Week 16 of the NFL season is here with the Jacksonville Jaguars at New York Jets kicking things off on Thursday night.
That means it’s time for you to lock in your survivor pool (or knockout pool or whatever you call it) pick for this week and continue on and avoid elimination. So we decided it’s time to give you some help with that by ranking the five best teams to target, while trying to factor in those leagues that require you to only use a squad once per season.
Past picks: Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8 | Week 9 | Week 10 | Week 11 | Week 12 | Week 13 | Week 14 | Week 15
Here’s who you should be considering ahead of Week 16 in descending order:
5
Kansas City Chiefs (vs. Seattle Seahawks)
The Chiefs have played some surprisingly close games against worse teams in recent weeks. But even if this ends within a single score, I think they end up on the right side again.
4
Cincinnati Bengals (at New England Patriots)
It’s never a comfortable feeling picking against Bill Belichick in Foxboro, but the Bengals are a much better and complete team than New England and should win this game.
3
Detroit Lions (at Carolina Panthers)
The Lions are hot in a way that feels destined to come crashing to earth at some point, but I don’t believe them to be a fluke, which they would be if they let Carolina win.
2
Buffalo Bills (at Chicago Bears)
Even with the weather in Chicago potentially leveling the playing field a little, the Bills are still so much better than Chicago that they’ll end up winning.
1
San Francisco 49ers (vs. Washington Commanders)
Somehow we made it this far in the year without using the Niners yet. This probably wasn’t the most ideal matchup to use them, but they should still come away with the win over Washington at home.
