NFL Week 15 Predictions: Initial Vegas Odds, Lines, Spreads and Projections

Save for the Monday night matchup between the Baltimore Ravens and New England Patriots, NFL Week 14 has wrapped up and, with it, so too did many teams' playoff hopes. 

On Sunday, the Los Angeles Rams, Philadelphia Eagles, New Orleans Saints and Carolina Panthers were all mathematically eliminated from the playoffs this season. 

Meanwhile, the Green Bay Packers hung on to their playoff hopes, which are hanging by a thread, with a 38-10 win over the Seattle Seahawks.

The Detroit Lions managed to defeat the Chicago Bears, but not without injury befalling quarterback Matthew Stafford, who dislocated his thumb and tore ligaments on his throwing hand, as ESPN's Adam Schefter reported. 

That's a lot of developments for one week of play. Let's take a look at the early point spreads and odds for the Week 15 matchups and make some projections on their outcomes. 

Day	Away	Home	Point Spread	Projection
Thursday	LA	SEA	SEA -13	Seahawks
Saturday	MIA	NYJ	MIA -3	Jets
Sunday	GB	CHI	GB -4	Packers
Sunday	CLE	BUF	BUF -10	Bills
Sunday	PHI	BAL	BAL -5.5	Ravens
Sunday	TEN	KC	KC -6	Chiefs
Sunday	PIT	CIN	PIT -3	Steelers
Sunday	DET	NYG	NYG -4.5	Giants
Sunday	IND	MIN	MIN -4	Vikings
Sunday	JAC	HOU	HOU -5	Texans
Sunday	NO	ARI	ARI -2.5	Cardinals
Sunday	SF	ATL	ATL -11.5	Falcons
Sunday	OAK	SD	OAK -2.5	Raiders
Sunday	NE	DEN	NE -3	Patriots
Sunday	TB	DAL	DAL -7.5	Cowboys
Monday	CAR	WAS	N/A	Panthers

Biggest Opening Spreads

Seattle Seahawks (-13) vs. Los Angeles Rams

Kelvin Kuo/Associated Press

Normally, the Rams are a safe bet to find some way to defeat the NFC West rival Seahawks in any given matchup; over their last five matchups, Los Angeles has won four.

However, the deck is stacked against the Rams in Week 15. First, this game is on Thursday night, which tends to favor the home team; per SI.com, as of Nov. 30, home teams had gone 74-31 over the life of Thursday Night Football.  

Second, the game is being played at CenturyLink Field, where the Seahawks have gone 6-0 this season. 

Momentum doesn't factor into the matchup as much as one might think. Week 14 was not kind to these teams, as Seattlepi.com's Stephen Cohen pointed out:

The Seahawks are licking their wounds after a brutal beatdown by the Green Bay Packers, while the Rams suffered their own trouncing at the hands of the Atlanta Falcons.

Both teams are looking to reverse their fortunes, but the Seahawks have so much more on the line, as the Rams were eliminated from playoff contention with their loss in Week 14. 

Atlanta Falcons (-11.5) vs. San Francisco 49ers

Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press

The Atlanta Falcons were without top wideout Julio Jones when they took on the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, but they didn't miss a beat, winning the matchup 42-14. 

It was a move in the right direction for the Falcons after they lost a heartbreaker to the Kansas City Chiefs 29-28 the week before. 

Now at 8-5, Atlanta leads the NFC South, holding the tiebreaker over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Even though Atlanta and Tampa Bay split their series this season, Atlanta has the better record within the division.

The Falcons and the San Francisco 49ers are two incredibly ill-matched teams. Atlanta's 32.2 average-points-scored-per-game record is the league's best, while San Francisco is only averaging 19.5. Even without Jones, quarterback Matt Ryan has more firepower on his offense than the 49ers have on their team.

It wouldn't be surprising to see the Falcons best the 49ers by two touchdowns in Week 15. 

Buffalo Bills (-10) vs. Cleveland Browns

Bill Wippert/Associated Press

The Buffalo Bills have dropped two games in a row, including a 27-20 decision against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 14. 

But the Cleveland Browns have dropped 13 in a row, so Buffalo has to be feeling good about its chances to get back on track in Week 15. 

Winless Cleveland is only managing to score 16.4 points on average per week, the second-worst record in the league behind the Rams.

And Buffalo's defense has done a good job stifling its opponents, holding them to an average of 22.8. That comes in around the middle of the pack in the NFL.

At 6-7 and in third place in the AFC East, Buffalo is probably not making the playoffs this year. Still, the Bills are a talented young team and have plenty to play for as they attempt to prove themselves in the AFC. 

NFL odds according to OddsShark and current as of Dec. 11.