Hello Week 17 - where did the regular season go? I'm looking at carnage on the highway behind me as I go through my betting notebook and flip through the weeks, but still, we have Week 17 dead ahead.

What's even better is the final week of the regular season is serving up meaningful matchups all over the place. This last weekend of NFL football is usually a dud, for both fans and bettors…but not this year.

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After the smoke cleared on Week 16, the NFL and the TV networks had to work overtime shifting games around to move the best matchups into better TV slots. Four games got moved up the ladder after they became very relevant.

As is the case most years, this weekend we aren't going to see a bunch of second and third stringers bumble their way through auditions while the starters rest up for the playoffs, or take the last game off before heading home for the off-season.

There is a lot of real football to be played as playoff spots are up for grabs in both conferences.

Looking at last week's results, homefield advantage throughout the playoffs was determined on both fronts on Sunday.

In the AFC, the Pittsburgh Steelers hosted the Titans as 2.5-point favorites. By kick-off SPORTSBETTING.com was reporting 79% of the betting volume was on the home side Steelers. Not surprising considering Tennessee hadn't looked good at all the previous week, now they had to go on the road to Pittsburgh and face that beats of a defense, in the cold…and oh yeah, the Titans were missing two of the best players (Haynesworth and Vanden Bosch).

It didn't turn out like most thought, as the underdog Titans controlled this one pretty much from the start and while it was close for a while, they pulled away to a convincing 31-14 win. That victory booked in homefield for them in the playoffs.

The NFC also had their big matchup. The NFL Flex sked was created just for this reason, to put the best matchups in prime time and did it ever deliver the goods last in the Carolina Panthers - New York Giants battle.

The Giants were favored by 4 at home, with the Total set at 38. The game was a see-saw affair and fittingly, at the end of regulation, the score was knotted up at 28. Panther bettors had to feel pretty comfortable heading into OT holding tickets with +4 points, while Giant bettors could only hope their team didn't settle for a field goal (the most common overtime score) but punched in a TD.

Congrats to Giant backers, as they got to celebrate when Brandon Jacobs rumbled into the endzone to win the game 34-28 and cover the number.

Both the Giants and Titans are the top-seeds for the NFC and AFC respectively.

Talk about Beasts of the East; going into the final week of the regular season there remains a tie atop the AFC East standings.

The New England Patriots aren't the bettors dream and bookies nightmare they were last year when they went 16-0 on the Money line and 10-6 ATS (10-5 SU and 8-7 ATS this year) but they still have a shot at the playoffs despite losing Tom Brady in Week 1.

New England faced the Arizona Cardinals, who are headed to the postseason only by virtue of being NFC West champs, and the Pats were listed as an 8.5-point favorite going into the blowing snow at Gillette Stadium; the Total was set at 41.5.

Bettors loved the Patriots in this one, as SPORTSBETTING.com reported over 80% of the action was on the home side. Nobody it seemed believed the Cardinals were up for playing in the cold and snow…and they were right.

Arizona just didn't show up and it was embarrassing. The Patriots scored enough points to cover the Total on their own, routing the Cards 47-7, grabbing an easy ATS win and going Over.

The Dolphins have been a "feel-good" story this year, turning their fortunes around. The find themselves going into the final weekend of the regular season in control of their own destiny with a shot at the division title.

The Dolphins went into a frigid Arrowhead Stadium to play the Kansas City Chiefs and while they didn't make it look easy, they did get a win, putting up 38-points to Kansas City's 31 ensuring that Dolphin and Over bettors would have a bit more cash in the wallet going into the festive season.

Concluding this college football commentary check out Doc's college bowl game lines page. When it comes to betting college football our college football gambling tips feature is a must for any NCAA fan. Our big ten conference football predictions page is also a valuable tool for your college football research. Since 1971 Doc's Sports has been recognized as a leader and trusted name in sports handicapping information.

The Cowboys home loss to Baltimore (bettors were all over Dallas in that one and they let them down big time) means they have a huge game this weekend vs. Philadelphia (who also lost).

And how about the Denver Broncos? They had their division wrapped up fro weeks, but have let it all slip away. After losing at home to Buffalo last week, they can complete the choke job this week if they can't beat a suddenly dangerous looking Charger team. It's going to be tough for the Broncos to go into San Diego and come away with a victory…how crazy is that…the Chargers might be in the playoffs. This will be a great game to watch.

Get ready for a big weekend of NFL ball as Week 17 brings a lot of drama and storylines.

Happy Holidays to all, enjoy the next few days and good luck this weekend.

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