The NFL’s decision to save division matchups for the final weeks of the regular season continues to pay off with the biggest games of Week 16 all featuring rivals looking to deny each other more than just bragging rights. If there is no crown to be fought over, there is at least a spot in the playoffs, so everything will be left on the field.

Unfortunately, at this time of the year, teams are limping towards the postseason, with injury lists as likely to determine the outcome of games as much as active rosters. Some will need to dig deep to keep Super Bowl ambitions alive, while others will simply hope to live to fight another day.

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GAME OF THE WEEK

Denver Broncos (9-5) @ Los Angeles Chargers (8-6)

One of the few games with playoff implications for both sides is the kick-off to Week 16 on Thursday night. The 9-5 Denver Broncos have already secured their first winning season since 2015 — the season they won the Super Bowl — and Sean Payton’s charges can clinch a playoff berth with a win over their AFC West rival Chargers.

The Broncos’ success in the second year of the Payton regime owes a lot to their crushing defense — they are tied with two other teams for the best scoring defense in the NFL in 2024, allowing just 17.6 points per game — and the play of newcomer quarterback Bo Nix. Nix has 20 touchdown passes in 2024, the most of any rookie passer, and has three games with three such scores already this season. Another would make him just the seventh first-year passer with four three-touchdown games in NFL history.

But the Broncos will have to scrap and claw for victory against the 8-6 Chargers, who can boast their own shutdown defense and star quarterback out of Oregon. The Chargers are one of the teams tied with the Broncos in allowing less than 18 points per game this season and, in Justin Herbert, they have just the second quarterback in NFL history to rack up at least 20,000 passing yards in his first five seasons in the league.

The Chargers can earn a playoff spot of their own this week, but they need some help. A win of their own, plus a loss or tie by both the Miami Dolphins and the Indianapolis Colts would see Jim Harbaugh’s side punch their ticket to the postseason. If this game finishes as a tie, the Chargers can still earn a playoff berth, but they would need losses for the Dolphins and Colts plus a loss or tie for the Cincinnati Bengals.

PREDICTION: The Chargers pull off the win and edge one step closer to just a third postseason appearance in the last 11 years.

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WORTH A WATCH

Sometimes there are fixtures that just stand out on a schedule, whether it’s your favourite team(s), a rematch or a plain old revenge game…

Pittsburgh Steelers (10-4) @ Baltimore Ravens (9-5)

One of the best rivalries in all of football resumes on Saturday as AFC North foes Baltimore and Pittsburgh clash at M&T Bank Stadium. The Ravens come into the game after a systematic demolition of the New York Giants a week ago, a game that saw Lamar Jackson become the first player to rack up five touchdown passes, 50 rushing yards and complete at least 80% of his passes in a regular season game. A victory for the Ravens would secure a playoff berth for John Harbaugh’s side for the sixth time in seven seasons, and the 12th time since Harbaugh took over in 2008. Standing in their way are the AFC North leading Steelers, who secured their own playoff spot last week despite losing to the Philadelphia Eagles. The Steelers look like being without wide receiver George Pickens for the third game in a row and may have to lean on kicker Chris Boswell to put points on the board as they did the last time these sides met, when Boswell kicked six field goals in an 18-16 win back in Week 11. The Steelers can clinch the AFC North title with a win on Saturday, their first division title since 2020 and just their second since 2017.

PREDICTION: The Ravens get the win and keep their division hopes alive for at least another week.

Philadelphia Eagles (12-2) @ Washington Commanders (9-5)

For the first time in the 21st century, the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Commanders lock horns at the business end of a season with both teams still competitive. The Eagles are 12-2 and have won a franchise record 10 straight games on the back of a dominant running game driven by quarterback Jalen Hurts and running back Saquon Barkley. Hurts, who has three winning streaks of at least ten games in his NFL career, has 14 rushing touchdowns already this season and one more will see him become the first player with 15 rushing scores in back-to-back seasons since Derrick Henry managed the feat in 2019-20. Barkley has had a wonderful first season in Philadelphia after festering for much of his time with the New York Giants, having already broken the Eagles’ single-season rushing record with 1,688 yards on the ground while leading the league with 1,964 yards from scrimmage. The Eagles have secured a playoff berth for the fourth time in four seasons under head coach Nick Sirianni and a win over the Commanders would give them their second NFC East title in three seasons. This would continue the NFC East’s run with no repeat winners since the Eagles won four in a row between 2001-2004, but they won’t be handed their division banner, as the 9-5 Commanders are firmly in the playoff hunt themselves. Washington has got all it could have dreamed of from rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels, who has racked up 3,045 passing yards while adding another 656 on the ground. Daniels is one of only four first-year quarterbacks in NFL history to hit 3,000 passing and 500 rushing yards and, if he can add another 44 yards with his legs, will join Robert Griffin and Cam Newton as the only ones with 700 yards as rookies. A win for the Commanders would give them their first 10-win season since 2012 — when Griffin was under center — but wouldn’t be enough to earn a playoff spot by itself. Losses or ties for the Falcons, Rams and Seahawks in concert with a Commanders win would see them punch their playoff ticket, provided the Seahawks and Rams don’t tie!

