NFL: Week 15 Predictions
Week 14 threw up some real statement games for many teams in the NFL, including New England’s beat down of the Texans, the Vikings and AP running all over the Bears and the Packers grinding out an important win in the snow against rivals Detroit. And then there was the massacre of Seattle where the Cardinals put together what was probably the worst performance in recent memory to lose 58-0 at the playoff bound Seahawks.
With only three games left in teams’ regular seasons, it’s do or die time, and may playoff contending teams have a chance this week to assert themselves over the competition before the real thing in January. With a possible Superbowl preview, a battle between the two worst teams in the league and the Jets on MNF (WHY?), week 15 should be a very interesting week in the NFL, and we start in Philadelphia with the resurgent Eagles…
Friday 1:20am
Cincinnati Bengals 27-16 Philadelphia Eagles (Bengals to win – 4/9 @ BetVictor)
These two teams will have hugely different emotions coming off of last week, the Bengals will be distraught that they missed the chance to gain ground in the AFC North with both the Ravens and Steelers losing, while Philly’s last second win in Tampa will have boosted their confidence massively. But if you look at the performance from week 14, Cincinnati could easily have won that game, if AJ Green had held onto a few more catches and someone had covered Dez Bryant in the endzone. So while Nick Foles seems to be a legitimate franchise QB for Philadelphia, I don’t think his team can pull this one out against a team that still has to win a couple of games to cement its playoff status.
Sunday 6:00pm
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 27-31 New Orleans Saints (Saints to win – 8/15 @ bwin)
Last time these two teams met, it was a no-holds-barred shootout, and I see no reason why this one would be any different, even though it looks as if both teams may have missed out on the playoffs. Drew Brees will want to play his way out of his interception slump, while rookie runner Doug Martin has his sights set on 1500 yards this year. The Saints have a lot to prove after being hammered by the Giants last week, and I think they will come out with more intensity for this divisional clash.
Indianapolis Colts 17-27 Houston Texans (Texans to win – 3/11 @ bwin)
Houston will be embarrassed by what happened at Foxboro, and a short week is good for them, as it means they can get right back on the horse, and in this case the horse is a Colt named Andrew Luck, who JJ Watt will be gunning for. While their secondary seems a little disjointed right now, I think the Texans will rush the passer very effectively come Sunday night and Luck’s skills will be well and truly tested. Arian Foster should get back to his 100+ yards and a TD ways, and the Texans bounce back.
Denver Broncos 24-20 Baltimore Ravens (Broncos to win – 5/7 @ William Hill)
Peyton Manning’s Broncos are flying right now, and have their sights set on a first round playoff bye, so this trip to fellow hopefuls Baltimore is a real measuring stick. But the Ravens have real injury problems, even if Ray Lewis does return from a long layoff this week, and their defense ranks in the bottom half of the league in both passing and rushing, which doesn’t bode well for them. If Knowshon Moreno can get things going on the ground for Denver, they will win this game without having to rely on Von Miller and the defense, but if it comes down to it, I just don’t trust Joe Flacco to win games like this.
Green Bay Packers 23-17 Chicago Bears (Packers to win – 5/7 @ Paddy Power)
Clay Matthews looks set to return for Green bay in their trip to Chicago, and that changes the Packers as a team. It instantly improves their pass rush, and also the way they can defend the pass, in that they can afford to rush less men and double cover Brandon Marshall at all times, which they will need to do. Matt Forte has also never rushed for 100 yards against the Packers, EVER, so the omens aren’t good for the Bears. Chicago has hit a slump at just the wrong time, and while they will be missing Jordy Nelson and Charles Woodson, I think Green Bay can pull this one out in a similar way to how they beat the Lions last week.
New York Giants 30-24 Atlanta Falcons (Giants to win – 11/10 @ Paddy Power)
The Falcons last week showed exactly why may people are so downbeat on their chances in the playoffs when they let Cam Newton run, throw and do whatever he liked really for 60 minutes. If they play like that again, Eli Manning will destroy them, especially coming off a 50+ point performance against the Saints last week. The Falcons need to revert to their own Saints beating defensive performance to have a chance in this one, but one thing you know about the Giants is that they only start playing when you can smell the playoffs, and they’ve got the NFC West to lock up.
Minnesota Vikings 20-16 St Louis Rams (Vikings to win – 5/4 @ Ladbrokes)
Apparently Adrian Peterson had ACL reconstruction surgery in the off-season. He’s only rushed for 1,600 yards and 10 TD’s at a rate of 6 yards per carry… WHAT!? I don’t care how valuable the QB is in today’s game, if this man doesn’t win MVP it will be a travesty, and that’s because he has a poor QB behind him with an average defense, and he has single-handedly dragged the Vikings to the point where they can seriously look at a playoff place. The Rams will try to take the run away from the Vikings, but every team since week 10 has tried, and ‘All Day’ has smashed his way through, and with the 2000 yard barrier within reach, 30 carries could well be enough to win the game, although I do expect a tight one in St Louis.
