Week 17 Sunday afternoon fan discussion

With five Week 17 games in the books, and two nationally televised games still on the docket (“Sunday” and “Monday Night Football”), the regular Sunday slate of games is quite a bit smaller than most weeks in the NFL. Fortunately, there are a couple of meaningful games that will likely be available for you to watch.

For the local Detroit audience, CBS will have the better game in the early 1 p.m. window, as the Seattle Seahawks (12-3) —the current No. 1 seed in the NFC—will take on a Carolina Panthers (8-7) team looking to stay at the top of the NFC South. The FOX broadcast will have the Jacksonville Jaguars (11-4)—who need a win to keep pace with the Texans in the AFC South—taking on the Indianapolis Colts (8-7), who, despite starting the season 7-1, have officially been eliminated from the playoffs.

From a Detroit Lions draft pick rooting perspective, fans should be rooting for the Panthers and Colts in these games.

There is just one late afternoon game (4:25 p.m.) available locally, as FOX will have the NFC East winner, the Philadelphia Eagles (10-5), taking on the Buffalo Bills (11-4), who have already locked up a playoff spot but are a game back from the lead in the AFC East. With the Patriots (current top seed in the AFC East) taking on the lowly Jets, there’s a lot of motivation for the Bills to win and keep pace, while the Eagles are maybe playing for NFC seeding.

For a look at how the POD staff has picked these games, make sure you check out our full Week 17 predictions: Moneyline, spread, and over/under.

Here are the other games for those outside the Detroit market, or planning to watch NFL RedZone:

• Arizona Cardinals at Cincinnati Bengals, 1 p.m. on FOX
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Miami Dolphins, 1 p.m. on FOX
• New England Patriots at New York Jets, 1 p.m on FOX
• Pittsburgh Steelers at Cleveland Browns, 1 p.m. on CBS
• New Orleans Saints at Tennessee Titans, 1 p.m. on CBS
• New York Giants at Las Vegas Raiders, 4:05 on CBS