NFL Picks Against the Spread: Week 15

A betting preview of every game (against the spread) on Sunday and Monday in Week 15.


Locks of the Week
Rematches of heated rivalries, a neutral site home game in Canada and a nine-game losing streak all look good to go this week.


Packers (-2.5) at Bears
Green Bay took down arch-rival Chicago 23–10 in Week 2. The Bears have lost four of their last five contests.


Raiders (-3) vs. Chiefs
Oakland handed Kansas City a 26–16 loss at Arrowhead in Week 8. Things have only gotten worse for K.C. since that.


Seahawks (-6) vs. Bills (at Toronto)
Buffalo is 1–3 all-time at “home” in the Rogers Centre in Ontario, Canada. The Hawks are soaring after a 58–0 win last week.


Lions (-6.5) at Cardinals
Larry Fitzgerald’s dad is right; Arizona has given up. If Detroit can’t win by more than a TD, Jim Schwartz may join Ken Whisenhunt on the open market this offseason.



Backdoor Covers
These games may or may not be straight up upsets, but they should be closer than the numbers they’re up against.


Panthers (+3) at Chargers
The Cats have won two of their last three games, with Cam Newton accounting for a combined 10 TDs by land and air.


Jaguars (+7.5) at Dolphins
Chad Henne returns to Miami, where he was once the starter. Since Henne took over in J-Ville, the Jags have lost by eight or more just once in four games.


Colts (+9) at Texans
Houston may clinch its second straight AFC South title, but it won’t come easy against Indianapolis, whose only loss in its last eight games was at New England.



Sucker Bets
Unless you’re a compulsive degenerate or a hometown homer, stay away from these games completely.


Falcons (-1) vs. Giants
The Big Blue Wrecking Crew stomped out the Dirty Birds 24–2 in the playoffs last year, but Atlanta owns the Georgia Dome.


Steelers (-1.5) at Cowboys
Big Ben Roethlisberger and Tony Romo could throw the ball back and forth to the wrong team all afternoon.


Rams (-3) vs. Vikings
Minnesota is 1–5 on the road this season, but St. Louis plays tight games, with four 3-pointers and another tie.


Broncos (-3) at Ravens
Peyton Manning takes on his old Indy coach, Jim Caldwell, who replaces the recently fired Cam Cameron as OC in Baltimore.


Saints (-4) vs. Buccaneers
New Orleans marched to a 35–28 win at Tampa Bay in Week 7, but Drew Brees has thrown nine INTs in the last three weeks.


Patriots (-6) vs. 49ers
A potential Super Bowl preview. Wait until the actual Super Bowl to bet on a matchup between these two powerhouses.



Monday Night Money
The last game of Week 15 is the time to get back or let it ride, depending on how the weekend went.


Titans (-1.5) vs. Jets
The Monday night party is in Hank Williams Jr. and his rowdy friends’ hometown, expect CJ2K to go honky tonkin’ against the Jets.



Off the Board
With RG3’s sore knee in play, Las Vegas doesn’t want this Skins game on the Big Board until as late as possible. Still, let’s guess the line.


Redskins (N/A) at Browns
Robert Griffin III will redefine the term “cornball brother” by taking a bite out of the Dawg Pound. Take the Redskins (-6)?