Fansided

NFL Week 15 picks against the spread

By Nick Villano

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers shake hands after the Chiefs' 38-28 win against the Chargers on September 9, 2018, at StubHub Center in Carson, Calif. (John Sleezer/Kansas City Star/TNS via Getty Images)
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers shake hands after the Chiefs' 38-28 win against the Chargers on September 9, 2018, at StubHub Center in Carson, Calif. (John Sleezer/Kansas City Star/TNS via Getty Images) /
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(Photo by John McDonnell/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
(Photo by John McDonnell/The Washington Post via Getty Images) /

Tennessee Titans at New York Giants (-2.5)

Funny how quickly things change for Las Vegas. Just a few weeks ago, the New York Giants were getting beat up week in and week out. Now, they are getting points against a playoff contender, albeit an outside one. The Giants are finally riding the useful legs of Saquon Barkley, who’s all but taken home the rookie of the year honors. They are running an offense that can score, and they aren’t bleeding on defense.

The Tennessee Titans had a big win on Thursday night thanks to a three-touchdown performance from Derrick Henry. The problem for them right now is they have the same record as the Ravens, who are in a playoff spot, but they’ve lost to two other teams fighting for that same position. The Titans find themselves in 9th in the league. They need a lot of help to make the playoffs.

Still, the Titans just have a lot more to play for. The Giants were basically out of it weeks ago. Even though they technically have a chance to make the playoffs, the likelihood is slim to none. The Titans just need to beat the Giants, Redskins and Colts. The Titans will find a way.

Tennessee 21, New York (G) 20

Oakland Raiders at Cincinnati Bengals (-3)

Yikes, can we fast forward this matchup? The Oakland Raiders and Cincinnati Bengals take the field to see who’s the bigger NFL embarrassment. Okay, I’m being a little harsh, but name two players on the field that you want to see. Is Derek Carr the biggest star in this game?

Well, we could bet on it to make it a little more interesting. The Bengals are without A.J. Green, Andy Dalton and could be without Dre Kirkpatrick and Vontaze Burfict. The Bengals looked lost in the secondary without Kirkpatrick, so that could be good news for Oakland.

Jon Gruden’s Oakland Raiders aren’t playing for much, but they still like winning as they showed beating the Steelers last week. This will be a much easier matchup, but with much less motivation. Plus, there is the lawsuit coming from the city of Oakland that came as a distraction this week. Although, since they aren’t playing at home it could work as a motivation. This is a toss-up, so take the points.

Oakland 31, Cincinnati 20

Washington Redskins at Jacksonville Jaguars (-7)

The Jacksonville Jaguars came into this season as a sleeper team to win the conference, but now they are a team so bad nobody is even talking about them. Yet, they are getting seven points against a team in the NFC playoff race. That’s because of one person, Josh Johnson.

The biggest story coming out of Washington this week is that Josh Johnson learned his teammates’ names by playing Madden. That’s not a great look for a starting quarterback. The Redskins have him and Mark Sanchez to put under center, which is not a good look.

This is a tough matchup, and I really don’t want to put money on Cody Kessler, but I really, really don’t want to put money on Josh Johnson. That’s a lot of points. Too many points. The Jaguars haven’t beaten a team by seven points since September. Their last win, they didn’t even score seven points. Take the points and run, but I would probably skip this matchup entirely if I could.

Washington 7, Jacksonville 13