NFL Week 15 Predictions: Projections for the Early Lines, Spreads and Odds

The Oakland Raiders would like a word with bettors who gobble up early-week odds at face value.

As the schedule transitions to Week 15 NFL picks, the Raiders are the epitome of why bettors need a lengthy investment in the homework department to make headway. The Raiders lost 52-0 in Week 13 and entered this past weekend as lofty underdogs against San Francisco—and won 24-13.

The point is, tread lightly with odds, especially early in the week. There is plenty of coin to be made when Las Vegas posts some strange lines on a Monday, but those sorts of risks require superb foresight.

With that in mind, there are a few Week 15 offerings to hop all over.

NFL Week 15 Picks Against the Spread

Matchup	Spread	Pick ATS	Reason
Arizona at St. Louis (Thurs., Dec. 11)	STL -3	ARI	Arizona is back to form and on a short week can scrounge up enough defense to win.
Pittsburgh at Atlanta	EVEN	PIT	Pittsburgh is firing on all cylinders at the moment and gets Atlanta on a short week.
Washington at NY Giants	NYG -6.5	NYG	Washington has an unknown at quarterback, and New York is riding high at the moment.
Miami at New England	NE -7.5	MIA	Much has changed since Miami beat New England, but the Dolphins will still have enough defense to hang tough.
Oakland at Kansas City	KC -9.5	OAK	Kansas City needs to find an identity fast before it gets swept by a team with nothing to lose.
Houston at Indianapolis	IND -7	HOU	See analysis below.
Jacksonville at Baltimore	BAL -12.5	JAC	Look for Jacksonville to keep things on the ground while Baltimore struggles to pull away.
Green Bay at Buffalo	GB -6	GB	Few things can stop Aaron Rodgers, including the Buffalo defense.
Tampa Bay at Carolina	CAR -5.5	CAR	Carolina seems back to form at just the right time and can exploit a weak defense.
Cincinnati at Cleveland	EVEN	CIN	Cincinnati will get revenge on Cleveland by taking advantage of an iffy quarterback situation.
NY Jets at Tennessee	TEN -2	TEN	Ugly football still gets a winner most of the time, so look for the home team in this one.
Denver at San Diego	DEN -3.5	DEN	Denver won the first in this series 35-21, and it is hard to see this one going much differently.
Minnesota at Detroit	DET -7	DET	See analysis below.
San Francisco at Seattle	SEA -7.5	SF	San Francisco is at rock bottom, but if there is one team that can motivate the 49ers to compete, it is Seattle.
Dallas at Philadelphia	PHI -3.5	DAL	Look for Dallas to come out gunning as DeMarco Murray explodes for huge production.
New Orleans at Chicago (Mon., Dec. 15)	N/A	NO	In a battle of the inept, defer to the better quarterback.

Odds courtesy of Odds Shark and accurate as of 8 p.m. ET on Dec. 7.

Highlighting Early Lines to Bet

Houston Texans at Indianapolis Colts (-7)

Sam Greenwood/Getty Images

How is this for an interesting line?

It makes sense that the Indianapolis Colts at home are the favorite against the Houston Texans. But a full touchdown may be a tad much. Not only did Andrew Luck and the Colts need a last-second touchdown to beat Cleveland this past weekend, they only got a five-point win over Houston back in Week 6.

There, the Colts needed 370 passing yards and three scores from Luck, while the defense somehow managed to get Houston to go 1-of-8 on third down despite 109 yards and a pair of scores from Arian Foster.

In fact, were it not for a 24-point outburst in the opening frame, the Colts likely would have lost that encounter.

"You're going up and down on the sideline screaming at everybody: 'Don't take your foot off the gas,'" coach Chuck Pagano said after the game, per The Associated Press, via ESPN.com. "Next thing you know, just like that (it's close). It's never over in this league."

Keep in mind that Houston has won two of its last three and has quite the motivated Foster going into the matchup, too, as captured by ESPN's Tania Ganguli:

The Colts entered last weekend ranked among the top 12 teams against the rush, but they once again looked vulnerable on the ground, as Cleveland backs combined for more than 100 yards and a score.

With Foster in elite form (127 yards and a score Sunday) and Luck coming off a game in which he threw as many touchdowns as interceptions, Houston will be able to keep this one close.

Right now, it seems a bit much to suggest Houston will get its first-ever win in Indianapolis, but a touchdown spread seems like an easy bet.

Prediction: Colts 27, Texans 24

Minnesota Vikings at Detroit Lions (-7)

Hannah Foslien/Getty Images

This one is not the surefire lock most figure it to be right out of the gates.

The Detroit Lions are 9-4, yes, but the team has struggled against legit competition as of late, going .500 over the course of its last four. On the flip side, things seem to be on the turnaround for Minnesota, a team that has a two-game win streak and has won four of its last six.

So no, a touchdown spread is no sure thing here, although it is reassuring that the Lions scored a 17-3 victory over the Vikings back in Week 6.

An elite Detroit defense caused Minnesota rookie Teddy Bridgewater to toss a trio of interceptions there, but he has grown up as of late and thrown six scores to just two picks over the course of his last three outings.

Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

It helps that Bridgewater is complemented by a top-10 pass defense. The only problem is that Detroit seems like it would rather get things done on the ground this year, anyway. Joique Bell torched a Vikings defense that ranks near the bottom in that regard earlier this season for 74 yards and a score.

That said, Matthew Stafford can and will do enough damage to help his team pull away. Weapons such as Calvin Johnson sure help in this regard, especially considering Megatron did not suit up the last time these two met for a divisional battle.

Detroit can distance itself to make bettors happy here, but throw cash down with the understanding that it is no slam dunk. Keep an eye on the line as the week progresses.

Prediction: Lions 28, Vikings 20

Stats courtesy of NFL.com. Advanced metrics via Pro Football Focus (subscription required).