NFL Week 15 Picks: Latest Predictions for Updated Spreads

It’s officially crunch time in the NFL season, and every single snap takes on extra importance. Week 15 fits that mold perfectly and features a slate of games that will go a long way toward determining which teams reach the postseason and which ones will watch from home.

The NFC East is up for grabs, a slew of AFC teams are tied with eight wins and the NFC West is suddenly very interesting.

With that in mind, here is a look at the entire Week 15 schedule and predictions against the spread for every game. Point spreads are courtesy of Odds Shark as of Tuesday, Dec. 9, at 10 a.m. ET.

Date	Time (ET)	Matchup	Spread	Predicted Winner Against Spread
Thursday, Dec. 11	8:25 p.m.	Arizona Cardinals at St. Louis Rams	STL -4	Rams
Sunday, Dec. 14	1 p.m.	Pittsburgh Steelers at Atlanta Falcons	unlisted	Steelers
Sunday, Dec. 14	1 p.m.	Washington at New York Giants	NYG -7	Giants
Sunday, Dec. 14	1 p.m.	Miami Dolphins at New England Patriots	NE -9	Patriots
Sunday, Dec. 14	1 p.m.	Oakland Raiders at Kansas City Chiefs	KC -11.5	Chiefs
Sunday, Dec. 14	1 p.m.	Houston Texans at Indianapolis Colts	IND -7.5	Colts
Sunday, Dec. 14	1 p.m.	Jacksonville Jaguars at Baltimore Ravens	BAL -14.5	Ravens
Sunday, Dec. 14	1 p.m.	Green Bay Packers at Buffalo Bills	unlisted	Packers
Sunday, Dec. 14	1 p.m.	Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Carolina Panthers	CAR -5.5	Panthers
Sunday, Dec. 14	1 p.m.	Cincinnati Bengals at Cleveland Browns	even	Bengals
Sunday, Dec. 14	4:05 p.m.	New York Jets at Tennessee Titans	NYJ -1	Jets
Sunday, Dec. 14	4:05 p.m.	Denver Broncos at San Diego Chargers	DEN -4	Broncos
Sunday, Dec. 14	4:25 p.m.	Minnesota Vikings at Detroit Lions	DET -9	Lions
Sunday, Dec. 14	4:25 p.m.	San Francisco 49ers at Seattle Seahawks	SEA -10.5	Seahawks
Sunday, Dec. 14	8:30 p.m.	Dallas Cowboys at Philadelphia Eagles	PHI -3	Eagles
Monday, Dec. 15	8:30 p.m.	New Orleans Saints at Chicago Bears	NO -2.5	Saints

Under-the-Radar Game to Watch: Arizona Cardinals at St. Louis Rams

Rick Scuteri/Associated Press

The records may say the Arizona Cardinals are 10-3 and the St. Louis Rams are 6-7, but the Rams are favored in this game for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the Cardinals’ injury situation.

Few teams, if any, have been hammered as hard as Arizona by injuries. Quarterback Carson Palmer and running back Andre Ellington are out for the year, Larry Fitzgerald has dealt with lingering knee issues, Antonio Cromartie is dealing with an ankle injury, Tyrann Mathieu, Paul Fanaika and Jared Veldheer were all hurt in Week 13 against the Atlanta Falcons and we can trace this back to the preseason when Darnell Dockett was lost for the year.

The Cardinals are still an impressive 10-3, but injuries are starting to catch up to them with two losses in the last three games and a narrow win over Kansas City in the other.

Arizona is also facing much more pressure than the Rams in this game since six NFC teams have at least nine wins, but one will miss the playoffs because the NFC South champion will steal a spot with a record under .500.

The defending champion Seattle Seahawks are playing their best football of the season and are nipping at the Cardinals’ heels in the NFC West.

The Cardinals are undefeated at home, but this game is in St. Louis, where the Rams have won three straight, including shocking wins over the Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks. The hostile crowd in the dome could become a factor for a Cardinals offense that is 22nd in the league in scoring and hasn’t scored more than 18 points in any of the last four games.

Arizona is missing Palmer, plain and simple.

Kerwynn Williams saved the Cardinals against the Chiefs with 100 rushing yards in place of Ellington, but the team as a whole is only averaging 79.8 rushing yards per game on the season, which is 30th in the league. Throw that on top of Drew Stanton’s recent struggles (he combined for two touchdowns and three picks in the last three games), and the points have been hard to come by.

Patrick Semansky/Associated Press

To make matters worse, the Rams defense has been a dominating force lately and boasts two straight shutouts. In those two games, St. Louis allowed 88 total rushing yards, created seven turnovers and constantly pressured the opposing quarterbacks.

In fact, the Rams sacked Colt McCoy six times and Robert Griffin III once in the win over Washington. Adam Caplan of ESPN passed along statistical proof that the Robert Quinn, Aaron Donald and Chris Long combination has been terrifying for opposing offenses:

Defensive tackle Michael Brockers found out that his team posted two straight shutouts for the first time since 1945 and already had his eyes on the next one, according to The Associated Press, via ESPN.com: "1945? We're about to shut out three! When's the last time we shut out three?"

On the other side of the ball, the Rams have received two straight games of two touchdowns and zero interceptions from quarterback Shaun Hill and workmanlike numbers from running back Tre Mason.

Nick Wass/Associated Press

Mason was particularly impressive against Oakland when he racked up 117 rushing yards, 47 receiving yards and three total touchdowns, and he could find some holes against an Arizona defense that has allowed 100 or more rushing yards in three straight games.

The Cardinals defense has been vulnerable through the air all season as well and not just in the recent swoon. Arizona is 27th in the league against the pass and could be missing Cromartie for an extended time. If Mason can get some early traction, it will force the Cardinals to devote more defenders to the box, which will give Hill the opportunity to make big plays in the passing game.

L.G. Patterson/Associated Press

The Rams have won three of four, and the only loss in that stretch was a narrow 27-24 defeat in San Diego. They are the team no contender wants to play down the stretch with a fearsome defensive line and a budding offense and will take advantage of a depleted Arizona squad.

The Cardinals will still have the opportunity to win the NFC West with a home win over Seattle in Week 16, but they are going to take another step back against the Rams Thursday. 

Prediction: Rams 21, Cardinals 13

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