It’s time for Chick’s Picks. We got some easy games this week to pick. Of course, we got some harder ones, but there’s a lot of gimmies this week for sure. Last week, I went 10-6, so it was a pretty good week. Let’s get into the picks for week 15.
Jets @ Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens (11-2) are hosting the New York Jets (5-8) for our week 15 Thursday Night Football game. The New York Jets are very streaky, they’ll play well one week and terrible the next. They barely won against the Dolphins last week and they play the Ravens now? Away? Yikes, this game has blowout written all over it. The Jets roster isn’t good, the only reason they will win games is if Sam Darnold plays well. Even then, that won’t be enough to stop the Ravens.
The Ravens have been the best team in the NFL. I won’t say they are THE best, but they playing like it. Having that confidence is crucial. Their confidence only grows with this win that they will get. The Jets aren’t good and the Ravens are Herculean. They should absolutely blowout the Jets. The Ravens won’t have much success running the ball, but they can throw all day over this team. This Thursday Night Football won’t be entertaining, but Lamar Jackson will shine in this game.
Final Prediction: Baltimore Ravens 31, New York Jets 13
Eagles @ Redskins
The Philadelphia Eagles (5-8) are being hosted by the Washington Redskins (3-10) in a key NFC East matchup for the Eagles in week 15. The Washington Redskins have been playing better with Dwayne Haskins at QB. They actually have a chance to win against the Eagles. Derrius Guice has really helped the team since he came back and they will rely on him and Terry McLaurin. Against the Eagles’ bad defense, they really have a chance to win here.
The Eagles won a close game last week….against the Giants. Not the best look, but a win is a win. They are playing some of the worse football I’ve seen out of them in a while. Luckily, their schedule is the easiest to close out the season. They need to win out to make the playoffs. If they lose against the Cowboys, they are done for. Carson Wentz is the only thing keeping that team afloat. The lack of talent on both sides of the ball really hurts that team. They might not even win any of these games or they could win all of them. It is hard to tell. The Eagles are failing Carson Wentz that is the only thing that is evident to this. I’m picking the Eagles but they are on upset watch for sure.
Final Prediction: Philadelphia Eagles 24, Washington Redskins 21
Texans @ Titans
The Houston Texans (8-5) are traveling to Tennessee to take on the red-hot Titans (8-5) in this key AFC South matchup for week 15. This matchup could determine who wins the AFC South division. This game is huge. The Texans played terribly last week and they cannot afford any more mistakes. They can beat teams like the Patriots but they lose games in terrible fashion against the Broncos. It’s not all that surprising though, the only talent on this roster is Deshaun Watson and DeAndre Hopkins. Other than that, this team is hopeless. I cannot expect them to go far or even make the playoffs with performances last week.
The Titans are legit, not because they beat the Raiders, but they can beat most teams in the NFL. They are riding on momentum right now and they are coached well. Tannehill is playing like he’s one of the best QBs right now and everyone else is doing what they have to do for the Titans. They are a better team than the Texans. Their offense is better outside of Watson and Hopkins and their defense is better altogether. If the Titans contain Watson and Hopkins as much as they can, their chances rise to win the game. The Titans can make a statement win here and take the lead for the AFC South division winner. Give me the Titans.
Final Prediction: Tennessee Titans 31, Houston Texans 21
Dolphins @ Giants
The New York Giants (2-11) are hosting the Miami Dolphins (3-10) in a battle for the lower draft pick. This is one of the worst games we could ask for. Talk about the snoozefest. Who is really watching this game? The Giants did everything they needed to do to win, except win essentially. The Dolphins did everything they needed to do to win, except win essentially. The Giants are just a bad football team. Other than Saquon Barkley, there’s really not a lot going good for this team. They have some good receiving options but other than that, there’s just nothing to hold this team up. The Dolphins have all the momentum right now though. They are playing good football and did what the Giants couldn’t do, beat the Eagles. With how the Dolphins are playing, I like them in this game. I didn’t want to do much analysis here, to be honest, this game is a waste of time.
