Week 16 NFL Picks: Teams Sure to Pick Up Wins in Hostile Environments

Road wins never come easy in the NFL, but with the impending arrival of the postseason, it becomes easier for hopefuls to weather the hostile environments en route to a much-needed win.

Which is exactly what will happen in Week 16, as it did the week prior where a total of nine teams emerged from road trips with a fresh mark in the win column.

This pattern will hold true for a few playoff contenders this week despite the presence of would-be spoilers.

Away	Home	Prediction
Miami Dolphins	Buffalo Bills	Miami Dolphins
Minnesota Vikings	Cincinnati Bengals	Cincinnati Bengals
Indianapolis Colts	Kansas City Chiefs	Indianapolis Colts
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	St. Louis Rams	St. Louis Rams
Cleveland Browns	New York Jets	New York Jets
Dallas Cowboys	Washington Redskins	Dallas Cowboys
New Orleans Saints	Carolina Panthers	Carolina Panthers
Tennessee Titans	Jacksonville Jaguars	Jacksonville Jaguars
Denver Broncos	Houston Texans	Denver Broncos
New York Giants	Detroit Lions	Detroit Lions
Arizona Cardinals	Seattle Seahawks	Seattle Seahawks
Pittsburgh Steelers	Green Bay Packers	Green Bay Packers
Oakland Raiders	San Diego Chargers	San Diego Chargers
New England Patriots	Baltimore Ravens	Baltimore Ravens
Chicago Bears	Philadelphia Eagles	Philadelphia Eagles
Atlanta Falcons	San Francisco 49ers	San Francisco 49ers

Miami Dolphins Slip Past Buffalo Bills

The Miami Dolphins are one team looking for a wild-card berth in the AFC and have a date with Buffalo in Week 16. These two met in Week 7, which the Bills won 23-21.

But things appear simple this time around. Buffalo starting quarterback EJ Manuel will miss the game, as will No. 1 wide receiver Stevie Johnson, per the team's Twitter account:

Yikes. Miami is on a roll after upending New England in Week 15 and has the playoffs in sight. Quarterback Ryan Tannehill (3,627 yards, 23 touchdowns and 14 interceptions) is backed by a sound defense that allows an average of 21.1 points per game.

While a road contest, the Dolphins are 4-3 away from Sun Life Stadium. There is something to be said about the adversity the Dolphins have overcome this year, so a trip to Buffalo with the Bills' season already over is nothing but a small blip on the radar.

Prediction: Dolphins 24, Bills 20

Dallas Cowboys Trounce Washington Redskins

The Dallas Cowboys enter FedEx Field Sunday as the favorite, but the game against Washington, a team that will be without its starting quarterback, will be no cakewalk.

Dallas should be concerned. In the past three weeks, the Cowboys defense has allowed backups Matt McGloin, Josh McCown and Matt Flynn to combine for 902 yards, eight touchdowns and two interceptions. There are no other stats worth spewing, just understand one thing—Dallas cannot stop anybody through the air.

Which is why a showdown with Washington backup Kirk Cousins is a bit concerning. He went out last week against Atlanta and threw for 381 yards and three scores. Coach Mike Shanahan told reporters, via the team's official site, that he is more comfortable than ever this week:

"

Well, one thing I think that he was able to do is with all the OTA reps, with the summer camp reps, he got a full share, which was big in his development going into this year. Then all of a sudden, you don’t get any reps until last week, so I know that he’s enjoying the repetition that he’s gotten and he gets to work with the first unit again. So that’s a big plus for him. You can see he’s more comfortable this week than he was last week.

"

This is certainly an issue for Dallas, but it is important to point out the Cowboys had little issue moving past the Redskins in Week 6 via a 31-16 thrashing.

Washington is just as deserving of criticism defensively and ranks dead last in the NFL with an average of 31 points allowed per game. This has the chance to turn into a shootout, and in such a contest, the smart money is on Tony Romo and Dez Bryant, not Cousins and Pierre Garcon.

Prediction: Cowboys 34, Redskins 24

Denver Broncos Destroy Houston Texans

This will be a fun one to watch.

An angry Peyton Manning is a nasty Peyton Manning, and the frontrunner for MVP looked anything but in Week 15 as he tossed two touchdowns and an interception in a loss to San Diego.

Unlike the Chargers, the Houston Texans have nothing to play for in Week 16 outside of the No. 1 overall draft pick in 2014.

Houston is shutting it down and has lost 12 straight. The latest domino to fall is running back Ben Tate, who was placed on injured reserve per James Palmer of CSN Houston:

This means Dennis Johnson, owner of 37 career carries, is the lead back for Houston. He and the Texans offense will simply not have the firepower to stay in it with Manning, who leads the NFL's No. 1 offense at an average of 38.2 points per game.

Houston may hang tough at home in the hopes of playing spoiler, but the depleted roster simply does not have enough active talent to make this competitive by the fourth quarter.

Prediction: Broncos 38, Texans 24