Week 15 Game Picks

Josh’s Record (145-63) – Last week (13-3)

There was no pick made for the Arizona Cardinals and St. Louis Rams Thursday Night game as both writers were in Finals week.

Pittsburg Steelers (8-5) @ Atlanta Falcons (5-8) on Sunday at 1PM

Josh’s Pick: Steelers

This would be a tougher game to pick if Julio Jones, who has had a monster last two weeks, was active in the Falcons starting lineup. With Jones out, I don’t see the Falcons utilizing the Steelers weak secondary to their advantage as much as they could, and their offense somewhat sputtering with his absence. Le’Veon Bell should have another nice day on the ground and through the air as he continues his productive season against a Falcons defense that has given up big plays and yards all year long.

Washington Redskins (3-10) @ New York Giants (4-9) on Sunday at 1PM

Josh’s Pick: Giants

The Giants had a big win over a very mediocre Titans squad last week. That being said, all facets of their game (offense and defense especially) seemed more refined than they had since Victor Cruz went out for the season. Odell Beckham Jr. is performing like a true number one receiver as a rookie and is consistently making top 10 highlight reel plays. The Redskins have struggled on season on offense and defense, but their offense has taken a majority of the heat due to the RG3 saga. I expect the Giants defense to buckle down in back to back games against bottom half of the league opponent.

Miami Dolphins (7-6) @ New England Patriots (10-3) on Sunday at 1PM

Josh’s Pick: Patriots

I don’t see the Patriots losing at home to a team in December that isn’t potentially better than them (Broncos, Packers, Seahawks, etc.) The Dolphins owned the Patriots in their week one matchup, but the Pats are a completely different team, with a more solidified offensive line, recievers who have found their niche in this offense (Brandon LaFell) and a healthier Rob Gronkowski. Belichick will have more film to scheme to take Mike Wallace out of the game, confuse Ryan Tannehill at the line of scrimmage, and on top of that Patriot Killer Knowshon Moreno is not active. Also Chandler Jones will be returning to the Patriots for the first time in 6 weeks which is huge boost to an already hot defense. Cameron Wake will always give the Dolphins a chance as he is a top 5 pass rusher and can easily have a game changing strip sack at any point (as he did in their week 1 matchup). Lastly, the Patriots never get swept by a division opponent and I don’t see them dropping the home game that they know keeps them in first place of the conference if they win.

Oakland Raiders (2-11) @ Kansas City Chiefs (7-6) on Sunday at 1PM

Josh’s Pick: Kansas City

Oakland shocked the NFL world a few Thursday nights back when they upset the Chiefs in the Black Hole. This matchup will be played in Arrowhead where the Chief faithful will be there to take vengeance on the Raiders. I am mostly taking the Chiefs because even though Oakland has shown improvement the last three weeks (St. Louis game aside), I don’t see Kansas City losing twice to Oakland in one season.

Houston Texans (7-6) @ Indianapolis Colts (9-4) on Sunday at 1PM

Josh’s Pick: Colts

The Colts can clinch their division with a win over the Texans today while the Texans will remain alive in the AFC South title and the wildcard race with a win. I believe that Andrew Luck will take care of business at home and Fitzpatrick’s “Fitzmagic” will run out. Fitzpatrick has played very well in his return but take it with a grain of salt because those games came against the Titans and the Jaguars. I believe the Houston offense will still be productive and effective in putting up points, but not able to keep up with Luck’s high paced offense and eventually will fall by two scores.

Jacksonville Jaguars (2-11) @ Baltimore Ravens (8-5) on Sunday at 1PM

Josh’s Pick: Ravens

The Ravens pulled out a critical win on the road against a hot Dolphins team last week and I don’t look for them to slack on a very winnable home game against the Jaguars. The Jaguars have yet to win on the road this season, and I don’t see that streak coming to an end today against a very well coached Raven’s group.

Green Bay Packers (10-3) @ Buffalo Bills (7-6) on Sunday at 1PM

Josh’s Pick: Packers

I expect this game to be similar to the Broncos game a week ago for the Bills, closer than a lot of people expect. Buffalo is a tough atmosphere to play in and Aaron Rodgers isn’t the same dominant QB on the road as he at home (still top 5 guaranteed though). I trust the Bills defense as they have been a good group all year long, but Buffalo’s offense doesn’t have the consistency to keep pace the Packers offense, unless their defense can force turnovers. Unfortunately for Buffalo, Green Bay turns the ball over as little as anyone, and Aaron Rodgers is at the top of most people’s list for least likely to make a mistake during a game. With all those factors combined, I am taking the Packers.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-11) @ Carolina Panthers on Sunday (4-8-1) at 1PM

Josh’s Pick: Buccaneers

Derek Anderson will start for the second time this season, and for the second time against the Buccaneers. I don’t see Anderson beating any team in the NFL twice in one season, so I am taking a risk and picking the Bucs. Mike Evens and Vincent Jackson should see a large amount of jump balls against a struggling Panthers secondary, and I believe those two players will propel the Buccaneers to the win. The Bucs also have a decent amount of talent on defense and I bet they force a turnover or two out of Anderson to help spur their offense.

