Sportsnaut
The effects of Week 15 will carryover into the 2026 NFL regular season, but we’ll begin to see the immediate aftermath this week. As we preview the NFL schedule for Week 16, there are playoff-clinching scenarios at stake, impacts on the NFL Draft order and the immediate aftermath of season-ending injuries.
Let’s dive into our NFL Week 16 predictions, projecting every matchup. Of note, the NFL schedule this week includes matchups on Thursday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
Back in Week 11, Sam Darnold was picked off four times, and the Seattle Seahawks went 1-for-4 in the red zone. They lost 21-19 on the road to the Los Angeles Rams. Fast forward to Week 16, Los Angeles will be without Davante Adams (hamstring) and they are traveling to Seattle for this Thursday Night Football matchup. Defensively, Los Angeles does seem to have Sam Darnold’s number (85.9 QB rating and 4-4 TD-INT ratio with 8 sacks taken). However, not having Adams puts Matthew Stafford at a significant disadvantage against one of the league’s top defenses. We think Seattle pulls it out late at home, with an interception that sets up a second field goal by Jason Myers to deliver a win and split the season series, with a battle for the NFC’s No. 1 seed and the NFC West crown.
Related: NFL Defense Rankings 2025
We’ll stop well short of saying the Philadelphia Eagles offense is back on track, even coming off a 31-point win over Las Vegas. What Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley, and A.J. Brown can do is take advantage of a defense that has allowed 30.4 points and 399.6 total yards per game with a 6.5 yards-per-play average in the last nine games. The Washington Commanders won’t get shutout, but this is another matchup that the Eagles win by three scores.
Read More: NFL Week 16 Power Rankings, Evaluating all 32 Teams after Week 15
In the second half of the Week 14 matchup at Lambeau Field, the Chicago Bears put up 244 total yards, 18 points, and they reached the red zone on all four drives. Fast forward to Week 16, the Green Bay Packers are now without Micah Parsons, Evan Williams, Zach Tom, and Christian Watson. Injuries are one thing, but the Packers are now without their two best defenders (Parsons and Williams) and their three most important players on offense (Watson, Tom, and Tucker Kraft) outside of Jordan Love. That’s far too much to overcome, and with what Chicago found in the second half, they’ll take full control of the NFC North and clinch a spot in the playoffs.
At one point in the season, this could’ve been a matchup where the Cleveland Browns shocked the NFL world and pulled off the upset. That’s no longer the case. Cleveland has now allowed 137.9 rushing yards per game...
