NFL Picks Week 15: Examining Recent Odds and Expert Predictions

There are only three weeks left in the NFL regular season and not a single team has secured a playoff berth. That illustrates exactly what type of year it's been around the league. A high level of parity and a lack of truly dominant squads.

While some postseasons spots should be locked up in Week 15, it appears there will be several races that go right down to the wire. Whichever teams are able to hit their stride right now can sneak in and suddenly become a tough out on the road to the Super Bowl.

With that in mind, let's check out how the oddsmakers view this week's matchups along with predictions against the spread for each game. Also included are some expert picks and a deeper dive into a couple of the most intriguing games on the slate.

Week 15 Odds and Spread Selections

Date	Road	Home	Line	Pick
Dec. 11	Cardinals	Rams	STL -4.5	ARZ
Dec. 14	Steelers	Falcons	PIT -2	ATL
Dec. 14	Redskins	Giants	NYG -6.5	WSH
Dec. 14	Dolphins	Patriots	NE -7.5	NE
Dec. 14	Raiders	Chiefs	KC -10	OAK
Dec. 14	Texans	Colts	IND -7	IND
Dec. 14	Bengals	Browns	CLE -1	CIN
Dec. 14	Jaguars	Ravens	BAL -14	JAX
Dec. 14	Packers	Bills	GB -4.5	BUF
Dec. 14	Buccaneers	Panthers	CAR -3	TB
Dec. 14	Jets	Titans	NYJ -2	TEN
Dec. 14	Broncos	Chargers	DEN -4	SD
Dec. 14	Vikings	Lions	DET -8	DET
Dec. 14	49ers	Seahawks	SEA -10	SF
Dec. 14	Cowboys	Eagles	PHI -3	DAL
Dec. 15	Saints	Bears	NO -3	NO

Bleacher Report Expert Predictions

Game	Matt Bowen	Mike Freeman	Matt Miller	Michael Schottey	Chris Simms
ARZ at STL	STL	ARZ	STL	STL	STL
PIT at ATL	PIT	PIT	PIT	ATL	PIT
WSH at NYG	NYG	NYG	NYG	NYG	NYG
MIA at NE	NE	NE	NE	NE	NE
OAK at KC	KC	KC	KC	KC	KC
HOU at IND	IND	IND	IND	IND	HOU
CIN at CLE	CIN	CIN	CIN	CIN	CLE
JAX at BAL	BAL	BAL	BAL	BAL	BAL
GB at BUF	GB	GB	GB	GB	GB
TB at CAR	CAR	CAR	CAR	CAR	TB
NYJ at TEN	NYJ	NYJ	NYJ	NYJ	NYJ
DEN at SD	DEN	DEN	DEN	DEN	DEN
MIN at DET	DET	DET	DET	DET	DET
SF at SEA	SEA	SEA	SEA	SEA	SEA
DAL at PHI	DAL	DAL	DAL	DAL	DAL
NO at CHI	NO	CHI	NO	NO	NO

For complete B/R expert picks, season records and more, click here.

Breaking Down Top Games

Denver Broncos at San Diego Chargers

Justin Edmonds/Getty Images

The Broncos can wrap up the AFC West and move one step closer to an opening-round bye with a road win this week. But while a reliable rushing attack has emerged courtesy of C.J. Anderson, and the defense ranks fourth in yards allowed, a new concern is being raised.

Peyton Manning, the one player on the roster who everybody figured Denver could definitely count on, is suddenly struggling. The legendary quarterback is averaging barely over 175 yards in the past two games with an equal touchdown-to-interception ratio (two each).

Chris Wesseling of Around The NFL illustrated exactly how rare some of his lackluster numbers are:

The poor performances came against two top-10 defenses in the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills. Yet, it's rare to see Manning so out of sync regardless of the level of competition.

His track record will buy him some extra time before the panic sets in. But with the playoffs quickly approaching and the Broncos needing him in top form to make a championship run, they would like to see some progress against yet another top-10 defensive unit this week.

As for the Chargers, they watched a 14-3 lead slip away against the New England Patriots last week. More worrisome is that fact all of their points came in a three-minute span. The offense, which was a major strength early in the year, lacks consistency.

Philip Rivers posted a quarterback rating above 120 in each game during the team's five-game winning streak in September and October. He hasn't reached that number in any game since and has only topped 100 twice.

The question is what type of game San Diego will try to play. Does it try to force an uptempo style counting on Manning's lull to continue or stick with an opponent's usual approach against Denver, which is ball control and hoping its defense holds up?

Either way, a clearer outlook for both sides should surface after Sunday's clash.

Dallas Cowboys at Philadelphia Eagles

Two weeks ago, the Cowboys hosted a marquee Thanksgiving game with the Eagles and proceeded to put together their worst performance of the season. The silver lining for Dallas is that it bounced back with a 41-point outing on the road against the Chicago Bears.

Now it must figure out a way to better handle the high-flying Eagles. Unsurprisingly, it all starts with DeMarco Murray. Philadelphia raced out to a quick 14-0 lead last time and forced the Cowboys out of the comfort zone they've been in for most of the year.

On the flip side, the Dallas defense should be highly motivated after getting completely dominated at the line of scrimmage in the previous meeting. The Eagles average nearly six yards per carry, and Mark Sanchez was only sacked once.

The Cowboys must show—in contrast to public perception—that they can rise to the occasion in a crucial December game. Tony Romo will likely take the heat if they lose—he normally does—but the entire roster must play much better this time around to flip the result.

After the Eagles scored that key divisional victory, they found out that the Seattle Seahawks defense is rounding into championship form. They managed just 139 total yards last week while only possessing the ball for 18 minutes.

Don't expect head coach Chip Kelly to make any brash changes, though. Even though his team struggled against Seattle and just played Dallas two weeks ago, Kelly explained to Phil Sheridan of ESPN.com that it comes down to execution more than any type of major altercations to the game plan:

"

I think everybody has the same thing. They have the same amount of time to prepare for us and we have the same amount of time. It was two weeks since the last time we played them. Just go play. I think you can paralyze yourself by trying to overanalyze it—'They think that we know that they think this. So then we think that they think that this will [happen].' We're going to go play.

"

Much like the Broncos and Chargers, the tempo is key. If Dallas is able to slow things down with Murray getting a bunch of touches and Romo converting key third downs, it has a chance to pull off the upset. If not, and the game speeds up, the edge moves clearly in Philadelphia's favor.

The NFC East lead is on the line, and the margin for error is shrinking. It should create quite an atmosphere Sunday night at Lincoln Financial Field.