The 2014 NFL regular season is winding down but the playoff race is heating up! We’ll take a look at the matchups and lines (courtesy of JustBet) for week 16. All times eastern.

Thursday, December 18th

Tennessee at Jacksonville (-3, 40) 8:25 PM NFL

Both 2 win teams in the AFC South will meet on Thursday to kick off week 16 on the 2014 NFL season. These two teams met in October, with the Titans squeaking out a 2 point win in Nashville.

Saturday, December 20th

Philadelphia (-7.5, 50) at Washington 4:30 PM NFL

The Eagles will look to keep their playoff and divisional hopes alive when they take on the Washington Redskins. Robert Griffin III will get the start for Washington, who lost by 3 in Philadelphia back in late September.

San Diego at San Francisco (NL) 8:25 PM CBS

The San Diego Chargers can’t afford another loss if they want a shot at the playoffs. They’ll travel north to take on the struggling San Francisco 49ers, who sit at 7-7 and were eliminated from playoff contention last Sunday in a 17-7 loss to Seattle.

Sunday, December 21st

Minnesota at Miami (-6.5, 42) 1:00 PM FOX

The Miami Dolphins at 7-7 are still alive for an AFC wildcard, but they have little room for error. They’ll take on the 6-8 Minnesota Vikings, who took Detroit to the limit last Sunday in a 16-14 loss.

Baltimore (-5.5, 41) at Houston 1:00 PM CBS

The Baltimore Ravens are still in the playoff hunt and currently own the #6 seed. They took care of business last Sunday against Jacksonville. They’ll face a hungry Houston teams with slim playoff hopes and are very thin at the quarterback position.

Detroit (-7, 46) at Chicago 1:00 PM FOX

The Detroit Lions are currently 1st in the NFC North and control their own destiny. They’ll take on a Chicago Bears squad that was once again embarrassed on national TV, losing to New Orleans on Monday night football.

Cleveland at Carolina (NL) 1:00 PM CBS

The 7-7 Cleveland Browns playoff chances are slim, but they’re sticking with Johnny Manziel after his less than stellar debut last Sunday. They’ll take on the 5-8-1 Carolina Panthers, who are still alive in the putrid NFC South.

Atlanta at New Orleans (-6, 55.5) 1:00 PM FOX

The Atlanta Falcons take on the New Orleans Saints with the control of the NFC South division on the line. The Falcons defeated the Saints in week 1 this season, 37-34.

Green Bay (-10.5, 48.5) at Tampa Bay 1:00 PM FOX

The Green Bay Packers will look to get back on the winning track when they take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Should the Packers win this week, next weekend’s game against Detroit could be a winner take all scenario in the NFC North.

Kansas City at Pittsburgh (-3, 46.5) 1:00 PM CBS

Despite losing 3 out of their last 5 games, the 8-6 Kansas City Chiefs are still alive for an AFC Wildcard spot. They’ll take on the Pittsburgh Steelers, who at 9-5 own the 5th wildcard spot in the AFC.

New England (-10, 47.5) at NY Jets 1:00 PM CBS

The New England Patriots will look to keep a grip on the top seed when they take on the division rival New York Jets. The Patriots defeated the Jets in a tightly contested affair 27-25 back in October.

NY Giants at St. Louis (-5, 43.5) 4:05 PM FOX

The New York Giants are trying to end their season on winning run, and have won 2 games in a row. They’ll take on the St. Louis Rams, who were eliminated from playoff contention in a loss to Arizona last Thursday.

Buffalo (-5.5, 39) at Oakland 4:25 PM CBS

The Oakland Raiders came back down to earth once again after winning in week 14, getting beaten in Kansas City 31-13. They’ll take on the Buffalo Bills, who are alive for a playoff berth and coming off an upset over Green Bay.

Indianapolis at Dallas (-3, 56) 4:25 PM CBS

The Dallas Cowboys have little room for error and they’ll look to stay atop the NFC East when they take on the Indianapolis Colts, who clinched the AFC South last Sunday with a win over Houston.

