NFL Week 17 picks: Seahawks, 49ers and Broncos are bucking old-school NFL mantras

Protect the football, win the turnover battle, it’s the most important stat …

“Blah, blah, blah,” say the Seahawks, Broncos and 49ers.

Together, they’re 36-10.

And …

They’re also a combined minus-13 in turnover margin.

Seattle and San Francisco are both minus-4. They’re tied for 20th in the NFL. Denver is tied for 24th at minus-5.

Sixteen teams have a negative turnover margin. Twelve of them have losing records. But not Seattle, 12-3 and leading the NFC heading to Carolina on Dec. 28; Denver, 13-3 and leading the AFC after beating Kansas City 20-13 on Christmas night; and San Francisco, 11-4 and fifth in the NFC as it hosts the Chicago Bears and their league-leading plus-21 turnover margin on Dec. 28.

Before last week, NFL teams were 1-438 since 1966 when being outgained by more than 150 yards and losing the turnover battle by three or more. Then Seattle came from 30-14 down with less than nine minutes left to beat the Rams 38-37 in overtime Dec. 18 while being outgained by 166 yards and losing the turnover battle 3-0.

Win the turnover battle?

Seems optional in Seattle, San Francisco and Denver.

The quirky guy with the awkward introductory news conference might just cap his first year in Jacksonville as NFL Coach of the Year. Liam Coen has taken a 4-13 team to 11-4 and a playoff berth heading into its Dec. 28 game at Indianapolis. He’s also this year’s leading QB whisperer. Trevor Lawrence, 22-38 before this season, finally is looking like a No. 1 overall pick. He just joined Joe Montana (1989) and Joe Burrow (2022) as the only quarterbacks since 1970 to pass for at least three touchdowns and rush for a touchdown in back-to-back games with no interceptions.

Minus-318: Chicago’s second-to-worst differential in penalty yardage. Does it really matter? Nope. Not when you lead the NFL in takeaways (31) and are tied for fewest giveaways (10).

Down to QB3 — Chris Oladokun — the Chiefs face Denver as 13-point underdogs at home for the first time since Oct. 3, 1977, against the Raiders.

Week 17 has five games between teams with winning records, including three in which both teams have 10 or more wins. Week 17 also pits the league’s only 2-13 teams — the New York Giants and the Las Vegas Raiders — against one another. Both teams are riding nine-game losing streaks. A loss on Dec. 28 gives that team the inside track to the No. 1 overall pick. It’s looking, um, good for the Giants. They’re the road team this week and finish the season against the Cowboys, while the Raiders host the Chiefs in Week 18.

If misery loves company, who better to disappoint on Christmas Day than Dan Campbell? A win over the Lions would knock Detroit out of the playoff picture and mark the first time Campbell has been swept by the Vikings in his five seasons.

Two of Chicago’s three Pro Bowl players were interior offensive linemen acquired via free agency this year. With center Drew Dalman and left guard Joe Thuney, Chicago ranks fourth in total yards per game (371.1), second in rushing yards per game (152.1) and tied for fifth in fewest sacks allowed (23).

Lions (-6) at Vikings: At least no assorted J.J. McCarthy body parts will be harmed in the playing of this game. Lions 30-20

Broncos (-13½) at Chiefs: Maybe Taylor Swift can sing “Taps” before the game. Broncos 30-7

Ravens (-2½) at Packers: Maybe someone will watch if it’s Ravens backup Tyler Huntley vs. Packers backup Malik Willis. Then again, maybe not. Packers 30-27

Steelers (-3½) at Browns: Browns owner Jimmy Haslam needs to get to the root of the problem and fire the person responsible — himself. Steelers 24-3

Patriots (-13½) at Jets: Ditto, Jets owner Woody Johnson. Patriots 28-10

Saints (-2½) at Titans: The Saints’ next loss might not come until they realize they’re playing their way out of a top 10 pick in the draft. Saints 13-7

Buccaneers (-3) at Dolphins: Cheer up, Baker Mayfield. Unlike Cleveland, there’s a chance you’ll stop losing every week. Buccaneers 21-17

Seahawks (-7½) at Panthers: Note to self: Stop dissing Sam Darnold’s paycheck and remember he’s 26-7 since McCarthy’s first of four career injuries. Seahawks 27-19

Cardinals (+7) at Bengals: Who knew spending all your money on offense would create the NFL’s worst scoring defense? Apparently not Cincinnati. Bengals 34-20

Giants (+1½) at Raiders: The world has 8.3 billion people, 8.299 billion of them mock draft experts tuning in to see which team wants this game less. Raiders 4-2

Eagles (+1½) at Bills: Super Bowl preview? Not with Buffalo giving up 5.4 yards per rush. Eagles 24-21

Rams (-8½) at Falcons: Rams bounce-back game trumps Kirk Cousins’ knack for keeping himself overpaid in perpetuity. Rams 30-17

Texans (+2½) at Chargers: Ride with the team leading the NFL in defense, confidence and consecutive wins (seven). Texans 23-19

Last week’s pick: Patriots (+3) 23, Ravens 20. Final: Patriots 28, Ravens 24. Record: 6-9.

Last week/season straight up: 12-4/138-83.