Week 16 NFL picks against the spread

We're back for another week of NFL picks, this time breaking down Week 16 against the spread. I traveled west to San Francisco yesterday, so there was a delay in getting picks from James. I'll drop his picks in later today. I flew United from Washington, D.C. to San Francisco by way of Chicago. And for both connections, there was no WiFi. Thankfully we were able to get enough content scheduled out ahead of time, but United didn't make my life any easier. Although, I suppose a few hours away from NN might be healthy....maybe?

And they did respond to my tweet, so there's that:

@NinersNation We expect more than 200 of our mainline aircraft to be equipped with satellite Wi-Fi this year. http://t.co/p0HoXsljRg ^JB

— United (@united) December 19, 2013

On to the picks! The 49ers are 12-point favorites against the Falcons, in what is potentially the final game at Candlestick Park. That doesn't factor into the spread, but it's interesting enough nonetheless.

What really matters is the 49ers are playing better football than the Falcons. Times have changed since last January when these two met up in the NFC Championship Game. And yet, the 49ers were favored then and are favored now. The 49ers actually went into the NFC title game as a 4.5 point favorite on the road against the 13-3 Falcons. The Falcons were a strong team last year, but they were not getting the love when the 49ers came to town. I'm not shocked, but it's still a curious consideration.

We don't care if the 49ers cover this week, so long as they win, but it would still be nice to win with some style points. We have seen the team put up style points on occasion, but there are still kinks to be worked out. Hopefully we see them work out those kinks these next two weeks.