Green Bay and the New York Giants suffered two of the worst defeats of the season last week.

Green Bay put in maximum effort, pulled out a couple tricks, rallied behind solid backup quarterback Matt Flynn and still lost at New England, 31-27.

The Giants allowed a Philadelphia comeback that will never be forgotten, especially on the East Coast. Michael Vick and the Eagles rallied from 21 points down in the last eight minutes to tie the game, then won when DeSean Jackson returned a punt 65 yards for a score on the game’s final play.

Now the Packers and Giants are relegated to battling for the NFC’s final wild-card spot, and, fittingly, they play each other Sunday.

The team that recovers best from those emotional gut punches will come out on top Sunday and be a dangerous opponent in the playoffs.

The loser faces a long offseason.

Here are my Week 16 predictions, listed from the game I’m most confident in, to the least:

BEST BET 1. Green Bay (-3) vs. N.Y. Giants

Green Bay was a preseason favorite in the conference, and it could still be a major factor in the NFC if it gets into the postseason.

Quarterback Aaron Rodgers returns this week and should give the Packers a boost.

Coach Tom Coughlin will have New York ready to play, and the Giants are a proud bunch.

But Green Bay’s best game is better than New York’s.

Packers 27, Giants 23

2. Baltimore (-3 1/2) at Cleveland

Cleveland has shown a lot of fight this season, but the Ravens are a bad matchup for the Browns.

Whether it’s Colt McCoy or Jake Delhomme, Baltimore’s aggressive defense is tough to deal with.

Ravens 24, Browns 13

3. Tampa Bay (-6 1/2) vs. Seattle

The Seahawks haven’t lost a close game all year. Seattle either wins or gets blown out, the closest loss coming by 15 points at New Orleans.

I don’t think Seattle will win at a Tampa Bay team still fighting for a playoff berth, so I won’t pick it close either.

Bucs 30, Seahawks 20

Ranking the rest

4. Indianapolis (-3) at Oakland

5. Atlanta (-2 1/2) vs. New Orleans

6. Dallas (-6 1/2) at Arizona

7. Philadelphia (-14 1/2) vs. Minnesota

8. Denver (+2 1/2) vs. Houston

9. Washington (+7) at Jacksonville

10. Buffalo (+8) vs. New England

11. Miami (-3 1/2) vs. Detroit

12. New York Jets (+1) at Chicago

13. San Francisco (+2 1/2) at St. Louis

14. Cincinnati (+7 1/2) vs. San Diego

15. Tennessee (+5) at Kansas City

Season totals

Best Bets: 1-0 last week, 8-7 overall (53 percent)

Top 3 picks: 2-1, 18-26-1 (41 percent)

Top 5 picks: 2-3, 32-41-2 (44 percent)

Top 10 picks: 4-6, 62-84-4 (42 percent)

All picks: 5-10, 90-116-5 (44 percent)

jbarnes@wacotrib.com

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