The last week is upon us in the NFL and almost all of the spots are set up for the playoff run. Before we look ahead to what the last week in the NFL is all about, let’s take a look back at week 16. The Patriots remained undefeated and have placed themselves in the history book as one of the best teams in the NFL. The Giants overcame a double digit deficit to finally clinch a playoff spot and that is just the beginning.

Beyond the line:
Beyond the line looks beyond the game and takes into account the Las Vegas line and how it played out for the week. The underdogs and the favorites were about even in the win/loss record this week but the underdogs that covered won outright and the favorites that covered won in big fashion. Seattle, Jacksonville, Indianapolis, and Pittsburgh all crushed the opposition while live dogs like the 49ers, Philadelphia, Washington, and Cincinnati all won outright as underdogs. Picking what underdog was going to win is a much different story but the ones that did paid big!

Big Dog of the week:
There were several dogs that had outstanding weeks against favorites led by the Chicago Bears who trounced the Packers at home and blocked three punts along the way, but the Big Dog of the week is going to be split between three teams. All of these teams are the Big Dog of the week because they were playoff implication games. The Bengals defeated the Browns and took the playoff destiny out of their hands giving it to the Titans. The Eagles all but sealed the fate of the New Orleans Saints with a win sending them into a scoreboard watching mode. Finally the Redskin had one of the biggest wins of the week stomping the Vikings at home and keeping their playoff hopes alive.

Fantasy Impact Player of the Week:
Kurt Warner put on a show last week and had the most yards and TD’s of any quarterback in the league but the fantasy impact player of the week will be shared by two players and they are both running backs. L. Maroney rushed for over 150 yards against the Dolphins showing the world that the Patriots can run too. He will share the spotlight with A. Bradshaw a running back that ran for over 150 yards and led the New York Giants into the playoffs with a win over the Buffalo Bills.

Must see Game for Week 17:
The games that have some playoff implications are plentiful with the Redskin victory over the Minnesota Vikings. That however is not the focus of the games this week. The focus for this week is the game between the New England Patriots and the New York Giants. The New York Giants clinched a playoff spot last week with a win against the Bills, but the buzz will be about whether they rest the players or the bring a full team to try and stop the New England Patriots from finishing the season perfect. The other story will be the NFL Network and how they do not allow certain cable companies to have access to the game. This means for the second time this year the NFL will not display the biggest game of the week, maybe the year to all of its fans!

Make sure to stop by the NFL Betting forum and chat about this weeks upcoming games and see all of the selections and winning information that is posted on a daily basis.