The biggest takeaway from Week 15 of the NFL season was the Kansas City Chiefs’ season finishing unusually early after another home defeat to the Chargers.
The wild, erratic form of the AFC continued at a pace, with the Bills flying by the seat of their pants in a second-half comeback against their AFC West rivals, the New England Patriots.
The final takeaway was the ever-impressive Rams beating the Lions in a high-scoring NFC classic.
Now, we take a look at what we should expect in the NFL odds week 16, so let’s take a look!
NFL Odds Week 16 At-a-Glance
This week, the lead-off match we preview is Thursday Night Football: the top of the NFC clash between the Los Angeles Rams and the Seattle Seahawks.
Los Angeles Rams vs. Seattle Seahawks (+1)
Thursday, December 18 – 8:15 PM ET
Thursday Night Football features the Rams visiting the Seahawks with the NFC West at stake.
This match is likely to have ramifications for both, with the NFC No. 1 seed on the line.
A pick ’em match on the lookahead before Sunday sees the Rams now take slight favouritism over their rivals as a reaction to their high scoring win over the Lions, whereas the Seahawks are coming off an underwhelming win over the Indianapolis Colts and the returning Phillip Rivers.
I wouldn’t downgrade the Seahawks—Rivers is a quality quarterback and, as they say, “form is temporary, class is permanent”.
That applies in isolation to last week’s match on Rivers, and it may prove to be his best performance as the next three weeks play out.
The total is interesting, given that Thursday Night Football games historically go under when teams are off a short week, let alone the challenging weather in Seattle during an icy cold snap on Thursday.
The initial money has been towards the under, pushing it down from the look-ahead 47 to 44 at many sportsbooks on the live NFL odds.
Currently, the lean is towards Seattle in their own conditions as a slight dog, and the total looks like catching money to the under until it meets resistance in the market, which I think may come as numbers 44 and lower profile towards the over.
New England Patriots vs. Baltimore Ravens (-2.5)
Sunday, December 21 – 8:20 PM ET
The Patriots, on the road against the Ravens, have an interesting profile from many angles this week.
For the opening half of last week’s game against the Bills, the Pats were the dominant franchise, steaming off into a 24-7 lead, only for Buffalo once again to finish the match strongly as they have done recently to overpower their AFC rivals.
The Ravens looked very assured in their 24-0 win over the Bengals, who ran out convincing winners in the reverse fixture only two weeks previous.
Like TNF, this game profiles towards the overs, with the number currently at 48.
The Ravens have attracted money most weeks near game day, and that is worth keeping an eye on because if that moves the spread to +3 for the Patriots, that is bound to be of interest to many.
Atlanta Falcons vs. Arizona Cardinals (+1.5)
Sunday, December 21 – 4:05 PM ET
Injury news affects the betting market, and that is worth respecting for the news surrounding the Atlanta Falcons’ impressive wide receiver Drake London.
If the midweek injury reports suggest that London practices the line will move towards the Falcons, and there has already been positive movement towards them since Thursday’s win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The lookahead had the match priced as a pick ’em, and currently, the line is fluid between -1 and -2. Should the news emerge that London plays, expect the number to reach the key -3.
Personally, the lean is towards the Falcons without London, so if you feel the same, maybe grab the -1 now at Bookmaker, who have -1.5 at (-109).
Get Your NFL Week 16 Bets On!
This week’s most notable game is on Thursday Night Football with the Rams visiting Seattle.
The total points are moving south currently, which is to be expected on a short week and in Seattle, which is challenging.
Keep up to date with the BMR Live Odds Module.
Find the Best NFL Odds for Week 16
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.
