NFL Picks Week 16: Latest Odds, Over/Under Lines and Predictions

Lovie Smith has been biding his time and counting the days.

When the Chicago Bears and Smith parted company after the 2012 season, Smith knew it would just be a matter of time before he had an opportunity to meet up with his former employer.

That opportunity will take place on Sunday in Tampa.

Smith is finishing his second season with the Bucs. While Tampa Bay has a 6-8 record, the team has shown considerable improvement this season and has a franchise quarterback in Jameis Winston who is finishing his rookie year.

The Bears have had little success since Smith guided them to a 10-6 record in his final season. They appeared to make some progress shortly after midseason when they beat the Green Bay Packers on Thanksgiving night, but they have since lost three games in a row.

Two of those games came at home to San Francisco and Washington, two teams with losing records that had not beaten anyone on the road—until they had a chance to play at Soldier Field.

Smith is the quiet type of head coach. He is not a yeller or a screamer, and he is not one for impassioned speeches. Yet, his Chicago players knew what he was thinking and now his Buccaneers also are on the same page.

This game means a lot to Smith. He had a winning record with the Bears (81-63-0), yet management tired of a team that failed to make the playoffs in his last two seasons. 

Now he gets a chance for payback. Look for Smith and the Bucs to unleash Winston, running back Doug Martin and wide receiver Mike Evans on the Bears.

Chicago offered little resistance at Minnesota in Week 15, and the effort may not improve here. If the Bucs can get off to a lead, look for them to pile it on. The Bucs are three-point home favorites, according to Odds Shark. 

They may not win many games by double digits, but this should be one of them.

Game	Line	Over/Under	Prediction
San Diego at Oakland	Oakland -5	47	Oakland; Over
Washington at Philadelphia	Philadelphia -3	47.5	Washington; Over
Pittsburgh at Baltimore	Pittsburgh -11.5	47.5	Pittsburgh; Under
San Francisco at Detroit	Detroit -8.5	--	Detroit
Indianapolis at Miami	No line	--	Indianapolis
New England at N.Y. Jets	New England -3	45.5	N.Y. Jets; Over
Dallas at Buffalo	Buffalo -7	43.5	Buffalo; Under
Houston at Tennessee	No line	--	Houston
Chicago at Tampa Bay	Tampa Bay -3	45.5	Tampa Bay; Under
Cleveland at Kansas City	Kansas City -14	42.5	Kansas City; Over
Carolina at Atlanta	Carolina -7.5	47.5	Carolina; Under
Jacksonville at New Orleans	New Orleans -3.5	--	Jacksonville
St. Louis at Seattle	Seattle -14	40.5	St. Louis; Under
Green Bay at Arizona	Arizona -4.5	49.5	Arizona; Over
N.Y. Giants at Minnesota	Minnesota -4	--	Minnesota
Cincinnati at Denver	Denver -3.5	41	Denver; Under

Redskins and Eagles will light up the scoreboard

The Washington Redskins have gained a degree of respectability.

After beating the Buffalo Bills 35-25 in Week 15, they reached the .500 mark with a 7-7 record. More importantly, they have a one-game lead in the NFC East and hold their own destiny.

If the Redskins can beat the Philadelphia Eagles on the road Saturday night, they will clinch the division title. That's quite an achievement for head coach Jay Gruden and quarterback Kirk Cousins. Gruden installed Cousins as his starting quarterback during training camp.

The Eagles hold their own destiny as well. Even though they were hammered at home by Arizona Sunday night, the Eagles will win the NFC East if they can beat Washington and follow up with a win at MetLife Stadium against the New York Giants in Week 17.

Philadelphia gave up 40 points at home to Arizona 45 points at home earlier this season to Tampa Bay. We don't expect the Eagles to have finally figured out how to play effective defense by kickoff.

The Redskins have won just one road game, but we expect them to move the ball at will against Philadelphia. Sam Bradford should also be able to do the same against a Redskins defense that competes hard but ranks 25th in yards allowed.

This should be a high-scoring game that could come down to the final possession. While we like the Redskins plus the three points, our recommendation for this game is to take the over 47.5 points. 

This game could approach 54 points or more.

Brian Bahr/Getty Images

Raiders should dominate in home finale vs. Chargers

The San Diego Chargers dominated the Miami Dolphins in their 2015 home finale by a 30-14 margin. While the Chargers were happy to take out a season's worth of frustrations on the Dolphins, they also wanted to give their fans a strong performance to remember them by.

While nothing is official about a Chargers move, it has been rumored that they will be leaving San Diego at the end of the season, as reported by Sports Illustrated's Don Banks. The Raiders are also rumored to be leaving Oakland, per Banks, because they have not been able to secure a modern stadium in the East Bay. If they are leaving at the end of the season, this would be their last home game in Oakland since they close the regular season at Kansas City.

Just as the Chargers came up with a huge effort against Miami, look for the Raiders to do the same here. Derek Carr, Latavius Murray, Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree have given the Raiders some bright moments this year, and look for an explosive performance in the home finale.

The Raiders are five-point favorites, and we expect them to win by seven or more against an opponent that has won just one road game this season.