We continue week 16 of the NFL season after witnessing an amazing week 15. We saw 3 comebacks of 17+, and the largest victory was only by 12 points. This week on Thursday Night Football in East Rutherford, we saw the Jaguars take down the Jets 19-3. For the early slate of Saturday games, we have Bills-Bears, Saints-Browns, Texans-Titans, Seahawks-Chiefs, Giants-Vikings, Bengals-Patriots, Lions-Panthers and Falcons-Ravens. We have two games in the late window, with the 49ers-Commanders and the highly anticipated Eagles-Cowboys matchup. So now, let me share my analysis, bold predictions and my game pick for each of those matchups.
Bills (11-3) @Bears (3-11) -9.0 BUF 1:00 PM ET
Bills:
The Buffalo Bills have officially clinched a playoff spot, and they look to do more this week against the Chicago Bears. With a win at Soldier Field the Bills will have secured the AFC East, guaranteeing at least one home game. Josh Allen comes in off of 1 of his best performances, throwing for 304 yards and 4 touchdowns, and added 77 yards on 10 carries through the ground. The Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts ran all over the Bears defense last week, with 3 rushing touchdowns, as Allen looks to do something similar against the Bears.
Bears:
The Bears are currently at 3-11, and their only hope this year is to play spoiler, and watch the development of Justin Fields. Fields ran for 95 yards last week, and he became the third quarterback to run for over 1,000 yards (joining Michael Vick and Lamar Jackson). Fields was also pretty efficient through the air, completing 14 of his 21 passes for 152 yards and 2 touchdowns. Although the Bears let Jalen Hurts throw for 313 yards, they didn’t let him throw a touchdown pass, and picked him off twice. They will need to do something similar if they want to pull off an upset.
Game Pick:
BUF 30 CHI 20
Saints (5-9) @Browns (6-8) -3.0 CLE 1:00 PM ET
Saints:
The New Orleans Saints are still in play for the NFC South. After a 21-18 win over the Atlanta Falcons, the Saints are only one game out of the NFC South leading 6-8 Buccaneers. Taysom Hill played very solid in his limited quarterback action, throwing a 68 yard bomb touchdown pass to Rashid Shaheed. The Saints have to stop the run, as the Browns main running back Nick Chubb hit at 4.7 yards per carry last week. We will see if they can pull out a victory, and stay near the Buccaneers for the NFC South as we near the end of the season.
Browns:
The Cleveland Browns come to this game after a 13 to 3 victory over the Baltimore Ravens, and will look to have a similar performance this week. Deshaun Watson has only been able to guide the offense to two touchdowns in three games. Even though that has happened, they have still gone 2-1 in those performances thanks to a very solid defense. They will look to run the ball a lot, as Nick Chubb has been playing some great football. I think that if they want to win this ball game they are going to have to run the ball early and often to set up the play action game.
Game Pick:
NO 33 CLE 38
Texans (1-12-1) @Titans (7-7) -3.0 TEN 1:00 PM ET
Texans:
Even though they have the worst record in the National Football League, they can still put up a pretty impressive fight. The Texans have lost within the last two minutes or overtime in the last two weeks, and they took on the Cowboys and the Chiefs. They also have not lost by more than 15 points, and they have to face a Titans squad that is without their starting quarterback Ryan Tannehill. With the Texans looking ahead to next year's draft, we will see if they can spoil the Titans AFC South hopes with a win.
Titans:
The Tennessee Titans have lost 4 in a row, and will need a victory to hold onto the lead in the AFC South. Back in week 8, the Titans gave Derrick Henry the ball 32 times, and he made good use of it, gashing the Texans for 219 yards and 2 touchdowns (6.8 yards per carry). Henry is also on a hot streak right now, as he has had back-to-back 100+ yard rushing games. The Texans are also allowing 5.1 yards per carry to running backs, so expect a very hefty load for Henry. If they can do that a lot, expect an easy victory.
Game Pick:
HOU 20 TEN 27
Seahawks (7-7) @Chiefs (11-3) -10.0 KC 1:00 PM ET
Seahawks:
The Seahawks come off of a loss, as they have dropped 4 of their last 5 games. They will have to stop a red hot Chiefs passing attack, as Patrick Mahomes dominated the Texans for 336 yards, and 3 passing touchdowns. They got Kenneth Walker III back last week, and I think that if they are going to upset the Kansas City Chiefs, they will need to get Walker over 20 carries, and more than 75 rushing yards. We will see if the Seahawks can come into Arrowhead and get closer to clinching a playoff spot.
Chiefs:
The Chiefs coming off of an overtime victory over the one-win Houston Texans. The Chiefs surprisingly had an amazing running attack last week, as they rushed the ball 33 times, for 189 total yards. Isaiah Pacheco was the main head of steam, and we will see if he can put on a similar performance this week, against the Seahawks. Patrick Mahomes also played very well, putting up 336 yards through the air and three touchdown passes. Somehow, they only put up 30 points, 24 of them came during regulation.
Game Pick:
SEA 27 KC 36
Giants (8-5-1) @Vikings (11-3) -4.0 MIN 1:00 PM ET
Giants:
The Giants come off of a win on ‘Sunday Night Football’ over the Washington Commanders. In that game Kayvon Thibodeaux exploded for 12 tackles (nine solo, three for a loss), one QB hit, one sack, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, and one touchdown on the strip sack. The Giants made an impressive goal line stand. The Giants can secure a playoff spot if they get this win, and between the Commanders, Seahawks and Lions, 2 of those teams will have to lose. We will see if they can secure that spot.
