Capsules for NFL Week 16 Sunday games are below.
Buffalo Bills (10-4) at Cleveland Browns (3-11)
Sunday, 1 p.m. ET
FanDuel odds: Bills -10.5, Total 41.5
Series Rewind: The Browns have the 13-10 edge all-time (counting playoffs), but Buffalo has won three of the past four and five of seven in the series. However, it’s been since 2012 that the Bills won in Cleveland, falling short there in 2013 and 2019.
The Bills have at least 10 wins for the seventh straight season, the longest streak in franchise history. Next in their sights is seven straight years with a playoff trip; the Bills need one more win along with a loss by either Houston or Indianapolis in order to punch their ticket. Reigning NFL MVP Josh Allen leads the league’s top rushing offense (158.5 yards per game) and third-best scoring offense (29.4 ppg), as he has totaled 37 touchdowns to this point, 25 passing and 12 rushing. Dawson Knox had two touchdown receptions in last week’s crucial win over AFC East leader New England, and he could see additional playing time if fellow tight end Dalton Kincaid is hindered by his knee injury. Browns rookie QB Shedeur Sanders will face a tall task in challenging the Bills, who boast the second-stingiest passing defense (169.5 yards per game) in the NFL. Sanders’ fifth career game and fourth start was his worst so far, with 177 yards and three picks in last week’s 31-3 loss at Chicago. The Browns are not playoff-bound, but one storyline worth watching is Myles Garrett’s shot at breaking the single-season sacks record. He collected 1.5 sacks last week to boost his season total to 21.5, one shy of the record shared by Michael Strahan (in 2001) and T.J. Watt (in 2021).
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-7) at Carolina Panthers (7-7)
Sunday, 1 p.m. ET
FanDuel odds: Buccaneers -3, Total 48.5
Series Rewind: The Buccaneers walloped Carolina 48-14 last December and swept the 2024 season series to run their dominance in the series to nine wins in the past 10 games.
Since the start of the 2021 season, the Buccaneers can claim ownership of the South, holding at least a share of the division lead for 73 of the 87 weeks with four consecutive division titles. Carolina last won the division in 2015 but the Panthers share first place in the NFC South, matching Tampa Bay’s current 7-7 record with three weeks — and two games against the Buccaneers — left in the regular season. “We’re in the same position we’ve been in the past two or three years,” Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles said of a tight race. “We have an opportunity. We still have everything right in front of us. … We’re playing meaningful games in December.” The Panthers might be early arrivals to the postseason conversation under second-year coach Dave Canales. Wins over NFC contenders — most recently beating the Los Angeles Rams, 31-28, on Nov. 30 — has helped shift the narrative. Canales and the Panthers are well aware of the final step necessary to realize a postseason goal: beat the division champs. The Buccaneers have won five consecutive meetings and during their 9-1 string over the past five years, Tampa outscored Carolina by 124 points (287-163). The Buccaneers have won only once since October, so their 1-5 record coming down the stretch has been troublesome. They’ve lost to NFC South rivals New Orleans and Atlanta in their past two games. Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield, a former Panther, was coached by Canales in Tampa before the Panthers hired him away in 2024. Mayfield should have a nice selection of weapons to work with after last week’s return of wide receiver Mike Evans. Coming back from a collarbone injury, Evans hauled in six catches for 132 yards in the Atlanta game and already had the Panthers’ full attention.
Los Angeles Chargers (10-4) at Dallas Cowboys (6-7-1)
Sunday, 1 p.m. ET
FanDuel odds: Cowboys -1.5, Total 49.5
Series Rewind: The Chargers have won their past three road games in the series. Their last road loss against Dallas came in 1990 when the Cowboys played in Irving.
The Cowboys must win their three remaining regular-season games and have the NFC East-leading Philadelphia Eagles lose all three of theirs to avoid missing the playoffs for the second straight season. The outlook isn’t looking good after Dallas allowed 78 total points while losing back-to-back games to the Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings. Dak Prescott leads the NFL with 3,931 passing yards while closing in on his fourth career 4,000-yard campaign. Tony Romo is the only Cowboys quarterback currently with four such seasons. Prescott ranks third with 26 touchdown passes, and he has been intercepted 10 times. Wideout CeeDee Lamb is 24 yards shy of his fifth straight 1,000-yard season. The Chargers are red-hot with six wins in their past seven games. Los Angeles can clinch a playoff spot with a win over the Cowboys along with some help from either the Las Vegas Raiders (against the Houston Texans) or San Francisco 49ers (vs. the Indianapolis Colts). The Chargers allowed just 239 yards in last week’s 16-13 road win over the Kansas City Chiefs. It marked the third straight game and sixth in the past seven that the Chargers gave up 20 or fewer points. Justin Herbert (3,191 yards) will play for the third straight week after undergoing left hand surgery.
