NFL Picks Week 16: Dominant Favorites That Will Cover with Ease

Despite the fact that every one of these teams has its division locked up, every one of them is playing for something. The 49ers need a bye week and home field in a potential playoff game with the Saints, the Patriots are going for the top seed or at least a bye in the AFC, while the Packers still need to clinch home field advantage in the NFC.

Fortunately, they are all in good divisional matchups this week that will allow them to move one step closer. In the process, they will cover the spreads laid out by the odds makers.

Spreads according to Sportsbook

San Francisco 49ers (-2) at Seattle Seahawks

The Seahawks are charging, but their offense relies too much on Marshawn Lynch to work in this one. The 49ers don't allow anything significant on the ground. As we saw Monday Night, the 49ers have strong pass rushers and Tarvaris Jackson holds the ball for a very long time. 

That's a bad combination for an upset. When the 49ers have the ball, they do have play makers to make things happen. If need be, they've shown a willingness to bring in an extra lineman, or even two extra linemen to get Alex Smith more time. 

That hasn't always worked, but the 49ers are 11-3, so it's worked more often than not. The 49ers were dominant against the Seahawks in Week 1. Ted Ginn did return two kicks late, but the 49ers never trailed in that game. 

Look for another similar effort in this one. 

Prediction: 49ers 24, Seahawks 13

New England Patriots (-10) vs Miami Dolphins

If it's cold, Tom Brady has proven that he can perform well. That's not a concern. He torched Miami in the opening week of the season, and we're going to see that again. 

Miami scored some points in the opener and that will happen again, but not nearly enough. This will follow a similar pattern to what we saw on Sunday when the Patriots beat the Broncos. It will be close for a while, but ultimately one-sided. 

This time, the Patriots won't struggle as much early. They will put up more points than the Dolphins can match.

Prediction: Patriots 37, Dolphins 21

Green Bay Packers (-13) vs Chicago Bears

A loss will be a good thing for the Packers. They now know exactly what they do when they don't play well enough to win. 

As for the Bears, they haven't won since losing Jay Cutler and Matt Forte. This is not the scenario that's going to help them break that funk. The Packers are still playing for home field advantage. If the 49ers lose, they won't win here, but that's not going to happen.

Even if it does, it's hard to imagine the Bears keeping this one close. 

Prediction: Packers 31, Bears 10

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