NFL Week 17 Picks: Patriots, Bengals, Bucs, Chargers, Titans are Prisco's Best Bets

Week 17 is one of the toughest to pick thanks to motivation questions, but here are five winners

You can forget about the idea that I was gaining momentum in Best Bets to close the season.

Just when it seemed like the early season stink was gone, I produced a dud 1-4 last week with my picks as part of Team OddsShark in the Westgate Las Vegas SuperContest.

It has not been a good season.

I also think picking games in Week 17, when motivation and rested players are in play, is the toughest week of the season.

With that said, I need a big week. I trail Nick Kostos, my CBS Sports colleague, by 2 ½ points in the contest. That means he needs to go 1-4 and I need to go 4-1.

I predict it happens. He will choke. I will win -- if he doesn't copy my picks like he did last week to avoid losing ground. Yes, he went 1-4 as well.

Here are my -- not Nick's -- picks:

Titans minus-3 ½: The Titans will start Matt Cassel here for the injured Marcus Mariota, but this will be the first road start for Texans quarterback Tom Savage. That matters. Dick LeBeau will throw a bunch of looks at Savage to cause turnovers, and the Titans will turn those into points.

Bengals minus-2: The Ravens were eliminated on Christmas Day, which means the sting is still lingering. That will show up. The Bengals have been playing out the string for a while, but they are still competing. They try and show well for the home folks here.

Buccaneers minus-6: This is a young team building toward something, while the Panthers are ending their Super Bowl hangover season. The motivation won't be there for Carolina, while the Bucs will play hard to win one to build on for next season -- if you believe in such things. Give me Tampa Bay minus the points.

Patriots minus-9 ½: The Miami defense has been shredded lately, and has had issues all season. That's not a good thing against the Patriots and Tom Brady with something on the line. The Patriots won't let this one get away from them. Brady reminds the Dolphins who is king in the division.

Chargers plus-6: The Chargers lost to the Browns last week, but I like them here. The Chiefs are coming off a big win against Denver, but they will struggle some here. This will be close as Philip Rivers keeps the Chargers in the game. Chiefs win, but Chargers cover.