Kansas City Chiefs (6-8) at Tennessee Titans (2-12)
Sunday, 1 p.m. ET
FanDuel odds: Chiefs -3, Total 37.5
Series Rewind: Andy Reid is 3-9 all-time against the Titans. Tennessee interim head coach Mike McCoy is 2-6 all-time against the Chiefs.
Chiefs coach Andy Reid isn’t in a tinsel-tossing mood days after losing Patrick Mahomes to a season-ending knee injury last Sunday. While Mahomes gets busy attacking post-surgery rehabilitation with a goal of getting on the field in September, the Titans are eager for any advantage to help further rookie QB Cam Ward’s development. Tennessee has been outscored by a league-worst 169 points with 24 fewer touchdowns than its opponents. The Chiefs have a three-game losing streak and lug the emotional letdown of losing Mahomes and what was left of faint playoff hopes last week in a 16-13 heartbreaker to the Chargers. Gardner Minshew takes the reins for the Chiefs with questions around the formation due to injuries at the wide receiver position. He went to TE Travis Kelce consistently in his cameo subbing for Mahomes last week. Kelce is 203 yards shy of 1,000 yards for the season and 13 receptions away from hitting 80 for the 10th year in a row. The Titans have their highest two-game point total of the season — 55. Kansas City put up 23 total points the past two weeks and was held under 275 total yards by the Chargers and Texans.
Minnesota Vikings (6-8) at New York Giants (2-12)
Sunday, 1 p.m. ET
FanDuel odds: Vikings -2.5, Total 43.5
Series Rewind: What a difference a year makes. Minnesota opened the 2024 season with a 28-6 win against the Giants at MetLife Stadium when the starting QBs were Sam Darnold (Vikings) and Daniel Jones (New York).
A couple of 22-year-old quarterbacks go head-to-head as Minnesota’s J.J. McCarthy makes his ninth NFL start and New York’s Jaxson Dart makes his 10th. The Vikings have followed up a four-game losing streak with two straight wins against the NFC East, with McCarthy throwing five touchdowns and just one interception in victories against the Commanders and Cowboys. The Giants have lost eight in a row and are 0-2 against the NFC North with losses to the Bears and Packers. Dart leads all rookie QBs in TD passes (13) and ranks second in passing yards (1,802). Vikings star Justin Jefferson hasn’t caught a touchdown pass since Week 9 and hasn’t topped 100 yards since Week 5. New York first-round pick LB Abdul Carter is coming off a monster game vs. Washington and is looking for his third straight game with a sack. Giants LB Brian Burns is second in the NFL with 13 sacks. McCarthy has been sacked 24 times in eight games.
Cincinnati Bengals (4-10) at Miami Dolphins (6-8)
Sunday, 1 p.m. ET
FanDuel odds: Bengals -4.5, Total 47.5
Series Rewind: The Dolphins lead the all-time series 18-8, but the Bengals won the most recent game in the series (27-15 in 2022) and have won three of the past five over Miami.
While Cincinnati and Miami were both eliminated from playoff contention with their losses last week, they’re approaching that news in vastly different ways. The Dolphins are benching starting QB Tua Tagavailoa, who has a league-leading 15 interceptions and had just 65 passing yards through three quarters of Monday’s 28-15 loss at Pittsburgh. Quinn Ewers, a seventh-round pick in April’s draft, will make his first career start against the Bengals. He came off the bench to complete 5 of 8 passes for 53 yards in his first career appearance Oct. 19 at Cleveland. He’ll likely be helped by breakout running back De’Von Achane, who has 105-plus scrimmage yards in six straight games and a touchdown in 10 of his last 11 home games. The Bengals, on the other hand, are sticking with quarterback Joe Burrow despite not having any remaining postseason stakes. Cincinnati was shut out for the first time in a Burrow start last week, falling 24-0 at home to the Ravens. In his first three starts back from a toe injury that sidelined him for nine games, Burrow has 770 passing yards, six touchdowns and four interceptions. With 132 yards last week, receiver Ja’Marr Chase became just the second player in NFL history (along with Randy Moss) to amass 6,500 receiving yards and 50 touchdown catches in his first five seasons.
