Alternative Picks: Week 17, 2017

It only took 16 weeks, but Andy finally had a dominating win. He pulls within … $30 …

So can he close the gap a bit more before season’s end? Let’s see.

And here are the picks for the final week of the regular season:

1. Tony: Pittsburgh over Cleveland – There were a couple more games that jumped out to me this week, but I didn’t really want the Week 17 trap. As is, I’m a bit worried that Pittsburgh will pull up, and Cleveland will find a way to salvage something from this season, but…not worried enough to not take them first overall.
2. Andy: New England over NY Jets – Bryce Petty is not an NFL QB. Even if the Pats rest guys, they will win.
3. Andy: Baltimore over Cincinnati – The Bengals got their “yeah, we still care” win last week over a Detroit team that … mostly didn’t care. The Ravens finish strong.
4. Tony: New Orleans over Tampa Bay – The drop was quick this week. We know the Saints are in, but a win here locks up the division and the #4 seed, rather than hoping that the Falcons pull out a win over Carolina. They’ve got a lot on the line.
5. Andy: Seattle over Arizona – Seahawks still have a shot at the postseason. The Cardinals don’t.
6. Tony: Detroit over Green Bay – Green Bay showed last week that when the going gets tough…the tough don’t want to hang out in Green Bay. That’s ok, though–this week the not-so-tough go to Detroit, who don’t really have anything on the line, other than maybe their coaches job. Speaking of which…how is it that it seems like Chicago’s coach is gone, Detroit’s is on the hot seat, and not a word about Mike McCarthy?
7. Andy: LA Chargers over Oakland – What the hell happened to the Raiders this season?
8. Tony: Washington over NY Giants – Saw a stat this week that the Giants have more suspended corner backs than they have wins. Makes for a long season.
9. Andy: Minnesota over Chicago – Starting to get into some gray area here with whether or not teams will begin resting starters. The Bears aren’t as bad as their record, but they’re not as good as Minnesota.
10. Tony: Indianapolis over Houston – The Colts have reportedly already decided to part ways with Chuck Pagano. Let’s see if the next guy can finally convince them to invest in an offensive line and…anyone defensively.
11. Andy: San Francisco over LA Rams – Los Angeles has already said it plans to rest a bunch of guys for the playoffs. Jimmy Garoppolo has the Niners playing well. San Fran closes with a win.
12. Tony: Buffalo over Miami – Buffalo had a shot last week to upset the Patriots, and move closer to ending their playoff drought. They went out and laid an absolute egg. But hey, they get to finish against the Fish, who somehow have 3 more wins than I would have guessed if you’d asked me their record at this point.
13. Andy: Carolina over Atlanta – Coin toss.
14. Tony: Jacksonville over Tennessee – The Jags didn’t just choke in Week 16, they gave up 44 points to a 49ers team that had two wins before finally handing the reigns to impending free agent Jimmy Garoppolo. It might have been one of those sneaky good losses, though, as the youthful Jags might have been getting a bit full of themselves–this week is a good week to re-center before heading into the playoffs.
15. Andy: Kansas City over Denver – Had I learned earlier that Patrick Mahomes was starting I might have gone with the Broncos, but we picked these games early in the week. I’m a Mahomes fan, though, so I am hopeful that he shows well.
16. Tony: Dallas over Philadelphia – A chance for the Eagles to show everyone that they can still be a force, even with Nick Foles. A chance for the Cowboys to show that if the NFL hadn’t “unfairly” suspended Zeke, they would have also been a force. Frankly I think they’re both full of it.

For those four of you who have stuck with us all season and are still scoring at home:

(Bold means that person made the pick)

And for our more traditional picks:

And the picks: