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Behind Enemy Lines: Breaking down Week 16 vs. Minnesota with Vikings Wire
The NFC North crown is on the line in Minnesota when the Detroit Lions visit the Vikings on Sunday. The Lions wrap up their first division title in 30 years with a win, while the Vikings are hoping to stay in the hunt and also bolster their wild card chances.
It’s the first of two meetings in three weeks for the two teams. To help get ready for what we might see in those matchups, I got with Vikings Wire editor Tyler Forness for a few questions.
A final prediction for Bengals vs. Steelers in Week 16.
The Cincinnati Bengals hope the second encounter with the Pittsburgh Steelers this season goes much better than the first, equating to a fourth consecutive win and keeping playoff hopes alive.
In a week-to-week league like the NFL though, the roughly month distance between matchups against the Steelers feels more like years.
Back on November 26, the Bengals took a 16-10 loss to the Steelers in the first game without Joe Burrow. Backup Jake Browning took over the same offense and struggled to just 227 yards with one score and an interception and the offense attempted just 11 rushes.
Fast forward nearly a month later, the Bengals have won three straight, with Browning throwing for 275-plus yards in each triumph and totaling seven touchdowns against two interceptions.
The complete playbook overhaul should, frankly, have head coach Zac Taylor in the Coach of the Year conversation given the way it has worked with Browning’s strengths. That includes more under-center looks and an emphasis on the running game (things Burrow’s offense might’ve installed over the summer if he hadn’t suffered the calf injury, for what it’s worth).
At the same time, the Steelers have predictably collapsed, a string of good luck despite a miserable point differential resulting in three consecutive losses to hit 7-7. Starting quarterback Kenny Pickett is out and Mitchell Trubisky was benched this week in favor of Mason Rudolph, who has attempted three passes this year after none since the 2021 season.
Both teams’ defenses enter this one missing key pieces. The Bengals won’t have nose tackle DJ Reader, one of the best in the NFL in that role, which will have a profound ripple effect on the entire unit. And the Steelers won’t have star safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, as well as the other starting safety.
Unfortunately for the Bengals, the injury bug hasn’t slowed, with Ja’Marr Chase out due to a shoulder injury suffered last week. It’ll be Tee Higgins, Tyler Boyd and the likes of Trenton Irwin tasked with working within Browning’s offense well.
This is one of those December games that will say much about where each organization stands. The Bengals have rallied despite losing a top-five passer, while the Steelers have fallen apart amid controversies. For the Bengals, the task is going on the road and not suffering an upset while standing as a get-right game for a bitter rival.
Zooming out a bit, Cincinnati’s showing last week really set the tone for the rest of the season, though. They had two games’ worth of film for opponents to use and still got the best of a solid Brian Flores-coached Minnesota defense, so Browning should be able to again move the football well enough to get a win. The bigger question might be whether a Reader-less defense can slow the Steelers’ rushing attack, though a third-string quarterback under center should make that simpler.
Look for the Bengals to play a more classical AFC North-styled game on the road, pulling away in the second half.
Prediction: Bengals 27, Steelers 17
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Jess Root gives his betting picks for the two Week 16 games in the NFL on Saturday.
The NFL will have two games on Saturday in Week 16. With the college football season in bowl season, you can get some extra NFL action.
It also means two more opportunities to win some money with some simple wagers on the winners, the spread and the total.
Below are my picks for Saturday’s two games.
Odds were from BetMGM Sportsbook.
Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.
There are two NFL games in Week 16 on Saturday. Here is the info you need to watch them.
In Week 16, the NFL has two games on Saturday. They are nationally televised but one will only be available on a streaming service.
Then there is a full Sunday schedule but on Monday there will be three games on Christmas Day.
For now, though, let’s look at the two Saturday games, when they start and how you can watch them.
Bengals vs. Steelers viewing info to know.
The Cincinnati Bengals have a Saturday game again in Week 16, their second matchup of the season against the Pittsburgh Steelers. They dropped the first game of the series 16-10 in Jake Browning’s first start of his career after Joe Burrow went out for the season. It was his one game in which Browning didn’t lead the team to a win so far.
Since that game, Browning has obviously become much more comfortable leading the Bengals who have won three straight games since then, keeping them right in the thick of the very competitive AFC wild card playoff hunt as one of four teams with an 8-6 record.
At 7-7, the Steelers are still trying to force their way into the playoffs, but they have been spiraling with four losses in their past five games after overperforming for most of the beginning of the year. Their most recent loss was a 30-13 beatdown by the Indianapolis Colts in which Mitch Trubisky took the reins as the starter and threw for just 169 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
With two tough games in the Kansas City Chiefs and the Cleveland Browns to finish the season for the Bengals, a win this week will be extremely important for the playoff race, especially in a scenario where they find themselves tied with the Steelers.