Seattle (-7.5, 36.5) at Arizona 8:30 PM NBC

The Seattle Seahawks will look to take sole possession of 1st place in the NFC West when they travel to Arizona to take on the 11-3 Cardinals. Last weekend’s win over St. Louis was costly, as they lost QB Drew Stanton for at least a week with a knee injury.

Monday, December 22nd

Denver (-3, 47.5) at Cincinnati 8:30 PM ESPN

Monday night football will have the AFC West Champion Denver Broncos taking on the AFC North leading Cincinnati Bengals in a contest with huge playoff ramifications. The Benglas haven’t had much success in primetime this season, so it will be interesting to see which Bengals team shows up for this one.

There are just two weeks worth of games left on the NFL schedule, and that makes this week’s sets of NFL odds all the more important for the week to come. Join us for our quick discussion of the NFL Week 16 betting lines, and don’t miss all of the Week 16 odds that are at the bottom of this post.

There are a number of teams that are going to be playing for crucial playoff spots this week, and a lot of teams are playing those that are out of the race for the second season. As a result, there are a ton of games that are featuring just huge point spreads.

The biggest of the big pits the New England Patriots on the road against the Jacksonville Jaguars. There are nine games separating these two teams in the standings, and there are 14 points separating them on the NFL Week 16 odds with a game being played at EverBank Field. New England absolutely has to have these last two games if it wants any chance of getting a first round bye in the playoffs. The Jags probably need to lose these last two to have any chance to get the top pick in the NFL Draft.

The problem that the Pats have this week is that the two teams above them in the standings, the Houston Texans and Denver Broncos are huge favorites at home as well. The Broncos are hosting the Cleveland Browns and are favored by 13, while the Texans are laying 7.5 in the crucial game against the Minnesota Vikings, a game the Vikes have to have if they are going to stay on the right side of the playoff race in the NFC.

Meanwhile, over in the NFC, the Green Bay Packers can keep the pressure on by beating the Tennessee Titans this week as 12.5-point choices on the Week 16 betting lines. The other huge favorites this weeekend are the Carolina Panthers, who are -9 against the Oakland Raiders.

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This week is also odd from the standpoint that there is no Monday Night Football game on Christmas Eve and no Thursday Night Football game either. There is though, a Saturday Night Football clash between the Atlanta Falcons and the Detroit Lions on ESPN. The Lions are coming off of the embarrassment of getting blown away by Arizona last weekend, and they are going to want to get back in the saddle against an Atlanta team that is still tenuously holding onto the top spot in the NFC playoffs. Atlanta can win the No. 1 seed and make sure that the road to the Super Bowl goes through the Georgia Dome with a victory, something that could be had as 3.5-point underdogs at Ford Field.

The only other division that still needs to be sorted out in the league is the NFC East. The Washington Redskins hold their own destiny right now, and they just need to win these final two games this year to lock up the division. They’re taking on the Philadelphia Eagles this weekend in the City of Brotherly Love, and they’re 5.5-point favorites to move within just one step. Meanwhile, both the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants, who are both also at 8-6, are involved in very tough games this weekend. New York is on the road against the Baltimore Ravens, while the Cowboys are hosting the New Orleans Saints. Both teams are favored by 2.5-points.

Those Ravens have their work cut out for them if they plan on winning the AFC North. They are still in control of the division at the moment, but if they lose this one against the Giants, they’re going to probably be forced into a do-or-die game next week for at least the division, and maybe the playoffs all together against the Cincinnati Bengals. The Bengals meanwhile, can clinch a playoff spot if they can beat the Pittsburgh Steelers on the road this week. It’s a do or die game for the Steelers, who have to win at least this game, and likely the game next week against the Browns to get into the playoffs. They can still win the AFC North though, and that would go a long way towards getting back to the Super Bowl. The Steelers are -4 at Heinz Field, but a lot of betting in this game has actually gone on the Bengals, who have lost five in a row in this series.

