NFL Picks Week 15: Highlighting Best Vegas Odds and Expert Predictions

The clock is ticking on the 2016 NFL regular season, with playoff tensions dominating the conversation as the league heads into its final three weeks of play. There’s still plenty left to determine when it comes to the postseason. The Dallas Cowboys are the only team to clinch a playoff spot, though several others are on the cusp heading into Week 15, per FiveThirtyEight. While there are still likely to be a few surprises and plot twists as the regular season comes to a close, just about every team is a known commodity at this point. They’ve been through ups and downs, homestands and road slogs, and heated battles against division rivals.

For bettors, it doesn’t necessarily mean making picks will be any easier this week, but there is plenty of information to go on at this point. 

Here’s a quick guide to the action in Week 15, including matchup spreads, over-unders and expert predictions from around the web. Expert picks are straight-up, not against the spread.

The Green Bay Packers are somehow just a touchdown (not even with the extra point included) favorite over the Chicago Bears.

The oddsmakers are likely concerned about the possibility of extremely cold conditions tamping down the offenses in Chicago and a nagging calf injury for Aaron Rodgers, but the Packers are playing well and should still be able to win by at least a touchdown.

The Packers are coming off a resounding 38-10 win over the Seattle Seahawks in Week 14. Rodgers torched the Seahawks secondary—clearly missing injured safety Earl Thomas—throwing for 245 yards and three scores.

Rodgers did pick up a calf injury in this game. Head coach Mike McCarthy said the star quarterback will be limited in practice this week, per ESPN.com’s Rob Demovsky. However, this doesn’t mean anyone should expect the ultra-competitive Rodgers to take things any easier than he has to in prepping for this important contest.

“Game plan-wise, his comments were just, ‘Don’t hold anything back,'” McCarthy said Wednesday, according to Demovsky. “So we’re approaching this game no different than we did last week.”

The rudderless Bears kept things close with the Detroit Lions in Week 14 but still fell 20-17. They’ve been held to 20 points or fewer in six of their last eight games. The Packers defense has struggled at times this season, but it managed to contain a Seahawks offense featuring Russell Wilson and a returning-to-form Thomas Rawls at running back.

The Packers are currently out of the playoff picture and may need to win out to reach the postseason. They are one game behind the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the sixth seed, but are jockeying for position with the Washington Redskins and Minnesota Vikings. The Lions have a two-game lead in the NFC North over the Packers, …

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