New York Jets (3-11) at New Orleans Saints (4-10)
Sunday, 1 p.m. ET
FanDuel odds: Saints -5.5, Total 40.5
Series Rewind: These teams have faced off just five times in the past 20 years. New Orleans has won four of those games, including the past two, to claim an 8-6 lead in the all-time series.
While both New York and New Orleans are nearing the end of underwhelming seasons, they probably feel a bit differently about the rookie quarterbacks they’ll start in this week’s matchup. Saints second-round pick Tyler Shough enters coming off back-to-back wins over division opponents, the team’s first multiple-game winning streak of the season. After rushing for 55 yards and two scores Dec. 7 vs. Tampa Bay, Shough completed a career-high 75% of his passes for 272 yards and a touchdown in Sunday’s 20-17 win over Carolina. New Orleans is 3-4 when Shough starts after it was 1-6 with Spencer Rattler at the helm. With 52 more receiving yards, Saints running back Alvin Kamara would become the fifth player in NFL history with 5,000 rushing and receiving yards in his career. Jets rookie QB Brady Cook has been forced into action due to injuries to Tyrod Taylor and Justin Fields. He had a touchdown and three interceptions in his first career start last week vs. Jacksonville and has thrown 339 yards and five interceptions in his first two games. Jets coach Aaron Glenn fired defensive coordinator Steve Wilks this week after the defense allowed 48 points in the loss to the Jaguars. New York is 30th in scoring defense (28.4 points per game) and last in takeaways (three), with no interceptions this season.
Jacksonville Jaguars (10-4) at Denver Broncos (12-2)
Sunday, 4:05 p.m. ET
FanDuel odds: Broncos -3.5, Total 46.5
Series Rewind: The Broncos have won four of the past five games to take an 8-6 lead in the series. The road team has won the past four times Denver and Jacksonville faced off.
The Broncos became the first AFC team to punch their playoff ticket with last week’s 34-26 win over Green Bay, their 11th straight to tie the franchise record. Things don’t get easier from here with a Jacksonville team that has won five straight games coming to town this week. Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence threw a career-high five touchdowns and ran for a sixth in last week’s 48-20 beatdown of the Jets. After he had 11 interceptions in the first 11 games of the season, Lawrence has nine TDs and no picks in the past three games. Jacksonville has scored 35-plus points in three of its last five games. While the Jaguars have a one-game cushion in the AFC South, Denver has a one-game cushion in the race for the AFC No. 1 seed with its win last week paired with New England’s loss to Buffalo. Broncos QB Bo Nix tied his career high with four touchdowns last week, as Denver outscored the Packers 20-3 over the final 25 minutes of the game. The Broncos’ defense leads the league with 58 sacks, 10 more than any other team and just off the pace of breaking the Bears’ NFL record of 72 sacks in 1984. Jacksonville’s defense had three interceptions last week to bring its season tally to 18, second in the league.
Atlanta Falcons (5-9) at Arizona Cardinals (3-11)
Sunday, 4:05 p.m. ET
FanDuel odds: Falcons -2.5, Total 47.5
Series Rewind: The Falcons are 1-9 in the desert, including a wild-card playoff loss in the 2008 season. Since the Cardinals left St. Louis in 1988, Atlanta’s lone win at Arizona was a 34-14 victory on Sept. 30, 2001.
Arizona is on a six-game losing streak and hasn’t won a home game since Week 2 against the Panthers. Atlanta has won two of its last three road games, including a 29-28 win at Tampa Bay in Week 15. Both teams are playing out the string with backup quarterbacks, with 37-year-old Kirk Cousins leading the Falcons against journeyman Jacoby Brissett and the Cardinals. Cousins turned back the clock with a season-high 373 yards and three TDs against the Bucs, while Brissett leads the NFL with 2,708 passing yards since replacing Kyler Murray in Week 6. Bijan Robinson has been a bright spot for Atlanta, leading the NFL with 1,858 yards from scrimmage, and TE Kyle Pitts is coming off an epic 11-catch, 166-yard, three-touchdown game at Tampa. Cardinals counterpart Trey McBride just became the first tight end in NFL history with back-to-back 100-catch seasons. Falcons edge James Pearce has recorded a sack in six straight games, two shy of the NFL rookie record (Jevon Kearse, 1999).
