Now that Week 15 of the 2021 NFL season has concluded with the extremely rare action on Tuesday, which included a double-dip, it is time to look at the Week 16 games. For anyone still alive in an active survivor pool, here are some NFL Week 16 survivor picks.
Top Picks for NFL Week 16 Survivor League
Green Bay Packers Versus Cleveland Browns
The Green Bay Packers will host the Cleveland Browns on Christmas Day. With their Week 15 win over the Baltimore Ravens, their third straight victory, the Packers clinched the AFC North. The Browns had a chance to sit atop the AFC North with a Week 15 win, but a loss to the Las Vegas Raiders, their third loss in five games, has them in last place in the division. In all fairness, they were missing what seemed like their entire roster last week due to positive COVID-19 tests and had to start their third-string quarterback, Nick Mullens. But the Packers will be a much tougher opponent than the Raiders so the Browns getting some key pieces back might not matter.
At Lambeau Field, the Packers are 6-0 straight up and against the spread this season. The Browns are 2-4 overall and 3-3 against the spread in 2021. Green Bay also has Aaron Rodgers at quarterback while the Browns have a banged up a Baker Mayfield, who missed last week’s game due to testing positive for COVID-19, under center, assuming he passes all of the protocols. No disrespect to Mayfield, but Rodgers is having an MVP level season and Mayfield is not in the same zip code talent-wise as Rodgers.
As of now, the Packers are the top seed in the NFC and they are on track to have the conference’s only bye come playoff time. The Browns will not get in the way of that.
Los Angeles Chargers at Houston Texans
The Houston Texans have only three wins on the season and two of them are over the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Los Angeles Chargers are 8-6 after suffering an overtime loss to the Kansas City Chiefs last week and are right in the thick of the playoff hunt. While it is possible the Chargers could look past the Texans, given that Houston is one of the worst teams in the league, Los Angeles knows there is almost no room for error in their push to make the playoffs. The Chargers will not take the Texans lightly.
The Chargers are dealing with COVID-19 issues and Joey Bosa, who is unvaccinated, will miss the game. But as long as Justin Herbert, who is vaccinated, does not miss the game, this should be an easy win for the Chargers.
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The Packers and Chargers are the two best picks this week and both should win easily. But if they are no longer available, taking the Philadelphia Eagles (assuming Jalen Hurts plays) at home over the New York Giants (who shut down Daniel Jones for the rest of the season), the Chiefs at home over the Pittsburgh Steelers, the (yes, banged up) Tampa Bay Buccaneers on the road over the struggling Carolina Panthers (without Christian McCaffrey) or the Dallas Cowboys at home over the Washington Football Team (especially if the WFT has to start Garrett Gilbert at quarterback again) are all good choices as well.
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