NFL Week 16 Picks: Vegas Odds, Over/Under and Predictions Before Thursday Night

The Green Bay Packers have picked it up when they needed to surge, and the Minnesota Vikings have all but faded out of postseason contention.

Those two teams will meet at Lambeau Field on Saturday afternoon, and all indications are that the Packers are in an excellent position to stretch their winning streak to five games. If they can beat the Vikings, they will be in a position to play for the NFC North title in Week 17, when they go on the road to play the division-leading Detroit Lions.

Green Bay has found its offensive comfort zone, having scored 38 and 30 points respectively in each of its last two games. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers continues to show he can make plays when the game is on the line for a team that regularly plays its best football when it matters most.

Rodgers threw a 60-yard completion to star wideout Jordy Nelson in the final minute of the Packers' Week 15 victory over the Chicago Bears, which set up Mason Crosby's game-winning field goal.

The Green Bay signal-caller has completed 64.9 percent of his passes this season and has a 32-7 touchdown-interception ratio.

While the Packers are hitting their offensive stride, the Vikings have stumbled badly and rank 31st on offense with the worst rushing attack in the league. They are averaging under 15 points per game over the last four games. Additionally, Minnesota has dropped seven of its last nine games since starting the season with five straight wins.

The Packers are 6.5-point favorites, according to OddsShark. Green Bay has covered the spread in five of its last seven home games with the Vikings.

Matchup	Point Spread	Over/Under	Prediction
N.Y. Giants at Philadelphia	New York -2.5	41	NYG: Over
Minnesota at Green Bay	Green Bay -6.5	43	GB; Under
Washington at Chicago	Washington -3	46	Washington; Over
Atlanta at Carolina	Atlanta -2.5	52	Atlanta; Over
San Diego at Cleveland	San Diego -6	43.5	Cleveland; Under
N.Y. Jets at New England	New England -16.5	43.5	New England; Under
Tennessee at Jacksonville	Tennessee -4.5	43.5	Jacksonville; Over
Miami at Buffalo	Miami -3.5	41.5	Buffalo; Over
Indianapolis at Oakland	Oakland -3.5	53	Oakland; Over
Tampa Bay at New Orleans	Tampa Bay -3	52.5	Tampa Bay; Over
Arizona at Seattle	Seattle -7.5	43	Arizona; Under
San Francisco at Los Angeles	Los Angeles -3.5	40	Los Angeles; Uner
Cincinnati at Houston	Houston -1	41	Houston; Over
Baltimore at Pittsburgh	Pittsburgh -5	44.5	Baltimore; Over
Denver at Kansas City	Kansas City -3	37.5	Kansas City; Under
Detroit at Dallas	Dallas -7	44.5	Detroit; Under

That trend is a positive one for the Packers, and the way the two teams are playing is an even more of a decisive factor in recommending Green Bay. The Packers were going nowhere through Week 11, but they have turned their season around with a consistent passing game and improvement on defense.

The Vikings have had a tough time scoring and moving the ball since early in the season, and their defense appears to be wearing out after giving up 34 points to the Indianapolis Colts.

While Minnesota should be more competitive this time out, it doesn't have the firepower to hang with Green Bay and will lose by more than seven points. The Packers will get the victory and cover the spread.

Atlanta at Carolina      

The Atlanta Falcons appear to be in an excellent position to win the NFC South title, as they have a one-game lead over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with two games to play.

They can clinch the division with a win over the Carolina Panthers and a Tampa Bay loss to the New Orleans Saints. Even if the Bucs win, the Falcons would earn the crown with wins in each of their last two weeks.

Atlanta is coming off back-to-back blowout wins over the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers. While the Panthers have had a disappointing season and only have the slimmest of chances to make the playoffs, they are a much better team than the Rams and the Niners.

The Falcons averaged 41.5 points in their two most recent wins, while Carolina is averaging 27 points per game in its two most recent games.

We see this as a high-scoring game that has a chance to fly past the 52-point total. That's the rather high number that Las Vegas handicappers are putting out, but both offenses should be able to move the ball in big chunks and light up the scoreboard.

Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan is averaging 295.0 yards per game for the league's second-ranked offense, and he has a 32-7 TD-interception ratio. Carolina counterpart Cam Newton has not had that kind of season, as he is completing just 53.8 percent of his passes, but he has thrown 17 scoring passes and run for five more touchdowns. 

The Falcons will have a problem slowing him down on his home field.

This should be a back-and-forth game, with both teams scoring consistently. The recommendation here is to go over the total.

New York Jets at New England

Winslow Townson/Associated Press

Many handicappers are hesitant to recommend double-digit favorites because it's such a daunting task.

But in this case, it seems like easy money. The New York Jets were hammered 34-13 at home by the Miami Dolphins in Week 15, while the New England Patriots are coming off a 16-3 road victory over the Denver Broncos.

The Pats played a strong tactical game against their longtime tormentors, and while Tom Brady did not fire the ball with reckless abandon at Sports Authority Field, he refused to put it in harm's way and did not throw an interception.

In addition to leaving Denver with a satisfying victory, the Patriots are in an excellent position to earn the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs. They could have done that last season, but they dropped their last two games of the regular season to the Jets and Dolphins.

They close the season with those same two opponents, and don't expect the Pats to make the same mistake two years in a row. They are not going to take either of those opponents lightly, and they should be able to handle the Jets at home with little trouble.

The quarterback matchup of Brady against Bryce Petty is a runaway for the Patriots, and while the Jets appeared to have a strong defense early in the season, that unit has failed to play to expectations and ranks 17th in yards allowed.

The Pats are favored by 16.5 points, but we don't see it being a problem. They should have a two-TD lead by the middle of the second quarter and cruise from that point to the finish. New England wins this game by at least three touchdowns and covers the point spread.