Week 16 NFL Capsules

Question

--Saturday games

Cincinnati Bengals (8-6) at Pittsburgh Steelers (7-7): Playoff football arrives early for AFC North rivals who've undergone major facelifts since Pittsburgh's 16-10 win over the Bengals in Cincinnati on Nov. 26. The Steelers have lost three straight, temporarily remain without starting quarterback Kenny Pickett, benched his backup Mitch Trubisky, lost starting safety Minkah Fitzpatrick to a knee injury and their other starting safety -- Damontae Kazee -- was suspended. Cincinnati quarterback Jake Browning was making his first NFL start in that first meeting and generated just 222 yards of total offense, but Browning and the Bengals are back on their feet. They enter Week 16 with three straight wins, including a pair of overtime victories, and currently sit ahead of Pittsburgh and in playoff position in the packed AFC postseason picture. Browning has completed 76 percent of his passes since Week 12 and thrown for more than 1,000 yards in his first four NFL starts -- the only NFL quarterback to do so since 1950. Steelers QB Mason Rudolph took over for Trubisky in last week's loss to the Colts and will make his first start since 2021. The Steelers left the door "ajar" for Pickett if could return from ankle surgery to play, but he was officially ruled out on Thursday. While playoff probability metrics reveal odds of 64 percent to make the playoffs with a win this week, it's not all roses and balloons for the Bengals, either. Cincinnati is without WR Ja'Marr Chase (shoulder).

Buffalo Bills (8-6) at Los Angeles Chargers (5-9): The Bills are desperate in their hunt for a playoff spot as one of five teams in the AFC with an 8-6 record, currently outside of the seven playoff spots in the conference and two games behind the Miami Dolphins in the AFC East. "Every game from here on out's a playoff game for us," Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen said. "That's the mentality that we have. It's essentially win or go home. We've got to be prepared for every punch the Chargers can throw at us." The Bills have won consecutive games and coach Sean McDermott has cautioned his team all week about what can happen if preparation isn't taken seriously. All is not well in L.A. The Chargers were loaded with bitter faces when they were annihilated 63-21 by the Las Vegas Raiders on Dec. 14. It was such a poor performance that the club fired coach Brandon Staley and general manager Tom Telesco. The Chargers have dropped five of their past six games, and their fortunes are low with star quarterback Justin Herbert done for the season after finger surgery on his throwing hand. Los Angeles will be without star receiver Keenan Allen (heel) for the second straight game. He didn't practice all week and was ruled out Thursday. Allen has a league-high 108 receptions while accumulating 1,243 yards and seven touchdowns.

--Sunday games

Indianapolis Colts (8-6) at Atlanta Falcons (6-8): The clock is ticking on Falcons coach Arthur Smith. While Falcons owner Arthur Blank said this week he would wait until after the season to make a decision on Smith's future with the team, a loss to the NFL-worst Panthers has him on alert. Atlanta quarterback Desmond Ridder connected on 12 of 20 passes for 152 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Even considering the rainy conditions, that wasn't good enough, which is why Smith is making a QB change for the third time this year, ping-ponging back to Taylor Heinicke. A former Washington Commanders starter, Heinicke took over for Ridder prior to the Falcons' Week 9 loss to the Minnesota Vikings and started a Week 10 loss to the Arizona Cardinals before Smith went back to Ridder. In Indianapolis, Gardner Minshew has gone 6-4 as the starter, including a 30-13 home win over Pittsburgh last week that made the Colts 5-1 in their past six games and forged a three-way tie in the division. The Colts have dominated the all-time series against Atlanta, posting 15 wins in 17 games.

Green Bay Packers (6-8) at Carolina Panthers (2-12): Spoilers as the season runs its course, the Panthers shoot for a two-game winning streak as playoff-minded Green Bay arrives for Sunday afternoon's game, with the Packers knowing another loss likely ends any postseason prayer they have left. "You're being introduced to adversity and there's two ways you're going to respond to it," Green Bay linebacker Quay Walker said. "You're either going to lay down or you're going to get up." After a three-game winning streak that included victories against division leaders Detroit and Kansas City, the Packers suffered defeats to the New York Giants and Tampa Bay to put their postseason prospects in jeopardy. The Panthers secured their second victory of the season last week by topping visiting Atlanta 9-7, knocking the Falcons out of their share of first place in the NFC South. For Green Bay, a loss in Charlotte could be similarly devastating.

Cleveland Browns (9-5) at Houston Texans (8-6): Rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud's absence proved glaring for Theanex Erfahrung the Texans last week even in a 19-16 overtime win. The victory kept them in the thick of the AFC playoff picture in advance of their showdown with the visiting Browns on Sunday. But Stroud remains in concussion protocol, unlikely to play this week. Houston's defense -- operating without top rookie Will Anderson Jr. -- helped pick up the slack with seven sacks. They'll be asked to carry the load once more and face a Browns offensive line besieged by injuries. The Browns have gotten mileage from their veteran backup signal caller, the fourth QB to start for Cleveland in 2023, in Joe Flacco. He passed for 374 yards last week and has a security blanket with his own defense. The Browns are fifth in the AFC playoff picture and ascending behind a stifling defense that ranks first in yielding just 158.9 passing yards per game. One pressing challenge for the Browns: reversing a trend where their last three losses have been on the road.

Detroit Lions (10-4) at Minnesota Vikings (7-7): One more win and the Lions clinch their first division title in 30 years. The first-place Lions have three games remaining -- two against the second-place Vikings. They'll get their first shot at clinching the NFC North championship on Sunday afternoon, when they take on the Vikings in Minneapolis. "We control our own destiny as it pertains to winning the division, no matter what happens (elsewhere)," coach Dan Campbell said. "We win (Sunday) and we win the division. We're in (the playoffs) and we get a home game. That's right where I want to be." Minnesota can remain in the chase for the division with a victory on Sunday and improve its chances of a wild card. They currently hold the sixth seed in the NFC. The Lions bounced back from a 28-13 road loss to Chicago on Dec. 10 with a resounding 42-17 victory over the Denver Broncos on Saturday night. Jared Goff tied his career high with five touchdown passes. Detroit didn't commit a turnover against the ball-hawking Broncos after six giveaways in losses to Green Bay and Chicago. Goff has been intercepted 10 times and lost two fumbles this season but Campbell doesn't want him to play tight. That's true of the Vikings and their fourth starting QB this season, Nick Mullens, who is making his second consecutive start. Mullens threw for 303 yards and two touchdowns but also was intercepted twice in a 27-24 overtime loss to Cincinnati on Saturday. Vikings RB Ty Chandler is coming off a 132-yard rushing performance filling in for injured Alexander Mattison.

Washington Commanders (4-10) at New York Jets (5-9): Aaron Rodgers is on the active roster but joins Zach Wilson as a probable gameday inactive on Sunday.