Vikings:
The Vikings come off of the biggest comeback of all time, after they came back from down 33-0 last week to the Indianapolis Colts. Justin Jefferson caught a big touchdown, scoring 32 straight to close it out, as they let the Colts score 33 in a row earlier in the game. In all, Kirk Cousins threw 54 passes, complaining 34 of them, 4 of them touchdowns, and 2 of the 54 passes were picked off by Colts players. That victory secured the NFC North, and the Vikings look to win out, and secure the 2 seed in the playoffs.
Game Pick:
NYG 20 MIN 23
Bengals (10-4) @Patriots (7-7) -3.0 CIN 1:00 PM ET
Bengals:
The Cincinnati Bengals come off of a victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, in which they scored 34 unanswered points, after going down 17-0. Joe Burrow threw for only 200 yards, but was able to get four touchdown passes through the air. Samaje Perine was their top rusher last week, but he only produced 24 yards in 7 carries. The Bengals have now already clinched a playoff spot, and I think that if wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase gets over 100 receiving yards, the Bengals will be that much closer to clinching the AFC North.
Patriots:
The New England Patriots come back to Gillette Stadium after a heartbreaking 30-24 loss. Rhamondre Stevenson ran the ball about 20 yards, when he pitched it back to Jakobi Meyers. Meyers then proceeded to throw it back across to Mac Jones, but Chandler Jones picked it out of the air and stiff-armed Mac Jones, as he took it all the way back to the house for a touchdown. Despite coming back from a 14 point deficit, and scoring 21 points in a row, they still lost. They hope to do better this week against the Bengals.
Game Pick:
CIN 31 NE 19
Lions (7-7) @Panthers (5-9) -2.5 DET 1:00 PM ET
Lions:
The Lions look to follow up a 20-17 victory over the New York Jets with a victory over the Carolina Panthers. Jared Goff threw a long touchdown pass to Brock Right on a big 4&inches to give them a 20-17 lead over the Jets. I think that if Jared Goff can have a turnover-free game the Lions offense will move at ease, and should be able to put up over 30 points, even though they face one of the top passing defenses (the Panthers). The Lions played very well last week against the Jets last week,only giving up 17 points.
Panthers:
The Carolina Panthers come in off of a 24-16 loss, but they have won 2 of their last 3. We will see if they can get a victory behind a Sam Darnold lead pass attack that threw for 225 yards and one touchdown, while playing turnover-free football. They come in at 5-9 And are only one game out of the lead for the NFC South. We will see if they can take over the crown for the South, if they can win out. That would start by getting the win today.
Game Pick:
DET 23 CAR 21
Falcons (5-9) @Ravens (9-5) -6.5 BAL 1:00 PM ET
Falcons:
Desmond Ridder’s performance last week makes the Falcons question if he is really the answer at quarterback. Ridder doesn’t have too much help at the quarterback position, as his biggest weapon is Cordarrelle Patterson coming out of the backfield. I think that if you can get a good play action going, and start running the ball well with Cordarrelle, you have a pretty good shot to upset this Ravens squad. We will see if they can do just that.
Ravens:
The Baltimore Ravens come off of a 13-3 loss to the Cleveland Browns. They were without star quarterback Lamar Jackson for that game, and it made a difference, because Tyler Huntley was not able to get a drive that ended in a touchdown. The Ravens defense made big plays, and only gave up 13 total points, but they still lost due to the horrendous offensive performance. They will hope to do better this week when they get a Falcons defense that only gave up 21 points a week ago.
Game Pick:
ATL 27 BAL 23
49ers (10-4) @Commanders (7-6-1) -6.5 SF 4:05 PM ET
49ers:
The 49ers come to Washington after a strong defensive performance. Rookie quarterback, Brock Purdy, was a good game manager last week, as He didn’t throw an interception. Personally, I think that Brock Purdy fits this offense more than Jimmy Garoppolo did. So, even if Garoppolo does come back for any games later, he can still put up a high level of play, like he is now. I say they rolled with Purdy later down the road. But I think that if they can play solid for this game they should be able to outlast the Commanders squad.
Commanders:
The Commanders come off of a game which they should have been able to win, as Terry McLaurin was called for illegal formation even though he checked with the ref to make sure it wasn’t. That same ref, however, threw a flag and it cost the Commanders a touchdown. Then, on fourth down Taylor Heinicke threw a pass up, but his receiver had a defender draped around his shoulders (pass interference), but the refs again sided with the Giants, and didn’t call it. They hope not to get snubbed like that this week against the 49ers.
Game Pick:
SF 16 WAS 9
Eagles (13-1) @Cowboys (10-4) -4.5 DAL 4:25 PM ET
Eagles:
The Philadelphia Eagles come off of a nail-biting 25-20 Win over the Chicago Bears. In the game however, their star quarterback Jalen Hurts sprained his shoulder on a run. He has been ruled out for this game, which will mean Gardner Minshew will get the start. The Eagles will need a win here today, as they will get that much closer to punching the NFC East. We will see if they can get that done, as Minshew has AJ Brown, Devante Smith and Dallas Gonard has his best pass-catchers.
Cowboys:
The Cowboys come into this game after blowing a 17 point lead to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Their offense did put up 34 points, but it still led to a loss, as the Jaguars Got a pick six off of one of Dak Prescott’s throws in overtime. This week they get an Eagles defense that gave up 95 rushing yards to Justin Fields last week, we will see if Dak Prescott can exploit that weakness, and run over the Eagles. I think that if they can do that, they will be in the playoffs.
Game Pick:
PHI 30 DAL 31
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