Here’s a quick look at viewing info and key details about the matchup, including the forecast and opponent info.
Cincinnati Bengals vs. Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday, December 23 (4:30 p.m. ET)
TV info: NBC
In-market live stream: NBC Sports, NFL+ (mobile only)
Radio: Cincinnati – WCKY-AM (1530), Cincinnati – WEBN-FM (102.7), Cincinnati – WLW-AM (700)
Location: Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pa.
Forecast: Cloudy, 46 degrees
Referee: Craig Wrolstad
Opponent Wire site: Steelers Wire
Odds: Bengals -2
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Latest status of fantasy football weapons who are on the mend entering Week 16.
This is a team-by-team review of any key fantasy football player injury news after this week’s practice activity and team statements. Only those players listed on the team’s official injury report will be addressed, unless the situation warrants further attention.
PLEASE NOTE: The NFL releases its final official injury report each Friday (approximately 5:30 p.m. ET). West Coast teams often report their injuries late and may not be included in the initial publication.
This week’s key game-time decisions: RB D’Onta Foreman, TE Cole Kmet, WR Tyreek Hill, RB AJ Dillon, WR Jayden Reed, RB Zack Moss, WR Michael Pittman Jr., QB Trevor Lawrence, RB Kenneth Walker III, RB Josh Jacobs, WR DeVonta Smith
ARIZONA CARDINALS
WR Marquise Brown (heel) is out. WR Greg Dortch (shoulder) is questionable after limited Friday.
ATLANTA FALCONS
RT Kaleb McGary (knee) is questionable after limited work Friday. C Drew Dalman (ankle), RG Chris Lindstrom (ankle) and LT Jake Matthews (knee) are all good to go.
BALTIMORE RAVENS – Monday night
TE Mark Andrews (ankle) remains on IR. RB Keaton Mitchell (knee) joined him on IR due to a torn ACL. WR Odell Beckham Jr. (illness) missed Thursday’s practice, and WR Zay Flowers (foot) was limited. Friday’s session wasn’t complete at press time.
BUFFALO BILLS – Saturday night
TE Dawson Knox (wrist), RB James Cook (illness) and QB Josh Allen (shoulder) practiced Thursday and will play.
CAROLINA PANTHERS
TE Ian Thomas (ankle) is questionable but had a full session Friday.
CHICAGO BEARS
RB D’Onta Foreman (personal) and TE Cole Kmet (quadriceps) are questionable and were limited participants in Friday’s practice. WR Darnell Mooney (illness) practiced Thursday and Friday and will go.
CINCINNATI BENGALS – Saturday night
WR Ja’Marr Chase (shoulder) is out. QB Jake Browning (forearm) and RB Chase Brown (chest) practiced Thursday and will play.
CLEVELAND BROWNS
QB Joe Flacco (calf), RB Jerome Ford (wrist) and RB Kareem Hunt (groin) practiced Friday and will play.
DALLAS COWBOYS
LT Tyron Smith (back) is doubtful and didn’t practice all week. RG Zach Martin (thigh) is questionable after limited work Friday. RB Rico Dowdle (ankle) and RB Tony Pollard (thumb) are good to go after full practices Friday.
DENVER BRONCOS
TE Greg Dulcich (hamstring, foot) is out.
DETROIT LIONS
Starting C Frank Ragnow (knee, back, toe) will play after a full practice Friday.
GREEN BAY PACKERS
TE Luke Musgrave (kidney) is out. WR Christian Watson (hamstring) is doubtful and didn’t practice all week. RB AJ Dillon (thumb), WR Jayden Reed (toe, chest) and WR Dontayvion Wicks (ankle) are all questionable. Reed didn’t practice all week. Dillon and Wicks were limited Friday.
HOUSTON TEXANS
QB C.J. Stroud (concussion) is out again. WR Nico Collins (calf) is questionable after limited work all week. WR Noah Brown (knee) and WR John Metchie (illness) practiced Friday and will play.
INDIANAPOLIS COLTS
RB Jonathan Taylor (thumb) practiced all week and will make his return. RB Zack Moss (forearm) and WR Michael Pittman Jr. (concussion, shoulder) are questionable. Moss didn’t practice Friday, and Pittman, who did clear the protocol, was limited.
JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS
QB Trevor Lawrence (ankle, concussion) and WR Zay Jones (knee) are questionable. Both upgraded to limited work Friday. QB C.J. Beathard (shoulder) practiced fully all week and will play if Lawrence doesn’t.
