2019 Week 16 NFL Picks

December 21, 2019

By the Football Garbage Time Staff

If you followed last year, you won over 60% of your picks, and we aim to do even better this year.

And if you’ve been following us, you know that we here at Football Garbage Time have gone head to head against Wally, Will and Ray at Urban Sports Scene on our NFL Picks for the last 4 seasons. Why? Because they’re awesome competitors, they KNOW their sports, and, heck, they’re just good guys! This year we’ll have their picks up right HERE, so keep it tuned in, to both us and them, because we’ll be picking all season all long.

Without further to do, here we go:

Week 16 Games

Ha Kung Wong’s Picks

Ha Kung’s Thoughts:

Last year I ended up with a 66% record for the season, so that’s four years in a row with over a 60% pick rate. I had a decent week 15, going 10-6, leaving me in 2nd place and only two picks off 1st with a 144-79 record (64.6%).

Plus, I had a 94% record on Locks of the Week last year. This year, I’m 13-2 (86.7%) for Locks of the Week, and I’m now 9-6 (60%) on Upsets of the Week.

Let’s get to that Lock and Upset for Week 16…

Lock of the Week => Baltimore Ravens (-10.0) over Cleveland Browns

Well, I was running this column Eliminator style and NOT picking a team that I previously picked as a Lock through Week 13, but I finally picked wrong so we’re going back to the top lock regardless of previous picks, which is the Baltimore Ravens over the Cleveland Browns.

Again, sometimes you just shouldn’t overthink it. Lamar Jackson is the odds on favorite for MVP and he just keeps rolling. He passes the ball (he leads the NFL with 33 passing TDs), he runs the ball (he leads all QBs with 1,103 yards, which is also good for 8th most among ALL players in the NFL), and he might as well catch the ball as well, as he’s surpassed all expectations this year heading up the current BEST offense in the NFL per DVOA. The Ravens are in sole control of the AFC and if they win this weekend, they’ll hold the 1 seed going into the playoffs. On the defensive side, it wasn’t so long ago (Week 4) that the Cleveland Browns offense ransacked them to the tune of 40 points, and the Ravens defense did reel a bit from that point, but now they’ve allowed the 6th fewest yards per game (314.3) and 4th fewest points per game (18.4) in the NFL this season, placing at 5th best among defenses per DVOA in the league. And guess what, this weekend they get to avenge that Week 4 loss against a now under-performing Browns who are just the 19th ranked offense and 20th ranked defense. Don’t over think it, just lock it in and move on.

Upset of the Week => New York Giants (+3.0) over Washington Redskins

Well, this game could appropriately be called the Toilet Bowl as both teams have nothing to play for, but for a loss which could help them in the 2020 NFL Draft. But both teams will look to win and, frankly, it’s a tough call which is worse. The Redskins have looked better of late as Dwayne Haskins starts to get used to the NFL, but Daniel Jones has a head start on that and is coming back healthy this week. The Giants actually looked better with Eli, but I suspect they get things together after Darius Slayton’s breakout and Saquon Barkley’s slump busting game against the Dolphins. The stats for both sides are equally bad, but I’m going with a gut call on this one.

Joanne Kong’s Picks

Joanne’s Thoughts:

Los Angeles Rams (8-6) @ San Francisco 49ers (11-3)

The 49ers will face off against the Rams for a second time this season. After an unexpected loss to the Atlanta Falcons in week 15, the 49ers will be looking to take out their aggression on the Rams. With Richard Sherman back on defense against the Rams, the 49ers have a good chance of securing a division title. The same can’t be said for the Los Angeles Rams. The defending NFC champions have had a dismal season of ups and downs and with week 15 loss to the Dallas Cowboys, the Rams are essentially out of post-season contention. They’d need to win out and hope that the Vikings lose to both the Packers and Bears in the last two weeks. What now? Although there’s a minute chance that they get the wild card, their season is essentially over, so its tough to say how they’ll perform against a tough 49ers defense ranked 2nd overall per DVOA. Goff, who’s been struggling all season, will more than likely struggle against the 49ers, especially after suffering a right hand contusion last week. Not to mention that the 49ers defense have allowed the least passing yards this season of any team. If the Rams want any chance of winning, they will need to run the ball. It’s easier said than done, though, even with Todd Gurley. In week 15, the Rams had only 22 rushing yards against the Dallas Cowboys.

It comes down to who wants it more, and the 49ers have more on the line. Expect the 49ers to win.

Scott King’s Picks

Scott’s Thoughts:

We’re in the final weeks and things are actually more challenging now. Which teams locked in to the playoffs start benching players? Which teams with nothing to play for sneak up on someone. All tough questions. Here we go.

Wally’s Picks

Wally’s Thoughts:

Check out Wally’s thoughts on his picks in the most recent Urban Sports Scene Podcast at the 57:22 minute mark!

Check out my latest #podcast https://t.co/ytBcwZXKQn on #Podbean

— Wole USS (@UrbanSportScene) December 18, 2019

Ray’s Picks

Ray’s Thoughts:

Check out Rays’s thoughts on his picks in the most recent Urban Sports Scene Podcast at the 57:22 minute mark!

George’s Picks

George’s Thoughts:

Saturday:

Houston should win but that game will be tough because of how hot the Bucs offense is right now. If Jameis Winston makes mistake the Texans better take advantage.

Best chance for the Bills is to control the clock running the football and hit Tom Brady repeatedly. That said you can’t make me pick Josh Allen to win New England.

San Francisco will finish off the Rams playoff hopes by returning to the ground game that’s served them so well.

Sunday:

The Cowboys are the better team. They are the more complete team and they are the team most likely to win a game in the playoffs so they will put the inconsistent Eagles out of their misery.

Monday:

Can you trust Kirk Cousins on Monday night in a massive game with the NFC North on the line. No you can’t and the Packer defense will turn him over and Aaron Jones will get rolling to give Green Bay the division title and a shot at the top seed.