NFL Week 15 Picks: Latest Odds and Top Experts' Predictions Around the Web

Thursday night saw the St. Louis Rams defeat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31-23. Both teams were at times fringe playoff contenders, only to fade as the season dragged along and their respective deficiencies came to the forefront. 

If you made a pick for that game, whether as a bettor or the weekly office pool, there was ample justification for either team, but only one right answer in the end. 

For those making picks for the remainder of Week 15, the slate offers some tasty matchups with playoff implications, as well as games pitting also-rans against each other. The latter contests could be very tricky to predict, as it's difficult to say how teams with little to play for might perform at the end of a long season. 

Take a look at the latest odds for Week 15 and some top expert picks for each game. Expert picks are straight up, not against the spread.

Odds are courtesy of Odds Shark and updated as of Friday, December 18 at 7 a.m. ET. 

Matchup (w/ Spread)	Mike Freeman, Bleacher Report	Merril Hoge, ESPN	Mike Garafolo, Fox Sports	Pete Prisco, CBS Sports	NFL.com's Chris Wesseling
New York Jets (-3.5) vs. Dallas Cowboys	NYJ	NYJ	NYJ	DAL	NYJ
Kansas City Chiefs (-7.5) vs. Baltimore Ravens	KC	KC	KC	KC	KC
Houston Texans vs. Indianapolis Colts	IND	IND	HOU	HOU	HOU
Atlanta Falcons vs. Jacksonville Jaguars (-3)	JAX	JAX	JAX	JAX	JAX
Chicago Bears vs. Minnesota Vikings (-7)	MIN	MIN	MIN	MIN	MIN
Tennessee Titans vs New England Patriots (-15.5)	NE	NE	NE	NE	NE
Carolina Panthers (-4.5) vs. New York Giants	NYG	CAR	CAR	NYG	CAR
Buffalo Bills (-1) vs. Washington Redskins	BUF	WAS	WAS	WAS	WAS
Green Bay Packers (-3) vs. Oakland Raiders	GB	OAK	GB	GB	GB
Cleveland Browns vs. Seattle Seahawks (-16.5)	SEA	SEA	SEA	SEA	SEA
Denver Broncos vs. Pittsburgh Steelers (-7.5)	PIT	PIT	DEN	PIT	PIT
Miami Dolphins vs. San Diego Chargers (-1)	MIA	SD	SD	SD	MIA
Cincinnati Bengals (-6) vs. San Francisco 49ers	SF	CIN	CIN	CIN	CIN
Arizona Cardinals (-3.5) vs. Philadelphia Eagles	ARI	ARI	ARI	ARI	ARI
Detroit Lions vs. New Orleans Saints (-3.5)	NO	NO	NO	NO	NO

Note: Expert picks are courtesy of Bleacher Report, Fox Sports, CBS Sports, ESPN.com and NFL.com. 


Is This the End of Carolina's Undefeated Streak?

Bob Leverone/Associated Press

The New York Giants have done some excellent giant-killing of their own in recent years. Week 15 provides Tom Coughlin, Eli Manning Odell Beckham Jr. and the rest of the Giants the opportunity to knock off undefeated Carolina while also furthering their own cause in the hotly contested NFC East title race.

The Panthers come into this game pretty banged-up. Per Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer, running back Jonathan Stewart is ruled out for the game with a left foot sprain, while tight end Greg Olsen and cornerback Charles Tillman are dealing with injuries but look good for Sunday's game. 

The loss of Stewart and a potentially gimpy Olsen heaps all kinds of pressure on MVP-candidate QB Cam Newton. The fourth-year pro has really come into his own this year, accounting for 35 total touchdowns thus far while displaying a delightful combination of athleticism, football IQ and irrepressible "joie de vivre." 

Bob Leverone/Associated Press

Newton can make plays both with his quick feet and cannon arm, but his job will be that much tougher if the Panthers' expected running back committee falters and the Giants call blitz after blitz while playing deep to protect against the big passing play. Olsen has nearly twice as many catches as Carolina's next leading receiver and has accounted for 46 first-downs, more than any other skill player, per ESPN.com.

Ted Ginn popped up for two touchdowns in Week 14, but those were his only two catches of the game. The rest of Carolina's wide receiver corps is just as inconsistent. A healthy Olsen is key to Carolina's ability to move the chains. 

Meanwhile, Manning is coming off a four-touchdown effort against the Miami Dolphins in Week 14. Manning has played some uneven football as of late and will need to be at his best to beat a tough Panthers defense.

Manning at least has the cheat code that is Beckham Jr., who has topped the 100-yard receiving mark in six straight games and scored eight touchdowns in that span. 

Cornerback Josh Norman figures to be one of the few guys capable of slowing down Beckham Jr. ,  though Giants offensive coordinator Bob McAdoo told Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News that the team "won't shy away from anybody".

Vacchiano believes comments like that suggest the team is confident Beckham can get his, even out on the flank against Norman: 

"

That was McAdoo’s way of saying they won’t over-scheme to get Beckham free of Norman, even if the Panthers – as they have most of the season – lock Norman in on the Giants’ top guy. The one way to thwart that plan would be to run Beckham out of the slot, where Norman rarely ventures. And he will be there at times, but not more than usual. The Giants don’t seem interested in altering anything they do.

