NFL Week 16: Saturday predictions, odds, TV details and betting tips: Bills can ease past struggling Chargers

Where to watch

Cincinnati Bengals at Pittsburgh Steelers
Sky Sports NFL, 9.30pm Saturday

Buffalo Bills at Los Angeles Chargers
Sky Sports NFL, 1am Saturday night

Best bets for Saturday's NFL Week 16 games

Pittsburgh Steelers +2.5
1pt Evs general

Buffalo Bills -12
1pt Evs bet365

This Saturday's NFL TV game predictions

Cincinnati Bengals at Pittsburgh Steelers predictions

Urgency is at an all-time high for the Pittsburgh Steelers following defeats to the Cardinals, the Patriots and the Colts but there are reasons to believe they can be competitive when they host the Cincinnati Bengals in this AFC North clash.

Head coach Mike Tomlin is one of the greats. He has 170 wins in charge of the Steelers – the third-best record among active coaches – and he’s never had a losing season. 

At 7-7 and three spots outside the AFC playoff places, Pittsburgh can afford to lose only one more game if that streak is to remain intact, and their schedule is difficult with trips to the Seahawks and the Ravens following this meeting with the Bengals. But, as we’ve witnessed for nearly two decades, this is where Tomlin's teams do their best work. 

The Steelers' offence has struggled all season and the loss of starting quarterback Kenny Pickett has made things worse with Mitch Trubisky leading them to three straight defeats. Mason Rudolph takes over for this contest, and while he's unlikely to produce any miracles, he should be better than Tribusky.

The Cincinnati Bengals have won three straight games with Jake Browning at quarterback, and last week's 27-24 win over the Vikings was his most impressive performance yet as he led the offence on a ten-play, 75-yard drive to tie the scores in the final moments before a game-winning overtime field goal.

Browning is good, but he’s never had to deal with TJ Watt and a playmaking defence in front of a partisan Heinz Field crowd, so this will be test of his mettle.

Best bet for Cincinnati Bengals at Pittsburgh Steelers

Pittsburgh Steelers +2.5
1pt Evs general

Verdict by Caleb Wilfinger

Buffalo Bills at Los Angeles Chargers Prediction  predictions

The second game of Saturday’s NFL double-header features what looks to be a one-sided contest between the Los Angeles Chargers and Buffalo Bills. 

If Justin Herbert was fit, this would be a much closer game, but his absence means that the Chargers are double-figure underdogs with Easton Stick at quarterback.

Herbert was the only thing keeping the offence afloat. Mike Williams has been out for a while, Keenan Allen will miss this one with a knee injury and Austin Ekeler looks like he’s been running with cement in his boots and appears to have lost the starting running back job. 

Los Angeles has lost five of their past six – including an embarrassing 63-21 loss to the Raiders last week – with their only win in that span coming in an ugly game against a terrible Patriots team. Each of the Chargers’ last three losses have been by a double-figure margin, and two of those were with Herbert on the field.

Meanwhile, Josh Allen and the Bills have just beaten the Cowboys by 21 points, so they should be able to rack up a score against an inferior team such as the Chargers. 

LA fired head coach Brandon Staley in the aftermath of the Raiders defeat but that isn’t going to solve their issues overnight. The defence is old and crumbling, and Easton Stick isn’t an NFL quarterback. This might not be as bad as last week but it's unlikely to be close either.

Best bet for Buffalo Bills at Los Angeles Chargers

Buffalo Bills -12
1pt Evs bet365

Verdict by Andrew Ortenberg

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