Both the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers are coming off big wins, providing some momentum for each side for this Thursday Night Football matchup. San Francisco did get cornerback Charvarius Ward back in Week 14, giving this secondary two corners it can trust in man coverage. However, the Rams’ pass rush combined with an effective run game versus a 49ers’ defense that allowed 131.8 rush ypg and 4.5 ypc from Weeks 5-13 should pave the way to a win for Los Angeles.

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Jameis Winston won’t be shy at taking his chances against the Kansas City Chiefs defense, which should at least make this an entertaining game. We do have concerns about the Chiefs’ secondary, especially against a quarterback who will try and attack this team vertically. With that said, Winston will also gift-wrap interception opportunities for Kansas City and as long as it takes advantage, Patrick Mahomes will pull out another win.

The Tennessee Titans appear to be in tank mode, which opens the door for the Cincinnati Bengals to snag a victory. Tennessee doesn’t have much of a pass rush to speak of and if Joe Burrow is going to have a clean pocket, he’ll put on an offensive clinic with Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. This should also be a great game for edge rusher Trey Hendrickson, as Titans quarterback Will Levis has the highest sack rate in the NFL.

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The Washington Commanders return well-rested from their bye with an opportunity to keep building momentum amid a playoff push against a New Orleans Saints team that nearly lost to the New York Giants. Making things even easier for Washington, the Saints will likely be without Derek Carr in Week 15. All of that sets up for a Commanders’ victory, the icing on the cake is Marshon Lattimore making his debut with Washington against his former team.

Even without the added advantage of the bye, the Baltimore Ravens certainly could put a hurting on the tanking New York Giants. With two weeks to prepare for a Giants offense led by Drew Lock and a defense without Dexter Lawrence, this should be one of the biggest blowouts in Week 15. Expect a strong game from Derrick Henry against one of the league’s worst run defenses.

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Bryce Young has really turned things around over the last month, but the Carolina Panthers have always fallen just a bit short in matchups against some of the best teams in the NFL. The Dallas Cowboys aren’t anything close to that. This figures to be a back-and-forth game, but the Panthers are playing with a ton of confidence right now and this feels like the game where the end result finally aligns with the improvements this team, and especially the quarterback, has made.

Aaron Rodgers delivered his first 300-yard game since 2021 this past Sunday and now he gets to face one of the worst defenses in football. The New York Jets shouldn’t have much trouble forcing Mac Jones into mistakes, it comes naturally for him, providing this Jets’ offense with more scoring opportunities. While New York is already eliminated from playoff contention and a win will only hurt its draft positioning, it’s very difficult to out-tank the Jaguars.

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With Week 15 having the feel of a must-win situation for both the Houston Texans and Miami Dolphins, this could be one of the best NFL games this week. Miami’s pass defense has taken a significant step backward in the past two games, but the porous Texans’ offensive line might make it so bad for C.J. Stroud that he and Nico Collins can’t consistently take advantage. This matchup has the makings of getting sloppy, with plenty of mistakes and blown assignments on both sides. However, the Dolphins have been the better team as of late and that can make the difference in this game.

Josh Allen can keep the Buffalo Bills in any game, his historic performance in the loss to the Los Angeles Rams proved that. Unfortunately for Allen, the Detroit Lions might be even more well-equipped to exploit the Buffalo Bills defense. Detroit can run the football in the same way the Baltimore Ravens did in their previous matchup against Buffalo (271 rushing yards, 8.0 yards per carry) and they have the offensive weapons to win matchups against the Bills’ secondary just as the Rams did. Allen will keep this a close game, but Detroit is just the better football team.

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Styles make fights and that’s why this is one of our favorite games on the NFL schedule in Week 15. The Pittsburgh Steelers absolutely have the pass rush to create chaos around Jalen Hurts and this Philadelphia Eagles’ passing game is already having some issues. With Hurts flustered, that puts even more weight on Saquon Barkley’s shoulders against a top-five Steelers run defense. Where Philadelphia can win this is with its defensive advantage over the Steelers’ offense. While explosive plays will set up a touchdown for each team, this game will be decided by field position and turnovers. The narrow edge goes to Philadelphia.

Kyler Murray and the Arizona Cardinals are riding a three-game losing streak, but that should come to an end against one of the worst teams in the NFL. The New England Patriots lack the pass rush to disrupt Murray and this run defense also stands little chance against James Conner. Swinging this into a two-score win for Arizona will be its front seven taking complete advantage of a woeful Patriots offensive line.

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This pick comes down to the health of wide receiver Ladd McConkey and tight end Will Dissly. If both pass-catchers suit up, Justin Herbert shouldn’t have any trouble taking advantage of a bad Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense. Where Los Angeles will run into trouble is if Josh Palmer and Quentin Johnston are forced into primary roles. If that’s the case, the final score in this one will likely be even lower with the Buccaneers pulling out a 17-14 win.

It’s an NFC classic on Sunday Night Football in Week 15. The Seattle Seahawks are riding high after beating the Cardinals to take firm control of the NFC West. It comes on the heels of this defense playing like a top-10 unit. However, the Green Bay Packers’ offensive line, play-calling and run game might be the perfect recipe to exploit Seattle’s defense. In a back-and-forth game, it all comes down to a final drive for the Seahawks with Geno Smith’s last chance to win it undone by the offensive line.

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As Week 14 showed, making offensive coordinator Thomas Brown the interim head coach was a mistake by the Chicago Bears. Now, Brown can’t spend his week entirely focused on creating a game plan and making in-game adjustments becomes even harder. It puts Caleb Williams in a perilous position against a very aggressive Minnesota Vikings defense. By the end of this, the Vikings defense will likely record three times as many sacks and interceptions as touchdowns scored by the Bears.

The Atlanta Falcons should be starting Michael Penix Jr. in this game, but the franchise is sticking with Kirk Cousins for now. Fortunately for Atlanta, they get to face their former starting quarterback Desmond Ridder and both the organization and fan base know he shouldn’t be on an NFL field. Atlanta will not execute as well as it should on Monday Night Football against the Raiders’ defense, but it will still come out of this with a win over a very, very bad football team.