KANSAS CITY CHIEFS – Monday afternoon
WR Mecole Hardman (thumb) and WR Skyy Moore (knee) are on IR. RB Isiah Pacheco (shoulder) has practiced all week and is poised to return. LT Donovan Smith (neck), RB Jerick McKinnon (groin) and WR Kadarius Toney (hip) were out of practice Friday. TE Travis Kelce (neck) and WR Rashee Rice (hamstring) practiced Friday.
LAS VEGAS RAIDERS – Monday afternoon
LT Kolton Miller (shoulder) and RB Josh Jacobs (quadriceps) were limited Friday.
LOS ANGELES CHARGERS – Saturday night
QB Justin Herbert (finger) is out for the season. WR Keenan Allen (heel) is out once again.
LOS ANGELES RAMS – Played Thursday
No injuries of fantasy relevance.
MIAMI DOLPHINS
WR Tyreek Hill (ankle) is questionable this week after limited work Friday. He’ll be a game-time decision. RB De’Von Achane (toe) and RB Raheem Mostert (knee, ankle) are good to go. Achane was limited Friday, and Mostert was a full-go.
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MINNESOTA VIKINGS
RB Alexander Mattison (ankle) upgraded to limited Friday and is listed as questionable, but he was demoted to No. 2 on the depth chart.
NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS
RB Rhamondre Stevenson (ankle) and WR JuJu Smith-Schuster (ankle) are out. TE Hunter Henry (knee) is questionable after limited work Friday.
NEW ORLEANS SAINTS – Played Thursday
RB Kendre Miller (ankle) was inactive again.
NEW YORK GIANTS – Monday night
TE Darren Waller (hamstring) has worked all week. RB Matt Breida (hamstring) has been limited thus far.
NEW YORK JETS
QB Aaron Rodgers (Achilles) will miss the rest of the season, despite being activated from IR. QB Zach Wilson (concussion) are out.
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES – Monday night
WR DeVonta Smith (knee) has yet to practice, and he’ll need monitored over the weekend.
PITTSBURGH STEELERS – Saturday night
QB Kenny Pickett (ankle) is out again. TE Pat Freiermuth (knee) and RB Najee Harris (knee) practiced Thursday and will go.
SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS – Monday night
RB Elijah Mitchell (knee) was out of practice Thursday. Friday’s session wasn’t complete at press time.
SEATTLE SEAHAWKS
RB Kenneth Walker III (shoulder) was limited Friday and is questionable. QB Geno Smith (groin) is good to go after full work all week.
TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS
WR Chris Godwin (knee) is good to go after a full session Friday.
TENNESSEE TITANS
WR Nick Westbrook-Ikhine (hand) went on IR and will miss the rest of the season. QB Will Levis (ankle) and TE Chigoziem Okonkwo (illness) are questionable. Levis was limited Friday, but Okonkwo was idle. WR Treylon Burks (illness) will play after a full session Friday.
WASHINGTON COMMANDERS
RB Brian Robinson Jr. (hamstring) is out once again.
The Patriots have ruled out two key starters for Sunday’s Christmas Eve clash with the Broncos.
The New England Patriots will be shorthanded on both sides of the ball in Sunday’s clash with the Denver Broncos.
On Friday, the team ruled out safety Jabrill Peppers, running back Rhamondre Stevenson and wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster for the game.
This will be the second straight game Smith-Schuster has missed, following his breakout performance against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 14.
Meanwhile, Peppers has arguably been the best player on the entire team this season. Not having him on the field is a huge loss.
Conor McDermott’s status is also worth monitoring considering how thin things already are for the team at left tackle. Here are the full injury reports for both teams on Friday.
