Hello readers! Another week of National Football League action is upon us yet again. The week that was Week 14 was a good week for me in pick'ems with a 11-3 record. I hope that I can do the same again this week. Games I'm keeping an eye on are the Rams-49ers, Dolphins-Texans, Bills-Lions, Steelers-Eagles and Packers-Seahawks. In this post, I will do a Playoff Picture for Week 15, a preview and picks for the games of Week 15 and the Early and Late TV broadcast pairings that FOX and CBS will showcase for the Sunday afternoon games. A lot to get to so let's get to work!
NFL Playoff Picture: Week 15
With just four weeks of regular season play left, teams have already begun clinching the division, clinching playoff berths, still trying to get into the tournament and those that are just playing out the season and get to pick early in next year's Draft. Let's start with the AFC.
Seeding
1st seed: Kansas City Chiefs (12-1) (clinched AFC West)
Super Wild Card Weekend Matchups
Denver @ Buffalo
In the Hunt
Indianapolis (6-7), Miami (6-7), Cincinnati (5-8)
Better Luck Next Year
Seeding
1st seed: Detroit Lions (12-1) (clinched playoff berth)
Super Wild Card Weekend Matchups
Washington @ Philadelphia
In the Hunt
LA Rams (7-6), Atlanta (6-7), Arizona (6-7), San Francisco (6-7), New Orleans (5-8), Dallas (5-8), Chicago (4-9), Carolina (3-10)
Better Luck Next Year
Week 15 Preview
The fifteenth week of the National Football League's regular season will start in Santa Clara, California and finish up in Las Vegas, Nevada. Week 15 features a 16-game slate where all 32 teams will play. The week features two division games, six interconference games, three NFC games and five AFC games. There will be a Thursday night game, seven early games, five late games, a Sunday night game, and two Monday night games. Both FOX and CBS will have doubleheaders this week (typically broadcast deal has both doubleheaders in Weeks 1 and 18 but FOX wanted doubleheader only for Week 1). No teams are on a bye this week. Let's get to the picks!
Week 15 Picks
Note: All game times are in US Eastern.
LA Rams (7-6) @ San Francisco (6-7) (Amazon; 8:15 pm)
Pick: 49ers
The Rams beat the Bills and the 49ers beat the Bears last week. A doozy of a matchup to start the week. Los Angeles got a big win against one of the top teams in the AFC in Buffalo. Their offense matched the Bills play for play in the game and hung on to win. The offense needed to do that as they were pretty much playing for their playoff lives at this point in the season. Standing in their way is the 49ers. A team that is next to them in the standings. It should be noted that the Rams beat the 49ers earlier in the season so there is that tiebreaker at the moment. Should they win this game, they own the tiebreaker if they have the same record. I think the Rams defense will need to hang tough against their rivals. The offense just needs to keep putting up points as much as possible.All-time series: 49ers lead 78-70-3
Baltimore (8-5) @ NY Giants (2-11) (CBS; 1:00 pm)
Pick: Ravens
The Ravens had a bye and the Giants lost to the Saints last week. The last time we saw the Ravens was a close loss to the Eagles. They kind of were surprised by the amount of physical play that the Eagles offered them. In a dual of the running backs, Saquon Barkley won it. Suffice to say, the Ravens won't be playing against the Eagles this week. They will be facing off against the worst team in the NFC with the Giants. A rushing defense that is ranked #1 should find some advantage against a team that is lacking in offense. New York has Tyrone Tracy and occasionally a Drew Lock run. They should be able to find a win in the Giants as they are just not a great team against the run either. I feel Derrick Henry should find a few holes and get a fair bit of yardage. I think its a rebound win for the Ravens.All-time series: Ravens lead 5-3
Cincinnati (5-8) @ Tennessee (3-10) (FOX; 1:00 pm)
Pick: Bengals
The Bengals beat the Cowboys and the Titans lost to the Jaguars last week. Cincinnati is still alive by a thread of a chance. Current playoff projections have them getting in with a 2.2% chance of getting in. Insert that Jim Carry gif from that one movie. The Bengals come into this game with a win against Dallas. It was a close win but a win nonetheless. They should find some hope in getting a win against the Titans. The offense has been playing off the wall great. They will run into one of the better defenses in the league. Yes the Titans have a terrible record but don't let it fool you. I just hope that the Bengals don't take them lightly either.All-time series: Titans lead 41-37-1
Dallas (5-8) @ Carolina (3-10) (FOX; 1:00 pm)
Pick: Cowboys
The Cowboys lost to the Bengals and the Panthers lost to the Eagles last week. Dallas had a chance to win against the Bengals. It was a game they probably should've won. The Cowboys had a chance to go down the field to score a potential game-winning score. It would be not as they muffed a punt that would turn into a Bengals score a few plays later. Dallas comes into this game with a chance to get a win but they cannot take the Panthers lightly. Dallas is trying to get a playoff spot and the Panthers would like nothing more than to play spoiler. Their offense really needs to score early and often and get Rico Dowdle involved often.All-time series: Cowboys lead 11-5
