NFL Picks, Week 17: Peter King Foresees Raiders Losing To Chargers

The easiest way for the Oakland Raiders to make the playoffs is to defeat the San Diego Chargers and hope the Denver Broncos fall to the Kansas City Chiefs. That gives them the AFC West division title, but a Wild Card spot can be had with a win plus losses by Cincinnati and Tennessee (or a victory by the New York Jets to replace the latter).

Well, Sports Illustrated's Peter King is having none of that. King predicts the Chargers to squeak by the Raiders by a field goal, 20-17. He writes:

The see-saw season ends for the Raiders, but look on the bright side: At least they'll eclipse the all-time record for penalties and penalty yards in a season with four penalties for at least eight yards.

It has been a long season for the Raiders, indeed. They have had to deal with the death of owner Al Davis; the team sent first-round draft picks to the Bengals for Carson Palmer and had to deal with the rise of Tim Tebow in the division. They'll just need to wait for another season to make the playoffs.

Stay tuned to SB Nation Denver for more on the Broncos. For more on this Week 17 game, Be sure to check out SB Nation NFL for more news and notes around the league.

NFL Picks Week 17: ESPN Experts Give Broncos Edge Over Chiefs, 6-4

The Denver Broncos' season comes down to Sunday's game against the Kansas City Chiefs. Win and the Broncos make it into the NFL playoffs with an AFC division crown. Lose and they need the Oakland Raiders to also drop its season finale. How does the World Wide Leader see things playing out this weekend?

Among the panel of 10 experts, the Broncos are chosen by six of the participants. Former Denver Broncos guard Mark Schlereth is one of the four non-believers who goes with the Chiefs. Joining him is Merril Hoge, who hasn't liked the Broncos very much this year. Most of that stems from his anti-Tebow rhetoric, but that's neither here nor there. The Broncos win and lose as a team, not as Tim Tebow.

In the Raiders' game against the San Diego Chargers, the ESPN panel sees seven of them select Oakland. That doesn't line up in case the four dissenters in the Broncos game are proven correct.

For more on this Week 17 game, visit Broncos blog Mile High Report and Chiefs blog Arrowhead Pride. Be sure to check out SB Nation NFL for more news and notes around the league.

Week 17 NFL Picks And Predictions: SI's Peter King Predicts Broncos Over Chiefs, 31-24

Will Tim Tebow deliver a ninth victory for the Denver Broncos in the 2011 season? He'll need to defeat Kyle Orton and the Kansas City Chiefs on New Year's Day after suffering two defeats in the previous two weeks. He'll nee to correct his fumbling issues as well as his interceptions. Throwing a pick-six and losing a fumble for a touchdown are certainly not the ways to winning football games.

Anyway, Sports Illustrated's Peter King predicts that the Broncos will defeat the Chiefs due to some Tebow heroics: "The Broncos do something Tebow-riffic to win at the end." But it remains nebulous as to what "Tebow-riffic" event happens with the quarterback. King goes on to envision Tebow being the nice guy as he always is and saying something nice about Bill Maher, who recently made a disparaging tweet about Tebow.

For updates on this matchup, stay tuned to SB Nation Denver. For more on this Week 17 game, visit Broncos blog Mile High Report and Chiefs blog Arrowhead Pride. Be sure to check out SB Nation NFL for more news and notes around the league.

Week 17 NFL Picks: AOL Sporting News Picks Denver Broncos To Clinch AFC West Crown

Tim Tebow is undoubtedly the biggest way-point for coverage of the Week 17 showdown between the Denver Broncos and the Kansas City Chiefs, but Kyle Orton is almost certainly the next biggest story line. After being demoted out of the starting job to make room for Tebow and subsequently being granted his release by the team, Orton now stands directly in the path of the Broncos on their push to make the AFC playoffs.

Vinnie Iyer of AOL Sporting News has released picks for Week 17 in the NFL, and he thinks the Broncos will pull the game out and clinch the AFC West division title. In other words, Iyer thinks Tebow and the Broncos will be playing playoff football in January. Here is what he had to say:

So it’s Kyle Orton, deposed Denver quarterback, looking for redemption against the popular upstart who displaced him. The hype around Tim Tebow has dwindled to nothing all of a sudden after losses to New England and Buffalo.

But as much as Orton will be motivated to prove the Broncos wrong, Tebow will be out to show the organization made the right decision to move forward with him as the quarterback-as least in the short term. Despite all the struggles the past two weeks, Tebow and his teammates know the division title is still right in front of them. Denver’s defense will do the dirty work, and Tebow will clean up a messy game just in time (the fourth quarter). Broncos 16, Chiefs 10.

Iyer is 160-80 for the season-to-date and went 12-4 straight up in Week 16.

For more on this Week 17 game, visit Broncos blog Mile High Report and Chiefs blog Arrowhead Pride. Be sure to check out SB Nation NFL for more news and notes around the league.

Week 17 NFL Picks: CBS Sports Sides With Denver Broncos And Tim Tebow

Tim Tebow and Denver Broncos need a win against the Kyle Orton Kansas City Chiefs in Week 17 of NFL action, but apparently it wasn't enough to draw the attention of the NBC flex schedule option. NBC has opted to show the Dallas Cowboys vs New York Giants contest that will decide the NFC East instead, but there is still plenty of intrigue surrounding the Broncos game on Sunday afternoon. Can Tim Tebow get the team back on track and make his improbable surge pay off with an AFC West division title? Will former Broncos quarterback Kyle Orton play spoiler?

The five-man panel at CBS Sports has released picks for Week 17, and the Broncos enjoy a slim 3-2 split in their favor for the contest. If it makes any difference to you, the two most accurate prognosticators on the panel, Clark Judge and Dave Richard, sided with Denver. Pete Prisco explained his prediction of a Broncos win like this:

Can Tim Tebow do what seemed unthinkable two months ago and get this team to the playoffs? Or is Kyle Orton going to ruin things for his former team? The Chiefs have played well under Romeo Crennel and they have a solid defense. Tebow has lost two consecutive games, and hasn't played well lately. Nor has the Denver defense. This will be tight, but the Broncos will find a way. Denver 20, Kansas City 19.

Not exactly a ringing endorsement, but an endorsement none the less. There are no style points in the NFL, so no matter how the Broncos can pull it out it still counts all the same.

For more on this Week 17 game, visit Broncos blog Mile High Report and Chiefs blog Arrowhead Pride. Be sure to check out SB Nation NFL for more news and notes around the league.

Week 17 NFL Picks And Predictions: Broncos Vs. Chiefs Provides Denver Opportunity To Win AFC West

The Denver Broncos need to defeat the Kansas City Chiefs to safely win the AFC West title.