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NFL Week 17 picks against the spread

By Nick Villano

KANSAS CITY, MO - DECEMBER 13: A view of the NFL logo on the goal post before an NFL game between the Los Angeles Chargers and Kansas City Chiefs on December 13, 2018 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, MO. (Photo by Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
KANSAS CITY, MO - DECEMBER 13: A view of the NFL logo on the goal post before an NFL game between the Los Angeles Chargers and Kansas City Chiefs on December 13, 2018 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, MO. (Photo by Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
(Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

Cleveland Browns @ Baltimore Ravens (-6)

The Cleveland Browns fans are happy for the first time in a long time. This might be the happiest the Dawg Pound is since the team returned to Cleveland in 1999. This is the last game of the season, and things for the future look great. Baker Mayfield is the main reason for that. He’s a rookie, and is .1 percent away from breaking the single season record for completion percentage by a Browns quarterback. Otto Graham has that record. Think about that for just a minute.

Meanwhile, the Baltimore Ravens are fighting for their playoff lives. They currently sit as the leaders of the AFC North after beating the Los Angeles Chargers last week, but a loss to the Browns paired with a Steelers win against the Bengals would knock them out.

The Ravens got unlucky with this matchup. The Browns are going to fight tooth and nail to end their season on a high note. Mayfield wants to make one more impression for the Rookie of the Year award. Six seems like a lot of points in this game, even if the Ravens have everything to play for on paper. Gregg Williams is trying to stay on as head coach, even if that’s a long shot. They will keep this game close.

Baltimore 25, Cleveland 21 

Philadelphia Eagles (-7) @ Washington Redskins

The Philadelphia Eagles are about to start some really hard conversations within its franchise if Nick Foles is actually able to lead this team, which was dead in the water, back to the playoffs. The Eagles need to win on Sunday, and they Bears need to beat the Minnesota Vikings. That’s actually not that insane.

It starts with the Eagles taking care of business. The Redskins season went full crazy this week when they cut Pro Bowl linebacker DJ Swearinger after he was critical of his defensive coordinator. It’s one of the few very good players on the team that saw it’s season go down the toilet when its two QBs went down.

The Eagles have everything to play for, and the Redskins are severely short handed. The locker room is likely reeling from one of their best players being ousted for speaking up. There are distractions abound for the Redskins, while the Eagles are focused on the task at hand. That makes this an easy bet, even with the points.

Philadelphia 31, Washington 17