The penultimate Thursday game of the 2023 NFL season carries hige NFC playoff race implications as the New Orleans Saints (7-7) visit the Los Angeles Rams (7-7). We can all but guarantee that an L.A. team will not allow 63 points on a Thursday night for the second week in a row -- unlike the Chargers in Week 15, the Rams still have things to play for. The winner will hold huge head-to-head tiebreaker for a wild card spot. The Rams are -4 on the SportsLine consensus with a total of 46. 

The Rams imploded last season, finishing with the worst mark ever by a defending Super Bowl champion at 5-12. Injuries, particularly the one suffered by quarterback Matthew Stafford, played a big role. This season didn't start much better with the team sitting at 3-6 entering the team's Week 9 bye, but Los Angeles is 4-1 since then. The lone loss came in overtime against an excellent Baltimore Ravens team, which won on a walk-off punt return touchdown.

Los Angeles currently holds the NFC's final wild card spot, winning a tiebreaker over fellow 7-7 teams over New Orleans and Seattle, while Minnesota (also 7-7) holds a tiebreaker to claim the No. 6 seed. The Rams swept the season series with the Seahawks and don't play the Vikings. This is the final home game for the Rams, who finish on the road against the Giants and 49ers. L.A. has a chance to clinch a winning record at home with a victory and would take a four-game SoFi Stadium winning streak into 2024. 

Sean McVay's club is -125 to make the postseason and +100 to miss. I personally think the Rams will get in because the Niners will likely rest starters in Week 18 if they have the NFC's top seed wrapped up, which seems likely.

Stafford, who was reportedly shopped this offseason, has been playing like an MVP candidate in recent weeks with four straight multi-TD passing games. He's gone three in a row without throwing an interception. Although he's a +12000 longshot to win MVP at DraftKings, Stafford can make a case for Comeback Player of the Year at +1200, but Bills safety Damar Hamlin (-750) is all but a lock to win.

New Orleans, ninth in the NFC, has two routes to the postseason. It can take a wild card spot, or it can win the NFC South title. The Saints and Buccaneers are currently tied atop the division, but Tampa Bay holds the current tiebreaker thanks to a 26-9 victory in the Big Easy in Week 4. The teams play again on New Year's Eve in Tampa and the Saints then close at home against Atlanta. Coach Dennis Allen's club is +125 to make the playoffs and -150 to miss. There had been some chatter that Allen could be fired if the Saints finished with a losing record for the second year in a row (7-10 in Allen's first season), but that has quieted down with the team on a two-game winning streak. 

We'll take you through every aspect of the Saints-Rams game that you need to know before you lock in your bets, including SportsLine expert picks, props, trends, injury information and everything else that will help you know which plays are worth making for the primetime matchup.

Who wins Saints vs. Rams in the Week 16 Thursday night game, and what critical X-factor makes one side of the spread hit HARD? Join SportsLine right now to see everything you need to know about the game in the Thursday night matchup to kick off Week 16 of the 2023 season!!