Week 15 NFL Picks: Predictions for Vegas' Final Odds on Sunday's Schedule

The Chicago Bears showed their true colors the last two weeks.

After beating the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field on Thanksgiving, John Fox and his Bears were in position to get into the NFC wild-card race because they were coming home to face the San Francisco 49ers and Washington Redskins.

Both teams had losing records and neither team had won a game on the road this season. The Bears wouldn't have any of that, as the convivial hosts restored the Niners' dignity and helped the Redskins claim a share of first place in the NFC North. Chicago dropped both home games and has fallen to 5-8.

They are going to try to right themselves at Minnesota Sunday, but the Vikings are not likely to let an opportunity to beat a struggling team slip through their grasp.

The 8-5 Vikings have lost back-to-back games to the Seattle Seahawks and the Arizona Cardinals. The Seahawks are rolling with four straight one-sided victories, while the Cardinals have been remarkably consistent all season and have built an 11-2 record.

While the Vikings got blown out by the Seahawks at home, they battled the Cardinals on nearly even terms for 60 minutes before dropping a 23-20 decision in the desert.

The Vikings have the best running back in the league in Adrian Peterson, and he has already rushed for 1,251 yards. He will almost certainly regain the rushing lead from Doug Martin (1,305 yards) by a wide margin by the time he gets done punishing the Bears' 26th-ranked run defense.

Teddy Bridgewater may not have a huge arm, but he is a competent leader and has completed 65.3 percent of his passes. Stefon Diggs (44 receptions for 638 yards and two touchdowns) is having a fine rookie year, and tight end Kyle Rudolph can get the job done on third downs.

The Vikings are five-point favorites, according to Odds Shark, and they are the hungrier team. Look for the Vikings to put this game away in the fourth quarter and win by at least a touchdown.

Game	Line	Over/Under	Selection
Carolina at New York Giants	Carolina -4	48	Carolina; Over
Buffalo at Washington	Buff. -1	44	Buffalo; Over
Atlanta at Jacksonville	Jacksonville -2.5	49	Jacksonville; Over
Chicago at Minnesota	Minnesota -5	43	Minnesota; Under
Tennessee at New England	New England -15.5	46.5	New England; Over
Kansas City at Baltimore	Kansas City -7.5	41	Baltimore; Under
Houston at Indianapolis	Ind. -1	41.5	Houston; Over
Cleveland at Seattle	Seattle -16.5	43	Seattle; Under
Green Bay at Oakland	Green Bay -3	48	Oakland; Over
Miami at San Diego	Even	46	San Diego; Under
Denver at Pittsburgh	Pittsburgh -7.5	44.5	Pittsburgh; Over
Cincinnati at San Francisco	Cincinnati -5.5	40.5	San Francisco; Over
Arizona at Philadelphia	Arizona -3.5	51	Arizona; Under
Detroit at New Orleans	New Orleans -2.5	51	New Orleans; Over

Pats likely to engage in fast-paced passing show vs. Titans

Running backs and receivers have become quite endangered in New England. On the running back front, the Pats have lost Dion Lewis and LeGarrette Blount, and neither back will return this year.

Julian Edelman and tight end Rob Gronkowski have also been injured this year, but the big tight end returned in Week 14 against the Houston Texans and Edelman has returned to practice and could play Sunday against the Tennessee Titans.

The injuries at the running back slot mean that Bill Belichick is likely to have just two players to fill that position. As a result, we expect Tom Brady to put the ball in the air quite a bit against Tennessee.

The ratio of pass-to-run could be 3-1 or higher, and that could lead to quite a few fast drives that produce touchdowns. If the Patriots are scoring quickly, rookie quarterback Marcus Mariota and the Titans will be forced to increase their pace just to stay close.

That means this should be a high-scoring game in Foxborough, Massachusetts. The over/under is 46.5 points, and we expect that total to be exceeded before the end of the third quarter. Go with the over in the Tennessee-New England game.

Don Wright/Associated Press

Steelers ready to punish Broncos at Heinz Field

The Denver Broncos have the No. 1-rated defense in football, but they are 7.5-point underdogs this week as they go on the road to face the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Giving 7.5 points to the Broncos has got to be a mistake by the line makers, right? Denver doesn't allow any team to push them around like that.

Not so fast. The Broncos have had issues on offense throughout the season. Peyton Manning was struggling nearly every week before he was replaced by Brock Osweiler, and while it looked like the 6'7", 240-pound Osweiler could turn things around for a while, the Broncos have been held to 29 points in the last two weeks.

They were able to beat the San Diego Chargers earlier this month, but they dropped a Week 14 home game to the Oakland Raiders. The Broncos were held to four field goals in losing that game by a 17-12 score.

Now they have to face perhaps the most dangerous offense in the league. The Steelers have scored 78 points in the last two weeks as they registered impressive victories over Indianapolis and Cincinnati.

The Steelers have scored 30 points or more in five consecutive games.

The Broncos defense is good, but they will not be able to stop the Steelers. Meanwhile, the Denver offense will likely create opportunities for the home team by failing to move the ball or as a result of turnovers.

Swallow hard and lay the points as the Steelers win by double-digits.