Final Prediction: Miami Dolphins 24, New York Giants 20
Broncos @ Chiefs
The Denver Broncos (5-8) are being hosted by the Kansas City Chiefs (9-4) in an AFC West matchup in week 15. The Broncos have found life in Drew Lock. He has just about solidified himself as the Broncos QB of the future, and not a moment too soon either. The Broncos defense can still stop most teams in the NFL. The lack of offensive weapons on the Broncos offense will be their downfall this season, but the Broncos will be not to be messed with if they find some next year.
The Chiefs have one of the best offenses in the NFL, not even the Broncos defense can stop this team. The Chief’s defense leaves much to be desired at times. It has been playing better as of late, especially holding the Patriots offense to 16 points last week. They are catching fire at the right time and could make a serious run in the playoffs. They could be surprised if Drew Lock plays out of his mind and somehow puts up some serious points on the Chiefs but I just can’t see it. The Chiefs have offensive weapons all over the field to overcome the Broncos defense. The Broncos just don’t have enough to win this game. Chiefs win this one.
Final Prediction: Kansas City Chiefs 27, Denver Broncos 16
Bears @ Packers
The Chicago Bears (7-6) are traveling to Green Bay to take on the Packers (10-3) in this NFC North matchup for week 15. The Bears have been playing their best ball to try to make the playoffs. They’ll need a lot of help and if anything doesn’t go their way, they are done for. They basically need to win out to have a chance to make it as tight as the NFC has been. Mitch Trubisky is doing just enough to help the Bears win games. Which includes just not being complete booty cheeks. The last time this team played was in week 1 which was a very low scoring game. This time it will be a little bit higher scoring but not by much. The Bears offense is quite stagnant at times but their defense can stop almost anyone. Against the lack of offense on the Packers, the Bears can stop the Packers quite a bit.
The Packers offense leaves much to be desired. Jimmy Graham is old, their other WRs outside of Davante Adams are complete trash. They only have Aaron Jones, Davante Adams, and Aaron Rodgers. That might be enough to win against the Bears, but it will depend on the Packers defense. It seems their defense has gotten worse as time went on. They can end the Bears chances dead in its tracks with a win here. This would also help their case for a first-round bye. The Packers offense needs to put up 20 points to win, I don’t expect Mitch Trubisky to compete in a barn burner, but if the Packers score 20 points, this game is essentially theirs. Give me the Pack in this one.
Final Prediction: Green Bay Packers 23, Chicago Bears 16
Buccaneers @ Lions
The Detroit Lions (3-9-1) are hosting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-7) in this game. I really enjoyed watching this Lions team play, before they started losing. They’re not as bad as their record says, their record could have been so much better. But it is almost better for them if they lose now and tank and surprise everyone next year. David Blough has been playing well just not well enough. Marvin Jones is done for the season. This offense and defense aren’t just doing everything they can to win. They have a favorable matchup against the Bucs, but the Bucs are playing good football so I don’t think they will win.
The Buccaneers are playing some of their best football yet. Not because of Jameis Winston, he is a bust. Everyone else is playing damn good to hold this team up. Including their lackluster defense. The Bucs offense is good and could win a lot of games if they didn’t have Jameis as their QB. Their defense is young and is improving every week, they should have a good performance against the Lions. I think this game will be high scoring, but I have more faith in the Bucs offense than I do the Lions offense. Give me the Bucs this week as they go a surprising .500 in the season.
Final Prediction: Tampa Bay Buccaneers 37, Detroit Lions 31
Patriots @ Bengals
The New England Patriots (10-3) are being hosted by the Cincinnati Bengals (1-12) in this matchup. The Bengals have been playing better ever since they went back to Andy Dalton. Although he might not be the QB of the future, he is one of their better players right now. Joe Mixon has gone from MIA to hit or miss. He will either be there one day or not. The Defense? Just horrendous, they’ll give up points to anyone. The Bengals receiving core has much potential, they are learning and getting better every week, but their defense won’t be able to stop anyone to get wins. The team is 1-12 for a reason, they’re just bad.