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The big game of the weekend is Sunday Night Football, though. The Seattle Seahawks are going to host the San Francisco 49ers. The 49ers will lock up the NFC West with a win, and they might ultimately clinch no worse than the No. 2 seed as well with some help. In all likelihood though, San Francisco is in some trouble if this game is lost. It will still control of its own destiny to win the division, and it likely won’t in Week 17 to get the No. 2 seed in the NFC. Seattle meanwhile, is just trying to get into the playoffs, and it will get in with a win and a heck of a lot of help. The easiest thing for the Seahawks to do is win twice to end the regular season, as if they don’t, they are leaving themselves open to be left out of the second season. After watching the Niners go to New England last week and win, the oddsmakers have lined them at a pick ’em at CenturyLink Field.

There are a few other games that we have yet to discuss that we are going to quickly gloss over. The Chicago Bears are laying five to the Arizona Cardinals on the road in a game that they have to win if they have any playoff aspirations left. The Miami Dolphins, who are technically still alive in the playoff race, are -4.5 against the Buffalo Bills at home. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are giving a field goal to the St. Louis Rams in a battle of two teams that have overachieved this year and have a lot to look forward to in the future. The Indianapolis Colts will clinch a playoff berth if they can beat the Kansas City Chiefs as 6.5-point favorites at Arrowhead Stadium, while another of the lousy teams in the AFC West, the San Diego Chargers, are +2.5 on the road against the New York Jets, who will be giving QB Greg McElroy his first career start.

In terms of ‘totals’, they are starting to trickle down just a bit this week as the weather gets colder. The only two games in the 50s, the New Orleans/Dallas game and the Atlanta/Detroit game are both played in domes. Both games feature numbers posted at 51. Chicago and Arizona have two of the best defenses in the game, but most importantly, they both have anemic offenses. That’s why that game is the lowest number on the board of the week at 36.5. The Seattle/San Fran game also only features a ‘total’ of 39, the second lowest ‘total’ of the week. Those two teams played a brutal 13-6 game when these two met two months ago, but Seattle has scored 108 points in the last two weeks, while the 49ers have scored 68 points in those same two weeks.

2012 NFL Week 16 Odds @ WagerWeb Sportsbook (as of 12/19/12):
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Week 16 NFL Betting Odds for Saturday, December 22nd
101 Atlanta Falcons -3.5
102 Detroit Lions +3.5
Over/Under 51

Week 16 NFL Point Spreads for Sunday, December 23rd (1:00 ET Kickoffs)
103 Tennessee Titans +12.5
104 Green Bay Packers -12.5
Over/Under 46

105 Oakland Raiders +9
106 Carolina Panthers -9
Over/Under 46

107 Buffalo Bills +4.5
108 Miami Dolphins -4.5
Over/Under 41.5

109 Cincinnati Bengals +4
110 Pittsburgh Steelers -4
Over/Under 43.5

111 New England Patriots -14
112 Jacksonville Jaguars +14
Over/Under 48.5

113 Indianapolis Colts -6.5
114 Kansas City Chiefs +6.5
Over/Under 41.5

115 New Orleans Saints +1
116 Dallas Cowboys -1
Over/Under 51

117 Washington Redskins -5.5
118 Philadelphia Eagles +5.5
Over/Under 44.5

119 St. Louis Rams +3
120 Tampa Bay Buccaneers -3
Over/Under 43.5

123 Minnesota Vikings +9
124 Houston Texans -9
Over/Under 43.5

131 San Diego Chargers +2.5
132 New York Jets -2.5
Over/Under 40.5

Week 16 NFL Spreads for Sunday, December 23rd (4:00 ET Kickoffs)
125 Cleveland Browns +13
126 Denver Broncos -13
Over/Under 44.5

127 Chicago Bears -5
128 Arizona Cardinals +5
Over/Under 36.5

121 New York Giants -2.5
122 Baltimore Ravens +2.5
Over/Under 47

NFL Week 16 Betting Lines for Sunday Night Football, December 23rd
129 San Francisco 49ers +2
130 Seattle Seahawks -2
Over/Under 39