NFL Week 16 Picks: Early Predictions for Every Game

Week 16 is something of a Christmas miracle for NFL fans.

After all, there are games Thursday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday as the playoff picture begins to take shape. Somehow, fans will have to make it through a football-less Friday.

Among the important contests with postseason implications are showdowns between the Dallas Cowboys and Indianapolis Colts, Seattle Seahawks and Arizona Cardinals, Denver Broncos and Cincinnati Bengals and Kansas City Chiefs and Pittsburgh Steelers.

With that in mind, here is a look at predictions for every Week 16 game on the slate.

Date	Matchup	Prediction
Thursday, Dec. 18	Tennessee Titans at Jacksonville Jaguars	Jaguars
Saturday, Dec. 20	Philadelphia Eagles at Washington	Eagles
Saturday, Dec. 20	San Diego Chargers at San Francisco 49ers	49ers
Sunday, Dec. 21	Detroit Lions at Chicago Bears	Lions
Sunday, Dec. 21	Minnesota Vikings at Miami Dolphins	Dolphins
Sunday, Dec. 21	Baltimore Ravens at Houston Texans	Ravens
Sunday, Dec. 21	Cleveland Browns at Carolina Panthers	Panthers
Sunday, Dec. 21	Atlanta Falcons at New Orleans Saints	Saints
Sunday, Dec. 21	Green Bay Packers at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Packers
Sunday, Dec. 21	Kansas City Chiefs at Pittsburgh Steelers	Steelers
Sunday, Dec. 21	New England Patriots at New York Jets	Patriots
Sunday, Dec. 21	New York Giants at St. Louis Rams	Rams
Sunday, Dec. 21	Buffalo Bills at Oakland Raiders	Bills
Sunday, Dec. 21	Indianapolis Colts at Dallas Cowboys	Colts
Sunday, Dec. 21	Seattle Seahawks at Arizona Cardinals	Seahawks
Monday, Dec. 22	Denver Broncos at Cincinnati Bengals	Broncos

AFC Game to Watch: Denver Broncos at Cincinnati Bengals

Lenny Ignelzi/Associated Press

Fans are looking for games with playoff implications in Week 16, and that is exactly what they will get when the Denver Broncos travel to Cincinnati to take on the Bengals.

The Broncos clinched the AFC West crown with a win over the San Diego Chargers in Week 15, but they are still battling with the New England Patriots for the No. 1 seed. Both squads are 11-3, but the Patriots have the head-to-head tiebreaker.

On the other hand, the Bengals can jump in the race for a first-round bye with a victory over the Broncos. Cincinnati is 9-4-1 and would find itself ahead of the Broncos with a win. However, a loss would be crippling to the Bengals’ Super Bowl hopes since the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens are both 9-5 and right behind them in the AFC North.

The 8-6 Kansas City Chiefs, Buffalo Bills and San Diego Chargers also have their eyes on a potential wild-card spot and would love to see a Cincinnati loss.

Another factor in this game is the Bengals’ lackluster reputation in marquee or prime-time games. They lost in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs in 2013, 2012, 2011, 2009 and 2005, their last five playoff games, and were also destroyed by the Cleveland Browns earlier this season in a prime-time game. 

Jeremy Birmingham of Eleven Warriors had an interesting point regarding Cincinnati’s upcoming schedule to finish the season:

On the actual field, Peyton Manning and the Denver offense always take center stage whenever the Broncos play.

Along those lines, the NFL offered its congratulations on Manning’s accomplishments during Week 15:

While the passing game is what everyone worries about when playing Denver because of Manning, Demaryius Thomas, Emmanuel Sanders, Wes Welker and Julius Thomas, Denver was second in the league in rushing yards per game entering Week 15. The emergence of running back C.J. Anderson has made Denver all the more formidable.

In the last three weeks, Anderson had 85 rushing yards against the Chargers, three touchdowns against the Buffalo Bills and 168 rushing yards against the Kansas City Chiefs.

That is going to be a problem for a Bengals defense that was 27th against the run and 21st against the pass entering Week 15.

Cincinnati clearly misses linebacker Vontaze Burfict, who is on the injured reserve list for the rest of the season. Defensive coordinator Paul Guenther discussed what his defense needed to do before facing the Browns on Sunday, according to Joe Kay of The Associated Press (via WCPO.com).

“One of the messages I am going to give the guys, that I have been telling them, is we have to be better when the odds are against us a little bit," Guenther said. "When things aren't going quite as smoothly as we want them to go, we have to go out there and buckle up and play good defense."

David Richard/Associated Press

The Bengals certainly did buckle down against the Browns and pitched a shutout in a 30-0 win. However, going up against Manning and the Denver machine is a different animal than facing rookie Johnny Manziel in his first career start.

Don’t expect another shutout.

Andy Dalton, A.J. Green and Jeremy Hill may have to keep up with the Broncos offense on the other side of the ball in this one if Cincinnati’s defense reverts back to its old form. Hill in particular has been a revelation for the Bengals and finished Sunday’s game against Cleveland with 148 rushing yards and two touchdowns.

David Richard/Associated Press

The problem for the Bengals is Denver’s defense is built to stop the run. It was second in the league entering Week 15 in rushing yards allowed per game and will likely try to force Dalton to win the game by focusing on containing Hill.

The strong Denver rush defense combined with Manning and Anderson on the other side will ultimately be too much for the Bengals over the course of the entire game.

Strike another victory for the “Bengals can’t win in the clutch” narrative. 

Prediction: Broncos 31, Bengals 17

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