"

It sure would be nice for New York if Rashad Jennings conjured up another workmanlike performance out of the backfield this week to balance out the offense—22 carries for 81 yards against Miami—lest Manning end up chucking 40-50 passes in this game against one of the league's most dangerous defenses.

Lynne Sladky/Associated Press

Alas, New York's rushing attack is not to be trusted, especially with the Panthers allowing a paltry 3.9 yards per carry, per ESPN.com. A sore throwing shoulder for Manning it is, barring unforeseen developments.

A late letdown might let up some pressure on Carolina, allowing them to forget about records and just focus on the ultimate task of winning a Super Bowl. Then again, this joyful squad with the schoolyard mentality might not have a problem with the undefeated hype. Olsen, for one, doesn't worry about perceptions of the team, just how well they perform.

"We don’t need anybody’s votes, we don’t need style points, we don’t need any of that. In our league, your record is what you are ... we’re not going to apologize and we’re not going to change how we do it," said Olsen, via Reuters' Larry Fine (via Yahoo Sports).

The Panthers sure aren't going to let the Giants—in a feverish deadlock with Philadelphia and Washington for the lead in the league's worst division—win this one without a fight. 

Houston, Indianapolis Battle for Edge in AFC South Title Race

AJ Mast/Associated Press

A matchup of two 6-7 teams with unappealing quarterback situations is somehow one of the biggest games of Week 15, at least from a playoff-determining standpoint.

Indianapolis hosts Houston in a fight for the AFC South division lead, with both teams looking over their shoulders at a 5-8 Jacksonville squad taking on a 6-7 Atlanta team that, after a 5-0 start, has been unmasked as a group of contender imposters. 

Indianapolis defeated Houston 27-20 earlier this season, powered by two Andre Johnson touchdown receptions against the only NFL team he had ever known prior to this season. However, this game figures to be much different with both team's dealing with quarterback injuries.

Houston owes much of its success this season to Brian Hoyer but will be without the veteran quarterback in Week 15. He's been ruled out of the game due to a concussion, with T.J. Yates set to start in his place.

Yates has stepped up for Houston in pivotal games a number of times over the past couple of seasons. In his last start on November 22, Yates threw for 227 yards and two touchdowns, leading his Texans to a 24-17 win over the New York Jets.

Patric Schneider/Associated Press

Both touchdowns and 118 of those yards went to DeAndre Hopkins, who's emerged this season as one of the NFL's best wide receivers. In fact, all three of Yates' TD passes this season have gone to Nuk, and it's no secret that he'll look to him again on Sunday.

“Absolutely, 100 percent trust in that guy," Yates said, via HoustonTexans.com's Deepi Sidhu. "You throw it up in the vicinity with that guy and he will go and get it for you, so that is something that we have to go and do. We have to get him the ball.”

Indy can stick Vontae Davis on Hopkins and roll coverage to his side of the field, but their efforts might still be futile. Nate Washington is a fine pass-catcher on the opposite flank, and the anemic pass rush (22 sacks) isn't likely to bedevil Yates. 

For Indianapolis, the uncertainty this week comes from 40-year-old quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, who has done a mostly fine job in place of an injured Andrew Luck.

He practiced Thursday but is dealing with a rib injury, per NFL Insider Ian Rapoport, via NFL.com's Kevin Patra, one that can be described as "incredibly painful."

This tidbit from the Indianapolis Star's Zak Keefer doesn't bode well (h/t Patra): 

If Hasselbeck can't play, the Colts might have to turn to Charlie Whitehurst in their biggest game of the season to date.

While some might look to injuries as the biggest vector pushing a once-hopeful Colts team into also-ran status, ESPN.com's Mike Wells isn't letting general manager Ryan Grigson off the hook: 

"

That’s why Grigson went out and signed players such as running back Frank Gore, receiver Andre Johnson, offensive lineman Todd Herremans and linebacker Trent Cole. Those moves have backfired on Grigson so far. Gore has rushed for 762 yards and could become the Colts' first 1,000-yard rusher since 2007, but Johnson and Cole have had minimal impact and Herremans, the only significant offseason addition to a shaky offensive line, turned out to be a waste of a roster spot and money considering the Colts waived him on Tuesday. Oh, and the offensive line? The group has continued its history of doing a poor job of protecting Luck and veteran Matt Hasselbeck.

"

Houston should win a low-scoring game if it can whip Indy's poor offensive line. J.J. Watt will command and conquer his usual double teams, while Brian Cushing patrols the middle and occasionally exploits gaps. 

Bleacher Report's Cian Fahey noted Clowney's otherworldly talent was on display in Week 14, where he picked up his first multi-sack game by twice taking down Tom Brady:

"

Clowney forced that miss from Brady by beating a double team as easily as you're likely to ever see.

— Cian Fahey (@Cianaf) December 14, 2015"

The Colts have a chance in this one if Hasselbeck is in, but it sounds like a couple of shots to the torso from Watt, Clowney or really even a small child might do him in. If that's the case, Yates should again play hero and lead Houston to a huge victory.