NFL Picks Week 15: Road Teams Guaranteed to Cover

Week 15 is the time for playoff contenders on the outside to step up and make their move. It is going to be a fight to the finish, and there are a lot of teams bunched together right now. 

However, after this week's slate of games, we will finally have some clarity to the muddled picture in front of us. The best way for contenders to separate themselves from everyone else is to win on the road. If you want to be a Super Bowl contender, you have to shine away from your comfort zone. 

There are a few surprising road underdogs this week, which is a sign that the oddsmakers and gamblers don't trust these teams. Either that, or they just don't pay attention to the way that these teams are playing. 

Here are three road underdogs that are guaranteed to cover the spread this week, and in a few instances walk away with a victory. 

Seattle Seahawks vs. Chicago Bears (Minus-3.5)

I can't for the life of me figure out why the Bears are getting the points here. Is their home-field advantage really enough to offset the way that the offense has looked since Jay Cutler and Matt Forte went down?

The Seahawks are playing well right now. They are in the playoff hunt at 6-7. If a few things break right, they can sneak in again. 

Marshawn Lynch has been a beast with over 100 yards rushing in each of their last three games. His performance has taken pressure off Tarvaris Jackson and the rest of the team is starting to gel at the right time. 

Caleb Hanie might be a great person off the field, but I don't want him anywhere near the starting quarterback job for my team. 

Seahawks 20, Bears 14.

Carolina Panthers vs. Houston Texans (Minus-6.5)

The Texans have surprised me over the last two weeks. I expected them to fall apart without Matt Schaub, but the defense has stepped up its game to make life easier on T.J. Yates and the rest of the offense. 

That said, they have not been playing the most dynamic teams, either. Atlanta and Cincinnati are good teams, but they are very vanilla on offense. 

Carolina has arguably the most dynamic playmaker in the NFL right now in Cam Newton. He is a hybrid weapon the likes of which we haven't seen since Michael Vick in his days with the Falcons. 

I don't trust Carolina's defense enough to call for the upset, but I think that 6.5 points is too much to be giving in this game. 

Texans 27, Panthers 24.

New York Jets vs. Philadelphia Eagles (Minus-3)

I understand that the Eagles had a good performance against the Dolphins last week, but they are still too inconsistent to trust in a game against a good team. 

The Jets have had their own problems with consistency, but they have been better than the Eagles throughout the season and have done more to earn the trust of fans and analysts. 

Rex Ryan and the Jets coaching staff appear to have found a way to make use of Mark Sanchez's talents and minimize his mistakes, and the offense has taken off in the last two weeks. 

Whenever the calendar flips to December, something seems to click in the heads of the Jets players and it is happening again. 

Jets 27, Eagles 21.

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