NFL Predictions Week 16: Early Odds, Picks and Projections for Upcoming Schedule

It's never too early to look ahead at the upcoming week of NFL games, especially when you can take advantage of obvious lines.

Over the course of a week in the NFL, lines often change up to three or four points as the public puts their money down on one side or another. This could be the difference in a win or a loss against the spread.

There is an obvious disadvantage of this strategy in not knowing complete injury reports or other factors that could change the outcome of the game. Despite this issue, here is an early look at the Week 16 slate with predictions for each matchup.

Away	Predicted Score	Home	Pick ATS*
Tennessee Titans	14-20	Jacksonville Jaguars	JAX -3
Philadelphia Eagles	31-17	Washington Redskins	PHI -8
San Diego Chargers	21-13	San Francisco 49ers	SD +2
Kansas City Chiefs	24-27	Pittsburgh Steelers	PIT -3
Detroit Lions	28-17	Chicago Bears	DET -4.5
New England Patriots	38-21	New York Jets	NE -10
Cleveland Browns	10-16	Carolina Panthers	CAR -3.5
Atlanta Falcons	27-31	New Orleans Saints	ATL +6.5
Minnesota Vikings	17-20	Miami Dolphins	MIN +6.5
Green Bay Packers	34-17	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	GB -10
Baltimore Ravens	20-21	Houston Texans	HOU +4
New York Giants	10-17	St. Louis Rams	STL -5
Indianapolis Colts	24-28	Dallas Cowboys	DAL -3
Buffalo Bills	16-7	Oakland Raiders	BUF -6
Seattle Seahawks	20-13	Arizona Cardinals	ARI +7.5
Denver Broncos	31-27	Cincinnati Bengals	DEN -3.5

Best Bets

Philadelphia Eagles (-8) at Washington Redskins

Michael Perez/Associated Press

The Eagles certainly had a disappointing showing against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 15, but this team is still competing for a NFC East crown.

It will all come down to the play of Mark Sanchez, who started his Philadelphia career well but once again struggled with turnovers last week. His two interceptions against the Cowboys brought his total to nine on the year to go with just 10 touchdowns.

On the plus side, he should have an easier time moving the ball against the Redskins, a team that allows a 109.9 passer rating to opposing quarterbacks, by far the highest mark in the NFL.

Things have not gone well for Washington on either side of the ball lately, especially with the carousel at quarterback, as described by Grant Paulsen of 106.7 The Fan:

As Dan Steinberg of The Washington Post pointed out, the team is seemingly giving up late in games:

Even with Philadelphia's current two-game losing streak, the squad should bounce back with an easy win against the Redskins.

San Diego Chargers (+2) at San Francisco 49ers

Denis Poroy/Associated Press

There is little reason to have any faith in the 49ers at this point of the year. With Sunday's loss to the Seattle Seahawks, the team has officially been eliminated from the playoffs after going to the NFC Championship Game in each of the last three years.

The mindset of the team isn't great either, like that of Pro Bowl tackle Joe Staley, per the San Francisco Chronicle's Eric Branch:

Meanwhile, the squad wasn't playing well even before being eliminated. The recent defeat marked five games in a row where the offense failed to score 20 points, averaging 11.2 points per game in that stretch.

With a team likely going through the motions, it's hard to imagine the squad improving upon this season's 3-3 home record.

On the other hand, the San Diego Chargers still have a chance of competing for a wild-card spot even after losing to the Denver Broncos in Week 15. Considering the defense has performed admirably in consecutive losses to the Broncos and New England Patriots, the unit should have an easy time against the 49ers.

As long as Philip Rivers has even an average day, San Diego should be able to pull off the road upset.

Green Bay Packers (-10) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers 

The Buffalo Bills slowed down Aaron Rodgers and the Packers passing attack thanks to quality pressure from the defensive line. The Buccaneers do not have that ability.

Tampa Bay allows opposing quarterbacks to complete 68.3 percent of their passes, which is the highest mark in the league. Rodgers should be able to clinically move the ball down the field by finding the open target no matter who it is.

The squad will also want to make up for a potentially damaging loss in Week 15, as explained by Bleacher Report's Ian Kenyon:

Conversely, the only race the Buccaneers are in is the battle for the No. 1 pick in the 2015 draft. The squad has one win since Week 4, and that came against the equally bad Redskins.

Even with a few close losses lately, Tampa Bay shouldn't be within single digits against Green Bay.

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