Our guide to every Week 17 NFL game: Matchup previews, predictions and what's at stake

The Week 17 NFL schedule for the 2025 season continues with some exciting matchups after an eventful Christmas Day slate of games. On Saturday, the Texans and Chargers will face off in a rematch of last year's wild-card game. On Sunday, the Seahawks will battle the Panthers, and the Buccaneers will head down to Miami for an intrastate matchup. Then two teams in the mix for the NFC's No. 1 seed -- the Bears and 49ers -- will face each other on "Sunday Night Football." We have you covered with everything you need to know. Our NFL Nation reporters take you inside the locker room with the best thing they heard this week, and ESPN Research provides a key stat to know and a betting nugget for each contest. Plus, analytics writer Seth Walder makes a bold prediction for each matchup, and fantasy analyst Eric Moody shares fantasy football intel. We also have Football Power Index game projections, and three analysts -- Pamela Maldonado, Moody and Walder -- give us final score picks for every game. Let's get into the full Week 17 slate, which culminates with the "Monday Night Football" matchup between the Rams and Falcons on ESPN . (Game times are Sunday unless otherwise noted.) Jump to a matchup: HOU-LAC | BAL-GB | JAX-IND SEA-CAR | ARI-CIN | TB-MIA PIT-CLE | NE-NYJ | NO-TEN NYG-LV | PHI-BUF | CHI-SF | LAR-ATL Thursday: DAL-WSH, DET-MIN, DEN-KC Texans (10-5) at Chargers (11-4) Saturday, 4:30 p.m. ET | NFL Network | LAC -2.5 (39.5 O/U) What we're hearing on the Texans: The last time Houston played the Chargers, it sacked and intercepted QB Justin Herbert four times in the wild-card playoff game . The 2025 Texans' defense is even better than last year's version, so we'll see how this plays out. Coach DeMeco Ryans called Herbert "one of the toughest quarterbacks in our league." We'll see how tough he can be when the NFL's No. 1 defense rolls into L.A. -- DJ Bien-Aime What we're hearing on the Chargers: Herbert is coming off perhaps his best game of the season in a win over the Cowboys, which he'll look to replicate against Houston. "As far as quarterback performances go, that was a Picasso," Los Angeles coach Jim Harbaugh said of Herbert's three-TD, 300-yard passing game against Dallas. -- Kris Rhim Stat to know: The Texans and Chargers rank first and third in the league, respectively, in total defense this season (Houston: 272.3 yards per game; L.A.: 283.1 YPG). -- ESPN Research Bold prediction: Texans edge rushers Will Anderson Jr . and Danielle Hunter will both have pass rush win rates over 35%. That's a big number, as no one hit 35% in Week 16, let alone a pair of teammates. But Houston's pass rushers against the Chargers' tackles is a heck of a mismatch. -- Walder What's at stake: The Texans can clinch a playoff berth with a win or a Colts loss. There's also a bizarre scenario where they get...

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