Daddy’s Hangout 2017 Week 16 NFL Predictions

Welcome to Week 16 of the NFL season, which means there’s two weeks left in the regular season. There are several teams fighting to get into the playoffs, as well as positioning. Last week happened to be one of the worse weeks I’ve ever had. My record was 2-5, which dropped my record to 58-44 and brought my winning percentage from 59 to 56.9%. Unfortunately, we had another injury to an MVP candidate when Antonio Brown went down with a calf injury against the Patriots. This week I’ll be predicting seven games, which includes two Monday night games. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone out there, oh yeah, Let’s Get Started!!

We start things off with one of the two Saturday night games. The Minnesota Vikings will travel to Lambeau Field and face the Green Bay Packers. Minnesota is still in the hunt for home-field advantage as they’re hoping the Eagles have a meltdown. The Vikings got back on track last week after having their 8-game winning streak snapped the week before. Can the Vikings defense continue to dominate and beat the Packers? Green Bay is officially out of the playoffs, Aaron Rodgers was placed on IR and Devante Adams will miss the game with a concussion. The Packers are hoping to play spoiler and knock the Vikings out of their first-round bye. Can they do it? I’m going with the Vikings to continue to roll and beat Green Bay again.

Minnesota Win 24-17

This will be contest between two of the younger teams in the league. The Los Angeles Rams will make that East Coast trip to Tennessee to face the Titans. Los Angeles rebounded nicely last week by blowing out the Seahawks on the road. Todd Gurley has emerged as a candidate for league MVP after his amazing performance. Jared Goff continues to develop into a great QB as this team’s future is very bright. They’re still in contention for a first-round bye, but need help. Tennessee comes into this game as one of three teams tied for the two Wild Card spots in the AFC. The Titans are currently on a two-game losing streak after suffering heartbreaking losses against Arizona and San Francisco. Can they rebound and keep their hopes alive for a playoff berth? I’m going with the Rams to leave with the victory.

Los Angeles Win 31-21

We have a battle between AFC East rivals as Buffalo try to secure a playoff bid. The New England Patriots will host the Buffalo Bills, which should be a physical game. Buffalo have quietly won three out of their last four games. The Bills are tied with the Titans and Ravens for the both Wild Card spots as they continue to ride LeSean McCoy. With their final two games on the road against division opponents, can the Bills find a way to end their drought and make the playoffs? New England is atop of the AFC after a crazy come from behind win in Pittsburgh last week. They control their own destiny as they finish the season at home for the final two games. I’m going with the Patriots to win this game and inch closer to homefield advantage throughout the playoffs.

New England Win 30-20

Speaking of playoff implications, this is the game with both teams needing this win for various reasons. The New Orleans Saints will host their division rival Atlanta Falcons. Atlanta comes into this game holding on to the final Wild Card spot. The Falcons beat the Saints a couple weeks ago at home as the game was intense at times. We had Sean Payton throwing up a choking signs and Alvin Kamara was knocked out early in the game. New Orleans is looking to clinch the division title and they’re still in the hunt for a possible first-round bye, but they would need help. The Saints need this game bad because if they were to lose, next weeks game between the Falcons & Panthers could be for the division. In the end, New Orleans will get revenge and beat Atlanta.

New Orleans Win 34-27

This is pretty much an elimination game as the loser won’t make the playoffs. The Seattle Seahawks will travel to Dallas to face the Cowboys who get Ezekiel Elliott back. Seattle have dropped two games in a row, which include losing to the Rams 42-7. The Seahawks would need to win and have the Falcons lose their final two games to make the playoffs. Can Russell Wilson lead them to the improbable win over the Cowboys? After losing three games in a row, everyone wrote the Cowboys off, myself included. Since then, they have won three in a row and the defense has played great as they allowed less than 14 points a game. With Elliott being back in the fold, Dallas should leave with the win over Seattle.

Dallas Win 31-20

This will be the first Monday night game as the Pittsburgh Steelers travel to Houston to face the Texans. The Steelers will be without Antonio Brown as he deals with his calf injury. Pittsburgh is trying to get one step closer to a first-round bye. The Steelers still have a chance at homefield advantage throughout the AFC playoffs if they were to win out and the Patriots lose one game. Can the Steelers bounce back and beat the Texans on the road? Houston have dropped six of seven games since Deshaun Watson went down with his ACL injury. This will be the final home game for the Texans and they hope to win to spoil the Steelers first-round ambitions? I’m going with the Steelers to rebound and beat the Texans.

Pittsburgh Win 26-24

The final Monday night game will see the Oakland Raiders travel to Philadelphia to face the Eagles. Oakland have dropped two games in a row to all, but eliminate them from playoff consideration. It’s crazy that many people had them challenging the Patriots for a shot at the Super Bowl this year. The defense has played better, but the offense continues to struggle. Can the Raiders head to Philly and pull off the huge upset? Last week was the first game without Carson Wentz and Nick Foles looked good. The issue for the Eagles was the defense giving up a lot of yards and big plays. Will the Eagles rebound and clinch homefield advantage throughout the NFC playoffs? I’m going with the Eagles to win as they head into the final week.

Philadelphia Win 35-21

Are you ready for Week 16? What game are you looking forward the most? What do you think about my picks? Check out the playoff standings according my predictions this week. Leave a comment below.

AFC Playoff Standings