Preview of the Sunday Slate for Week 17

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Scott Bouska
Scott Bouska

When the NFL schedule maker's put together the Week 17 slate, the had visions of it being littered with playoff implications, de facto division championship games and massive inter-conference heavy-weight matchups. Unfortunately, your perennial NFL heavyweights didn't exactly comply (we're looking at you Chiefs, Ravens, Lions, Packers, et all). With that being said, there is still plenty to look forward to this Sunday:

  • A trio of NFC West heavy-weights are all fighting for the 1-seed. The 49ers, Rams and Seahawks all still have a legitimate shot at securing the 1st round bye.

  • The same can be said for the AFC 1-seed, as Jacksonville and New England still have vision's of securing the top spot

  • There are plenty of teams looking to lock-up their playoff spots 1 week early, or keep their playoff hopes alive: Steelers, Bucs, Panthers, Ravens, Colts, Texans.

  • We are still getting two elite, heavy-weight matchups, although they look slightly different than we expected: Chicago at San Francisco, and Philadelphia at Buffalo.

Let's look at this Sunday's top matchups.

Seahawks @ Panthers — 10:00 AM PT (1:00 PM ET)

What’s at stake: Seattle is jockeying for NFC seeding, and Carolina can potentially lock-up the NFC South. A win keeps Seattle firmly in the hunt for home-field

Advanced stats to love/hate: Seahawks rank top-6 in Success Rate on offense, powered by explosive plays per dropback. They love chunk gains.

The Big Lead: Panthers defend early downs above league average — meaning Seattle’s efficient quick game could be slowed… which means Seattle may be forced to push it downfield early and often.

Our Prediction: Seahawks 24, Panthers 17.

Bills @ Eagles — 4:25 PM ET

What’s at stake: The Bills still have their eye on an AFC East title, while the Eagles are more or less locked into the 3-seed, but looking to continue their positive momentum of the last couple of weeks.

Advanced stats: Eagles offense is top-tier in EPA/play and success on first down. Bills defense excels on early downs but is in the bottom half of the league in 3rd-down conversions allowed. Buffalo's ability to limit the run on early downs and force Hurts and the Eagles into 3rd and long will be key in this one.

Our Prediction: Bills 27, Eagles 23

49ers @ Bears — 8:20 PM ET

What’s at stake: This late window has potential NFC tiebreak fireworks — The 49ers could climb into the leading spot to lock-up the 1-seed in the NFC, while the Bears could lock up a division title and a top-seed in the NFC for the first time in years.

Advanced stats: 49ers are elite in rushing success and balanced offense efficiency, which is a mismatcht against a Bears defense has relied on producing turnovers to win games. This game will come down to whether or not the Bears can turn Purdy and the 49ers over. If they can, they have a chance. If not, the 49ers will roll.

Our Prediction: 49ers 28, Bears 24.

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We'll keep it rolling in week 17. Look out for this week's best bets, as well as our predictions for all your primetime matchups. We look forward to the conversation, debate, and your feedback. Hit us up at @fieldvisionmi on X, @fieldvisionsports on Instagram, or on our website http://www.fieldvisionsports.com.