Top NFL Picks & Betting Predictions for Week 16

Top NFL Picks & Betting Predictions for Week 16

Written by on December 19, 2017

There’s good news and bad news this week in the NFL’s Week 16 schedule: No Thursday night or Sunday night games but there are at least two games on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Christmas football! Here’s a look at two interesting NFL picks for Week 16 between the Browns and Bears, and Seahawks and Cowboys. MyBookie will be offering numerous prop betting options on each, as well as the latest NFL odds for all games.

Top NFL Picks & Betting Predictions for Week 16

Browns at Bears NFL Odds & Game Info

When: Sunday, 1 PM ET Where: Soldier Field, Chicago TV: CBS Radio: 850 AM (Cleveland) / 780 AM (Chicago) Stream Option: NFL Live Opening NFL Lines: Bears -6.5

Why Bet on Cleveland as part of your NFL Picks?

Ah the sorry Browns. They are the first team in NFL history to reach 0-14 in back-to-back seasons. But they did win in Week 16 on Christmas Eve last year, over the Chargers, to avoid 0-16 infamy. In addition, embattled coach Hue Jackson is 2-0 on Christmas Eve in his otherwise awful NFL head coaching career. He also won on the holiday in 2011 while with Oakland. Cleveland, which closes the season in Pittsburgh, lost 27-10 at home to the Ravens on Sunday. The Browns went 0-8 at home — 0-7 in Cleveland, 0-1 in London — for the second time. Cleveland is 1-29 in two seasons under Jackson, who is expected to be back despite his .033 winning percentage. The loss featured a strip-sack of rookie QB DeShone Kizer in the end zone that gave the Ravens a touchdown, a Kizer interception in the end zone on a poor decision and four total turnovers by the Browns — three by Kizer, who is responsible for 25 turnovers this season. His 3.9 yards per pass attempt were the second lowest he’s had in a game this season. Jackson said Kizer will remain the Browns’ starting quarterback for Week 16. The coach made the decision saying it’s worth giving Kizer maximum time under center as opposed to rolling with not-the-quarterback-of-the-future Cody Kessler.

Why Bet on Chicago as part of your NFL Picks?

Bears coach John Fox is expected to be fired after the season, but he’ll probably be canned after this game if the Bears embarrassingly lose it. One interesting storyline here is Chicago rookie QB Mitchell Trubisky. The Browns considered taking him at No. 1 overall in the 2017 draft as they liked him. Cleveland went with Myles Garrett but also tried to trade back up into the Top 5 to take Trubisky. The Bears moved up from No. 3 to No. 2 to ensure they got him. Like the Browns, the Bears (4-10) are playing out the string. They lost 20-10 in Detroit last Saturday. Trubisky completed 31-of-46 passes for a career-high 314 yards with a touchdown and three interceptions. A total of 161 of his passing yards and his lone touchdown – a 9-yard pass to Benny Cunningham — came on the final two possessions of the game when the Lions were willing to trade yardage for clock. Trubisky is an Ohio native who grew up rooting for the Browns. The Bears were flagged 13 times for 97 yards as a team, but on one drive in the fourth quarter, the offense committed five separate infractions. Jordan Howard rushed 10 times for 37 yards while catching all four of his targets for 26 yards. After rushing for 125 yards against the Lions in Week 11, Howard found no room to operate early in the game on the ground. TE Adam Shaheen (chest) was inactive. Shaheen had scored in two of the previous four games.

Seahawks at Cowboys NFL Odds & Game Info

When: Sunday, 4:25 PM ET Where: AT&T Stadium, Arlington TV: Fox Radio: 710 AM (Seattle) / 105.3 FM (Dallas) Stream Option: NFL Live Opening NFL Lines: Cowboys -4.5 (47)

Why Bet on Seattle as part of your NFL Picks?

The Seahawks (8-6) are almost surely going to miss the playoffs if they lose this game. They come off an embarrassing 42-7 home loss to the Rams that was the worst defeat of the Pete Carroll era and basically gave the NFC West title to Los Angeles. The Rams scored on six of seven first-half drives to take a 34-0 lead at the break. Seattle avoided the shutout on Russell Wilson’s 26-yard TD pass to Luke Willson late in the third quarter. But it was one of Wilson’s uglier performances. Wilson was 14 of 30 for 142 yards and rushed for 39 yards. He was sacked seven times. After the game, star linebacker Bobby Wagner and safety Earl Thomas were sniping at one another. Carroll chalked it up to “emotions and all that.” Said Carroll: “Guys say something that they maybe shouldn’t have said, or they wish they would have said it to each other.” The Seahawks have lost cornerback Richard Sherman, strong safety Kam Chancellor and defensive end Cliff Avril to season-ending injuries. They were missing one of their Pro Bowl linebackers on Sunday in K.J. Wright (concussion), while the other, Wagner, was noticeably affected by his hamstring injury. The Seahawks no longer control their own postseason destiny, and for the first time since 2011, Seattle is staring at the possibility of missing the playoffs entirely.

Why Bet on Dallas as part of your NFL Picks?

The Cowboys (8-6) have to win out and get plenty of help elsewhere to make the playoffs as a wild-card team. Dallas has won three straight following a three-game losing streak and gets back superstar running back Ezekiel Elliott from his six-game suspension for this one. The Cowboys athletic training staff had indirect communication with Elliott during the six weeks. As a result of those discussions, Jason Garrett has been told the running back has been working out and is in good shape. In the first eight games of the season, Elliott ran for 783 yards on 191 carries and seven touchdowns. He had at least 93 yards rushing in each of his past four games. The Cowboys lost their first three games without Elliott, failing to score at least 10 points against the Atlanta Falcons, Philadelphia Eagles and Los Angeles Chargers. Considering what Todd Gurley did to the Seahawks on Sunday with four TDs, Elliott could have a big day in his return. “We get an extreme boost because that’s our guy,” wide receiver Dez Bryant said. “That’s our horse. He gives us that extra boost of joy because of his personality and who he is. He gets guys going with his attitude and his passion and love for the game. Just seeing him back will make us play that much harder.” Dallas comes off a thrilling 20-17 win in Oakland on Sunday night. Raiders quarterback Derek Carr was ruled to have fumbled out of the end zone while scrambling from the Dallas 8-yard line with 31 seconds to play. Instead of a go-ahead touchdown, the Cowboys got the ball with 31 seconds to play and took a knee.

Expert Prediction & NFL Picks for Week 16

Take Cleveland and the points as Chicago is 0-7 all-time as a favorite under Fox. Go Dallas to win by a TD at home to potentially keep its playoff hopes alive (depending on what happens elsewhere).