With only two weeks to go in the NFL regular season and the spectacle of Week 15 between the New England Patriots and the Pittsburgh Steelers still fresh in our minds, the playoff picture has seen significant changes in only one weekend. While the Steelers and the Philadelphia Eagles secured their tickets to the post-season a couple of weeks ago, the Patriots, Minnesota Vikings and Jacksonville Jaguars joined them after Week 15 – Incidentally, the Jaguars made the playoff for the first time in 10 years and are proving themselves a true contender for the crown.

Week 16 will bring the playoff picture into better perspective but, if the playoffs were to start today, the standings would be as follows:

American Football Conference National Football Conference

New England Patriots (11-3)** Philadelphia Eagles (12-2)**

Pittsburgh Steelers (11-3)** Minnesota Vikings (11-3)**

Jacksonville Jaguars (10-4)* Los Angeles Rams (10-4)

Kansas City Chiefs (8-6) New Orleans Saints (10-4)

Tennessee Titans (8-6) Carolina Panthers (10-4)

Buffalo Bills (8-6) Atlanta Falcons (9-5)

**clinched division **clinched division

*clinched playoff spot

In contention: In contention:

Baltimore Ravens (8-6) Detroit Lions (8-6)

Los Angeles Chargers (7-7) Seattle Seahawks (8-6)

Oakland Raiders (6-8) Dallas Cowboys (8-6)

Miami Dolphins (6-8)

There are intriguing wild card races in both conferences and several teams are still in contention with multiple teams in a position to clinch home-field advantage, first-round byes, divisions and postseason berths. The NFC South is worth watching on its own as all three teams currently seeded 4-6 from the division have chances to clinch playoff spots in Week 16. However, unlike the Carolina Panthers and Atlanta Falcons, the New Orleans Saints have a chance to win the division this week.

With so much riding on Week 16, most games have playoff implications but here are some of the most keenly anticipated matchups:

FALCONS (9-5) at SAINTS (10-4) – This series is one of the oldest and most established rivalries in the NFC division. Since 2014, the Atlanta Falcons have a 5-2 record against the New Orleans Saints – Including wins in the last 3 matchups. Additionally, the Falcons beat the Saints two weeks ago in Atlanta, and they have won two straight games since (including a nail-biter against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night that saw RB Devonta Freeman achieving season-high numbers – 126 yards on 22 carries, and 68 yards on five receptions).

The Saints are favoured this Sunday afternoon at home against the Falcons. They bounced back from a heartbreaking, December 7th road loss to the Atlanta Falcons with a 31-19 win at home over the New York Jets last Sunday and put themselves in a position to win the NFC South in Week 16. But, if the Falcons (9-5) beat the Saints (10-4) and Panthers (10-4) in their final two regular-season games, they will repeat as NFC South winners. Whatever happens, the winner of this game will clinch a playoff spot and control their destiny for the NFC South title heading into Week 17. The loser would need a win next week and help from elsewhere to advance into the postseason.

It’s hard to see how Atlanta will be able to get past this New Orleans team at home but the key may lie in the performance of their respective running games – Look for the Saints to emerge victorious at the end.

SEAHAWKS (8-6) at COWBOYS (8-6) – RB Ezekiel Elliott returns from suspension for the Dallas Cowboys in this Sunday’s home game against the Seattle Seahawks. The Cowboys have proven that they are a different team when the 2016 NFL rushing champ is absent – Averaging only 18.33 points per game without him, including three consecutive games in which they failed to score more than nine points for the first time in franchise history. For perspective, that number inflates to 28.25 points per game when Elliott is in the lineup. Before Elliott’s suspension, the Cowboys outscored their opponents 101 to 46 but were outscored 92 to 22 in his absence. However, his return might prove to be too little too late for a playoff spot unless the Cowboys win out and get some help from around the league.

In one of the most shocking Seahawks games in probably the last 10 years, Seattle was decimated at home in a 42-7 loss to the Los Angeles Rams last week. Losing to the Rams isn’t a surprise but doing so in such lopsided fashion, at home, in a must-win game, certainly is. The injuries on Seattle’s defense are clearly catching up to the Seahawks as the team has allowed 72 points over its last two games. On the other side of the ball, the Seahawks’ offense can be a handful for the Cowboys if they don’t contain QB Russell Wilson (easier said than done) who makes as many plays with his legs as he does with his arm.

The loser of this game will be eliminated from playoff contention but the winner will still need help from other teams outside of the playoff picture. By defeating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 15, the Falcons did both these teams the favor of eliminating the Green Bay Packers from playoff contention. Now, the winner of this contest will remain in contention for the final game of the season, while the other team will join Green Bay as post-season spectators.

With so much on the line, expect both teams to leave it all on the field. It’s a game that JustBet offers Dallas as 6-point favourites and they should win (especially with Elliot’s return), but there’s a reason why the game is played on the field and not on the stat sheets.

JustBet offers attractive odds on all NFL games each week and for the Division, Conference and Super Bowl winners. The New England Patriots won a dog-fight against the Pittsburgh Steelers and clinched their division. They remain firm favourites to win the Super Bowl at 2.90 while the Pittsburgh Steelers and Minnesota Vikings share the second favourite spot at 6.00. The Philadelphia Eagles have lost their starting QB for the rest of the season and now share the fourth favourite spot with the Los Angeles Rams at 9.50. Place your bets early for the best odds at one of the over 120 locations on the prediction of your choice for maximum winnings.

NFL Week 16 Schedule

Saturday, December 23

Home Team Odds to win Away Team Odds to win

BAL RAVENS 1.10 IND COLΤS 5.75

GB PACKERS TBA MIN VIKINGS TBA

Sunday, December 24

Home Team Odds to win Away Team Odds to win

CAR PANTHERS TBA TB BUCCANEERS TBA

CHI BEARS 1.32 CLE BROWNS 3.10

CIN BENGALS 2.65 DET LIONS 1.42

KC CHIEFS 1.18 MIA DOLPHINS 4.25

NE PATRIOTS 1.14 BUF BILLS 4.90

NO SAINTS TBA ATL FALCONS TBA

NY JETS 3.10 LA CHARGERS 1.32

TEN TITANS 2.90 LA RAMS 1.35

WAS REDSKINS 1.55 DEN BRONCOS 2.30

SF 49ERS 2.55 JAC JAGUARS 1.45

ARI CARDINALS 1.48 NY GIANTS 2.45

DAL COWBOYS 1.42 SEA SEAHAWKS 2.65

Monday, December 25th

Home Team Odds to win Away Team Odds to win

HOU TEXANS 4.25 PIT STEELERS 1.18

PHI EAGLES TBA OAK RAIDERS TBA

*Betting odds, handicaps and limits are subject to change.

*If an NFL Match ends in a tie after overtime is played, then all bets on “Money Line Bets” will be given odds of 1.00 and all other bets will be settled based on the final score. Odds on NFL Money Line bets include the outcome after regulation and overtime.