NFL Week 16: Prop bets, DFS bargains, and setting the 2021 playoff field

The NFL’s playoff field has been a tangled mess for nearly four months. In Week 16, it’ll begin to come into focus.

Only five teams had been eliminated from postseason contention before Christmas. That means teams like the Carolina Panthers and New York Giants still have Super Bowls on their wish lists, even if Santa Claus had written them off weeks ago.

That’s also created a bang-up weekend for meaningful games. The Indianapolis Colts will bring their late-season surge to Arizona, where the Cardinals have to prove they aren’t destined for a winter slump for the third straight year.The Cleveland Browns’ playoff hopes hinge on them locking down a win on Christmas in front of the brandy-fueled, winter-steeled fans at Lambeau Field. The Jacksonville Jaguars and New York Jets will compare rookie quarterbacks because this is a stressful time and we could all use a laugh, you know?

A wide-open postseason race will begin to separate from the peloton of Super Bowl wannabes. Come Tuesday we’ll have a better idea of which teams need to dust off their playoff playbooks and which should spend New Year’s Day doing a little extra scouting before the 2022 Draft.

Let’s talk about it. All odds via Tipico.