The Patriots offense has left much to be desired. Tom Brady has declined exponentially, and the Patriots shouldn’t bring him back next year, they will, but they shouldn’t. He’s just been bad and been throwing up absolute ducks on offense. The Patriots have been able to overcome that by their defense, but they need some help from the offense. They’ve lost two games in a row and their fans are crying, the Patriots tried to CHEAT against the BENGALS, this organization is going crazy. They play against the nobody Bengals and will dominate. Their fans will be talking shit again and all will be okay for them, until next week. Easy win for the Patriots, not much analysis is really needed here.
Final Prediction: New England Patriots 38, Cincinnati Bengals 13
Seahawks @ Panthers
The Seattle Seahawks (10-3) are traveling to Carolina to take on the Panthers (5-8) in this game for week 15. The Panthers fired Ron Rivera the week before and nothing really changed for the Panthers. They looked like the same team as they did with him so. It’s becoming evident that Kyle Allen isn’t the long term answer for the Panthers. Christian McCaffrey needs some help on the offensive end. The Panthers just lack talent, they’re just one of those middle of the pack teams who could scare you one week and then just disappear the next. They’ve been disappearing a lot lately. I expect a disappearance this week against the Seahawks.
The Seahawks were…..bad. Probably as bad as they looked the whole season. It is fine though, their lack of talent on the roster can make them vulnerable at times. However, with Russell Wilson, they have a chance to win every game they play. So just scratch off last week as a bad loss and keep it moving, They play the Panthers who they shouldn’t have to try very hard to beat. Their defense just isn’t that good and won’t really affect Tyler Lockett or Chirs Carson. Those players will be relied on heavily for the game. The defensive gameplan against the Panthers is just the same as everyone else’s. Stop Christian McCaffrey. It can almost be scientifically proven the more limited CMC is, the better chance that the Panthers lose. Seahawks are just a better team, should be a no-brainer.
Final Prediction: Seattle Seahawks 36, Carolina Panthers 24
Vikings @ Chargers
The Los Angeles Chargers (5-8) are hosting the Minnesota Vikings (9-4) in this matchup. The Chargers had a great win last week. I still don’t know what their exact issue is though. They have been dealing with injuries, sure, but they also just haven’t played the best football. A lot of that has been the decline of the Philip Rivers this season. Before last week, they were talking about replacing him since the playoffs are basically out of reach for the Chargers. With his contract up, he’ll probably move on. However, he’ll play out the rest of the season now and play the Vikings. The Chargers should focus on giving the ball to their RBs, whether passing or running, to free up Keenan Allen and Mike Williams for the passing game. Their success with the RBs will determine if they will be able to throw against this team. The Charger’s defense against this team? Good luck.
The Vikings have been one of the better teams this year and they are proud of that. However, the NFC isn’t a lock just quite yet. Winning this game would really help the Viking’s chances to guarantee a playoff spot. They cannot even rest yet because the Rams are closing in behind them. The Vikings offense will be looking better with Adam Thielen back. Dalvin Cook doesn’t look like he will slow down, therefore Kirk Cousins will continue to play well enough to look good. The Vikings defense is good, at least good enough for Philip Rivers. The Vikings are better on both sides of the ball, it should be an easy win with a chance for some drama.
Final Prediction: Minnesota Vikings 28, Los Angeles Chargers 20
Browns @ Cardinals
The Cleveland Browns (6-7) are being hosted by the Arizona Cardinals (3-9-1) in this game. The Cardinals have one of the better offenses in the NFL, due to Kyler Murray knowing the offense like the back of his hand. He and Kliff Kingsbury has been a matchup made in heaven. However, their defense is atrocious. The Cardinals have some stability on offense but they should focus on nothing but defense this offseason and for awhile. Against the unpredictable Browns, they have a shot to essentially end their playoff hopes this week. They’ll just need to outscore them rather than relying on their defense to stop them.
