What Time Is Thursday Night Football? Week 16 NFL Schedule

We're into the second round of the fantasy football playoffs, for most teams anyway. All eyes will be on Thursday night's game, from the most dialed-in fantasy managers to people who haven't touched the game at any point in their lives. Two divisional rivals will clash in a game that, guess what, has playoff implications!

NFL viewers around the world will appreciate the fact that neither the New York Giants or the New York Jets will be featured in this contest. That was obvious if you read the first paragraph, because neither New York team is good right now and of course they won't be in the playoffs.

So who is playing on TNF? When and how can the game be watched, and who will come away with a win?

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Who is Playing on Thursday Night Football?

The 9-5 Denver Broncos will fly to SoFi Stadium in California to take on the Los Angeles Chargers, who have a record of 8-6. It will be a bitter clash of divisional rivals who certainly don't lack hatred for each other. And it's still possible that either of these teams could miss the playoffs.

Broncos (9-5) vs. Chargers (8-6) on TNF 🔥#DENvsLAC – Thursday 8:15pm ET on Prime Video
Also streaming on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/UeeZURTQY2

— NFL (@NFL) December 18, 2024

This should be a good one. Two QBs who have played well this season and two defenses that easily rank in the top half of the league will clash. Ironically, both teams have poor run games. That should excite NFL fans, who are probably sick of seeing teams like the Pittsburgh Steelers run the ball eleventy quintillion times per contest.

When and How Can I Watch The Game?

As always, the game will air at 8:15 PM EST. Thursday Night Football games are mostly monopolized by Amazon, which requires you to have an Amazon Prime or Prime Video subscription to watch their games. At least they're pretty cheap to get. You can also stream the game on NFL+ as well. Those are your only two options.

The game will also air in local markets, so be sure to check your local TV stations or guides to see if you can watch it that way.

Who is Going to Win?

This is actually a tough one, but we have to go with the Broncos here. They have a much more sound defense and an offense that isn't dealing with as many injuries. The loss of running back J.K. Dobbins (knee) for the Chargers has crippled their offense, which hasn't been very productive in recent weeks.

Chargers offense this season

26th rushing yards
25th passing yards
21st points
27th in total yards
28th in second half scoring

Since week 10
28th 3rd down scoring
29th 4th quarter scoring”

Per @LockedonLAC podcast
“A Greg Nomans Special” pic.twitter.com/eWD7IdEB1G

— Oliver Flat-6 Banger ⚡️🇺🇸 (@Flat6Banger) December 17, 2024

And, of course, they have Greg Roman as their offensive coordinator putting on another disasterclass of a performance. He loves his run-heavy offenses that don't produce very well. It's 2024, yet he wants to coach like it's 1924. And that doesn't work unless you have an elite defense (you're lucky, Arthur Smith).

Los Angeles has an elite quarterback, but he's dealt with either terrible offensive line play or a lack of wide receivers his entire career. This year, he has only one consistently solid WR option in rookie wideout Ladd McConkey. The Quentin Johnston experiment has mostly failed, though he's snagged quite a few touchdowns this season.

Without Herbie, the offense completely collapses, so we'll give him most of the credit for QJ's scores. LA will likely struggle massively to run the ball, and the matchups are awful, with Denver's elite cornerback Patrick Surtain II liable to lock down McConkey on the day. We think Denver will take this one home and move two games ahead of the Chargers.

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