Washington Redskins 20-23 OT Cleveland Browns (To go to OT 10/1 (Including Draw market) @ bwin – Browns to win (outright market) 11/10 @ bwin)
This is a very interesting matchup between two teams who are finishing the season very strongly. RG3 says he’ll be fine for the game, but after watching the way his knee bent last week, I think there might be some after-effect and lack of mobility. The Browns are putting a lot of young talent together in Cleveland, and while the defense is putting up its usual good fight, the offense is becoming a threatening unit. Brandon Weeden is doing a quietly good job after a dodgy first half of the season, and Trent Richardson is a star at RB who opens things up for promising WR Josh Gordon in the deep game. There’s an upset or two every week in the NFL and this just might be it after another bit of overtime for the Redskins.
Jacksonville Jaguars 6-23 Miami Dolphins (Dolphins to win – 10/33 @ Bet365)
The Jags are just awful, I was searching for a real bright spark, and while Chad Henne and the signing of Jason Babin threaten to light a fire under the team, a gust of wind comes to blow it out. The Dolphins are a solid football team and were good against the 49’ers last week, so they shouldn’t have many problems here.
Sunday 9:05pm
Detroit Lions 27-10 Arizona Cardinals (Lions to win – 5/12 @ William Hill)
Wow, what can I say about how bad Arizona was last week? To lose 58-0 with 8 turnovers takes some doing, and Detroit should be more than good enough to beat Ryan Lindley.
Seattle Seahawks 20-13 Buffalo Bills (Seahawks to win – 4/9 @ bwin)
This is an interesting one, and not because it’s being played in Toronto. These teams average 341.2 and 341.4 yards per game respectively on offense, so it seems to me that the team that plays defense better will win this game. That team has to be the playoff hunting Seahawks, who incidentally will be wearing their brand new ‘Wolf Grey’ uniforms… and that’s my pointless fact of the week.
Carolina Panthers 23-20 San Diego Chargers (Panthers to win – 7/5 @ William Hill)
Both of these teams are coming off some seriously good wins last week against the Falcons and Steelers respectively, but it was the fashion in which Cam Newton disposed of the Falcons that struck me most. It was as if he hadn’t had the sophomore slump that the critics had labelled him with, and he came out like a man possessed. The Chargers were decent last week, don’t get me wrong, but if they hadn’t returned a fumble for a touchdown, it could have been a very different game, even if Ben Roethlisberger was looking very rusty. I’ll take the upward trending Panthers here, call it a hunch.
Sunday 9:25pm
Pittsburgh Steelers 20-27 Dallas Cowboys (Cowboys to win – 20/19 @ bwin)
The Cowboys really battled for their win in Cincinnati, and that should stand them in good stead going forward, as they know that they need to win out to have a realistic chance of playoff football. The Steelers were very rusty early on in last week’s game against the Chargers, but got better as the game went on, especially as Mike Wallace got involved more. This is a tough-to-call matchup, and I think it could come down to running the ball, a dimension where the Cowboys have a clear edge in Demarco Murray.
Kansas City Chiefs 20-30 Oakland Raiders (Raiders to win – 11/17 @ bwin)
I think this has to be renamed the ‘horrible bowl’. The two worst teams in the league (Jacksonville are almost as bad) face off in Oakland, and as if the standard wasn’t low enough, WR Dwayne Bowe is out for the rest of the year with broken ribs for KC. Without him, the Raiders can try and concentrate on shutting down Jamaal Charles and the running game, but there are no guarantees that will happen. The Raiders will give the ball to Carson Palmer and hope that he hits receivers down the field as usual, but Darren McFadden’s presence makes the Raiders a better team, and the game against Denver last week showed that there was still some fighting spirit in Oakland, so I’ll go with the Silver and Black in the Black Hole, but I can see quite a few points being scored simply down to poor defense.
Monday 1:20am
San Francisco 49’ers 20-24 New England Patriots (Patriots to win – 4/9 @ BetVictor)
After hammering the previously thought of ‘best team in the AFC’ – Houston, the Pats now host what many people think are the best team in the NFC, with their nasty defense and newly explosive QB Colin Kaepernick. I can understand the argument that San Francisco’s defense will hassle and harry Tom Brady to distraction, but after watching how New England played on both sides of the ball against the Texans, I think Bill Belichick’s team are firing on all cylinders at the right time. They want the no.1 seed in the AFC, or a first week bye at least, and while this will undoubtedly be tighter than last week’s demolition, I think the Patriots get it done again at home.
Tuesday 1:30am
New York Jets 13-23 Tennessee Titans (Titans to win – 5/6 @ bwin)
Why this is the game for Monday Night Football on week 15 of an NFL season I don’t know, but regardless, it is a game that the Jets have to win if they are to have any chance of playoff football. The Titans have improved a lot in the past few weeks and could have won the game against Indianapolis if not for a couple of costly mistakes, chiefly a pick six from Jake Locker that encroached on the territory of lunacy. The Jets continue to grind out games against poor teams with their defense and running game, but I think their playoff hopes end here. They are a poor football team, and Chris Johnson should be able to highlight that with 100 yards and a TD, carrying his team to a win that will build confidence going into the offseason.
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