NFL Week 17 Vegas contest picks: Top spread selections from Las Vegas contest expert

We have come to the point in the season in which we see teams fall into the "must-win" category. Teams fighting for their postseason lives, in a mandatory win the game situation or else be eliminated from playoff contention. A long-time respected figure in the sports betting industry, Dr. Bob Stoll, told me several years ago that teams facing a "must-win" scenario must not be that good -- if they were any good, they would not be in this predicament. We saw that first-hand on Christmas Day as the Detroit Lions came up well short in this same situation at Minnesota.

Over the weekend, we have the Baltimore Ravens facing a "win or go home" situation at Lambeau Field, taking on the Packers. The Indianapolis Colts, hosting the Jacksonville Jaguars, also must win in order to keep their playoff hopes alive.

Oftentimes, the knee-jerk reaction by the general public or casual bettors, is to assume this team in a "must-win" situation, will flip a switch or suddenly play with a greater sense of purpose, or just simply play better because their season is on the line.

Every week is a must-win in Survivor contests. In Circa Survivor in Las Vegas, where $18.7M is on the line, we are in the middle of "Christmas Week," which is a double-week just like Thanksgiving. An outright winner must be successfully selected from the three Christmas Day games (Week 17A) and for those that survive this, another winner must be selected from the weekend slate (Week 17B) in order to advance to the final week of the regular season and final week of the contest.

So which teams have strong value on the spread for Week 17? ... Join SportsLine right now to see who you should back in Week 17, all from Las Vegas contest expert Brady Kannon!