NFL Picks Week 16: What New Orleans Saints and Every Team Must Do For an Upset
As we inch even closer to the NFL Playoffs, upsets and playoff berths are the primary things on the collective minds of most NFL teams. There are now just two games left to be played.
Parity has reigned supreme in the NFL this year so it's within the reasonable realm of possibilities that almost any team could come out of week 16 with an upset win in the victory column.
Read on to find out how each team could pull the upset.
(N.B. the favorites are considered the team with the better record. In case of ties, the standard NFL tie-breaking procedure will be applied.)
Carolina Panthers Over Pittsburgh Steelers
1 of 16
With the Pittsburgh Steelers on the cusp of securing a first-round bye in the playoffs, the Carolina Panthers will literally need to play a perfect game of football to score the upset.
Jimmy Clausen would need to have the best game of his career while watching Mike Goodson run for 100 yards and two scores.
They would also need Troy Polamalu to sit out and for Ben Roethlisberger to get hurt.
Basically, an upset isn't happening here.
Arizona Cardinals Over Dallas Cowboys
2 of 16
To beat the Dallas Cowboys, rookie John Skelton is going to have to play the best game of his young career and look more like a 10-year NFL veteran.
He needs to throw the ball to Larry Fitzgerald whenever possible and let the talented wide receiver make plays.
Arizona isn't a terrible defensive team, so they could be able to hold the Cowboys offense in check. It's just a question of whether or not they can score at all.
But frankly, after losing to the Carolina Panthers last week, there isn't much hope for this Arizona team.
Buffalo Bills Over New England Patriots
3 of 16
While the New England Patriots could clinch the first seed in the AFC with a win and the Buffalo Bills aren't going to make the playoffs, an upset here wouldn't be too big of a surprise. Well it would be, but it's within the realm of possibilities.
The Bills have played all of their opponents close this season and would love to do the same in Week 16.
New England proved last week that a good quarterback can make it interesting as their porous secondary allowed Matt Flynn to shred them in his first start. If Ryan Fitzpatrick has a good game, the Bills could score a lot of points.
Now, it wouldn't hurt for Tom Brady to break his leg before the game or anything, but an upset remains a small possibility.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
New York Jets Over Chicago Bears
4 of 16
After getting an upset win over the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field in Week 15, the New York Jets hope to beat the Chicago Bears in Week 16 at Soldier Field.
To do so, Mark Sanchez must continue to develop his abilities to play football in wintery conditions. Chicago during the winter can be brutal.
Additionally, Rex Ryan will need to confuse Jay Cutler with his blitz schemes into throwing a couple of interceptions. Cutler has been known to do that from time to time, so it's not out of the realm of possibilities.
Cleveland Browns Over Baltimore Ravens
5 of 16
To win this game against the Ravens, Colt McCoy is going to have to continue to produce at a high level.
Additionally, Peyton Hillis needs to get rolling again. As ESPN's Bill Simmons suggested, Hillis has been like an avalanche this season: big, white and good at running downhill and over people. He hasn't been avalanche-like in recent weeks and needs to be.
The Browns have been better than their 5-9 record indicates, but getting a win against a Baltimore team fighting for its playoff life is going to be tough.
Washington Redskins Over Jacksonville Jaguars
6 of 16
The Washington Redskins do not have a defense (or at least that's what I've thought from watching their games), so stopping Maurice Jones-Drew and the Jacksonville running game is going to be quite difficult.
Fortunately for them, the Jaguars don't have the greatest defense in the world either. Rex Grossman should be able to throw the ball all over the field and needs to avoid making mistakes to get the victory.
Jacksonville will be motivated to win and stay in the AFC South division race with the Indianapolis Colts, but David Garrard is prone to making mistakes.
If they win the turnover battle, Washington could have a chance.
Tennessee Titans Over Kansas City Chiefs
7 of 16
If the Tennessee Titans win the battle of running games, they could have a chance to hand Kansas City its first loss at home in 2010.
Chris Johnson has been picking it up lately and will need to have over 100 yards and a few scores.
The more difficult task will be shutting down Jamaal Charles and a Chiefs rushing attack that has put up 168.6 rushing yards per game this season.
If the Titans can do both those things while Kerry Collins manages the game efficiently, the Chiefs could go down.
Detroit Lions Over Miami Dolphins
8 of 16
Honestly, all the Lions need to do to win is keep playing like they have been in recent weeks and hope that Miami does the same.
It's possible that Detroit's third-string quarterback, Drew Stanton, is better than Miami's starter, Chad Henne.
