Best Week 16 Opening Lines NFL

The NFL doesn’t always get to celebrate Christmas with football, but this year they do. The league’s Week 16 schedule features most of its games shifting to Saturday, Christmas Eve, leaving Sunday, Christmas, with just three contests. New York’s teams all get their games in ahead of the holiday. The Week 16 opening lines set the Bills and Jets as favorites, while the Giants are underdogs. 

Underdogs enjoyed a bounce back performance in Week 15, going 9-6-1 against the spread. That pushes the Underdogs’ season-long ATS record to 120-97-7. Road underdogs have covered at the best clip this season, at 54.2 percent (71-60-4). Point Totals in Week 15 split evenly between the Over and Under (8-8), but the Under still holds a 122-99 lead for the season. 

Here’s a look at the Week 16 opening lines for New York’s three football teams, the Bills, Giants, and Jets. 

The Buffalo Bills (11-3, 6-7-1 ATS) enter this Week 16 matchup with the Chicago Bears (3-11, 5-8-1 ATS) having clinched a playoff berth for the fourth straight season. Buffalo rallied to snag a 32-29 victory over the Miami Dolphins last week, thanks to some Josh Allen heroics and a 25-yard Tyler Bass field goal as time expired. 

The Bills travel to Chicago to face a Bears squad in the midst of a seven-game losing skid. Chicago’s Justin Fields became only the third quarterback in league history to reach 1,000 rushing yards in a single season, but he’s been the lone bright spot in a dismal campaign for Chicago. 

Buffalo remains one of the best teams in the league, but needs to keep winning to secure the AFC’s top seed in the playoffs. The Bills rank fourth in scoring (27.5 PPG) and second in scoring defense (17.9 PPG). During their current five-game winning streak, Buffalo’s enjoyed an average 7.3-point scoring margin. Chicago, meanwhile, has lost five straight home games and has surrendered 29.8 points-per-game over the last four at Solider Field.

It’s expected to be incredibly cold in Chicago on Christmas Eve, thanks to the blizzard rolling through the area on Friday. 

The New York Giants (8-5-1, 10-4 ATS) scored perhaps their biggest win in years with the team’s 20-12 victoryover the Washington Commanders last week. Rookie Kayvon Thibodeaux enjoyed a breakout performance and Daniel Jones finally scored a win in primetime. The Commanders bottled up Saquon Barkley for three quarters. But he finished strong an ended with 87 rushing yards, a welcome figure considering he’d gained 152 rushing yards total during New York’s recent 0-3-1 skid. 

The G-Men face the Minnesota Vikings (11-3, 6-7-1 ATS), fresh off their record-breaking 33-point rally last Saturday night. Kirk Cousins passed for 460 yards and four touchdowns for the Vikings, who could still snag the NFC’s top seed should the Philadelphia Eagles falter down the stretch. 

New York’s defense looks to slow a Vikings offense averaging 33 points-per-game in its last three in Minnesota. The Giants offense has been limited of late on the road, averaging just 17.7 points-per-game in its last three away games.  This game remains pivotal in New York’s playoff push, and there’s a specific scenario where the Giants enter Week 17 having clinched a postseason berth. 

The New York Jets (7-7, 8-6 ATS) took a tough loss at home last week, falling 20-17 to the Detroit Lions. The Jets couldn’t hold a four-point fourth quarter advantage, allowing a 51-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-1 with 1:49 remaining. Greg Zeurlein missed a game-tying 58-yard field goal. This loss pushed the Jets further down the standings, making the franchise’s first postseason berth in 11 years all the more unlikely at this point. 

The Jets host a hot Jacksonville Jaguars (6-8, 6-8 ATS) team, fresh off a stunning 40-34 upset of the Dallas Cowboys. The Jaguars come to this one having won three of their last four games. In their last two games, Jacksonville’s scored a combined 76 points. That’s a stark contrast to a Jets offense that’s averaged just 17 points over its last three games. 

This game provides some of the biggest playoff implications for both of these teams. The Jaguars can make the playoffs by winning out, while the Jets need to win and get some help. That said, Gang Green will once again be without Mike White’s services, as he’s yet to be cleared for contact from his injury. That sets up a Zach Wilson-Trevor Lawrence matchup in primetime.