Kansas City (12-1) @ Cleveland (3-10) (CBS; 1:00 pm)
Pick: Chiefs
The Chiefs beat the Chargers and the Browns lost to the Steelers last week. Kansas City is the two-time defending champions. They have been having a successful defense season so far but they have been lucky. The 19-17 score last week is also the same score against Las Vegas. This time the Chiefs actually managed to get a field goal. Truly the football gods are insane sometimes. I have to expect that the Chiefs offense will struggle a bit. At least until their defense gets a takeaway, anything is up in the air with that offense. We just haven't seen a game from Kansas City where their offense just takes over and overwhelms an opponent like what we have seen in the past.All-time series: Chiefs lead 15-11-2
Miami (6-7) @ Houston (8-5) (CBS; 1:00 pm)
Pick: Texans
The Dolphins beat the Jets and the Texans had a bye last week. Miami has been on a bit of a roll lately. They have won four of their last five games with a blip of a loss against Green Bay. The pass offense has been playing up to par and perhaps at times well above their ability. I question their running game at times. Especially the fact that De'Von Achane has been having a quiet season as he seems less likely to get close to a 1,000 rushing yard season. It will need to be a game where the balanced offense is needed. The Texans defense is top-10 in that category of stopping the run. Sustaining drives would be good as well.All-time series: Texans lead 8-3
NY Jets (3-10) @ Jacksonville (3-10) (FOX; 1:00 pm)
Pick: Jets
The Jets lost to the Dolphins and the Jaguars beat the Titans last week. New York got some rough news after their loss to Miami. For the 14th straight season, the Jets will not make the playoffs. Sad news indeed. With the expectations being high for them it is a bit of a disappointing season. With that out of the way, the Jets will go to sunny Jacksonville to take on the Jaguars. With Trevor Lawrence out, Mac Jones is in for them. The quarterback didn't do a whole lot and I can't expect him to do a whole lot. The Jets are all too familiar with him in his time at New England. I think the Jets should be able to win with their offense putting up at least 20 points in this one. They should be able to do that and let their defense handle the Jaguars with ease.All-time series: Jaguars lead 9-8
Washington (8-5) @ New Orleans (5-8) (FOX; 1:00 pm)
Pick: Commanders
The Commanders had a bye week and the Saints beat the Giants last week. Last time we saw the Commanders was a win against the Titans. They had a great time running the ball with 267 rushing yards and Jayden Daniels had three passing touchdowns. The offense is really good that is for sure. The defense is not that bad either but their rush defense is a bit of a problem. Something that they will need to shore up against a decent running game with New Orleans. Washington has lost three of their last four games and with a bye week, they need to get off to a good start in this one.All-time series: Commanders lead 17-11
Buffalo (10-3) @ Detroit (12-1) (CBS; 4:25 pm)
Pick: Bills
The Bills lost to the Rams and the Lions beat the Packers last week. Josh Allen is quite the quarterback. It is a darn shame that he is playing for the Bills at times. His play last week against Los Angeles kind of proved that. He had six total touchdowns (3 pass, 3 run) in the loss. He is also the first quarterback to have that six touchdown mark and lose a game. Go figure for him. At least he is married to Hailey Steinfeld. Back to topic, the Bills will have a tough test against the Lions in a rebound contest. The Bills defense really got exposed a bit against the Rams and they will need to play their best against a juggernaut in the Lions offense. You pretty much have to expect that any drive is four-down territory for the Lions. I think its a toughie of a matchup.All-time series: Bills lead 23-17-1
Indianapolis (6-7) @ Denver (8-5) (CBS; 4:25 pm)
Pick: Broncos
The Colts and Broncos had a bye last week. A late season bye for both teams so they should be equally rested for this one. Indianapolis has been a weird team for sure. The quarterback situation has been a doozy as Anthony Richardson hasn't really improved in year 2 as a quarterback in the NFL. I humbly think that Joe Flacco would be the answer but the Colts have been playing better. They have won at least two of their last three games, given they were one-point wins against the Jets and Patriots. They will really need to play well and have Anthony Richardson to not throw turnovers in this one. The Colts need to get their offense and defense going as well. The rest of the league hasn't figured out Bo Nix yet so there's that.All-time series: Colts lead 15-14
New England (3-10) @ Arizona (6-7) (CBS; 4:25 pm)
Pick: Patriots
