. ET):

Arizona @ Los Angeles (N)

AZ: W clinches WC spot, L eliminates; LAR: W or CHI L clinches WC spot

  • Jake: Cardinals

    • The Cardinals have really fallen off of the map, however they still are in charge of their own destiny, and I don’t think Kyler Murray is going to give up his playoff chances that easily: even as the defense has been struggling.

  • Sam: Cardinals

  • Johnny: Cardinals

    • Unless McVay can micromanage his backup as much as Goff, Kyler Murray will earn a spot against one of the NFC’s best in the WC round

Tennessee @ Houston

TEN: W or IND L clinches AFC South; TEN: L & IND W & BAL L & MIA L clinches WC spot

  • Jake: Titans

  • Sam: Titans

  • Johnny: Titans

    • The titans should treat this like a semi-bye week

Jacksonville @ Indianapolis

IND: W & TEN L clinches AFC South; IND: W & CLE or BAL or MIA  L clinches WC spot

  • Jake: Colts

    • Rematch of the surprise week 1 win of the Jags: and their only win this year. No way this happens again.

  • Sam:  Colts

  • Johnny: Colts

    • This is a huge trap game for the Colts who need to win and hope MANY others lose

Seattle @ San Francisco

SEA: W & GB L & NO L/tie clinches #1 seed

  • Jake: Seahawks

  • Sam: Seahawks

  • Johnny: Seahawks

    • I think Seattle might want to just rest guys and treat this like a bye and still win

New Orleans @ Carolina

NO: W & GB L & SEA W clinches #1 seed

  • Jake: Saints

  • Sam: Saints

  • Johnny: Saints

    • See Seattle description

Green Bay @ Chicago

GB: W clinches #1 seed

  • Jake: Packers

  • Sam: Packers

  • Johnny: Packers

    • Congrats to Aaron Rodgers to being America’s favorite 1st round exit candidate

Los Angeles (A) @ Kansas City

KC: already clinched #1 seed

  • Jake: Chargers

  • Sam: Chiefs

    • Yes, the Chiefs already clinched the top seed and the Chargers came close to beating them earlier this year, but this is still a dominant 1 loss team vs a 6-9 team. Herbert has also been in a slump the second half of this season, so I don't see him coming out with the same performance he had vs the Chiefs week 2.

  • Johnny: Chargers

    • Herbert’s out to prove something still

Las Vegas @ Denver

Both teams ELIMINATED

  • Jake: Raiders

  • Sam: Raiders

  • Johnny: Raiders

    • Flip. A. Coin.

SNF - 8:20 p.m. ET

Washington @ Philadelphia

WSH: W clinches NFC East

  • Jake: Eagles

    • The Football Team doesn’t have a real QB, and McLaurin is going into this game limited with a high ankle sprain. Hurts has looked much better than Wentz, and I think the Eagles have a good chance for a win here.

  • Sam: Football Team

  • Johnny: Eagles

    • Hurts has what it takes and even though the ‘Skins D is very good, I think Washington as a hole will choke this and give the playoff spot to an EVEN LESS DESERVING Dallas or New York squad