NFL Week 16 lookahead lines, picks: The three games to bet a week early from proven NFL expert
Sportsbooks release their first lines for a given week 10-12 days out, and Mike Tierney shares how you can take advantage.
It bears repeating that the biggest risk with lookahead bets is injuries to quarterbacks. Playing the position is always hazardous duty, but seemingly more than usual this year. Case in point: We were delighted to snag Arizona +1 last week against dreadful Denver. The Broncos deserve to be favored against almost nobody. The Cardinals were fading, though to a lesser degree. And they had Kyler Murray at QB.
No more. A knee injury short-circuited his season. The line has flipped to -3 for the Broncos.
One other lookahead for Week 15 fared better. We bang the drum to consider teams favored by 2.5 points. Sure enough, that number for Cincinnati versus Tampa Bay has shifted to 3.5 for the Bengals, making our pick of them seem prescient.
A QB change unrelated to injury slightly impacted our other selection. Atlanta swapped out Marcus Mariota for the rookie Desmond Ridder during its bye week. The public and oddsmakers largely shrugged their shoulders, and the spread inched from -3.5 to -4.
Here's hoping for their sake (and ours) that QBs emerge from the week with no serious injuries. Here are three lookahead picks off the Week 16 schedule.
Week 16 lookahead lines
Jaguars at Jets (-2.5), O/U 42
Lions (-2.5) at Panthers, O/U 44.5
Texans at Titans (-8.5), O/U 41
Bills (-10) at Bears, O/U 45
Seahawks at Chiefs (-9.5), O/U 49
Falcons at Ravens (-6.5), O/U 41
Giants at Vikings (-5), O/U 47.5
Saints at Browns (-3), O/U 39.5
Bengals (-3) at Patriots, O/U 42
Commanders at 49ers (-6.5), O/U 41
Eagles at Cowboys (-1), O/U 50.5
Raiders at Steelers (-1), O/U 41.5
Packers at Dolphins (-4), O/U 46.5
Broncos at Rams (Pick 'Em), O/U 35.5
Buccaneers (-3) at Cardinals, O/U 42
Chargers (-2.5) at Colts, O/U 47.5
Which Week 16 sides make for great plays before Week 15 kicks off? And which underdog offers a great betting opportunity? ... Join SportsLine right now to see Week 16 lookahead picks from the expert who is 232-204 ATS over the last four years!
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