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5 NFL teams on upset alert in Week 17

By Cody Williams

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Nov 22, 2015; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater (5) is sacked by Green Bay Packers defensive end Datone Jones (95) during the third quarter at TCF Bank Stadium. The Packers defeated the Vikings 30-15. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 22, 2015; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater (5) is sacked by Green Bay Packers defensive end Datone Jones (95) during the third quarter at TCF Bank Stadium. The Packers defeated the Vikings 30-15. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports /

These five NFL teams should be put on upset alert in Week 17

It’s Week 17, the conclusion of the 2015 NFL regular season, and still not everything is decided. In a season where everything has seemed to go haywire across the entire league, it’s only fitting that it would take until the final week of the regular season for the playoff picture to take it’s final form. In essence, it’s just been that kind of year.

For one, who could have predicted that the Washington Redskins would emerge as the winners of the NFC East? After all, they were projected by most to be bringing up the rear in the division, yet they have it clinched going into the final week of the season. Sure, injuries and Chip Kellys throughout the division have helped their cause, but it doesn’t change the fact that they won the division as underdogs.

A similar case can be made for the Houston Texans, who are almost certainly going to be in the playoffs barring an incredibly unfortunate series of outcomes in Week 17. The Texans not only weren’t expected to make much noise in an AFC South that already seemed decided, but they also started the season 1-4 and then 2-5. At that point, winning the division seemed laughable—but now it’s the reality before them and the fans.

Moreover, the Kansas City Chiefs are another team that seemed completely out of it earlier in the season and now have major postseason implications in the Week 17. They’ve already secured a playoff berth, but with a win and then a Denver Broncos loss, the Chiefs could win the AFC West after starting the season 1-5 and then having reeled off nine consecutive wins.

However, the biggest playoff storyline that’ll be decided lies in the NFC North where it will be the Minnesota Vikings taking on the Green Bay Packers in a winner-take-all battle for the division title. The Packers won in Minnesota emphatically the first time that the rivals faced off this season. However, in the final week of the regular season in one of the most historic venues in the NFL in Lambeau Field, it feels like anything can happen.

Even if Vikings-Packers won’t be an upset by any measure no matter who wins, the feeling that anything can happen is prevalent going into Week 17. That’s how it’s been all year and that’s how it feels it should end. With that in mind, these five NFL teams should be on upset alert for Week 17.

Next: No. 5 Houston Texans

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