***WEEK 17 SCENARIOS***

Here’s what we all have to watch for in the final week of the regular season, starting with the NFC first.

Carolina needs to win on the road in New Orleans to clinch the NFC South and a first-round bye. Even with a loss the Panthers are still in, but they’ll be playing for a bye, which makes it a crucial game for them in the finale.

The Dallas Cowboys currently hold the tiebreaker for the sixth and final NFC wild card spot, but they go head-to-head with the Eagles in Philly the final week of the season. If the Cowboys win, they are in. If they lose, the Eagles will need Tampa Bay to lose to Oakland at home in order to jump ahead of them in the standings. If both Dallas and Tampa lose, Philly gets the final wild card spot.

The AFC playoff picture is basically clear, we just have to settle a few divisions in order to determine who is playing whom in the opening round.

All eyes will be on the Miami Dolphins and New Your Jets game in the Meadowlands Sunday. If the Dolphins win they are in. The Jets however need to win and have the Patriots lose at Buffalo to get back to the top of the AFC East.

If the Dolphins win all is not necessarily lost for the Patriots, as they could still leapfrog over the Baltimore Ravens for the sixth and final AFC wild card spot if they beat Buffalo and the Ravens lose to Jacksonville in their finale.

Then all eyes will turn to the Denver at San Diego game on Sunday Night Football in a winner-takes-all contest for the AFC West title.

CAP WISELY............

Denver has been suspect all year on defense and is 28th overall allowing 367.2 yards per game. The Chargers haven’t been all that much better either, as they are just 25th in the league overall (346.2 ypg) and surprising 31st versus the pass (242.8 ypg), which you know has Cutler, Shanahan and the rest of the Broncos offense salivating at the mouth.

As mentioned, the Broncos won the earlier meeting this year … or should we say were given the win earlier this year. That win snapped the Chargers four-game winning streak over the Broncos in the head-to- head series the past two seasons, including last year’s 23-3 win at Qualcomm. But overall the series has been an even 5-5 over the last 10 meetings. Ironically, the game earlier this year ended in a push (Denver -1), the fourth push in the series over the last 10 games (SD holds a 4-2-4 ATS edge).

Neither team has been good to bettors this season, as the Broncos have killed bankrolls to the tune of a 4-10-1 ATS record, while the Chargers have been an equally disappointing 6-8-1 ATS. Both teams are dead even versus the total as well, as both sport 7-7-1 records on over/unders.

Broncos have struggled against their rivals as they are 3-13-1 ATS in their last 17 games versus teams from their AFC West Division.

David Rivers is something like 24-3 at home SU but Chargers are 7-1 ATS in their L8 games in December.

Oddsmaker opened the game with Philadelphia as slim 1-point favorites at home, and the number has only gone up the hook to 1.5- points at most books. However, there are a few sportsbooks with point spreads in opposite directions, as the Las Vegas Hilton has the Eagles as 2-point favorites, while 5Dimes.com has the game listed as a pick-em. All of that movement in opposite directions proves that nobody really knows how to call this game, and the books are moving the number in whatever direction they need to in order to balance the action.

The under also looks like a solid trend as well, as the Eagles have come in under the total in six of their last nine home games overall and in six of their last eight regular season finales. The Cowboys also have come in under the total in six of their last eight week 17 finales.