The Browns are unpredictable. They’ll be good for one week and absolutely terrible the next week. It makes it hard to have any type of analysis on them. They have one of the best rosters in the NFL, but they just aren’t that good. That’s either Baker Mayfield’s fault or Freddie Kitchens’ fault. They’ve been playing better as of late though, winning 4 of the last 5 games. For some reason, I feel as if the Browns are just going to Browns this week. Their offense will just not give the ball to Nick Chubb or Kareem Hunt and rely on Baker to win. I need an upset this week and this one will have to do. The Cardinals are itching for a win, and the Browns will Browns.
Final Prediction: Arizona Cardinals 31, Cleveland Browns 27
Jaguars @ Raiders
The Jacksonville Jaguars (4-9) are traveling to Oakland to take on the Raiders (6-7) in their last game in the Oakland Coliseum for probably forever. The Jaguars are done, it all looked so good for the Jaguars a month ago, and then it didn’t. Whether it be the coaching or the talent on the roster, something isn’t working. Big Dick Nick is a Big Fraud. His poor play only makes the Eagles smarter for holding on to Wentz. He is already benched for Gardner Minshew. The Jaguars have a good chance to get their confidence back in their offense against the horrendous Raiders secondary. I mean HORRENDOUS. If the passing game can get into a rhythm for the Jaguars, it could be a good day.
The last day at the Oakland Coliseum. I can only expect the crowd to be as rowdy as ever. For the Raiders, this one isn’t even about football, it will be all emotion for the Raiders. If the Raiders win, expect chaos, if the Raiders lose, expect chaos and call Homeland Security. The Raiders have played horrible these past 3 games. However, the offense looked better. Probably because Derek Carr wasn’t playing in the cold. Josh Jacobs missed last week which hurt the Raiders tremendously. The lack of receiving options on this team is a killer for the Raiders offense. However, the Raiders’ defense has been most of the problem for the Raiders. In the last 3 games, the Raiders have been outscored 106-33. YIKES. Most of these TDs were passing TDs, but that is neither here nor there. I expect the offense to still put up between 20-30 points playing in Oakland. It will depend on the defense if the Raiders will win though. There are going to be a lot of emotions in this game and expect the Raiders to play hard. The last game in the Oakland Coliseum to be a win for the final time.
Final Prediction: Oakland Raiders 28, Jacksonville Jaguars 23
Falcons @ 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers (11-2) are hosting the Atlanta Falcons (4-9) in this NFC matchup. The Falcons have been much better in the second half of the season. It’s been kind of wild at how they just flipped the switch and started winning some games. However, their high-powered offense won’t be enough to carry this team against the 49ers. I actually think that the Falcons will make this somewhat competitive, but their lack of defense will hold them back. No matter how good the 49ers defense is, it can still be vulnerable to the best offenses in the NFL. The Falcons could score 30 points on this team but their defense wouldn’t hold. However, if the Falcons defense does its best to hold the 49ers, they have a shot. That’s a big if.
The 49ers won the best game in the season so far. The 49ers-Saints classic was easily the best game we’ve seen yet. It was like the shootout last year against the Rams and the Chiefs. However, giving up 40+ points doesn’t look good, even if it is the Saints. The Falcons have quite a good offense as well, it will be interesting to see if the 49ers can limit them. Luckily, the Falcons’ defense isn’t quite as good as the Saints. Also, the 49ers Offense is as versatile as ever. They can give the ball to 5 players on every play, which makes it hard to defend. This is one of the more complete teams in the NFL. They are elite on both sides of the ball and it’ll be hard to stop this team. Falcons don’t have a chance in my opinion. 49ers take it.
