Week 15 NFL Picks: Predictions for Games Too Close To Call

There are some games that are easy to pick. Typically, they are characterized by a big point spread, one that you can accept or reject.

It's the games with the small point spreads that require a little more cunning. The spread implies that the matchup is too close to call, and it's easy to see why when you actually take a closer look at the teams that are going to be doing battle.

There are a couple of these spreads on tap for Week 15. If you want, you could go do your due diligence and make your own picks. But if you want to save yourself some time, you can listen to my two cents.

Let's talk.

Note: all spreads according to Bodog.

Seattle Seahawks at Chicago Bears (-3.5)

If the Bears still had Jay Cutler and Matt Forte, picking this game would be way too easy. The spread would also probably look considerably different.

But since the Bears don't have Cutler and Forte, this game is easy to pick for the opposite reason. Without either of them, the Bears are going to be at a huge disadvantage against the Seahawks, who have been playing very well in recent weeks.

The only real hope the Bears have is to keep this game close, as they're sure as heck not going to outscore the Seahawks with Caleb Hanie under center and Marion Barber in the backfield. The only trouble is that Marshawn Lynch is playing better than any running back in the league right now, and he has managed to make Tarvaris Jackson's job much easier.

As such, the Bears are not about to shut out the Seahawks, and that pretty much means they're doomed. 

Sure, the Bears have the home field. But hey, that didn't stop the Kansas City Chiefs from beating them.

Seahawks 24, Bears 10

Detroit Lions (-1.5) at Oakland Raiders

The Lions are going to get Ndamukong Suh back for this game, and there's still no telling whether or not the Raiders will have Darren McFadden, Denarius Moore or Jacoby Ford back healthy.

As such, that 1.5-point spread may look like a gift.

It's not. As bad as the Raiders have played in the last two weeks, it's not like the Lions are a much better team than they are. Their offense is one-dimensional and can be downright bad when Matthew Stafford is having a bad day, and their defense is beatable even when it has Suh.

The key for the Raiders will be to reestablish their running game, which has gone missing. If McFadden is back, great. If not, Michael Bush must get back on track against a Lions defense that ranks No. 27 in the NFL against the run.

This is a matchup the Raiders must take advantage of. If they do, this is a game they're going to win.

Raiders 31, Lions 28

New York Jets at Philadelphia Eagles (-3)

This is probably the toughest game to pick on the Week 15 slate, as it's problematic for a couple reasons.

Firstly, the Jets are a generally good team that occasionally looks really bad. Secondly, the Eagles are a generally bad team that occasionally looks really good.

So which unreliable team do you want to trust?

I'm going with the Eagles. The Jets don't have the personnel to take advantage of the Eagles' inability to stuff the run, and Philly's secondary is going to spell trouble for Mark Sanchez, who is a big reason why the Jets are so unreliable.

As for Philly's own offense, the Jets don't have enough of a pass rush to bother Michael Vick, and we know that he's going to get plenty of help from LeSean McCoy.

It's going to be close, but the Eagles will take this one.

Eagles 24, Jets 20

Baltimore Ravens (-1) at San Diego Chargers

Maybe it's just me, but the Ravens should probably be favored by more in this one.

Check that. I know the Ravens should be favored by more in this one. Despite San Diego's recent hot streak, the Ravens are a much, much better team than the Chargers.

They will prove as much by sending the Chargers' offense back to the Stone Age, which for the Chargers existed between Weeks 7 and 12. There's simply no way the Chargers are scoring more than 30 points in this game, and that means they'll have to beat the Ravens at their own game.

They're not going to do that either. The Ravens are not going to blow the Chargers out, but they are going to wear them down. By the end of the game, we will all be acutely aware of what caused this Chargers team to lose six games in a row.

Ravens 21, Chargers 17