NFL 2024 Season - Week 16
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Articles published multiple times per week, offering insights and picks on upcoming games.
 
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Article Archive

Week 16
Playoff Position
Rest of the Story
Different Sundays
Run Some Tests
Without and With
Week 15
Two Tonight
Playoff Chances
Wild Card Challenge
Best of the Best
Next
Dire Straits
And It's Good
Bloated Lines
Week 14
Running up the Score
Challenge Me
Finding Reasons to Win
Crab Feed
Week Off
Good Enough
Buyers Regret
Pulled the Rug
Week 13
Mile High Hopes
Top and Bottom
Fourth Time the Charm
Bounce Back
Engage Spark
Line Up
Out in the Cold
Thanksgiving Visitors
Good Enough
Motivation on Steroids
Week 12
Second Best
Heavyweight Bout
QB's Ins and Outs
Everybody In
Too Easy
Walk the Plank
Hot to Trot
Try, Try, Try, Try, Try Again
Week 11
Mouse Trap
Must Game
Malfunction
Easy Does It
Old Foes
Falcons Fly into Mile High
Matter of Time
Improv
To the Brink
Week 10
Odd Man Out
Lions come Calling
Rookie versus Veteran
Call to Action
Full Reverse
When 8-0 is 4-4
Game of Contradictions
NFC West Bunch
Early Boarding
Week 9
Not Enough, Too Much
Real or Imposters
Groin Shot
Best Show
Saddle Up
Dull Edges
Telling Actions
Annihilation Formula
Week 8
No and No
Old Glory
Rookie Face Off
Adding it Up
Holding On
Jets Down
Unload and Reload
No Surprise
Career Paths
It Hurts
Week 7
Harbaugh Monday
Kids Camp
Barkley Back
Bird Battle
Mouse Time
Too Many?
Gone Shopping
Not Bad
40 for 3
Week 6
Try New
Night Vision
Trap Door
Looking Up
Wake Up Call
All Good Things
Bad Idea
Unexpected
Fire One
Week 5
Yes & Yes
Old Rivals
Rookie Sensation
So Close
Lunch in Seattle
Wake the Roosters
No Respect
Too Sweet
Turtle Flip
Week 4
Landmine
Bottoms Up
Winners and Losers
Call Me
Short Line
Reality Bites
Like Tonight
Uptick
Challenge Generates Performance
Week 3
Two Times
Reduced Value
Stars Down
The Other 21
Opportunity Knocks
Lots of Questions
Move Along People
Times Up
Week 2
Confidence Game
First and Second Picked QB's
Avoiding the Donut
Do or Die
One for the Road
Likewise
Adjustment Bureau
Down ... Not Out
Week 1
Time Marches On
Cashing the Trade
Start Here
Say What
Quick Up, Quick Down
Brazil Play Date
Top Two Open
Super Bowl Pick
Season Win Totals
Moving on Up
Breakout to Breakdown
Preseason 4
Preseason Wrap
Rookie Playoff Run
Preseason 3
Short Memory
Two In, One Up
Eagles Hunt
Winning Formula
Preseason 2
Quarterback Shuffle
One Two, or Two One
Starters Sit
Remote Control
Money be Damned
Preseason 1
One Season to the Next
Public Shift
Comets in the Night
Offseason
Mahomes Chasing History
All's Well that Ends Well
Ups and Downs
     
 
Game Day
by Dennis Ranahan

It is Sunday, between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Pacific Time.

How do I know that?

Because this feature, the gameday headline play, only appears on this site during that time. For the 26 weeks during a National Football League season this article will offer some intriguing insights into the day’s upcoming action.

It will include weather and injury situations that might affect play and wagering patterns that do often dictate point spread results. We’ll let you know where the money is and what are the three favorite plays made on that week’s game by the public. We are most times against the public action?

Why?

Does that mean we think the public are not smart?

No.

Just the opposite. In fact, the public bettors are a heat seeking missile for finding the teams that appear to have the most dramatic edges over their opponents. Only thing is, finding those teams that seem in the best position to win is also fertile ground for motivational letdowns.

The players on the teams are in the same conversation that assumes they are in for a challenging or easy opponent. The best motivator in sports is a healthy fear of your opponent, whereas when a game appears clearly in one team’s favor is the most likely spot for a less spirited week of preparation and a likely dull performance on Sunday.

That is why a team like the Indianapolis Colts, a squad that had more problems last year than a naked beekeeper, can come up with a surprise regular season win over the eventual Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs. And yes, the Colts plus the points over the Chiefs in Week Three, was the third of our season opening six straight top pick of the week winners to open the 2022 season. By season end, the Colts had fired their coach and finished the year with only four wins, one of them over the Chiefs in third week action, 20-17.

We spend the entire year focussed on the NFL and that work leads to early season success. In fact, over the past four seasons our weekly top picks are 15-0-1 over the first four weeks of an NFL campaign.

The 26 weeks of off-season work is one reason we can trust our judgment, and recommend you do too, when the National Football League season is in play.