Week 15 NFL Picks: Vegas Betting Odds, Over/Under Spreads and Line Projections

The NFL's Week 15 offering starts with a bang thanks to an encounter between the Los Angeles Chargers and Kansas City Chiefs. 

Not every Thursday game has been able to live up to what those in charge of making the schedule had envisioned, to say the least. But the AFC West encounter pits two teams with 21 wins between them against each other in a showdown featuring divisional and AFC playoff seeding implications not just for them, but the entire conference as a whole. 

Rarely does such a game come around, and it's simply one of many with plenty of critical playoff details hanging in the balance thanks to Dallas-Indianapolis, Philadelphia-Los Angeles Rams and New-England-Pittsburgh. 

As always, it is best to get a jump on the early lines, so let's take a look at how oddsmakers see things playing out.  

Week 15 NFL Odds

L.A. Chargers at Kansas City (-3.5)  | O/U 53

Houston (-6.5) at N.Y. Jets | O/U 41

Cleveland at Denver (-3)  | O/U 45.5

Dallas at Indianapolis (-3) | O/U 47

Miami at Minnesota (-8)  | O/U n/a

Oakland at Cincinnati (-3) | O/U 46

Tennessee at N.Y. Giants (-3) | O/U 43.5

Washington at Jacksonville (-7) | O/U 36

Arizona at Atlanta (-9) | O/U 44

Detroit at Buffalo (-3)  | O/U 38.5

Green Bay at Chicago (-6) | O/U 45

Tampa Bay at Baltimore (-8) | O/U 46.5

Seattle (-4.5) at San Francisco | O/U n/a

New England (-1) at Pittsburgh | O/U n/a

Philadelphia at L.A. Rams (-9.5) | O/U 53.5

New Orleans (-6.5) at Carolina | O/U 52

Seattle (-4.5) at San Francisco

Stephen Brashear/Associated Press

It doesn't get much easier than this. 

Thank everyone involved, really. The Seattle Seahawks are one of the NFL's best teams and have been for weeks. Sitting on an 8-5 record, Russell Wilson and Co. likely woke most up to this fact Monday night during a 21-7 win over the Minnesota Vikings, their fourth victory in a row. 

It was an impressive win in that Wilson didn't throw a touchdown but his ground game averaged north of five yards per carry and his defense limited the Vikings to just 276 total yards and a 2-of-10 mark on third down. 

Corny as it might sound to some, everything went to plan: 

Many considered the Seahawks rebuilding when they lost major names on both sides of the ball and the Legion of Boom went defunct. But sticking to the formula around an MVP-caliber quarterback has created a solid running game and a defense that has allowed more than 30 points twice, picked up wins on the road and played a team like the Los Angeles Rams within three points. 

Notice this doesn't talk much about the three-win San Francisco 49ers, a team that broke a three-game skid with a win in Week 14. But call it an anomaly, as prior losses had come at the hands of lowly New York Giants and Tampa Bay teams. 

The problem for the 49ers here is they still allow 26.9 points per game and have Nick Mullens, with his nine touchdowns and six interceptions, under center. These two met in Week 13 and played to a 43-16 Seattle win, which should serve as a good sign the familiarity between the two will have the Seahawks cruising again. 

Prediction: Seahawks 35, 49ers 14 

New England (-1) at Pittsburgh

Lynne Sladky/Associated Press

These Pittsburgh Steelers aren't stopping Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. 

These, meaning a 7-5-1 team unable to pull itself out of a free fall—but almost looking like they are unwilling, too. The Steelers have lost three in a row, the first in the skid understandable thanks to a tough game in Denver. The other two not so much, not with allowing 18 fourth-quarter points in a home loss to the Los Angeles Chargers before going to Oakland and having a late field goal blocked because the kicker slipped. 

Just like that, an offense with plenty of star power, including the most dynamic one-two punch at wideout in the NFL thanks to JuJu Smith-Schuster and Antonio Brown, can't keep pace and compensate for the defense. 

The Steelers might not get much in the way of help from the running game, either:

It's all bad news with Tom Brady coming to town. 

While it is easy to focus on the New England Patriots going down in Week 14 thanks to a miracle play in Miami, the reality is Brady's squad still boasts nine wins and has scored 24 or more in three straight. 

Granted, there have been some inconsistencies as they have gone 2-2 over their last four, but a hiccup against  Tennessee and a miracle loss aren't anything to exaggerate. Brady is sitting on 23 touchdowns and eight interceptions, and seven different players have multiple-touchdown grabs. His defense quietly ranks 12th by surrendering just 22.5 points per game, and overall the Patriots own critical wins over Indianapolis, Kansas City and Chicago. 

Point being, if Philip Rivers can rattle off almost 20 points in one frame in Pittsburgh and Oakland can keep pace with the Steelers, Brady can as well—especially if a one-dimensional Steelers offense keeps struggling to put points on the board. Now seems like the time folks nationally will realize the Patriots are rolling defensively thanks to smooth season-long adjustments. 

Prediction: Patriots 28, Steelers 21

New Orleans (-6.5) at Carolina

Jason Behnken/Associated Press

Talk about a tale of two teams heading in opposite directions. 

Nationally, the New Orleans Saints might not seem as great as they are thanks to the Week 13, Thursday night loss to the Dallas Cowboys in which they only mustered 10 points. But a few points there: Dallas is great as well, it came on the road and the Thursday games are on a short week and tend to favor the team that doesn't have to travel. 

The Thursday loss glosses over the fact the Saints are 11-2 and hadn't lost since the opener. In Week 14, they avenged the season-opening loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers by going on the road and picking up a 28-14 win. 

As for the Panthers, one of the year's biggest collapses continues. Cam Newton's team has lost five in a row, including a loss to Tampa Bay and most recently Cleveland. Newton is doing everything he can, with 24 touchdowns and 12 interceptions while sitting second on the team in rushing for an attack averaging 5.4 yards per game, but eight of those interceptions have come over the five-game skid: 

In other words, pretty stats haven't translated into consistent points, which creates problems for a defense quietly tied for 24th by allowing 25.5 points per game. 

By comparison, the Saints rank 10th in defense and Brees has thrown four interceptions all season. These two haven't met yet, but the fact this line has opened at such a large margin says it all. Oddsmakers don't believe in the Panthers, nor should they have a reason for doing so. 

Normally two meetings between these teams over the final three weeks would look like a scenario where rivals would split the series. But the Saints are too good where it matters most, and the Panthers look like a team already waving a white flag. 

Prediction: Saints 30, Panthers 17 

Odds via OddsShark.