Final Prediction: San Francisco 49ers 35, Atlanta Falcons 30
Rams @ Cowboys
The Los Angeles Rams (8-5) are being hosted by the Dallas Cowboys (6-7) in this key NFC matchup for week 15. Well, Well, Well, what do we have here. The Cowboys are 6-7 and still the division leader. What a joke. The entire NFC East is embarrassing right now for their own reasons. The Cowboys have no reason to be bad, given at how stacked their roster is. It all comes done to Jason Garrett. Luckily for Cowboy fans, he is on his way out. But that won’t help this season. They are only one game ahead of the Eagles and the Eagles have a far easier schedule than the Cowboys. In fact, the Cowboys could lose this game and week 17, but in week 16, they CANNOT lose to the Eagles. If they lose to the Eagles, they’re basically done for. I really cannot offer any analysis on the Cowboys, they shouldn’t be this bad. They could beat any team in the NFL, but Jason Garrett is a thing so.
The Los Angeles Rams have found life, but it might be a little too late. They’re playing better on both sides of the ball and at 8-5 are still on the outside looking in for the playoffs. They’ll need some help if they are looking to get to the playoffs. The most likely occurrence is that the Vikings choke and the Rams get in over them. I wouldn’t bet on it though. The Rams’ offense is doing better even though Jared Goff is terrible. The Rams’ defense is still kind of eh outside of Aaron Donald and Jalen Ramsey. However, the Cowboys will choke because of Jason Garrett. Give me the Rams in this game, but it has the potential to be a weird game.
Final Prediction: Los Angeles Rams 31, Dallas Cowboys 27
Bills @ Steelers
The Buffalo Bills (9-4) are traveling to Pittsburgh to take on the Steelers (8-5) for a key AFC matchup for our Sunday Night Football game in week 15. This game will be a doozy. First of all, let’s all give props to Mike Tomlin. He has carried this team despite the injuries and well Mason Rudolph, he honestly might deserve Coach of the Year for all the adversity he overcame. Now at 8-5, the Steelers have a great shot at trying to solidify their spot in the playoffs. It also helps that Juju and James Conner are officially back this week against a huge game against the Bills. Their offense was doing well without them and it will only get better with them. Their defense has kept them in a lot of games this year and it’ll help them win this one.
I’ve doubted the Bills every week because I always just look at the talent on the offense and just go eh. However, they have impressed me every week. At first, I thought their early success wasn’t sustainable, I mean it was the Bills could you blame me. But here they are, 9-4, one game out of being the division leader, and almost a guaranteed playoff spot. I am a big fan. This will be my team to root for in the playoffs just because you don’t see this every day. Josh Allen has shown he belongs in the NFL and the Bills defense is top-notch. I may never be convinced of the Bills offense, but they can prove me wrong every week. This game should be low-scoring given how well these defenses have played. But I am tipping my nod to the Steelers. Their offense has done well without their two best weapons, they have both now and should make a statement win here.
Final Prediction: Pittsburgh Steelers 17, Buffalo Bills 16
Colts @ Saints
The New Orleans Saints (10-3) are hosting the Indianapolis Colts (6-7) in our week 15 Monday Night Football game. This game has playoff implications for both teams. The Saints still want their first-round bye and they also want to be the number 1 seed in the NFC. The competition for the 1 seed is tight. The 49ers are 11-2, Seahawks are 10-3, Packers are 10-3, Saints are 10-3, and the Vikings are 9-4. All are still very much in the running for the number 1 seed, much less a first-round bye. They’ll be going with their usual gameplan on relying Michael Thomas and Alvin Kamara on the receiving end. While using Alvin Kamara still and Latavious Murry to run the ball. Their defense is looking suspect after the high scoring totals this team has let up. However, their offense is can still put up points on anyone.
The Colts just seem lost. Of course, T.Y. Hilton hasn’t played much due to injury, it exposes the Colts receiving game. The Colts have a lack of talent at WR and it shows. They’ve been solid everywhere else but this team just doesn’t quite have the umpfh to hang around with the big boys in the Saints. I would also like to point out that the Saints lost last week despite me picking against them. The curse is broken Dan, I’m picking the Saints this week.
Final Prediction: New Orleans Saints 34, Indianapolis Colts 21
