NFL Week 15 Picks - Early Games
NFL Week 15 Early Games
All times Eastern
Results:
8:20 pm New York Jets at Baltimore Ravens (-14 1/2, 45) - For this contest, let's look at some common opponents.
Jets: lost at home to Buffalo, 17-16; lost to New England twice, 30-14, 33-0; lost at Cincinnati, 22-6.
Ravens: Won, at Buffalo, last week, 24-17; defeated New England, 37-20, in Baltimore; beat Cincinnati twice, 23-17, 49-13.
Four games each, adding the scores together:
Coin Flip: New York Jets
Prediction: Ravens 29 NY Jets 12
1:00 pm Chicago Bears at Green Bay Packers (-4 1/2, 41) - Winners of their last three and four of five, the Bears are on a roll, but need to continue winning in order to qualify as a wild card. Plus, they'll need help. Minnesota or Seattle will have to lose a few games.
Chicago fans have a right to be hopeful. In their first meeting, the Packers took a 10-3 decision in Chicago. The Bears then won three straight before losing four in a row, but they're back on track. Last week, the Packers slipped past an improving Washington team, 20-15, at home. Chicago is unlikely to get blown out. The last three meetings between these two have all been decided by seven or fewer points, and the Bears won one of them, 24-17, in Chicago, last season. With the season on the line - as it was last week when they hammered the Cowboys - the Bears will be close, if not ahead at 0:00 of the fourth quarter.
Coin Flip: Green Bay
Prediction: Bears 27 Packers 20
In week seven, the Chiefs won at Denver, 30-6, but this time is likely to be different. Denver's defense is solid and Drew Lock looks like the future.
Coin Flip: Kansas City
Prediction: Chiefs 30 Broncos 24
While the offenses are nearly equal (Tennessee leads in points scored, 318-317), the Titans have an edge on defense, allowing 19.6 points per game to Houston's 23.8. If anything, without J.J. Watt, Houston's defense is overrated. Other than Jacksonville, the Texans haven't held any opponent under 16 points all season, something the Titans have done three times. Additionally, Tennessee has scored 31 or more points in each of its last four games.
Coin Flip: Tennessee
Prediction: Titans 34 Texans 20
It's uncertain if Daniel Jones or Manning will start, but that doesn't matter. Neither gives the Giants much of an edge, if any. The story of the Dolphins is QB Ryan Fitzpatrick. If he plays well, Miami can win. Miami has no running game to speak of, a good sign for New York, because they're not good against the run, but, Miami is even worse, and the Giants can unleash Saquon Barkley in a big way.
Coin Flip: Miami
Prediction: Giants 26 Dolphins 21
Yep, New England has lost three of its last five - to Baltimore, Houston, Kansas City - and hasn't looked good doing so. The Bengals have Andy Dalton back healthy. While the Cincy QB may not be the second coming of Tom Brady, he is significantly younger (32) than the 42-year-old NE signal-caller. Brady hasn't been as sharp as usual this season, and nothing would please the southern Ohio fans more than to see their Bengals paste one on the hated Patriots.
As for the line, Cincinnati has lost by 10 or more points five times this season, but not in the past four weeks, one of which was a 22-6 win over the Jets. Last week's 27-19 loss at Cleveland wasn't that bad, either. Cincy's defense is the key. If they hold the Patriots under 24 points (26.0 is New England's season average), they'll be close enough to win. The Patriots have averaged just 17.6 points over their last five games.
Coin Flip: Cincinnati
Prediction: Bengals 22 Patriots 17
Washington held their own in a 20-15 loss at Green Bay. QB Dwayne Haskins is getting a serious look as next year's starting QB. He's helped the Redskins to wins over Detroit (19-16) and Carolina (29-21). Haskins was a weapon at Ohio State. He's big, fast, and has a cannon arm. They Philly secondary will offer many chances for him to shine.
Coin Flip: Philadelphia
Prediction: Redskins 31 Eagles 21
Different mindset for Seattle of course, as they are in position to either win the NFC West outright or be a wild card, a position they can clinch with a win here and a loss by either Minnesota or the LA Rams. The Seahawks were ambushed by the Rams last Sunday night, taking a 28-12 loss on the chin in LA. That was a game the Rams desperately needed, so it wasn't much of a surprise. Seattle should bounce right back over the Panthers, a team which allows 139.2 yards rushing per game (29th) and 27.7 points per game (27th).
Coin Flip: Carolina
Prediction: Seahawks 31 Panthers 13
The Lions may be currently the worst team in the league, coming up short in nine of their last 10 games. Tampa Bay at least has an explosive offense. They're third in scoring, at 29.1 points per game and last week trailed the entire game before coming out on top, 38-35, over the Colts. They've won three straight, four of their last five and are playing with plenty of confidence.
Coin Flip: Detroit
Prediction: Buccaneers 38 Lions 24
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Week 15 Late Games
Week 14: Rick: 11-3-2; Coin: 8-6-2
Cumulative: Rick: 102-102-4; Coin: 98-106-4
Thursday, December 12
Jets (4 losses) Opp.: 102, Jets: 36 ÷ 4 = Opp. 25.5, Jets 9
Ravens (4 wins) Ravens: 133-67 ÷ 4 = Ravens 33.3, Opp. 16.5
Sunday, December 15
1:00 pm Denver Broncos at Kansas City Chiefs (-10, 45 1/2) - It would pay to be cautious here if going with the Chiefs. Not only have the Broncos emerged as a dangerous team with Drew Lock at QB - wins over San Diego and Houston - the 9-4 Chiefs have little motivation. They can get to the #2 seed if they can tie 10-3 New England, who they beat last week, 23-16. KC has already captured the AFC West.
1:00 pm Houston Texans at Tennessee Titans (-3, 49) - The Titans are favored here because they are tied with the Texans at 8-5, atop the AFC South and have won their last for straight, whereas the Texans are just 2-2 one the same span and last week got blunted by Denver, 38-24.
1:00 pm Miami Dolphins at New York Giants (-3 1/2, 48) - An awful game as the Dolphins are 3-10, the Giants, 2-11, though Miami beat Philadelphia two weeks ago, 37-31, and were edged in NY by the Jets, 22-21. Meanwhile, the Giantstook the Eagles to OT, losing 23-17, with Eli Manning at QB.
1:00 pm New England Patriots (-9 1/2, 40) at Cincinnati Bengals - Shocker alert. The Bengals might upset the Patriots here.
1:00 pm Philadelphia Eagles (-6, 40 1/2) at Washington Redskins - The worst favorite on the board this week belongs to the visiting Eagles, who, thanks only to the ineptitude of the Dallas Cowboys, remain tied for first place in the worst division in the NFL, the NFC East. Philly had to go to overtime to defeat the Giants Monday night, 23-16, and now must travel, the short week and bus trip always a negative.
1:00 pm Seattle Seahawks (-6, 48 1/2) at Carolina Panthers - Unless they believe getting to 8-8 has any meaning, the Panthers, losers of five straight, have nothing to play for when they host the Seahawks.
1:00 pm Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-4, 47 1/2) at Detroit Lions - The Lions are officially done for the year. They've lost six in a row, have been eliminated from playoff contention about five weeks ago and have nothing to offer in regards to their fans. 2019 was a complete bust for Matt Patricia's coaching staff. If Patricia isn't let go, look for wholesale changes to his staff after the regular season ends.
