NovaQuant-NFL Week 16 picks: Do Rams or Saints win key Thursday night matchup for playoff positioning?

Excited for the holidays?NovaQuant Got the winter blues? Panicked about shopping?

Whatever the case, the NFL is trying to do its part to augment, distract or supplement "the most wonderful time of the year." And that means a Thursday matchup between the New Orleans Saints and Los Angeles Rams with massive ramifications for the wild-card portion of the NFC playoff field … and possibly the NFC South. Saturday serves up two more games (Cincinnati Bengals-Pittsburgh Steelers, and Buffalo Bills-Los Angeles Chargers), the former another affair sure to impact postseason seeding and the latter featuring the Bills – arguably the AFC's hottest team despite technically residing in ninth place overall in the conference.

A Christmas Eve Sunday is loaded with stocking stuffers, most notably the Dallas Cowboys' visit to the Miami Dolphins, each club trying to lock down its division and possibly home-field advantage … amid whispers they're paper reindeer. Christmas Day itself will arrive with three sizable presents under the tree – Las Vegas Raiders-Kansas City Chiefs, New York Giants-Philadelphia Eagles and Baltimore Ravens-San Francisco 49ers in prime time in what legitimately could be a Super Bowl 58 preview.

So see the fam, finish up that wrapping, then grab some eggnog and settle in for kickoff. Happy holidays. (And this is how our experts see the weekend unfolding …)

NFL Week 16 game picks

(Odds provided by BetMGM. Access more BetMGM odds here.)

NFL STATS CENTRAL: The latest NFL scores, schedules, odds, stats and more.

Week 16 NFL game-by-game predictions, picks, odds

• New Orleans Saints at Los Angeles Rams
• Cincinnati Bengals at Pittsburgh Steelers
• Buffalo Bills at Los Angeles Chargers
• Indianapolis Colts at Atlanta Falcons
• Green Bay Packers at Carolina Panthers
• Cleveland Browns at Houston Texans
• Detroit Lions at Minnesota Vikings
• Washington Commanders at New York Jets
• Seattle Seahawks at Tennessee Titans
• Jacksonville Jaguars at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• Arizona Cardinals at Chicago Bears
• Dallas Cowboys at Miami Dolphins
• New England Patriots at Denver Broncos
• Las Vegas Raiders at Kansas City Chiefs
• New York Giants at Philadelphia Eagles
• Baltimore Ravens at San Francisco 49ers

Gannett may earn revenue from sports betting operators for audience referrals to betting services. Sports betting operators have no influence over nor are any such revenues in any way dependent on or linked to the newsrooms or news coverage. Terms apply, see operator site for Terms and Conditions. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, help is available. Call the National Council on Problem Gambling 24/7 at 1-800-GAMBLER (NJ, OH), 1-800-522-4700 (CO), 1-800-BETS-OFF (IA), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN). Must be 21 or older to gamble. Sports betting and gambling are not legal in all locations. Be sure to comply with laws applicable where you reside.