Las Vegas Raiders (2-12) at Houston Texans (9-5)
Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET
FanDuel odds: Texans -14.5, Total 37.5
Series Rewind: The Raiders routed Houston 38-20 in 2022 when they had Derek Carr (241 passing yards, one TD), Josh Jacobs (143 rushing yards, three TDs) and Davante Adams (eight catches, 95 yards) on the roster.
The Texans are currently in possession of the final AFC wild-card spot but have their eyes on overtaking the Jacksonville Jaguars and winning the AFC South. Houston has rattled off six straight wins and registered a season high for points last week with a 40-20 rout of the Arizona Cardinals. C.J. Stroud passed for 260 yards and three touchdowns with Nico Collins collecting two of the scoring receptions. The Texans also have allowed 20 or fewer points in five straight games behind the best all-around defense in the NFL. Defensive ends Danielle Hunter (12 sacks) and Will Anderson Jr. (10.5) are each enjoying big campaigns. The Raiders have been big disappointments in Pete Carroll’s first season as coach and are tied with the Tennessee Titans and New York Giants for the league’s worst record. Las Vegas has dropped eight consecutive games, twice losing 31-0, first to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 7 and to the Philadelphia Eagles last Sunday. Kenny Pickett passed for just 64 yards and the Raiders had just 75 total yards and seven first downs. Rookie Ashton Jeanty has rushing outputs of 31, 30 and 35 yards over the past three games. Linebacker Devin White (149 tackles) and defensive end Maxx Crosby (10 sacks) have been shining standouts during the dismal campaign.
Pittsburgh Steelers (8-6) at Detroit Lions (8-6)
Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET
FanDuel odds: Lions -6.5, Total 51.5
Series Rewind: The Steelers have won five of the past six meetings, but the most recent game in 2021 went to overtime and ended in a 16-16 tie.
The rapid release of Rams veteran QB Matthew Stafford stunted the Lions’ pass rush last week, prompting similar concerns for head coach Dan Campbell as the Lions hit Week 16 knowing there’s only one possible way into the postseason: win three consecutive games and hope for chaos to strike the seven teams ahead of them in the NFC playoff picture. Both coaches referenced expectations for a physical game won in the trenches this week. The Lions put up 34 points in a loss to the Rams last week and there’s as much power as there is pomp in the Detroit scheme. Pittsburgh gears up for Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs, who has 1,100 rushing yards, 494 receiving yards and 16 total touchdowns in 2025. The Lions average 131.1 yards per game on the ground and the Steelers are giving up 120.9 rushing yards per game as part of the league’s 28th-ranked defense in total yards allowed (383.3 per game). Aaron Rodgers and his snappy delivery make pressuring the pocket a long day’s work but Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson leads the NFL in pressures. He’s getting help from a group he dubbed “castoffs,” which includes the team’s leader in catches, No. 2 running back Kenneth Gainwell. The Steelers are likely to emphasize Jaylen Warren and Gainwell due to the balance they can bring an inconsistent offense. Gainwell had 126 yards from scrimmage Monday in the Steelers’ win over the Miami Dolphins on Monday.
New England Patriots (11-3) at Baltimore Ravens (7-7)
Sunday, 8:20 p.m. ET
FanDuel odds: Ravens -3, Total 48.5
Series Rewind: The teams have split the past eight meetings after the Patriots won seven of the first eight (including playoffs).
The Patriots are 6-0 on the road this season and stand one game behind the Denver Broncos in the battle for the No. 1 seed in the AFC. New England will know when it takes the field Sunday night whether it can clinch a playoff spot with a win. Results involving the Indianapolis Colts (vs. San Francisco 49ers) and Houston Texans (vs. Las Vegas Raiders) are in play. Drake Maye passed for a season-low 155 yards in last week’s 35-31 loss to the Buffalo Bills. The setback ended a 10-game winning streak. Rookie TreVeyon Henderson rushed for 148 yards — one more than his previous high — and two touchdowns. Baltimore is two games behind the Texans in the wild-card chase so its best bet to reach the playoffs is overtaking the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC North. Baltimore is one game behind but will play at Pittsburgh in the final week of the season. The Ravens halted a two-game losing streak with a strong 24-0 win over the Cincinnati Bengals last week. The Bengals had clobbered Baltimore 17 days earlier. Derrick Henry rushed for 100 yards on just 11 carries and ranks fifth in the NFL with 1,125 yards. Linebacker Roquan Smith racked up 14 tackles and leads the squad with 114.
–Field Level Media
