NFL Week 16 odds, picks, and predictions from Dave Dameshek

There’s nothing better in sports than a good rivalry, and until the Bills beat the Chiefs in a postseason game, the best one in the NFL remains the Steelers vs. Ravens.

The AFC North runs through these two teams, and sports bettors across the country are biting their nails in anticipation. So check out the collection of valuable sportsbook welcome bonus offers currently available across the top Pennsylvania sportsbooks.

The NFL’s most competitive rivalry

Since 2001, either the Steelers or the Ravens have claimed the division’s top spot 18 of 24 times, and perhaps even more remarkably, the two teams have finished 1-2 in the North 11 times over that span. Now, just a month since their last showdown, here comes yet another “five-star game,” as Mike Tomlin would call it, with the stakes as high as ever.

Saturday’s playoff implications

If Pittsburgh wins, the 2024 AFC North title is theirs, which would mean they could shrug off the Christmas Day visit from Patrick Mahomes—whether he’s on one leg or two—in favor of preparing for the playoffs.

Conversely, a Ravens win on Saturday would raise the stakes for all four teams involved in the NFL’s Christmas doubleheader.

NFL Week 16 matchups

How these four games play out will heavily influence which teams will compete in the wildcard round and who they’ll face when they get there. However, based on experience, one thing feels like a safe bet: We’re likely to see Round Three of Steelers vs. Ravens sometime shortly after New Year’s Eve.

Steelers vs. Ravens

Tomlin’s defense vs. Lamar’s offense hasn’t quite reached Bill Russell vs. Wilt Chamberlain status, but the results are becoming increasingly peculiar. Coming off a bye and a confidence-building win against the Giants, it appears Baltimore will finally take care of the Steelers decisively.

Every NFL team is feeling the effects of attrition at this point in the season, but Pittsburgh is dealing with more injuries in key positions than Baltimore. All is not lost for the Steelers, though—if they can find a way to bounce back and win four days later at home against KC, and then again in Week 18 against Cincinnati, they can still be kings of the North.

Texans vs. Chiefs

I don’t care if Patrick Mahomes has a high-ankle sprain; it’s still strange to see his team involved in a game against another high-end QB with a total lower than the one in PIT/BAL! Perhaps this isn’t an insult to either offense, but rather an acknowledgment of Houston’s and Kansas City’s top-ranked defenses.

The concerns about CJ Stroud’s sophomore year are mostly justified, but for the record, the Texans have clinched the South despite lengthy stretches without their two best skill-position players, Joe Mixon and Nico Collins. It’s also no secret that the Chiefs find it nearly impossible to cover at Arrowhead; they seem to enjoy playing with fire week after week—probably to feel something before the postseason. This time, however, with Mahomes unable to escape the Texans’ rush, the Chiefs will get burned.

Eagles vs. Commanders

Another big game between division rivals, albeit for two teams chasing different goals: Philly needs to keep winning if they want to take the NFC’s number-one seed, while Washington is fighting to hold off Seattle for the conference’s seventh seed. You can count on Brian Robinson for a touchdown—it’s what he does—and for Saquon Barkley to do the same, plus 100 rushing yards against Washington’s bottom-ten rush defense.

As for the race for the bye: The Eagles should win out with only Dallas and New York left after this one, and Detroit is at Chicago this weekend before closing out at San Francisco and home against Minnesota. That Week 18 game might have meaning for the Vikings, who could actually claim the NFC’s top seed by winning out, but games at Seattle and against Green Bay are more likely to result in the regular-season finale providing soon-to-be Coach of the Year (-150) Kevin O’Connell a chance to rest his key players before the tournament starts. Long story short, I think Detroit holds on to the top spot.