NFL Monday Night Football Betting
For the fourth straight week the Green Bay Packers make a primetime appearance hosting the New Orleans Saints in the Week 16 Monday Night Football matchup. The Pack improved their playoff chances and hit the 10-win mark for the first time in three seasons with a thorough 30-13 victory over Seattle on Sunday night. The Packers have won eight of their last 10 games with their only setbacks during that spell to Detroit, who they trail by 2-games in the standings. It’s been more than two years since the Packers were a double-digit favorite in any game and the early line has them laying 13.5-points.
The Saints have played better under interim coach Darren Rizzi winning three of five games since he took over from Dennis Allen. However, a seven-game losing streak that led to the coaching change put the Saints in hole they were unable to climb out of, even in the NFC South. When you’re a marginal team to begin with losing two quarterbacks isn’t good. The Saints are down to backups Jake Haener and Spencer Rattler as they look to avoid their worst season since 2005.
NFL Week 16 Monday Night Football Betting Odds
New Orleans Saints +13.5
Green Bay Packers -13.5
Total: 41.5
Money Line: Saints +592, Packers -857
The Saints beat Atlanta and Cleveland immediately after the coaching change getting back into the NFC South race. Playing in a weak division at least allowed them to entertain thoughts of a run to the division title. They have dropped two of their last three games putting them on the verge of extinction. Those two losses were games in which the Saints were right there. In Week 13 they were tied with the Rams in the fourth quarter before LA scored midway through the final frame. Last week the Saints battled back from a 20-7 deficit to Washington and went for the game-winning 2-point conversion after scoring a TD with no time remaining. They failed and lost 20-19.
With Derek Carr injured and Taysom Hill out for the year the Saints are winging at QB. Haener got his first career start on Sunday but was replaced by Rattler after completing just 4 of 10 passes for 49 yards with an interception and three sacks. Rattler was more successful leading four scoring drives while going 10 of 21 for 135 yards and a TD. Rattler’s conversion pass fell incomplete to a tightly-guarded receiver and the Saints have yet to win a game without Carr, whose status is unclear.
Further impacting the offense was an injury sustained by Alvin Kamara, who didn’t return after leaving with a leg injury. The Saints haven’t scored a lot of points getting fewer than 20 in each of their last three games and they’ll need their leading rusher and backfield threat at peak physical form to pull off the upset. Kamara has rushed for 950 yards and six TDs while also leading the team with 68 receptions and 543 receiving yards. He’s fourth in the NFL with nearly 1,500 combined yards for a team that averages 334.6 total yards.
As long as they don’t have to play Detroit the Packers should feel good about their chances. With Jordan Love throwing seven TD passes and zero interceptions, the Packers have scored at least 30 points in four straight games winning three of them. After starting the season 2-2, the Packers have won eight of their last 10 games. With three games remaining the NFC North title is likely out of the question with both losses in that span to Detroit. And it’s not just the Lions they have to catch. Minnesota is also rolling at 12-2 making the division the tightest in the NFL. No other division has more than one team with at least 10 wins.
With Love joined by Josh Jacobs, the Packers have a balanced attack that ranks fourth in total offense and seventh in scoring. They also boast a top 10 defense that has forced 26 turnovers, the fourth-highest total in the NFL.
Monday Night Football Betting Schedule
Week 1 of the 2024 Monday Night Football season begins with a mega market matchup of the New York Jets at the San Francisco 49ers. The 49ers are coming off their second NFC championship in five years, while the Jets are seeking their first playoff appearance since 2010. New York has new uniforms, retro-styled to their 1980s look, and an old quarterback in Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers was hurt in the first series of the first game of the Jets season in 2023 and will not attempt to come through for a team that has its entire future riding on him. But at age 40, there are legitimate concerns about Rodgers’ ability to stay healthy, let alone play at his former Hall of Fame level.
One QB that has plenty of future is 49ers signal caller Brock Purdy. Two years ago, Purdy was “Mr. Irrelevant” as the last player taken in the NFL Draft. Now, Purdy is the 49er starter and a proven winner who took San Francisco to an overtime lead in the Super Bowl before the defense failed to hold the Chiefs scoring the winning TD.
Week 3 offers an interesting Monday Night matchup when the Buffalo Bills host the Jacksonville Jaguars. In 2022, Trevor Lawrence and first-year head coach Doug Pederson scored a playoff win and were pronounced the team of the future in the AFC South. But the Jaguars were reading their press clippings too much in 2023 and took a step back, allowing CJ Stroud and the Houston Texans to sneak through the back door to take the division title. Thus, Jacksonville is on a redemption tour for 2024.
The Buffalo Bills were said to have had their Super Bowl window close after their 2022 divisional-round playoff loss to the visiting Cincinnati Bengals. But Buffalo rallied to rip the AFC East Division title away from the New York Jets last year and win a playoff game. Thus, the season was a great reminder that QB Josh Allen and the Bills are not to be written off, at least until someone else proves they are better in the AFC East.
Week 14 brings a potential Super Bowl matchup on Monday Night Football when the Dallas Cowboys host the Cincinnati Bengals. Cincinnati could not recover from the loss of Joe Burrow to injury during the stretch drive toward the 2023 NFL Playoffs. But Burrow is back, and so is optimism for an improved Bengals team.
Access live betting lines and NFL Betting Lines from your mobile device at BookMaker Sportsbook! You can wager on sporting events as they unfold on television with BookMaker’s live betting platform.
