NFL Week 16 Overview

Week 16 was nice for some teams and naughty for others as the week started off in Indianapolis, where a Houston team that was favored to win on the road lost to the Peyton-less Colts in the final seconds of their Thursday night contest.

Of the 16 games that were played last Thursday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday, 12 games covered their point spreads. The home team was victorious a Grinch-like 11 times out of 16, which was pretty good. The largest over/under for week 16 was 52 (San Diego-Detroit and Atlanta-New Orleans) with the smallest over/under going to St. Louis-Pittsburgh (35). Then again, the Rams weren't very good this season.

With regard to point spreads, the highest point spread was Cleveland-Baltimore (+13) and St. Louis-Pittsburgh (+13). The Ravens failed to cover the spread, winning by 6 but the Steelers easily covered, winning by 27. The smallest spread for week 16 was Dallas (+2) over Philly. The Eagles won that contest by 13, covering that spread with ease. With the final week of the season approaching, here's what week 16 looked like.

Week 16 (Byes: None)
Thursday, December 22                   Pts.    Diff.    Favorite               O/U      Cover?
INDIANAPOLIS 19, Houston 16             35      -  3     Houston + 6            40         N

Saturday, December 24                   Pts.    Diff.    Favorite               O/U      Cover?
NEW ENGLAND 27, Miami 24                51      -  3     NEW ENGLAND + 9 1/2    48 1/2     N
BALTIMORE 20, Cleveland 14              34      -  6     BALTIMORE + 13         39         N
CINCINNATI 23, Arizona 16               39      -  7     CINCINNATI + 4         40 1/2     Y
Minnesota 33, WASHINGTON 26             59      -  7     WASHINGTON + 6         44         Y
BUFFALO 46, Denver 14                   60      - 32     Denver + 3             41 1/2     Y
PITTSBURGH 27, St. Louis 0              27      - 27     PITTSBURGH + 13        35         Y
New York Giants 29, NEW YORK JETS 10    39      - 19     NEW YORK JETS + 3      46         Y
CAROLINA 48, Tampa Bay 16               64      - 32     CAROLINA + 7 1/2       47 1/2     Y
TENNESSEE 23, Jacksonville 17           40      -  6     TENNESSEE + 7 1/2      40         N
Oakland 16, KANSAS CITY 13 (OT)         29      -  3     KANSAS CITY + 2 1/2    42         Y
DETROIT 38, San Diego 10                48      - 28     DETROIT + 2 1/2        52         Y
Philadelphia 20, DALLAS 7               27      - 13     DALLAS + 2             50         Y
San Francisco 19, SEATTLE 17            36      -  2     SAN FRANCISCO + 1 1/2  38         Y

Sunday, December 25                     Pts.    Diff.    Favorite               O/U      Cover?
GREEN BAY 35, Chicago 21                56      - 14     GREEN BAY + 13         44         Y

Monday, December 26                     Pts.    Diff.    Favorite               O/U      Cover?
NEW ORLEANS 45, Atlanta 16              61      - 29     NEW ORLEANS + 6 1/2    52         Y