NFL Week 15 Picks: Predicting the Winner and Score for All Upcoming Matchups

If Week 14 in the NFL taught fans anything, it is that there is no such thing as a sure thing.

The Los Angeles Rams, New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers all lost games that could have firmly established their place in the playoff race.

Throw in Kansas City narrowly escaping defeat at the hands of the Baltimore Ravens and you had a nailbiter of a week for teams eyeing a Lombardi Trophy.

How will those teams fair in Week 15, with pressure mounting and teams looking to play the role of spoiler? 

Predictions

Los Angeles Chargers at Kansas City Chiefs (Thursday, 8:20 pm, Fox)

Pick: Chiefs 33, Chargers 28

Houston Texans at New York Jets (Saturday, 4:30 pm, NFLN)

Pick: Texans 28, Jets 10

Cleveland Browns at Denver Broncos (Saturday, 8:20 pm, NFLN)

Pick: Broncos 24, Browns 21

Green Bay Packers at Chicago Bears (Sunday, 1:00 pm, Fox)

Pick: Packers 24, Bears 23

Detroit Lions at Buffalo Bills (Sunday, 1:00 pm, Fox)

Pick: Bills 17, Lions 13

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Baltimore Ravens (Sunday, 1:00 pm, Fox)

Pick: Ravens 20, Buccaneers 6

Arizona Cardinals at Atlanta Falcons (Sunday, 1:00 pm, Fox)

Pick: Falcons 34, Cardinals 21

Oakland Raiders at Cincinnati Bengals (Sunday, 1:00 pm, CBS)

Pick: Raiders 23, Bengals 17

Tennessee Titans at New York Giants (Sunday, 1:00 pm, CBS)

Pick: Titans 27, Giants 21

Miami Dolphins at Minnesota Vikings (Sunday, 1:00 pm, CBS)

Pick: Dolphins 23, Vikings 17

Washington Redskins at Jacksonville Jaguars (Sunday, 1:00 pm, CBS)

Pick: Jaguars 20, Redskins 10

Dallas Cowboys at Indianapolis Colts (Sunday, 1:00 pm, Fox)

Pick: Colts 28, Cowboys 20

Seattle Seahawks at San Francisco 49ers (Sunday, 4:05 pm, Fox)

Pick: Seahawks 27, 49ers 9

New England Patriots at Pittsburgh Steelers (Sunday, 4:25 pm, CBS)

Pick: Patriots 38, Steelers 31

Philadelphia Eagles at Los Angeles Rams (Sunday, 8:20 pm, NBC)

Pick: Rams 38, Eagles 24

New Orleans Saints at Carolina Panthers (Sunday, 8:15 pm, ESPN)

Pick: Panthers 33, Saints 30

Steelers in Desperation Mode

The Steelers need to beat the Patriots Sunday night in Pittsburgh.

After dropping three in a row, the most recent a humbling loss to the 3-10 Oakland Raiders, the Steelers find themselves just a half game up on division foes Baltimore: The same Ravens team that split the season series with them, nearly knocked off the Chiefs in Kansas City and have been rolling with the addition of rookie Lamar Jackson at quarterback.

A date with a Patriots team fresh off a stunning loss to Miami on a last-second hook-and-lateral play is probably the last thing the Steelers need.

Tom Brady and Co. have not lost more than four games in a season since 2009. The Steelers will look to end that streak and reverse their fortunes in the process. It will not be easy.

Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette tweeted Sunday evening that star running back James Conner is still doubtful for the matchup, despite reports to the contrary:

Without Conner, the emphasis will be on Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown, JuJu Smith-Schuster and the offensive line to move the ball on a defense that is ranked 10th against the pass.

A loss Sunday would drop the team to 7-6-1 and open the door for the Ravens to jump back on top of the division. With a December 23 game in New Orleans against the Saints looming, there is no playoff contender in more dire straits right now than the Steelers.

Are the Chargers for Real?

The Los Angeles Chargers are 10-3 and a lock for the playoffs, but Sunday's game against the Cincinnati Bengals was far from encouraging.

Without starting running back Melvin Gordon, the Bolts amassed less than 300 yards of total offense against the league's worst defense. After two quick touchdowns at the top of the game, the team struggled to find the end zone, settling for four field goals to bring the score to 26-21.

Beating the team with a defense allowing an average of 421.9 yards per game by five points at a time when you are firmly entrenching yourself among the elite teams in the league is hardly what one would consider a dominant or convincing performance.

The real test for Philip Rivers and company will come Thursday in Kansas City. If the Chargers are for real and they are the top-tier team their record suggests they are, they will show it against the top seed in the AFC.

Rivers and the offense will have to be much better than the pedestrian numbers they put up against Cincinnati if they are to have any shot of keeping up with Patrick Mahomes and the explosive Chiefs offense.

It will be incredibly difficult given their situation at running back, with both Gordon and backup Austin Ekeler's status for the game uncertain, according to Chargers beat writer Gilbert Manzado:

How they play against their division's best, win or lose, will determine just how much stock to put into a team that has all the tools but needs to prove consistency in big games to earn the full and unabashed trust of NFL fans at large.