Early NFL Week 15 Betting Lines and Predicted Movement

There was no shortage of excitement in Week 14. Patrick Mahomes completed a no-look pass, Baker Mayfield ran a Statue of Liberty play, and we witnessed a miracle in Miami. Week 15 is set up for just as much excitement as the playoff picture becomes clearer and teams are fighting for their lives. Oh, and we also get NFL football on Saturday!

The lines for all 16 games have been released for this week, but we know they will constantly be moving. Let’s take a look at all of the opening lines for this week in the NFL, and then I’ll make a prediction of what each game’s final line will be.

Thursday Night Football

Chargers at Chiefs (-3.5)
This is not only a terrific AFC West rivalry battle on Thursday night this week, but it very well could be a matchup of the two best teams in the AFC. The game opens with the Chiefs being favored by 3.5 at home. While both of these teams have been hot, there has been some running back issues between them. We know about the Kareem Hunt situation for the Chiefs, and his replacement, Spencer Ware, suffered a shoulder injury last week. He’s currently questionable, as is star receiver Tyreek Hill, who suffered a heel injury. For the Chargers, Melvin Gordon has missed the past couple games with an injury, but he does have a chance to play Thursday. While I think the Chiefs will be favored in Arrowhead, I think the gap will be narrowed when these injury situations become a bit more clear.

Closing Line Prediction: Chiefs (-2.5)

Saturday Games

Texans at Jets (+6.5)
The Jets are a dumpster fire and the Texans all but wrapped up the AFC South. They did suffer a surprising loss to the Colts last week, ending their winning streak. I think we will see this spread increase a little this week since the Texans are such heavy favorites. With everyone placing bets on them early in the week, Vegas will give the Jets a little more.

Closing Line Prediction: Jets (+8)

Browns at Broncos (-3.5)
Baker Mayfield and the Browns are hot right now. The Broncos, on the other hand, continue to suffer more injuries. The plus for them is that the game is home, and playing at home in Denver really is home field advantage. However, the Browns are playing respectable football right now. The more ESPN shows that Statue of Liberty play from Baker the more narrow this spread will become.

Closing Line Prediction: Broncos (-1.5)

Early Sunday Games

Raiders at Bengals (-3)
This game features two terrible, depleted offenses. Derek Carr actually has looked a little better for Oakland lately, and Jared Cook is leading that Raider offense. The Bengals are being led by Jeff Driskel after both Andy Dalton and A.J. Green were lost for the season. I think everyone is throwing their arms up in the air when thinking about which of these terrible teams to pick this week, but since Oakland is coming off a win I think they will get a few more early-week bets. Because of this, the spread will narrow.

Closing Line Prediction: Bengals (-1.5)

Buccaneers at Ravens (-8)
Joe Flacco is likely to return for the Ravens this week which hurts the running game but improves the offense overall. They have been unable to go vertical with Jackson at quarterback, and this Tampa defense can be attacked down the field. In other words, Flacco’s return should help. Eight points is already a lot to cover, so I don’t really think we will see much movement at all for this one. I like it where it is.

Closing Line Prediction: Ravens (-8)

Cowboys at Colts (-3)
I’m actually surprised to see the Colts favored by three to begin the week. Sean Lee may return this week for the Dallas, and they have been playing really well already. The Colts play better at home typically and just got a big win over the Texans, but I don’t think they win this game. We know Cowboy fans won’t stop cheering all week, and their talking alone will narrow this gap.

Closing Line Prediction: Colts (PK)

Lions at Bills (-2.5)
Here’s another rough matchup for Week 14. Both teams are bad, and there’s a very good chance we won’t be seeing either starting running back in this one. Both of these offenses have also lost starting receivers. The Lions traded one and lost one to injury, while the Bills just cut theirs. Stafford has really struggled because of it, while Josh Allen just broke one of Michael Vick’s rushing records. This line will stay close, but I think it widens a little bit.

Closing Line Prediction: Bills (-3.5)

Packers at Bears (-5.5)
The Packers are technically still alive in the playoff race, after scoring their most points of the season in the first game without Mike McCarthy. Chicago just put a whooping on the Rams in prime time despite Mitchell Trubisky looking bad. No matter how good the Bears are, we just know Aaron Rodgers will have success against them. It happens every time. Since this is just a given, I think we see this spread shrink slightly.

Closing Line Prediction: Bears (-4.5)

Titans at Giants (-2.5)
OBJ Should be back this week, as the Giants look to continue adding tallies in the win column. The Titans are unpredictable, but they are coming off a long week since they put the beat down on Jacksonville last Thursday night. I don’t expect much movement from this one since both teams are so inconsistent.

Closing Line Prediction: Giants (-1.5)

Washington at Jaguars (-7)
The Mark Sanchez experiment did not go well for Washington, so I expect Josh Johnson will be under center this week. The Jaguars have quarterback problems of their own, as the benching of Blake Bortles has not made a difference. I’m surprised to see such a large spread to open considering how bad the Jaguars offense has been. I get that this defense could feast against an inexperienced quarterback, but this spread will narrow this week.

Closing Line Prediction: Jaguars (-5.5)

Cardinals at Falcons (-9)
The Falcons moved the ball well early against Green Bay, but the playcalling and stubborn commitment to the run limited what they could do. The Cardinals just couldn’t get anything going against Detroit as this offense continues to struggle. Atlanta is the vastly superior team in terms of talent, so it’s not surprising to see this opening line. It is a large spread considering we’re talking about two bad teams. Because the Falcons have been so disappointing, I think a couple points will be taken away this week.

Closing Line Prediction: Falcons (-7.5)

Late Sunday Games

Seahawks at 49ers (+5.5)
The Seahawks are coming off a big Monday night win over the Vikings, while the Niners got a win of their own against the Broncos last week. Seattle is the best running team in football and everyone expects that to continue this week. If Doug Baldwin is active for Week 15 the Seahawks will widen the spread.

Closing Line Prediction: 49ers (+6.5)

Patriots at Steelers (+1.5)
The Patriots lost on a miracle play in Miami, so you know Belichick is peeved. The Steelers, on the other hand, lost to the Raiders as they played without starting running back James Conner and Big Ben left the game with a rib injury. He did return and plans to play against New England, but he is nowhere near 100%. Conner is currently viewed as doubtful, and I expect his status to impact this line a little bit.

Closing Line Prediction: Steelers (+3)

Sunday Night Football

Eagles at Rams (-9)
Here’s another large spread. Both teams are coming off disappointing losses to two NFC divisional leaders. Everyone is expecting the Rams to bounce back in a big way, especially since this Philly offense has not looked right all season and their secondary is banged up. So yes, this is a wide spread, but rightfully so. I don’t think it moves.

Closing Line Prediction: Rams (-9)

Monday Night Football

Saints at Panthers (+6.5)
The Saints survived a scare from Tampa while the Panthers are now on the outside looking in after losing five in a row. They know they need a win here to stay alive while the Saints are looking to hold on to home-field advantage. Drew Brees in prime time is usually money, as everyone knows. Because of this, I think it spread widens ever so slightly.

Closing Line Prediction: Panthers (+7)

Zach Brunner is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Zach, check out his archive and follow him @FantasyFlurry.