If they can stop the wildcat offense, force Henne into the inevitable two or three interceptions and get Calvin Johnson the ball, winning this game shouldn't be a problem.
At this point, it would be an upset only if you consider the records.
San Francisco 49ers Over St. Louis Rams
9 of 16
I don't know what to think about any of the NFC West divisional games anymore.
San Francisco could somehow stay alive in the playoff race at 6-9 if they beat the St. Louis Rams.
Just get Michael Crabtree and Vernon Davis the ball, make Sam Bradford look like a rookie while succumbing to the pressure, and shut down Steven Jackson.
That can't be too hard, can it?
Cincinnati Bengals Over San Diego Chargers
10 of 16
Nope, not happening.
Carson Palmer would have to be convinced that it's 2005 again and he's one of the best quarterbacks in the league. The same goes for Chad Ochocinco. Just tape "Johnson" on the back of his jersey and tell him that time machines actually exist.
Cedric Benson would need to keep running wild like he did last week.
Then comes the even harder part: shutting down Philip Rivers and Vincent Jackson. I have no suggestions on how to do that.
Denver Broncos Over Houston Texans
11 of 16
In his first NFL start, Tim Tebow actually looked pretty good against the Oakland Raiders. They may have had a chance at a victory if the coaches had more confidence in Tebow's throwing abilities.
To win against the Houston Texans, you have to be able to score points. To score points you usually have to throw the ball. Put two and two together and you can guess what I'm going to say next.
Denver's coaches have to open up the playbook and let Tebow throw. If they don't do that, Denver won't win their fourth game.
If they do, anything could happen.
Oakland Raiders Over Indianapolis Colts
12 of 16
The Raiders have the exact type of offense that can give the Colts trouble.
Darren McFadden leads a hard-nosed rushing attack that isn't afraid to deal out big blows while they take them. If Jason Campbell can occasionally pepper the secondary with accurate passes, it'll open up the running game and give the Raiders a chance to win the time-of-possession battle. That's key against the Colts.
Oakland will also need their 12th man to be very loud and throw off Peyton Manning on the road. Manning has been better away from Indianapolis this season and the Raiders need that to change.
Nnamdi Asomugha will shut down Reggie Wayne, but the rest of the secondary needs to do the same to the remaining members of the Colts' passing game.
Green Bay Packers Over New York Giants
13 of 16
Aaron Rodgers has been cleared to play and wear a football helmet instead of that oddly-shaped beanie. He'll need to pick up right where Matt Flynn left off.
The Packers need to play with confidence after hanging with the New England Patriots despite not having Rodgers. They also need for the Giants to be disheartened by the fact that they allowed 28 points in under eight minutes to lose to the Eagles.
This is a must-win game for both teams, but the Packers do have more talent on the offensive side of the ball.
They must corral the Giants' ground game and they'll have a shot at winning.
Seattle Seahawks Over Tampa Bay Buccaneers
14 of 16
To win this football game, the Seahawks must first realize that they need to start Charlie Whitehurst instead of Matt Hasselbeck.
After that first step is completed, Whitehurst must prove that his coaches made the right decision and put up some big numbers.
Finally, they'll need to prevent LeGarrette Blount from punching holes in their defense.
Minnesota Vikings Over Philadelphia Eagles
15 of 16
We're still not sure whether Brett Favre or Adrian Peterson will play. Honestly though, the Vikings might be better off without Favre.
Once they figure out who will be passing and carrying the ball, they'll need to worry about stopping the Eagles.
How do you contain LeSean McCoy, Jeremy Maclin, DeSean Jackson and Michael Vick?
Oh forget it...this is hopeless for the Vikings.
New Orleans Saints Over Atlanta Falcons
16 of 16
Matt Ryan is 19-1 in his career at the Georgia Dome. The New Orleans Saints would love to hand him his second loss at home as the nation watches on Monday Night Football.
This game should be the best of the week as two of the elite teams in the NFC go head-to-head.
Drew Brees will need to continue to play at a high level while keeping Marques Colston involved throughout the game.
The running game also needs to get going after being stopped cold last week.
On defense, the Saints will have to limit the high-flying Falcons' offense to a manageable score. It's proven to be impossible to completely shut them down this season.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
.png?w=480)
.jpg?w=600 "Post-June 1 Trade Candidates ☎️")
.JPG?w=600 "TO Talks Cowboys Relationship")
.jpg?w=600 "Taylor Heinicke Retiring")
.jpg?w=600 "49ers OC Hypes Mike Evans 🤩")