NFL Picks Week 15: Tips and Predictions for Prop Bets, Over-Under Lines and Odds

As the 2016 NFL regular season nears its conclusion, essentially every team in the league has shown its true colors, which could make Week 15 a lucrative time for bettors.

While the progression of the season has likely allowed oddsmakers to become more accurate as well, it is clear which teams are hitting their strides in the closing weeks and which are struggling, and gamblers can take advantage.

As the final month of the season continues, here is a look at the full Week 15 slate, along with picks against the spread and over-under prop selections.

Week 15 Schedule, Lines, Predictions

Game	Line	Pick ATS	Over/Under Pick
Los Angeles Rams at Seattle Seahawks	SEA (-16)	SEA	Over 38.5
Miami Dolphins at New York Jets	MIA (-2.5)	NYJ	Under 38
Detroit Lions at New York Giants	NYG (-4.5)	NYG	Under 41.5
Jacksonville Jaguars at Houston Texans	HOU (-7)	JAC	Over 39
Cleveland Browns at Buffalo Bills	BUF (-10.5)	BUF	Over 42.5
Tennessee Titans at Kansas City Chiefs	KC (-5)	TEN	Under 43
Philadelphia Eagles at Baltimore Ravens	BAL (-6)	BAL	Over 41.5
Green Bay Packers at Chicago Bears	GB (-7)	GB	Over 42
Indianapolis Colts at Minnesota Vikings	MIN (-4)	IND	Under 44.5
Pittsburgh Steelers at Cincinnati Bengals	PIT (-3)	PIT	Over 44
New Orleans Saints at Arizona Cardinals	ARI (-1)	NO	Under 50
San Francisco 49ers at Atlanta Falcons	ATL (-14)	ATL	Over 51
Oakland Raiders at San Diego Chargers	OAK (-3)	SD	Over 50
New England Patriots at Denver Broncos	NE (-3)	NE	Over 44
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Dallas Cowboys	DAL (-7.5)	TB	Under 46.5
Carolina Panthers at Washington Redskins	WAS (-4.5)	WAS	Under 51

Top Week 15 Picks

Falcons (-14) vs. 49ers

The Atlanta Falcons are locked in a tight battle with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the NFC South lead, and while Tampa has a tough matchup with the Dallas Cowboys in Week 15, Atlanta will host the lowly San Francisco 49ers.

San Francisco is just 1-12, and it blew a 17-3 lead over the New York Jets at home in Week 14 to lose in overtime.

Atlanta, meanwhile, dominated the Los Angeles Rams on the road, 42-14, prompting L.A. to fire head coach Jeff Fisher.

As evidenced by the following stat courtesy of ESPN, the Falcons broke the trend of low scoring in Los Angeles over the course of the year:

While Atlanta was expected to win fairly comfortably, the manner in which it did so was impressive, since quarterback Matt Ryan was without his top two targets in the passing game, per Albert Breer of The MMQB:

It isn't yet known if superstar wide receiver Julio Jones will suit up in Week 15, but Atlanta has a huge advantage at home regardless.

The 49ers have struggled offensively in recent weeks under quarterback Colin Kaepernick and are the worst team in the league against the run, which means Falcons running backs Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman should have a field day.

Sunday's contest is a game Atlanta must win if it wants to take the NFC South and secure a playoff berth, and it won't leave any doubt regarding the result.

Chargers (+3) vs. Raiders

Divisional rivalry games can often defy logic, so while it seems as though the Oakland Raiders shouldn't have much trouble taking care of the San Diego Chargers in Week 15, it promises to be a much tougher game than it appears to be.

The Bolts and Raiders have traditionally played each other tough. That was true earlier in the season when Oakland held on to win 34-31 at home in a contest that saw Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers throw for 359 yards and four touchdowns.

Rivers may need to pass at will in order for San Diego to pull off the upset, since running back Melvin Gordon left last week's game with a hip injury. According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, however, the potential Pro Bowler is pushing to play:

The Raiders have some added motivation, as a win would clinch them a playoff spot and also help them keep pace with the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC West.

San Diego is relegated to playing the spoiler role, but that makes it quite dangerous, especially against a team that has been below it in the standings for many years.

Oakland still has business to take care of before securing its spot in the postseason, but it would be easy for the Raiders to look ahead to the playoffs.

The Chargers have been a pesky team all season despite their 5-8 record and will delay Oakland's playoff celebration by one more week.

Steelers (-3) at Bengals

There are few hotter teams in the NFL than the Pittsburgh Steelers, and now that they are all alone in first place in the AFC North, they have a golden opportunity to put things out of reach for the Baltimore Ravens.

That goal starts with a road game against a Cincinnati Bengals team that has struggled all season long and is currently decimated by injuries.

Wide receiver A.J. Green has missed several weeks, and while Rapoport reported that he is expected to practice this week, it is difficult to imagine him performing at his usual All-Pro level even if he does play.

The bigger factor in the game is how well Pittsburgh has been playing, especially last week on the road against the Buffalo Bills.

Despite adverse weather conditions, the Steelers were dominant on offense, as running back Le'Veon Bell rushed for over 200 yards and made history in the process, per NFL.com's Gil Brandt:

Perhaps no team in the NFL is more complete than the Steelers offensively, as they can pound the rock, but quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and wide receiver Antonio Brown can also make big plays in the passing game.

While Pittsburgh hit a rough patch in the middle of the season, the offense is back to firing on all cylinders, the defense has made huge strides and it looks like a serious Super Bowl contender.

This is the type of game the Steelers need to win to prove they're championship caliber, and they'll do precisely that.

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