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🎶 On the first day of NFL 🎶. Plus, your NFL Week 16 preview 🏈

Jim Reineking   Paste BN

This is the Paste BN Sports NFL newsletter, 4th and Monday. If this newsletter isn't already getting conveniently delivered to your inbox, click here to subscribe.

NFL Week 16 is here. Happy holidays🎅! Our comprehensive weekly NFL preview is our 🎄gift to you!

➤ About last night: Los Angeles Chargers 34, Denver Broncos 27 — The NFL's 12 days of Christmas — a 12-day stretch with games on nine different days — kicked off on "Thursday Night Football." The NFL gifted fans with a wild game that featured something that hadn't happened in an NFL game since 1976, and a big Chargers come-from-behind win that pushed L.A. to the brink of a playoff berth.

➤ Game of the week: Pittsburgh Steelers at Baltimore Ravens — Sorry, College Football Playoff. Kicking off a half hour after the Clemson-Texas game will be the weekend's most intriguing NFL matchup. (It seems less than ideal that the CFP scheduled games to go head-to-head with NFL games — SMU-Penn State also is going up against Houston Texans-Kansas City Chiefs — but these decisions are way outside of my paygrade. Hope you have two TVs!) The Steelers (10-4) already have clinched a playoff berth; the Ravens (9-5) can secure their spot with a win over their bitter division rivals. This one could decide the AFC North winner. A Steelers victory wraps up the division. The Ravens can add more chaos to the final two weeks of the regular season with a win.

➤ Sneaky-good game of the week: Philadelphia Eagles at Washington Commanders — The Eagles have been barreling toward the NFC East crown for some time now (they are riding a franchise-record 10-game winning streak), and a Week 11 win over the Commanders on "Thursday Night Football" certainly helped build a gap atop the division. On Sunday, the Eagles can wrap up the division with a win in Landover, Maryland, where the local pro football team also is looking to close in on its first playoff appearance since the 2020 season.

➤ Big one in terms of the top of the 2025 NFL draft: Jacksonville Jaguars at Las Vegas Raiders — The Raiders and Jaguars are in contention for top-five picks in the 2025 NFL draft. It's been a mess of a season for both teams, with Mac Jones now starting at quarterback for Jacksonville and Las Vegas going with either Desmond Ridder or Aidan O'Connell. The Raiders desperately need to lock in a future franchise quarterback.

➤ Game I'm mildly interested in, and not just because I have Bucky Irving on my fantasy team: Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Dallas Cowboys — Last week against the likely playoff-bound Chargers, the Buccaneers played about as good a half of football as any team has all season. Can they keep it up against a Cowboys team that is finding ways to remain in the "In the Hunt" graphic for the NFC playoff picture? Situated just a game ahead of the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC South (with the Falcons owning the all-important tiebreaker), the Buccaneers need to keep winning (especially given that the Falcons play the hapless New York Giants on Sunday). The Cowboys' playoff hopes are on life support, especially when you consider their final three games come against likely playoff teams.

➤ Just going to rank some games I'm interested in watching without giving any context:

  1. Houston Texans at Kansas City Chiefs
  2. Minnesota Vikings at Seattle Seahawks
  3. Los Angeles Rams at New York Jets
  4. New Orleans Saints at Green Bay Packers
  5. New York Giants at Atlanta Falcons

📸: Fans, mascots, cheerleaders and celebrities at NFL games

NFL Week 16: Pigskin prognostications, betting tips, rankings

➤ Week 16 picks: This is where Paste BN Sports' panel of experts has provided fans with the great public service of making prognostications for every game this weekend, both straight up and against the spread.

➤ NFL Week 16 betting odds: Which teams are favored this week?

➤ Best bets for Week 16: Lorenzo Reyes is back with his favorite NFL bets for Week 16, including why he likes lines involving the Lions, Chiefs and Eagles this weekend.

➤ Power rankings: See how all 32 teams stack up after 15 weeks of play. A new No. 1 has replaced the injury-depleted Lions.

NFL news, notes and analysis

➤ There's a lot going on with Aaron Rodgers: Coming off what might have been his best game yet with the Jets (289 yards, three touchdowns in a thrilling 32-25 win in Jacksonville), Rodgers came in hot this week. After saying that media members should disclose their vaccination status (huh?!?🤦‍♂️), Rodgers said he will take some time to decide his NFL future (that is, of course, if the Jets don't decide it for him). In case you're not getting enough Rodgers, there's a new Netflix documentary, "Enigma," out there for you to watch.

