NFL Week 16 Confidence Picks: The Playoffs Are Right There, Baby!

Having finished 5th in my 53-person league, I feel confident (double entendre intended) that week 16 will be successful, too.

And this week's schedule seems "easier" than last week's, with a record 6 games between winning teams on both sides, when our league weekly winner picked 10 right; several picked 12 right.  This week expect better.

We always need to find the upsets; this week the places to look for getting ahead of the competition are the Bengals-Steelers & Saints-Cowboys.  The Bengals might be the better team, especially based on last week's performance and the Steelers are favorites based on home field, reputation, and possibly the status of their QB.  The Cowboys are on a roll, but they have beaten no one badly, where the Saints, though on the road with a poorer record, have the capability, as they showed Sunday, to kick backside. These are the difference makers: if the underdogs win and you have 'em, you'll be high in the rankings. If they win...

The Bengals, Steelers, Cowboys, Bears, Giants, Redskins and Vikings all need wins.  The first two play each other and the Giants play a faltering division leader in the Ravens and the Vikings go to the best team of the AFC, the Texans.  Obviously, the Bengals or Steelers win, but only the Bears and Redskins look highly likely to win, making the NFC really crazy that final week.

For this week, let's start with the high point games:

16-12: Broncos, Packers, Texans, Falcons, Patriots;

11-7:  Bears, Dolphins, Skins, Colts, Seahawks;

Pick 'em:  Jets-Chargers, Giants-Ravens, Rams-Bucs.

Low point upsets:  Bengals, Saints.