NFL Predictions Week 16: Top Underdogs Picks, Vegas Odds and Score Predictions

It doesn't get much better than late December for NFL fans who love underdogs. 

Whether it's simple picks or playing Las Vegas odds, now is the best time of year to roll with the teams considered long shots to win matchups. In the mostly bitter cold, bad teams often wind up playing the spoiler in these matchups against rivals. 

One would think it's the inverse—the worse of the two teams wants to just get it over with and get home for the holidays. And we've seen some teams absolutely make business decisions already. But for others, their Super Bowl is ruining the chances of a rival or squeaking out one last win. 

Oddsmakers are acutely aware of this, of course. Below, we'll outline the entire week's lines and pick out some upset choices for bettors to consider.  

NFL Week 16 Matchups, Odds

Indianapolis at Baltimore (-14)  | O/U 41.5 

Minnesota (-1.5) at Green Bay | O/U 40

Atlanta at New Orleans (-5) | O/U 

Buffalo at New England (-13) | O/U 47

Cleveland at Chicago (-6.5) | O/U 38.5

Denver at Washington (-3.5) | O/U 41

Detroit (-5) at Cincinnati | O/U 43

L.A. Chargers (-7) at N.Y. Jets | O/U 42.5

L.A. Rams (-7) at Tennessee | O/U 48

Miami at Kansas City (-10) | O/U 43.5

Tampa Bay at Carolina (-9.5) | O/U 

Jacksonville (-4.5) at San Francisco | O/U 42.5

N.Y. Giants at Arizona (-4) | O/U 39.5

Seattle at Dallas (-5) | O/U 47

Pittsburgh (-10) at Houston | O/U 44

Oakland at Philadelphia (-9) | O/U 47.5

Denver at Washington (-3.5)

A battle between two teams eliminated from the playoffs doesn't sound appetizing, meaning draft position is the biggest thing swinging in the balance. 

Yet bettors shouldn't overlook the Denver Broncos visiting the Washington Redskins Sunday, where the road team has won two straight. The hosts, on the other hand, have lost two of three, getting blown out by legitimate Dallas and Los Angeles Chargers teams and slipping past a mediocre Arizona squad by five points. 

The Broncos can rightfully claim they haven't stopped fighting: 

A miserable quarterback situation has the Broncos where they are, yet the explanation isn't as simple for the Redskins. Kirk Cousins simply isn't getting any help while completing 66.1 percent of his passes with 24 touchdowns and nine inceptions. His running game averages 3.7 yards per carry, his line has let up 38 sacks and his leading wideout is Jamison Crowder with all of 717 yards and two touchdowns. 

Which isn't to say Cousins should escape blame, either. He's thrown for less than 200 yards over his last two games, which is terrible news going into a game against a Denver defense ranked second against the pass (188.7 yards per game allowed) and fourth against the rush (88.1). 

With the Redskins facing major changes this offseason, the inability to pass or run the ball well is going to hurt them in a slugfest bettors will want to capitalize on before the line moves. 

Prediction: Broncos 20, Redskins 17

Jacksonville (-4.5) at San Francisco

Simms & Lefkoe Live: Kyle Shanahan, 49ers Hit the Jackpot with Jimmy Garoppolo

The San Francisco 49ers finishing the season on one of the NFL's hottest tears would be quite the fitting end to an odd 2017. 

These 49ers are doing just that after switching to Jimmy Garoppolo under center, having won three games in a row to move the needle to 4-10. Over the three-game span, the new franchise quarterback has only thrown a pair of touchdowns and interceptions, but his presence and ability to push the ball down the field has kept defenses honest and has the team winning games. 

Garoppolo isn't a stranger to doing this solid work against great defenses, either, as David Lombardi of The Athletic pointed out: 

Fittingly enough, the Jacksonville Jaguars are a big part of the reason 2017 has been so strange. They're 10-4 and playoff-bound, more recently ripping off three wins in a row, including a takedown of the Seattle Seahawks. 

The good news for the 49ers? They're still the underdog in this scenario, and Jacksonville lead back Leonard Fournette missed last week with a few nagging injuries. With a playoff bid secure, the Jaguars might ease off the gas and try to remain healthy before the postseason. 

For the 49ers, it's a good chance to keep testing the offense against an elite defense. Like the grit shown while taking down a playoff-hungry Tennessee team—and a better quarterback than Blake Bortles in the form of Marcus Mariota—the 49ers look leagues better with an upgrade under center. 

Jacksonville isn't accustomed to heading for the playoffs and will have problems offensively on the road while thinking ahead to the playoffs. As he has recently, look for Garoppolo to lead a late drive that sets up a win. 

Prediction: 49ers 27, Jaguars 24

Oakland at Philadelphia (-9)

The Philadelphia Eagles were bound to cool off without Carson Wentz under center. 

This happened in Week 15, where the Eagles stole a win against the New York Giants in 34-29 fashion. The fact the game was so close, though, says it all—and members of the coaching staff ripped the effort from all angles. 

"It shouldn't take giving up three straight touchdowns to get that urgency," Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz said, according to ESPN.com's Tim McManus. "We needed to come out with more fire. If we're disappointed in anything, let's be disappointed in that."

It was a fun talking point to boast about Nick Foles tossing four touchdowns while replacing Wentz, but it came against a two-win team, and his defense coughed up three passing scores and has overall now allowed 24 or more points in three consecutive games. 

Defenses are bound to adapt to what they see from Foles on film, starting with the Oakland Raiders in Week 16. The visitors are riding a two-game skid, though it's hard to bash them too much for going down against teams like Kansas City and Dallas. 

Philadelphia's complete defensive collapse, including ranking among the worst units on third downs over their last three games, bodes well for the Derek Carr-led Raiders offense. He's completing 63.1 percent of his passes, and though they're having a down year, Michael Crabtree and Amari Cooper have combined for 13 touchdown receptions. 

On the road, Carr and a rushing attacking averaging 4.2 yards per carry can spread out a struggling Eagles defense just like a two-win team did and find plenty of success. Philadelphia is still scratching and clawing for positioning in the deep NFC, but Oakland's ability to key on Foles and make this a slow-paced, run-first affair will have them pulling away late as the spoiler. 

Prediction: Raiders 30, Eagles 26

Stats courtesy of NFL.com. Odds according to OddsShark.