Upset Special: Top 3 Underdog Picks of Week 17

Our Week 17 NFL underdog picks highlight three teams with plus-money odds we're targeting to pull off an upset win.

With divisions beginning to sort out after 16 weeks of play and COVID-19 making its way through the league, we enter Week 17 with another large chunk of lopsided games.

I’m eyeing two games with closer lines for my underdog plays, and think there’s at least one long shot that should be respected a bit more by the oddsmakers.

Here’s a look at my top three NFL underdog picks of Week 17 (odds via FanDuel Sportsbook).

NFL Underdog Picks for Week 17

Philadelphia Eagles vs. Washington Football Team (+146)Los Angeles Rams vs. Baltimore Ravens (+168)Detroit Lions (+245) vs. Seattle Seahawks

SEE ALSO: NFL Week 17 Parlay Picks

Week 17 NFL Underdog Predictions

Washington (+146)

Let’s start with this: the Eagles have been less than convincing over the last four weeks.

After putting up just seven points in an embarrassing loss to the New York Giants, Philly let the New York Jets hang around all game before securing a 33-18 win, came from behind against the Washington Football Team for a 27-17 win, and waited until the waning moments to pull away from the Giants for a 34-10 in Week 16.

While Philly has gone 5-1 straight up and 4-1-1 against the spread in its last six games, the cracks are there. Washington is coming off three straight losses, but it at least has the excuse of missing a bunch of defensive players, quarterback Taylor Heinicke and running back J.D. McKissic.

It seems Washington will be as healthy as it has been in quite some time and should be plenty capable of pulling the upset in the NFC East battle. Philly is 21st by DVOA against the pass and will have to compete with a mostly healthy Washington passing attack.

Ravens (+168)

Yes, the Rams have one of the best rushing defenses in the league, but they’re also incredibly inconsistent and have given up 242.2 passing yards per game, to rank 22nd in the league.

Baltimore is severely undervalued coming off four straight losses, but the last two of those didn’t feature QB Lamar Jackson. Baltimore moved the ball extremely well against some good rushing defenses in those games, and I expect more of the same in Week 17.

This game should come down to Rams QB Matthew Stafford, considering the Ravens' one consistent weakness is their ability to stop the pass. They're 32nd in the NFL with 280.5 passing yards allowed per game.

Stafford struggled last week while completing just 21 of 37 passes for 197 yards with one touchdown against three interceptions, and save for a few good games, has had a pretty mediocre season after a hot start.

Baltimore can win if it's able to keep this a lower-scoring game.

Lions (+245)

You have to give Detroit credit for playing incredibly hard under head coach Dan Campbell.

The Lions won two of their last four games (improvement!) and have gone 6-1 against the spread in their last seven contests. The Lions have had a ton of highlights this year despite their tough record and losing a ton of close games. It’s absolutely possible this team could be near .500, which would change the public perception of this game drastically.

The Seahawks are awful, on the other hand. They covered the spread just twice in their last seven games and just lost outright last week as 7-point home favorites against the Chicago Bears.

Considering this is one of the worst secondaries in football and Lions QB Jared Goff was looking much improved until he was placed on the COVID-19 list, I could see a similar story unfolding here. As long as Goff plays, the Lions have about a 50% chance of winning this game.

I’ll happily take the moneyline at better than 2-1 odds.

See all our picks and odds. Be sure to check out SportsbookReview.com’s community forums and betting tools.

Picks made on 12/29/2021 at 9:45 p.m. ET.