Schrock's Week 16 picks: Can 49ers rain on Kyler's parade?
It's hard to believe the 2020 NFL regular season is almost over.It feels like just yesterday that the 49ers were beginning their "Revenge Tour," the Raiders were filled with hope and promise, Tom Brady was just beginning his transformation into Florida Man, Antonio Brown was still making terrible rap videos and 31 other teams actually thought they had a chance to dethrone the Kansas City Chiefs.With two weeks left in the season, the playoff picture is taking shape. The 49ers were officially eliminated in Week 15, following their loss to the Dallas Cowboys and the Arizona Cardinals' win over the Philadelphia Eagles. The Raiders' postseason hopes are in the grave and waiting for the dirt to be dumped on them. It will take a heroic effort from Marcus Mariota, and a whole lot of losses elsewhere for Jon Gruden's club to punch a playoff ticket.Week 16 will see the Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams face off with first place in the NFC West on the line while the Green Bay Packers battle Derrick Henry and the Tennessee Titans. Meanwhile, Jalen Hurts will look to continue making Doug Pederson look foolish for not yanking Carson Wentz earlier when the Eagles face the Cowboys.Let's get to the picks.RECORD: 104-100 SU (133-71-1)
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Line: Saints -7
Drew Brees didn't look near 100 percent against the Chiefs, and we're still waiting for Alvin Kamara to have one of his patented monster games.
The Vikings' playoff hopes died at the hands of Mitchell Trubisky last Sunday, and now Minnesota has little to play for but pride.
New Orleans' defense will make life tough on Dalvin Cook and Marshon Lattimore will give rookie Justin Jefferson the toughest test of his rookie season.
Kirk Cousins folds late and the Saints cover.
Pick: Saints 28, Vikings 20
Line: Bucs -9.5
The Bucs have just been Jekyll and Hydeing their way through the season. They fell into a 17-point hole against the Falcons before Tom Brady stormed back to break Matt Ryan's heart once again.
Matthew Stafford is playing through torn cartilage in his ribs and a torn ligament in his throwing hand but still keeps delivering dimes for the hapless Lions.
The Lions have nothing to play for, but 9.5 is too many points to lay with this Bucs team. Bucs win but it's tight.
Pick: Bucs 27, Lions 23
Line: Chiefs -10
Kansas City continues to play unnecessarily close games against almost every opponent. Maybe the Chiefs are bored. Maybe it's a product of a larger issue.
Either way, the Falcons are frisky and this has massive back-door cover potential.
Pick: Chiefs 31, Falcons 26
Line: Bears -7.5
The Jaguars are in the driver's seat for Trevor Lawrence now after the Jets' Week 15 win over the Rams. (What the hell, Sean McVay?)
Mitchell Trubisky has injected life into the Bears' playoff hopes, but he's due for a stinker. I don't think he plays bad enough to lose, but this is much closer than it should be.
Pick: Bears 23, Jags 20
Line: Browns -9.5
The Browns still have a negative point differential on the season, but have looked like one of the NFL's best teams over the last month.
New York has led in eight of its last nine games and finally got off the schneid with their upset of the Rams. Will they be motivated to get another W or will Jets' brass tell Adam Gase to park the bus?
It's a lot of points, but the Jets no longer face NFL immortality and the Browns are gunning for that No. 5 seed. Browns in a boat race.
Pick: Browns 27, Jets 13
Line Colts -1.5
The Steelers have been leaking oil for a month and now are a full-blown tire fire after losing to the Ryan Finley-led Bengals in Week 15. Ben Roethlisberger has been the worst quarterback in football based on efficiency over the past three weeks, and I see no sign of that changing against a stout Colts defense.
Make it four straight losses for the Steelers, setting up a Week 17 winner-take-AFC-North showdown with the Browns.
Pick: Colts 24, Steelers 20
Line: Chargers -3
Coming off a couple of impressive showings, the Broncos were absolutely eviscerated by the Bills in Week 15. Drew Lock continues to be one of the NFL's worst downfield passers and hasn't taken the leap many expected he would in Year 2.
Justin Herbert, meanwhile, continues to drag Anthony Lynn's game mismanaging bag of bones to wins, even though it would benefit him greatly if Lynn does not return next season.
The Bolts still are playing hard. As long as this doesn't come down to a field goal, I'll take Herbert over Lock.
Pick: Chargers 27, Broncos 20
Line: Seahawks -2
The whole world is wondering how the Rams, who had looked like the most complete team in the NFC, went and got upended by the previously winless Jets.