➤ J-E-T-S, mess mess mess: It's crazy that Aaron Rodgers isn't even the craziest thing going on with the three-ring circus that is the New York Football Jets. Ever wonder why the Jets have the NFL's longest playoff drought and haven't been to a Super Bowl in 55 years (and rarely ever even come close)? Well, the latest hinderance to championship glory appears to be owner Woody Johnson, who reportedly turned down a trade for receiver Jerry Jeudy because of his "Madden" video game rating. Instead, Jeudy went to the Cleveland Browns, with whom he's already posted career-highs in receptions (70) and receiving yards (1,052).

Johnson needs to go do whatever it is he might do for the Trump Empire and get out of the way of the day-to-day professional football operations of the Jets. This team needs to hire both a new general manager and head coach this offseason. Who is going to want to walk into this mess?

➤ Island of misfit quarterbacks: 'Tis the season for quarterback shuffling. High-priced veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins has been benched by the Falcons in favor of rookie first-rounder Michael Penix Jr. Interception-happy Jameis Winston was benched by the Browns in favor of former UCLA quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson. The Titans benched football follies-prone quarterback Will Levis for Mason Rudolph.

What does this mean for Cousins' future in Atlanta? Will the Browns and Titans attempt to draft a quarterback in the first round of the 2025 NFL draft? Those two teams might not be picking soon enough to get a highly rated quarterback prospect. Perhaps they could bring in Teddy Bridgewater? And where might vagabond quarterback Sam Darnold factor in all this? As per usual, the NFL offseason will pack plenty of intrigue.

➤ Falcons' surprise QB switch to Michael Penix Jr. was a matter of time: After a five-game stretch during which Kirk Cousins threw nine interceptions, one touchdown pass and the Falcons won just one game, head coach Raheem Morris made the necessary switch, Jarrett Bell writes.

➤ Ghosts of Washington QBs past: Jayden Daniels is the 27th quarterback to start a game for the Washington NFL franchise since 2000. The "ghosts" included Gus Frerotte, Jason Campbell, Kirk Cousins, Robert Griffin III, Ryan Fitzpatrick (for one quarter), Alex Smith, Mark Brunell and Donovan McNabb. Then the "ghost of Washington QBs present" arrived and is a favorite for offensive rookie of the year honors.

➤ College Football Playoff vs. NFL: As amazing and unique as it will be for fans to finally see playoff college football in iconic places like South Bend and Happy Valley and Austin and the Horseshoe, the NFL should be a two-touchdown favorite to win the ratings battle on Saturday, Dan Wolken writes.

The CFP is going to have to learn what the NBA already has ascertained ... the NFL is going to play games whenever it wants to and the heck with your feelings.

Fantasy football: We're in survive and advance mode

While teams are securing playoff berths in reality football, you and your group of friends are battling it out in the playoffs for fantasy football. Paste BN Sports' holiday gift 🎅 to you is to help you navigate through the fantasy postseason.

➤ Fantasy rankings for Week 16: These position-by-position rankings were updated for this week's games.

➤ Start 'em ⬆ and sit 'em ⬇ for Week 16: Here is where we list eight players to start, and eight to sit, this weekend. Find out why you should start Cooper Rush, but sit C.J. Stroud.

➤ Start 'em/sit 'em by position: QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | Kickers | Defenses/special teams

➤ Waiver wire: If you haven't already done so, these are the players to consider adding to your roster this week.

Week 16 NFL schedule

(All times Eastern)

Thursday

Saturday

Sunday

Monday

📅: Complete 2024 NFL schedule

From the YouTube algorithm 🏈📺

This is where we reprise some NFL lore and recall a classic, memorable game from yesteryear that featured Week 16 opponents.

Let's turn back the clock 40 years to a time when Dan Marino was a second-year, record-setting quarterback, and Joe Montana was, well, Joe Montana.

The Miami Dolphins and San Francisco 49ers clashed in Super Bowl 19, and at the time it seemed Marino vs. Montana would be a regular thing in Super Bowls.

While Montana would hold up his end of the bargain, winning two more Super Bowls in the 1980s, the Dolphins haven't been back to the NFL's championship game since. Super Bowl 19 was Marino's lone Super Bowl appearance.

And, it did not go well for Marino and the Dolphins.

To be fair, young Marino went up against one of the greatest NFL teams of all time. The 1984 49ers were the first team to win 15 regular-season games, then went on to demolish the New York Giants and Chicago Bears by a combined score of 44-10 in the NFC playoffs (the Bears and Giants would go on to win the next two Super Bowls). And talk about the rich getting richer, coming off this Super Bowl win, the 49ers got Jerry Rice in the 1985 draft.

Montana threw for 331 yards and three touchdowns, and Roger Craig (who belongs in the Pro Football Hall of Fame IMHO) scored two touchdowns, as the 49ers rolled, 38-16, in Super Bowl 19.

Marino and the Dolphins lost the AFC championship game during the 1985 and 1992 seasons, the closest they'd get to returning to the Super Bowl.

📸: NFL teams wearing alternate or throwback uniforms

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