Week 16 Predictions Contest: 49ers and Ravens face off on Monday Night

The 49ers and Ravens are facing off in what could very well be a Super Bowl preview.

• By
  
  Marc Delucchi
  
• on December 21, 2023 4:48 pm

The San Francisco 49ers are officially the 2023 NFC West champs after defeating the Arizona Cardinals last week. With a growing contingent of folks around the league recognizing the Niners as the best team in the NFL, they face their biggest challenge yet on Monday Night Football against Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens.

Due to our sponsorship with Tallysight, we have to pick every game. But, as usual, we’ll narrow it down to six for you at the bottom. Odds for all the games are available on DraftKings Sportsbook.

Marc’s picks record last year:
Regular season: 154-116-2
Postseason: 12-1

This season:
Week 1: 7-9
Week 2: 9-7
Week 3: 10-6
Week 4: 13-3
Week 5: 10-4
Week 6: 9-6
Week 7: 7-6
Week 8: 9-7
Week 9: 8-6
Week 10: 7-7
Week 11: 8-5
Week 12: 9-7
Week 13: 7-6
Week 14: 5-10
Week 15: 8-8
Overall: 126-97

Here are Marc’s picks for this week’s slate of games:

Rams over Saints: The Rams have a fairly doable path to a wild card spot now as long as they don’t mess up the easy ones.

Steelers over Bengals: Two teams with backup quarterbacks? I’ll take Tomlin.

Bills over Chargers: I’d be interested in the post Staley-firing bump if not for Herbert’s absence.

Seahawks over Titans: Two well-coached teams that lack the top end talent. I think Seattle pulls it off on the road.

Colts over Falcons: Man there’s a lot of bad matchups this week.

Browns over Texans: My pick would look different if I though CJ Stroud would play.

Packers over Panthers: Can Jordan Love finally turn a corner and maintain consistency?

Jets over Commanders: shrug

Lions over Vikings: Despite a string of iffy performances, I still think the Lions are one of the top-three teams in the NFC.

Jaguars over Bucs: Trevor Lawrence isn’t bad, even if he hasn’t become the savior in Jacksonville many thought he would be.

Cardinals over Bears: I want to fully buy into the Bears and Justin Fields turning a corner, but the Cards at close to +200 is too good for me to pass up on this pick.

Cowboys over Dolphins: Two really good teams who have struggled against top competition. Give me the slight underdog.

Broncos over Patriots: Bill Belichick is counting the days.

Kansas City over Raiders: As miserable as the season has been for KC, they are still going to get more than 11 wins.

Eagles over Giants: It’s bad in Philly, but it ain’t Giants bad.

Ravens over 49ers: I would pick the 49ers if they were at -150 or better, but the Ravens at +190 just felt too good to pass up.

Here are the six games to pick (times in Pacific):

Bengals @ Steelers, 10:00 AM (Saturday)

Colts @ Falcons, 10:00 AM (Sunday)

Browns @ Texans, 10:00 AM (Sunday)

Jaguars @ Bucs, 1;05 PM (Sunday)

Cowboys @ Dolphins, 1:25 PM (Sunday)

Ravens @ 49ers, 5:15 PM (Monday)

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