Cincinnati Bengals (8-4-1) @ Cleveland Browns (7-6) on Sunday at 1PM

Josh’s Pick: Browns

I’m taking Johnny Manziel in his first career start but not because of him, because of the Browns defense. The Browns allowed two offensive touchdowns to the Colts last week while scoring two of their own. The Browns defense has played stout and consistent all year long, and with any offensive production in the games against the Bills or Colts, they would have come out with wins. I think Manziel will provide enough of a spark to carry the Browns to win if the defense plays the way it has all season.

New York Jets (2-11) @ Tennessee Titans (2-11) on Sunday at 4:05PM

Josh’s Pick: Jets

These teams are in the bottom of the AFC along with the Jags. I am taking the Jets because they are competitive against almost every team and it seems that Tennessee is torched by every team they play. I expect this game to be sloppy and a lot similar to the Jets loss last week to the Vikings (except they will win this time). The Titans haven’t done anything offensively recently to make me think they will be able to score and put up points against a decent Jets front seven.

Denver Broncos (10-3) @ San Diego Chargers (8-5) on Sunday at 4:05PM

Josh’s Pick: Chargers

This is definitely one of the hardest picks of the day. Manning is 5-1 against San Diego since joining the Broncos, with his one loss coming on a Thursday night home game last season. The Broncos looked vulnerable last week, only dropping 24 points on the Bills at home, however the Chargers looked far worse, not even being able to move the ball in the second half against the Patriots. I am taking San Diego to win this one, half with my heart and half with my brain (because I would really like the Broncos to lose as a Patriots fan). The Chargers missed a lot of easy throws and had a lot of mental errors against the Patriots that are easily correctable. I look for Melvin Ingram to make his presence felt again and the Chargers to not drop two in a row at home.

Minnesota Vikings (6-7) @ Detroit Lions (9-4) on Sunday at 4:25PM

Josh’s Pick: Lions

With everyone on the Lions healthy, I expect them to take the home win in a defensive struggle against the Vikings. I am high up on Teddy Bridgewater’s future but do not believe he is consistent enough to beat a top 7 NFL defense. The Vikings also to have a running game by any standards to diffuse the interior and exterior pass rush that Lions generate and the inability to run the ball will hurt the Vikes if they hop out to an early lead. I see both offenses making some mistakes but the Lions will end up being able to produce more with the talent they have on offense.

San Francisco 49ers (7-6) @ Seattle Seahawks (9-4) on Sunday at 4:25PM

Josh’s Pick: Seahawks

The Seahawks are playing like one of the hottest teams in football especially on defense; San Francisco is not. Seattle is at home where they have had a major home field advantage since 2011; San Francisco is not. Seattle doesn’t have Colin Kaepernick; San Francisco does. All of these factors combine to what I believe will be a Seahawk victory and a 49er loss.

Dallas Cowboys (9-4) @ Philadelphia Eagles (9-4) on Sunday night at 8:30PM

Josh’s Pick: Cowboys

The previous matchup between these two teams went horribly wrong for the Cowboys in every way it could and I don’t see that happening again. Dallas has yet to lose a road game this season, and I believe they will look to establish the run early and often in an attempt to dominate the line of scrimmage, something they failed to do against the Eagles earlier this season. Dez Bryant will be fired up and hopefully have a bigger impact and through “Sanchonian” theory (Sanchez Theory) he is bound to have a bad game against a team he had previous success playing against. The Eagles running game can absolutely kill the ‘Boys like it did earlier this season, but if the Eagles keep squandering opportunities in the redzone, I believe Dallas can steal this home game from them. One thing that does worry me is that it is somewhat unlikely that the Eagles lose back to back home games.

New Orleans Saints (5-8) @ Chicago Bears (5-8) on Monday Night at 8:30PM

Josh’s Pick: Saints

Before this game is played the Saints will know the fate of the Atlanta and Carolina games, and that will be fuel/motivation for them to come out of Soldier Field with a win. I will look for Mark Ingram to shoulder the load against a Bears team that has struggled tremendously against the run (and the pass). Drew Brees has played well on the road recently, and oddly has struggled at home. This game should be exciting to watch as both offenses are loaded with talent while the defenses rank in the bottom quarter of the league in terms of yardage. I think Jay Cutler has a decent game but falls in line with the criticism he has taken this week and ends the game with a costly turnover.