| Player | Injury | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Game Status |
| TE Hunter Henry | Knee | DNP | DNP | LP | Questionable |
| OT Conor McDermott | Concussion | DNP | DNP | DNP | Questionable |
| S Jabrill Peppers | Hamstring | DNP | DNP | DNP | Out |
| RB Rhamondre Stevenson | Ankle | DNP | DNP | DNP | Out |
| DL Christian Barmore | Shoulder | LP | LP | LP | Questionable |
| Ja’Whaun Bentley | Knee | LP | LP | LP | Questionable |
| OT Trent Brown | Ankle/Hand | LP | LP | LP | Questionable |
| CB Jonathan Jones | Knee | LP | LP | LP | Questionable |
| SpT Matthew Slater | Hamstring | LP | LP | LP | Questionable |
| WR JuJu Smith-Schuster | Ankle | LP | LP | DNP | Out |
| LB Jahlani Tavai | Ankle | LP | LP | LP | Questionable |
| S Cody Davis | Illness | DNP | FP | Active | |
| LB Anfernee Jennings | Illness | DNP | LP | Questionable | |
| OT Tyrone Wheatley Jr. | Knee | FP | FP | Active |
DNP: Did not practice; LP: Limited participation ; FP: Full participation
| Player | Injury | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Game Status |
| OLB Nik Bonitto | Knee | DNP | DNP | DNP | Out |
| TE Greg Dulcich | Hamstring/Foot | DNP | DNP | DNP | Out |
| RB Samaje Perine | Not injury-related/Rest | DNP | FP | Active | |
| OLB Jonathon Cooper | Ankle | LP | FP | Active | |
| T Alex Palczewski | Knee | LP | FP | DNP | Out |
| DT Mike Purcell | Not injury-related/Rest | DNP | Active | ||
| TE Chris Manhertz | Not injury-related/Rest | LP | Active |
DNP: Did not practice; LP: Limited participation ; FP: Full participation
Playing shorthanded has been a common theme for the Patriots this season. That won’t make the effort any easier, but at least they’re prepared to play under tough circumstances against a Broncos team desperate to stay in the playoff hunt.
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Here’s how the Bucs and the Jaguars stack up in some deeper metrics ahead of their Christmas Eve showdown.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Jacksonville Jaguars are are very close in record, yet their trajectories couldn’t be more different.
Bucs have won three games in a row to move up to 7-7, while the Jags have lost three in a row to drop to 8-6 on the year. The Bucs are very healthy, with no player being ruled out for Sunday, but the Jaguars are facing a number of injuries that have hindered them for a bit. With one team trending up and the other trending down, the two teams’ advanced analytics have some interesting things to say.
Interestingly enough, the Bucs offense does better on advanced metrics than Jacksonville — Tampa Bay leads the Jags in EPA (Expected Points Added) per play, EPA per pass and EPA per rush, with Jacksonville’s -0.18 EPA/rush good for the 28th worst in football. The Bucs also boast a top 10 EPA/pass in the NFL at 0.06, but they strangely do worse than the Jaguars when it comes to success rate at 40.8% to Jacksonville’s 42.9%.
NFL Week 16 – Advanced Stats Preview
Jacksonville Jaguars @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers pic.twitter.com/Hk8RjONMbT
— SumerSports (@SumerSports) December 22, 2023
The defense is where it gets worse for Tampa Bay.
Tampa Bay’s success rate allowed, EPA/pass allowed and explosive plays allowed are all abysmal, grading in the bottom five of the NFL in all of those categories. The Jaguars, meanwhile, are in the top half or better in those categories, with their best defensive stat being their pass defense at -0.05 EPA/pass allowed.
Should Trevor Lawrence not be able to play for the Jaguars, that Bucs defense could be under far less stress than anticipated. As it stands, Tampa Bay’s offense stands superior to the Jaguars, but their defensive unit could keep things close on Christmas Eve.
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Lions final injury report vs. Vikings: Jerry Jacobs and Brock Wright ruled out for Sunday’s game
The final Week 16 injury report for the Detroit Lions is a relatively short one. Two Lions have been ruled out for Sunday’s game in Minnesota, with another listed as doubtful.
Cornerback Jerry Jacobs (hamstring) and tight end Brock Wright (knee) did not practice all week and will not play on Sunday. In addition, linebacker Derrick Barnes is doubtful with a shoulder injury. No player listed as doubtful under Dan Campbell as head coach has ever played, so Barnes is effectively out as well.
Two players aiming to return from injured reserve will also not be activated this week. Defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson and fullback Jason Cabinda were ruled out, meaning they will say on I.R. through the weekend.
No other Lions carry any injury designation for Sunday’s game. That includes right tackle Penei Sewell, who was limited in practice early in the week with a shoulder issue. Sewell was a full participant on both Thursday and Friday.
Check out these starts and sits for fantasy football in Week 16.
The fantasy football playoffs are officially underway as just two more weeks remain in the season for the majority of leagues. Now, it’s time to look at some start/sit decisions for Week 16.
Doing start/sit articles can be a little challenging. The players featured on the list below should not be taken as “must starts” or “must sits.” Instead, these are more suggestions on what we believe managers should do with fringe players heading into the weekend. The choice is ultimately up to the manager.
Just because a player is listed as a “start” doesn’t mean he should be put in the lineup over the secure, bona fide studs. Vice versa for the “sits.” If there’s no better option on the waiver wire or the bench, a manager shouldn’t automatically sit the player. That’s why these can be tricky waters to navigate.
Feel free to ask any specific start/sit questions via X, formerly Twitter, (@KevinHickey11), or check out our start/bench list for Week 16:
