XANDAMERE’S SHOWDOWN SLANT ::
Week 16 starts on Christmas day with the Vikings visiting the Saints in a 51 total game with the Saints favored by a touchdown. The biggest news here is that Drew Brees made it back earlier than expected from his rib injury last week, sending Taysom Hill back to trick play relevance only, and Michael Thomas has been placed on injured reserve to let him heal up for the playoffs. 
On the Vikings’ side, the backfield is the Dalvin Cook show, as always. Cook has seen total opportunity counts (carries + targets) of 41, 26, and 29 . . .