Andrew Buller-Russ
With the football calendar flipping to the NFL Week 17 schedule, we have 16 matchups to preview. This week, all 32 teams are on the schedule, providing plenty of action to look forward to. Below, we dive into one bold prediction for each game on the Week 17 NFL schedule, including intriguing matchups between the Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings, plus the Atlanta Falcons versus Washington Commanders.
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George Pickens returns, tops 125 receiving yards in Steelers win over Chiefs
The Steelers’ leading receiver has missed the past three games with an injury, but he may be able to return for an exciting Christmas dDay matchup against the Chiefs. Russell Wilson has sorely missed Pickens, and we’d guess the feisty receiver is eager to return with a big game against the NFL’s best team.
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John Metchie breaks out for 100 yards in Texans win over Ravens
The Texans are missing two top wideouts in Stefon Diggs and Tank Dell. While Diggs has been out for most of the season, Dell’s injury just occurred last Sunday. His absence will naturally lead to more opportunities for the other Texans’ receivers, and we could see the first 100-yard game of cancer survivor John Metchie’s career.
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Jaxon Smith-Njigba and DK Metcalf both top 100 yards in Seahawks win over Bears
The Seahawks have the NFL’s best wide receiver trio, helping Geno Smith enter Week 17 ranked third in passing yards. Tyler Lockett’s production has slowed considerably, but it’s also led to Jaxon Smith-Njigba taking over as Seattle’s leading receiver in just his second season. Don’t be shocked if JSN and DK Metcalf both dominate and rack up 100 receiving yards while crushing the Bears.
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Justin Herbert goes off for 4 TD in big Chargers win over Patriots
He still leads the NFL with the fewest interceptions, but Justin Herbert just has 18 passing touchdowns. His TD-to-INT ratio would look a lot better with a big four-touchdown performance in Week 17, and we believe he can do it against the lowly Patriots.
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Joe Burrow keeps Bengals’ playoff hopes alive with 400-yard game, win over Broncos
If the Bengals were at the forefront of the playoff conversation, Joe Burrow would be among the NFL MVP frontrunners. He’s easily been one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks this season, putting the Bengals on his back week after week. In a game that’s uber-important for both sides, we expect another gem from Burrow.
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Cardinals and Rams combine for 60+ points, Los Angeles wins on final drive
The Cardinals don’t have anything but pride to play for at this point, but they could find added motivation with the chance to knock their NFC West rivals down a peg. Yet, Sean McVay and Matthew Stafford are fighting for the division lead, and we expect both teams to bring their absolute best to the table. Still, we expect Stafford’s experience to win out in the end.
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Josh Allen accounts for 5 TD in big Bills win over Jets
Right now, Josh Allen is our pick to win NFL MVP, but that could change over the next two weeks. However, if he can have one more dominant performance like a five-touchdown day, he’d likely cement his status as the likely MVP winner. We wouldn’t be shocked if that happened against a Jets team that lacks direction as the season winds down.
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Saquon Barkley records 200 rushing yards in Eagles win over Cowboys
Saquon Barkley just needs a total of 267 rushing yards to break Eric Dickerson’s single-season rushing record of 2,105 yards. Considering Barkley enters Week 17 averaging 122.5 YPG, he could very well break the record. Getting 200 yards against the Cowboys’ bottom-five rushing defense would put Barkley on track to make history in Week 18.
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Aidan O’Connell leads Raiders to second-straight win, records 300 yards vs. Saints
Aidan O’Connell finally got his first win of the season last week. Now he goes for two in a row, only this time, we predict the Raiders QB will also get his second 300-yard game of the year against a Saints team that has allowed the fifth-most passing yards in the NFL this year.
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Jonathan Taylor has another 150-yard game, Colts beat Giants by 10+ points
Jonathan Taylor helped a lot of fantasy owners last week with his 218-yard, three touchdown performance. Now he gets to take on a Giants defense that’s allowed the second-most rushing yards and averages the fifth-most yards per carry. In other words, expect JT to go off for a big game.
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Mike Evans records 150-yard game in Buccaneers win over Panthers
Mike Evans has ten consecutive 1,000-yard seasons. Now he’s attempting to join Jerry Rice as the only receivers in NFL history to have 11 in a row. But he still needs 182 more to get to 1,000. Yet, getting his second 150-yard game of the year would put him within reaching distance of easily accomplishing his goal in Week 18.
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Brian Thomas has another 100-yard game in Jaguars win over Titans
If it weren’t for Jayden Daniels, Brian Thomas would be more discussed as a potential Offensive Rookie of the Year winner. He already has 1,088 yards and nine touchdowns, and he’s strung together two consecutive 100-yard games in a row. He nearly topped 100 yards three weeks ago against the Titans, but came 14 yards short. We expect the Jaguars’ star rookie to enter this rematch with even more motivation for a bigger game.
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Tyreek Hill tops 175 yards in Dolphins win over Browns
Tyreek Hill hasn’t had the same success that he’s used to. He’s still 166 yards shy of recording 1,000 yards, which hasn’t happened when he’s played a full season, aside from his rookie debut. In fact, he’s had just two 100-yard games this season. He still hasn’t topped 150 yards, but with the Dolphins still in playoff contention, we expect The Cheetah to be at his best this week.
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Aaron Jones gets 125 yards, 2 TD in Vikings revenge win over Packers
The Green Bay Packers cut Aaron Jones this past offseason, and it didn’t backfire on them, all thanks to Josh Jacobs excelling too. However, the former Packers running back is still over 1,000 rushing yards this season. We wouldn’t be surprised if he had his best game of the season, with over 120 yards and two touchdowns against his former team.
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Michael Penix has more yards + TD than Jayden Daniels in Falcons win over Commanders
Michael Penix just made his first start last week, and he led the Falcons to a 27-point victory. Now he’ll take on a much tougher opponent, but we believe the former Huskies star will rise to the occasion against the Commanders. Can he outduel Jayden Daniels? We think so.
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49ers get shocking win over Lions, putting NFC’s top seed up for grabs
The 49ers have already been eliminated from playoff contention, which is crazy considering all the star talent this roster possesses. San Francisco knows they’re much better than their 6-9 record indicates, and now they have a chance to prove it against arguably the NFC’s best team. Beating the Lions would give everyone in the 49ers’ locker room a ton of confidence heading into next season.
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