New Year's Day marks a new beginning for everyone, and that includes all of the teams around the NFL. That said, there are only so many games that truly matter over the course of the day, but the twists and turns for all of the teams in contention is what makes this one of the best days of the entire year for football fans even though it's the last day of the season for well over half the teams in the league.
NFL Week 17 Opening Odds at BookMaker.eu
Texans ( 41 ) at Titans ( -3 )
Bills ( 45 ) at Jets ( +5 )
Ravens ( 41.5 ) at Bengals ( -2.5 )
Giants ( 44 ) at Redskins ( -5 )
Packers ( 46.5 ) at Lions ( +3.5 )
Jaguars ( 48.5 ) at Colts ( -7 )
Cowboys ( 42.5 ) at Eagles ( -6 )
Bears ( 40 ) at Vikings ( -6.5 )
Panthers ( 47.5 ) at Buccaneers ( -3.5 )
Browns ( 45.5 ) at Steelers ( -12.5 )
Saints ( 56 ) at Falcons ( -6.5 )
Patriots ( 44.5 ) at Dolphins ( +6 )
Cardinals ( 41.5 ) at Rams ( +7.5 )
Chiefs ( 45 ) at Chargers ( +4.5 )
Seahawks ( 44.5 ) at 49ers ( +9 )
Raiders ( 40 ) at Broncos ( -3.5 )
Games of the Week
Raiders at Broncos – Sunday 4:25 p.m. ET
The last thing the Broncos probably want to do on New Year's Day is come out and play another football game. Reports of the defense and the offense getting into a scuffle in the locker room a couple weeks ago seem to be understated rather than overstated, and that showed on the field on Christmas Day when Denver was dismantled by Kansas City and eliminated from the playoffs as a result.
But alas, here we go again with the Broncos in the midst of one of the biggest games of the week, and this one comes against the Raiders at home. Oakland has been running hot, but of course, it lost Derek Carr for the rest of the season to a broken leg last week. That leaves Matt McGloin in charge of the team the rest of the way, and this is clearly his biggest career opportunity.
If we go under the assumption that the Chiefs are going to beat the Chargers in a game running concurrently, the Raiders will have to beat the Broncos to win the AFC West and get the No. 2 seed in the playoffs. The penalty for finishing behind the Chiefs would be a Wild Card bid, one that comes with a road playoff game in Houston next week. Sure, the game at Houston isn't the end of the world, one would think, but that would also likely mean an early date with the Patriots in Foxboro in Round 2 instead of getting a home game against Pittsburgh in the second round.
Green Bay Packers at Detroit Lions – Sunday 8:25 p.m. ET
The Lions are going to be kicking themselves for letting one get away from them on Monday Night Football. They had their shot against the Cowboys and couldn't pull off the upset in Arlington, and now, they could be in a spot where they have to beat the Packers just to get into the playoffs.
Of course, the Redskins are going to play a big role in this game. If they win, the stakes will be even higher in this game, as the loser is going to be out of the playoffs entirely. The winner, regardless of what happens in D.C., will win the NFC North and earn the right to host a first round playoff game either against the Redskins or against the loser of this one.
It's a big game with really high stakes attached to it, and that's why NBC flexed it into Sunday Night Football to end the regular season.
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