NFL 2021 Week 16 betting picks & top odds – Sunday, December 26

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers visit the Carolina Panthers this Sunday in NFL Week 16 hoping to bounce back from an ugly loss to the New Orleans Saints last week. That matchup is one of our selections along with the Detroit Lions vs Atlanta Falcons and Chicago Bears vs Seattle Seahawks games in this weekend’s NFL betting picks.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-10) at Carolina Panthers (+10)

It isn’t often that Tom Brady plays poorly and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (10-4-0) look awful on offense, but that is exactly what happened in last Sunday’s 9-0 loss as big favorites at home against the Saints. The loss proved costly to the Buccaneers in other ways, too, as star wide receiver Chris Godwin was sidelined for the season and starting running back Leonard Fournette was lost for the remainder of the regular season.

Despite all of this, the Buccaneers are still going off as 10-point road favorites this Sunday against the Carolina Panthers (5-9-0). This is a testament to how bad the Panthers are, as the team is 2-8 over its last 10 games with a current stretch of four straight losses. Even with the injuries to his supporting cast, Brady should have a big day against the lowly Panthers to lead Tampa Bay to a bounce-back blowout win.

Detroit Lions (+5.5) at Atlanta Falcons (-5.5)

The Detroit Lions (2-11-1) are one of the NFL’s worst teams on paper. But unlike many of the other bad teams in the league that just roll over and die every week, the Lions have been playing hard in every game since their bye week in November. They most recently defeated the Arizona Cardinals 30-12 as 13-point underdogs, improving to 2-1 over their last three games and to 5-1 against the spread over their last six.

The Atlanta Falcons (6-8-0) are just good enough to beat bad teams; all six of their wins have come against teams that currently have records of 7-7-0 or worse. Those wins have come by an average margin of victory of only 4.8 points per game. In fact, their -126 point differential on the season (258 points scored, 384 allowed) is actually worse than Detroit’s -123 despite the better record. Even if the Falcons win, there’s a great chance that the Lions will keep this one close enough to cover the spread.

Chicago Bears (+6.5) at Seattle Seahawks (-6.5)

The Chicago Bears (4-10-0) are one of those bad teams that don’t show much fight on the field. With their most recent 17-9 loss to the Minnesota Vikings, the Bears fell to 1-8 over their last nine games. They’ve lost their last three games by an average margin of 11.3 points per game.

The Seattle Seahawks (5-9-0) are having a down year after going 12-4-0 last season. Franchise quarterback Russell Wilson is struggling and the defense isn’t what it used to be. Still, the Seahawks are clearly better than the NFL’s bottom feeders, as seen in their 33-13 win over the Houston Texans and their 31-7 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. Facing another bad team this week with home-field advantage, the Seahawks should get the job done.