NFL Week 16 Look-Ahead Lines: Eagles An Early Underdog At Cowboys

NFL Week 16 look-ahead lines are out. A highly anticipated NFC East showdown will see the Eagles head to Dallas to play the rare role of underdogs against the Cowboys. Philadelphia has been favored in every game this season.

Every week, usually on Friday, TheLines will post look-ahead lines from FanDuel Sportsbook and DraftKings Sportsbook. These look aheads give an early snapshot of the current market opinions of teams absent the week-to-week bias that can take hold following weekend results.

NFL Week 16 Look-Ahead Lines

Compare NFL Week 16 odds below and click to bet now.

Week 16 NFL Primetime Games

Thursday Night Football Odds

What before the season looked like a Thursday Night Football game to skip has now become a pretty interesting matchup. The Jaguars are suddenly dark horse playoff contenders via their win over the Titans and Tennessee’s overall slippage. And the Jets remain squarely on the fringe of the AFC playoff odds. The Jags seem to be building market momentum, while the Jets don’t seem to be getting a lot of credit. With a game against the Cowboys this week at home, that could continue. But with the Jets sitting on the edge of the key number here, Jags backers might as well wait to see if a +3 pops up.

Saturday Night Football Odds

There likely won’t be a whole lot of movement leading up to this game with the possible exception of the Steelers QB situation. There didn’t appear to be a meaningful downgrade in terms of making plays when Kenny Pickett went down injured and Mitch Trubisky replaced him. However, three interceptions did follow. The team’s winning streak subsequently ended. Should Pickett return and look good against the Panthers, we may see some movement here. Even if the market moves toward the Raiders, it shouldn’t be much of a move.

Sunday Night Football Odds

Again, we have a QB situation in some flux. The Cardinals lost Kyler Murray for the season with a torn ACL. Colt McCoy did not play well in Murray’s stead. Now, the team brought in free agent rookie Carson Strong, a once-touted prospect. It’s possible Arizona decides to throw Strong into the fire just to see if he can show something a la Brock Purdy. Even a Trace McSorley or David Blough start isn’t out of the question. Depending what happens at QB — either good or, more likely, bad — this line could move in favor of the Buccaneers even on the road, as long as they don’t quit on their season this week against the Bengals.

Monday Night Football Odds

Just when everything looks like it’s coming together for the Chargers, that’s when this team seems to have a tendency to reverse course and fall apart. By that logic, it would seem prudent to bet the Colts in advance of this week’s games, which see the Chargers face off against a Titans team that can zero in on their weak run defense. On FanDuel Sportsbook, where the early market is giving the Colts the key number +3, that makes some sense. If you can’t get +3, then you may as well wait and see if the market sees any movement over the weekend. Perhaps King Henry will nudge things and push the value where you’re looking to get it.

MORE POTENTIAL WEEK 15 IMPACT ON WEEK 16 LOOK-AHEAD LINES

Eagles At Cowboys

Philly seemingly has a walkover this week against a Bears team that’s playing out the string with a gutter roster, awaiting its next bounty of draft picks. The Cowboys, meanwhile, have a much trickier date against the aforementioned Jaguars. If they get caught looking ahead — or Trevor Lawrence keeps playing great — and the Eagles take care of business, we could well see this line move toward Philly. However, even if it does, you’re likely looking at dead numbers. This is probably just a wait and see spot either way to make sure nobody on either team sustains a major injury.

HOW TO USE NFL LOOK-AHEAD LINES

The look-ahead lines allow you a sneak peek at the projected lines for the following week’s games. This information from a leading online sportsbook will help provide lessons in understanding lines and projections before the current week’s games are played.

Many bettors tend to overreact to the previous week’s scores and results. The NFL Week 16 look-ahead lines provide a sense of stability from the oddsmaker. They sometimes offer a clear, unbiased snapshot of perceived team strength.

Bettors can also gain an edge or find value in the lines once the weekend results take hold. See if you can find any over- or under-reactions by the market.

Of course, always take note of key injuries, travel and scheduling situations, and NFL power rankings. Making adjustments is part of the process, along with accounting for teams’ strengths, weaknesses, against-the-spread angles and personnel matchups.