Sean McVay called it embarrassing, and he's right. But it also could provide us with a betting gift.
After watching the Rams lay an egg, the whole world will be on the Seahawks. But I like the Rams in a bounce-back spot, knowing they need a win to have a chance to win the division.
Division games are always tough and the Seahawks haven't been impressive over the last six weeks. Rams get back on track.
Pick: Rams 24, Seahawks 23
Line: Eagles -1
The Cowboys stink. The Eagles also aren't very good, but they've been re-energized by Jalen Hurts' insertion as the starting quarterback.
Dallas' secondary has been abysmal unless Nick Mullens is spoon-feeding them turnovers. Hurts has another big game as the Eagles take some frustration out on their rival.
Pick: Eagles 30, Cowboys 23
Line: Washington -2
Dwayne Haskins appeared to turn a corner in the second half against the Seahawks but couldn't do enough to upset Seattle. Still, the Football Team has been impressive in two games without Antonio Gibson in the lineup.
The Panthers have lost eight one-score games this season, as Teddy Bridgewater has been juuuuuuuuust good enough to hang around. It's a revenge game for Ron Rivera, but I'll take the Panthers to finally win a close game. Joey Slye wins it at the horn.
Pick: Panthers 27, WFT 24
Line: Ravens -9.5
All the steam the Giants got after beating the Seahawks is long gone. Jason Garrett's offense couldn't do anything against the Browns and I don't see Colt McCoy, Wayne Gallman and Golden Tate doing much against the Ravens either.
Lamar Jackson and the Ravens just put it on the Jaguars, and I think they'll make quick work of what is a mediocre-at-best Giants team.
Pick: Ravens 30, Giants 16
Line: Texans -8.5
It was nice moment for Ryan Finley getting his first NFL win in an upset over the rival Steelers. That had a lot more to do with the Steelers being an abject disaster than it did anything the Bengals were throwing out there.
Deshaun Watson has been doing everything in his power to get the Texans some wins and he should be able to get it done here. But, like all Texans games, it's going to come down to the wire.
Pick: Texans 23, Bengals 17
Line: Packers -3.5
All the Packers need to do is win one of their last two games to secure the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye. Something tells me they'd love to do it this week and rest their starters in Week 17 against the Bears.
Tennessee is fresh off an impressive win over the Lions, but I'm not sure how much we can glean from that performance. Derrick Henry continues to level-up his play as the postseason nears.
This has all the makings of a knock-down, drag-out fight. I'll take Aaron Rodgers to make the plays at the end of the game against a suspect Titans' secondary.
Pick: Packers 31, Titans 27
Line: Bills -7
The passing of the torch in the AFC East finally will take place after the Patriots spent two decades on top.
Josh Allen and the Bills have been shredding teams as offensive coordinator Brian Daboll auditions for a head-coaching gig.
The Patriots struggle to move the ball on offense. Cam Newton has been ineffective for the past two months, and if running back Damien Harris can't go, the Patriots have little shot of keeping this close.
Buffalo goes for the throat and makes a statement by burying the Patriots.
Pick: Bills 31, Patriots 16
Line: Dolphins -3
Look, the Raiders' defense is atrocious. The secondary can't stop anyone. But the good news is that the Dolphins could be coming in with limited or no passing game weapons with Mike Gisecki and DeVante Parker nursing injuries.
That opens the door for a Lynn Bowden revenge game, which would be rather humorous.
The Raiders have had 10 days to prepare for the Dolphins, which is good news for a battered defense. There's a chance Derek Carr tries to play in this game, but I think it'll be Marcus Mariota and I don't see that as a considerable drop-off.
Raiders pull off the upset and deal a big blow to Miami's playoff hopes.
Pick: Raiders 28, Dolphins 27
Line: Cardinals -4
Kyler Murray has given the 49ers problems ever since he came into the NFL and there is zero reason to believe that trend won't continue this Saturday.
The Cardinals are in the thick of the playoff race and a win would put them in prime position to lock up the final wild-card spot in the NFC.
Nick Mullens has been one of the worst quarterbacks in football since the win over the Rams. The Cardinals' defense isn't great, but it has a knack for coming up with big sacks and turnovers. Arizona turns Mullens over a couple of times and Murray puts on a show as the Cardinals inch closer to the playoffs.
Pick: Cardinals 31, 49ers 23