PREDICTION: Eagles get the W and remain in the hunt for the NFC’s #1 seed.

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SOMETHING TO PLAY FOR

Houston Texans (9-5) @ Kansas City Chiefs (13-1)

The Chiefs can lock up the No.1 seed in the AFC with a win over the Texans, but all eyes are on the health of Patrick Mahomes and his ankle ahead of a Saturday evening encounter with a team who are all but locked into their own playoff seed.

New Orleans Saints (5-9) @ Green Bay Packers (10-4)

A win for the Packers and Jordan Love would see them secure a spot in the postseason for the fifth time in six seasons under Matt LaFleur. The Saints are trying to break the unofficial NFL record for the number of key offensive players lost to injury during a single season.

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ALSO ON

New York Giants (2-12) @ Atlanta Falcons (7-7)

The Falcons have entered the Michael Penix Jr era after benching Kirk Cousins. Can the rookie help kickstart the push for a playoff spot, or will the Giants find a way to hinder their own hopes of landing the first overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft?

New England Patriots (3-11) @ Buffalo Bills (11-3)

The Bills have MVP frontrunner Josh Allen playing at an insane level, but can their old AFC East rivals play spoiler?

Arizona Cardinals (7-7) @ Carolina Panthers (3-11)

The Cardinals are still alive in the playoff race despite a misfiring Kyler Murray, but can the recently spunky Panthers bounce back after a dispiriting loss to the Cowboys a week ago?

Detroit Lions (12-2) @ Chicago Bears (4-10)

The Lions are losers. Having conceded a first defeat since Week 2, Detroit continues to lose players to injury as ta fairytale season begins to descend into a nightmare. Caleb Williams hasn’t thrown an interception in his last eight games…and lost all eight. Can the Lions get back to winning ways and tighten their grip on the NFC’s No.1 seed?

Cleveland Browns (3-11) @ Cincinnati Bengals (6-8)

The Browns have turned their offense over to Dorian Thompson-Robinson after the fairy dust wore off on Jameis Winston. Can this gamble help them win a shootout against the hottest quarterback-wide receiver duo in the NFL in Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase?

Tennessee Titans (3-11) @ Indianapolis Colts (6-8)

The Titans have turned to Mason Rudolph after Will Levis stunk out the joint against the Bengals. Can the former Steeler play spoiler as Indy looks to prevent its slim playoff hopes slipping from their grasp… something Jonathan Taylor knows all about?

Los Angeles Rams (8-6) @ New York Jets (4-10)

The Rams offense has recaptured some of its fire of late and Matt Stafford and his pair of stud wideouts are firmly in the hunt for the NFC West title. Can the Jets, who won a surprisingly exciting clash with the Jaguars a week ago, string two wins together and rain on the Rams parade?

Minnesota Vikings (12-2) @ Seattle Seahawks (8-6)

The Vikings need to keep firing on all cylinders as they cling to hopes of capturing the NFC’s #1 seed, while the Seahawks need to keep winning to stay alive in the NFC West. If Sam Howell plays, could the Vikings break the single-game sack record?

Jacksonville Jaguars (3-11) @ Las Vegas Raiders (2-12)

In a clash between two candidates for the first overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, which teams wants this game less?

San Francisco 49ers (6-8) @ Miami Dolphins (6-8)

A clash between the student (Mike McDaniel) and the master (Kyle Shanahan), which of these 2024 disappointments can do enough to keep their fanbases engaged for at least one more week before a difficult offseason of retooling?

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-6) @ Dallas Cowboys (6-8)

The Buccaneers are in the box seat in the NFC South but could do with a win in case Michael Penix energises the Falcons. Can Cooper Rush and Rico Dowdle build on their Week 16 deeds and spoil the party for Baker Mayfield and Mike Evans as they return to Texas?