The Patriots had a bye and the Cardinals lost to the Seahawks last week. New England got a much needed bye week. The offense is not as great as they should be but I have to think that they are somewhat better than last year. Drake May has been a promising quarterback of the future for the Patriots. They just need an offensive line that doesn't have false start or holding penalties. The defense of New England's been the Debbie downer for the Patriots as they have taken a step back from last year's squad. it is perhaps because of coaching decisions or that the trades that New England has made just for draft capital seems a bit of the reasons. They haven't gotten takeaways this season and that would be best for them to win this one. Get Kyler Murray off his game.All-time series: Patriots lead 9-7
Pittsburgh (10-3) @ Philadelphia (11-2) (FOX; 4:25 pm)
Pick: Steelers
The Steelers beat the Browns and the Eagles beat the Panthers last week. The battle of Pennsylvania! The Steelers come into this game with one of their better seasons as of late. They used to have a struggle to get just to 9 wins or so and that was during the last few weeks of the season. They have 10 this season. The Steelers offense hasn't been quite as great as they should but it is the defense that has been really playing outside of their limits in this season of promise. It will be a tall task for their defense to slow down the running attack of Jalen Hurts and Saquon Barkley. So far no one has been able to figure it out.All-time series: Eagles lead 49-29-3
Tampa Bay (7-6) @ LA Chargers (8-5) (FOX; 4:25 pm)
Pick: Buccaneers
The Buccaneers beat the Raiders and the Chargers lost to the Chiefs last week. An intriguing matchup in the late window. Tampa and Los Angeles are pretty similar in terms of running the ball. As a collective the Buccaneers have more yards with the tandem of Bucky Irving and Rachaad White leading the charge. The Buccaneers offense has been very solid within the top-10 in pass and run. The turnovers of Baker Mayfield is a bit of a concern as he has 13 interceptions. Tampa Bay is ranked 28th in giveaways in the interception category. It is something that they need him to cut down on and protect the football.All-time series: Chargers lead 8-4
Green Bay (9-4) @ Seattle (8-5) (NBC; 8:20 pm)
Pick: Packers
The Packers lost to the Lions and the Seahawks beat the Cardinals last week. Green Bay lost to Detroit again. They had a chance to win it but I think it was more of the Lions making a few more plays than the Packers. Detroit is a good team so you have to give them credit. Green Bay now heads west to take on the Seahawks. Green Bay comes into this game with probably the 3rd best record in the NFC North. I just think they really need to get to the playoffs and attempt to make a run. The running attack of Green Bay's is pretty solid as they have Josh Jacobs who is having a renaissance of a season. I question how well Jordan Love can do in this game. The turnovers have been a bit of a concern.All-time series: Packers lead 15-9
Chicago (4-9) @ Minnesota (11-2) (ABC; 8:00 pm)
Pick: Vikings
The Bears lost to the 49ers and the Vikings beat the Falcons last week. Chicago had so much promise this preseason. Caleb Williams would say to his punter that in a paraphrased tone "you won't be needed much this season." Low and behold the Bears having a 4-9 record with the roughest schedule the rest of the way. Last week, the 49ers would hold the Bears to four total yards and forced them to punt five times. Just a rough season for the Bears. The offensive line has been the biggest thing that has caused issues for the Monsters of the Midway as they have allowed 56 sacks this season. Safe to say, you can't get your offense going if your quarterback gets sacked before he throws the ball. I think the Bears will need to try going with the quick passing game and not go for the fancy passing patterns. A rhythm will help.All-time series: Vikings lead 67-58-2
Atlanta (6-7) @ Las Vegas (2-11) (ESPN; 8:30 pm)
Pick: Falcons
The Falcons lost to the Vikings and the Raiders lost to the Buccaneers. Desmond Ridder faces off against his old team. Atlanta has been a run of the mill team as they have a 6-7 record. The Kirk Cousins experiment has been a bit of a success at first as he throws touchdowns. As of late, the quarterback has been throwing way too many interceptions. Not protecting the football is a big thing to win games. Atlanta is ranked dead last in interceptions with 15. Still it is a wild thing that they have a top 5 passing attack. Cousins has 17 touchdowns to his name so that has to mean something. The running game has been a fun thing to watch as the return of the Bijan Robinson-Tyler Allgeier duo has been a good thing for the Falcons. I just think that the Falcons are so much better than their play to give up the ball.All-time series: Falcons lead 8-7
Early & Late Game TV Broadcast Pairings
Note: Games in bold are being shown in my area, check local listings
CBS Early
For more information on which game is being shown in your area check out: NFL 2024 Week 15 Maps
Records
Week 1: 14-2
Week 2: 10-6
Week 5: 3-11
2019: 161-94-1
2022: 166-103-2
2023: 161-111
See you all after the Monday night game for the Week 15 Recap! Enjoy the games!
-Tom
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