Week 16 NFL Picks: Odds, Prop Bets and Predictions for Sunday's Schedule

The Arizona Cardinals and the Green Bay Packers should be able to provide a test for each other when it comes to postseason readiness.

Both teams still have important things to accomplish in the regular season, but barring any major surprises, the Cardinals will be the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs, while the Packers should be the No. 3 seed if they can hold onto the NFC North lead.

Can the Cardinals dominate on their home field against a playoff-caliber team with perhaps the most talented quarterback in the game in Aaron Rodgers?

How can the Packers hold up against one of the most complete and talented teams in the NFL while playing a road game with a very supportive crowd?

That last question is likely to be the one that is most on point as the Cardinals have done it on both sides of the ball this year with the No. 1 ranked offense and the seventh-rated defense. Carson Palmer has been razor-sharp most of the season, and he has thrown for 4,277 yards with a sublime 32-6 TD-interception ratio.

Those are the kind of numbers that are going to be difficult for Green Bay's 17th-ranked defense. The Packers have some holes in their secondary, and look for wideouts Larry Fitzgerald and John Brown to take advantage. The Cardinals have also discovered an explosive running back in David Johnson, who is coming off a 189-yard effort at Philadelphia in Week 16.

All season the Cardinals have found one avenue or another to travel, and they have been successful nearly every time.

The Packers may have a wonderful quarterback in Rodgers, but his wide receivers have had a hard time getting open this year, particularly on plays downfield.

Uncharacteristically, the Packers have the 26th-ranked passing game with just 225.1 air yards per game.

That's not going to be enough to put pressure on the Cardinals, who are 4.5-point favorites, according to Odds Shark.

The Cardinals are the better team, they are playing at home and they are playing to earn a first-round bye in the postseason. Look for the Cardinals to win and get the cover in what should be one of the best games of the year.

Game	Line	Over/Under	Prediction
Pittsburgh at Baltimore	Pittsburgh -11	47	Pittsburgh; Under
San Francisco at Detroit	Detroit -11	43	Detroit; Under
Indianapolis at Miami	Miami -1	44	Indianapolis; Under
New England at N.Y. Jets	New England -2.5	45	N.Y. Jets; Over
Dallas at Buffalo	Buffalo -7	42	Buffalo; Under
Houston at Tennessee	Hou -3	40.5	Houston; Under
Chicago at Tampa Bay	Tampa Bay -3.5	45.5	Tampa Bay; Under
Cleveland at Kansas City	Kansas City -11	42.5	Kansas City; Over
Carolina at Atlanta	Carolina -7	47.5	Carolina; Under
Jacksonville at New Orleans	New Orleans -3	51.5	Jacksonville; Over
St. Louis at Seattle	Seattle -13.5	40.5	St. Louis; Under
Green Bay at Arizona	Arizona -4.5	51	Arizona; Over
N.Y. Giants at Minnesota	Minnesota -7	44.5	Minnesota; Under
Cincinnati at Denver	Denver -3.5	39.5	Denver; Under

Lions will have no problems lighting up the scoreboard in home finale

When the Detroit Lions look back on the 2015 season, they will be regretful about a brutal start that saw them lose seven of their first eight games before waking up, and then a Hail Mary loss to the Green Bay Packers in Week 13.

If the Lions had won one or two more games during the first half of the year and not had to absorb a last-second loss at the hands of the Packers, they might be in playoff contention themselves.

That's because Matthew Stafford is one of the most gifted quarterbacks in the NFL, and he has been working his magic with wide receivers Calvin Johnson and Golden Tate (156 receptions combined).

When the Lions take the field against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 16, they should not have a problem moving the ball and scoring touchdowns.

The 49ers are not much of an offensive team, but they have been more competitive with Blaine Gabbert at quarterback than they were with Colin Kaepernick earlier in the year.

The Niners should compete for 60 minutes, and that may mean scoring two touchdowns or more during the final portion of the game after the Lions have built a big lead.

That's usually a perfect formula for the over coming through. The total in this game is 43 points, and we see these two teams flying past that total in the final quarter. Take the over here.

L.G. Patterson/Associated Press

Lovie's Bucs get it done at home vs. Bears

This may not be one of the more attractive games on the Week 16 schedule, because neither the Chicago Bears nor the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will have any opportunity to play postseason football.

But this is not a case of two teams playing out the string. The Bucs have been on an upward trend this year with quarterback Jameis Winston, and he has a big-play wideout in Mike Evans.

The Bucs are not going to take it easy in this game, either. Lovie Smith served as the head coach of the Bears for nine seasons, and his Bucs lost a game to his former team last year.

The Bears had been on an upward trend themselves through late November, but they have suffered three straight losses and have lost their momentum.

Look for Winston, Evans and running back Doug Martin (1,305 yards) to attack the Bears with ferocity. The Bucs are 3.5-point favorites, but they should win this game by seven points or more. Take the favored Bucs in their home finale.