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

The Chicago Bears are ready to clinch the NFC North title, but their archrivals stand in the way Sunday.

The Green Bay Packers have frequently caused major problems for the Bears, particularly when the two teams play at Soldier Field. The Packers have won the past eight meetings (seven regular-season games and one playoff meeting) between the two teams in the Windy City.

That streak may come to an end Sunday because the Bears have the best team they have had in years, while the Packers have a losing record. As well as the Packers have played in Chicago recently, the road has not been kind to them this year. They have yet to win a game away from Lambeau Field.

Green Bay has had its chances in road games against the Los Angeles Rams, New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks, but the Packers have been unable to come through with their late opportunities. The season appeared to bottom out when head coach Mike McCarthy was fired after the Week 13 home loss to the Arizona Cardinals.

Aaron Rodgers and the Packers bounced back nicely with a decisive win over the Atlanta Falcons in Week 14, but they are going to have to take a couple of major steps up if they are going to get the best of a Chicago defense that includes Khalil Mack, rookie Roquan Smith, Akiem Hicks and Eddie Jackson.

Rodgers has thrown for 3,700 passing yards with a 23-1 TD-interception ratio. While he has avoided interceptions, the All-Pro quarterback has not played with the same kind of finishing ability that he has shown in previous years.

Wideouts Davante Adams and Randall Cobb are capable of putting together big games, but if the Packers can't protect Rodgers, they will struggle in a stadium in which they usually play well.

The Bears need quarterback Mitchell Trubisky to pick it up a bit. After missing two games because of shoulder difficulties, he threw three interceptions in the Week 14 win over the Los Angeles Rams. He appeared to be overthrowing many of his receivers, which may have been the result of his injury.

Running back Jordan Howard can pick up key yards between the tackles, but the Chicago offense works best when Trubisky can get the ball to wideouts Allen Robinson and Taylor Gabriel, along with the speedy Tarik Cohen out of the backfield.

The Bears are five-point favorites per OddsShark, and they have been waiting for this game since dropping the season opener at Green Bay. Look for the Bears to take charge in the second half and win by at least seven points.

NFL Week 15 Schedule and Odds

All Times ET.

Sunday, December 16

Oakland at Cincinnati (-3) (Over/Under: 46) (1 p.m., CBS) 

Miami at Minnesota (-7.5) (Over/Under: 44.5) (1 p.m., CBS) 

Tennessee (-1) at New York Giants  (Over/Under: 43) (1 p.m., CBS) 

Washington at Jacksonville (-7.5) (Over/Under: 36.5) (1 p.m., CBS) 

Arizona at Atlanta (-9.5) Over/Under: 44) (1 p.m., Fox) 

Detroit at Buffalo (-2.5) (Over/Under: 40) (1 p.m., Fox) 

Green Bay at Chicago (-5) (Over/Under: 46.5) (1 p.m., Fox) 

Dallas at Indianapolis (-3) (Over/Under: 47) (1 p.m., Fox) 

Tampa Bay at Baltimore (-8) (Over/Under: 46.5) (1 p.m., Fox) 

Seattle (-3.5) at San Francisco (Over/Under: 44) (4:05 p.m., Fox) 

New England (-2.5) at Pittsburgh (Over/Under: 54) (4:25 p.m., CBS) 

Philadelphia at Los Angeles Rams (-13) (Over/Under: 52) (8:20 p.m., NBC) 

Monday, December 17

New Orleans (-6.5) at Carolina (Over/Under: 52) (8:15 p.m., ESPN)     

Odds according to OddsShark. Picks against the spread in bold.

NFL games can also be live streamed at FuboTV.

D. Ross Cameron/Associated Press

New England at Pittsburgh

Not so long ago, these teams looked like they could be on a collision course for a divisional-round playoff matchup.

The New England Patriots were in a position to finish as the No. 2 team in the AFC, while the Pittsburgh Steelers looked like a strong No. 3 team.

However, the Steelers have lost three games in a row, and they will surrender first place in the AFC North to the Baltimore Ravens if they lose here and the Ravens beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The Patriots are coming off a shocking last-play loss to the Miami Dolphins, in which they failed to make a tackle on a 61-yard game-winning touchdown play that included a short pass and two laterals.

New England is still the likely AFC East winner once again, but if the Pats lose to the Steelers, they will surrender the No. 2 spot in the AFC and a possible bye in the first round of the playoffs to the Houston Texans, who defeated the New York Jets 29-22 on Saturday.

Tom Brady knows he has a physical battle against the Steelers every time he steps on the field, and his line is going to have to give him time to get the ball to Julian Edelman, Josh Gordon, Rob Gronkowski and James White.

Counterpart Ben Roethlisberger excels at shaking off the pass rush and giving his receivers an extra split second to get open. He has the superior wideouts in Antonio Brown and JuJu Smith-Schuster, and those three should be able to make plays against the Patriots.

New England is a 2.5-point road favorite, but look for the Steelers to straighten out their problems and win this game at home.

Prop Bet

We go back to the Green Bay-Chicago game for the prop bet that we are considering.

Oddschecker lists lines on the first touchdown scorer in that game, and Green Bay running back Aaron Jones is listed at 7-1. As is Packers wideout Adams. Howard and Gabriel are also listed at 7-1 for the Bears.

All four of those players seem to be reasonable possibilities to score the opening touchdown, but we are going outside the box and perhaps a bit theatrical with our thinking.

The powerful Chicago defense has been torched by Rodgers over the years, and that unit would love to pay back the Green Bay signal-caller. We see the Bears scoring the game's first touchdown on defense, perhaps with Eddie Jackson intercepting a Rodgers throw and running it into the end zone.

That scenario would pay off at 16-1, and that's the type of price we like for a prop bet. Our advice is to go with the Bears defense to score the game's first touchdown.