NFL Week 15 odds, picks: Vikings' line shrinks vs. Bears, plus other reactions from Week 14
Check out how the Week 15 NFL lines have changed based on what happened this past Sunday
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5 min read
Week 14 of the NFL season did not disappoint. Favorites on Sunday went 9-6 against the spread, home teams also went 9-6 and touchdown favorites went 3-3 against the spread. One of the most mind-blowing stats to come out of this past Sunday, however, is that the Washington Football Team now owns the longest active win streak in the NFC with four straight wins. The defense scored both of Washington's touchdowns in their 23-15 win over the San Francisco 49ers, and Chase Young was absolutely incredible. With this win and the New York Giants' loss to the Arizona Cardinals, Washington now controls its own destiny in the NFC East. Also in the headlines this past week, another NFC East team may have found their quarterback of the future, as Jalen Hurts got the Philadelphia Eagles back into the win column in his first NFL start. It will be fascinating to see what Doug Pederson decides to do with Carson Wentz moving forward. We saw plenty of line movement on Monday. Let's take a look at some.
On Friday, we took a look at the lookahead lines for Week 15, which William Hill Sportsbook had available for anyone paying attention beyond the current week. Now that we have officially entered Week 15, we have seen some line movement. Below, we'll take a look at the biggest movers of the week from the lookahead numbers and examine why the line has moved and whether there's value in fading said move. But first, here's the current spread, the line that re-opened on Sunday evening and the lookahead number for every matchup. All NFL odds come courtesy of William Hill.
Week 15 line snapshot
| Matchup | Current | Reopen | Look |
|---|---|---|---|
LAC at LV | LV -3.5 | LV -3.5 | LV -3.5 |
BUF at DEN | BUF -6.5 | BUF -6.5 | BUF -5 |
CAR at GB | GB -8.5 | GB -8.5 | GB -7.5 |
HOU at IND | IND -7 | IND -7 | IND -6.5 |
DET at TEN | N/A | TEN -8 | |
SF at DAL | SF -2.5 | SF -2.5 | SF -3.5 |
SEA at WAS | SEA -6 | SEA -5 | SEA -3.5 |
NE at MIA | MIA -2.5 | MIA -3 | MIA -2.5 |
CHI at MIN | MIN -3 | MIN -3.5 | MIN -6 |
JAX at BAL | BAL -13 | BAL -12.5 | BAL -11.5 |
TB at ATL | TB -6 | TB -3 | TB -2.5 |
PHI at AZ | AZ -6.5 | AZ -5.5 | AZ -6.5 |
NYJ at LAR | LAR -17 | LAR -17 | LAR -13.5 |
KC at NO | KC -3.5 | KC -4 | KC -3 |
CLE at NYG | CLE -3.5 | CLE -3 | CLE -3 |
PIT at CIN | PIT -13 | PIT -12.5 | PIT -11.5 |
Bears at Vikings
Current: MIN -3 | Reopen: MIN -3.5 | Lookahead: MIN -6
Why it moved: On Sunday, it was Deshaun Watson's chance to show the Bears what they missed out on by drafting Mitchell Trubisky with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. Instead, his Houston Texans were blown out by a score of 36-7. Incredibly, it was Trubisky who looked like the better quarterback, as he threw for 267 yards and three touchdowns as opposed to Watson's 219 passing yards and one touchdown. It was a huge win for the Bears, as Allen Robinson caught nine passes for 123 yards and a touchdown, and David Montgomery rushed for 113 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries. On the other hand, the Vikings suffered a disheartening 26-14 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Even while they dominated time of possession, they just couldn't get the ball into the end zone.
Fade the move? Both of these 6-7 NFC North teams are fighting for a playoff spot, so expect an emotional battle this Sunday. The Vikings defeated the Bears by six points earlier this year, but I'm leaning towards the Bears covering that three-point spread right now. This will be an intriguing matchup to break down throughout the week.
Buccaneers at Falcons
Current: TB -6 | Reopen: TB -3 | Lookahead: TB -2.5
Why it moved: As we previously mentioned, the Buccaneers got back into the win column against the Vikings on Sunday. It was a forgettable game, but the Buccaneers took care of business, which is all that matters. As for the Falcons, they lost an ugly game to the Los Angeles Chargers -- who were just blown out by 45 points against the New England Patriots last Sunday.
Fade the move? The Falcons did record an incredible 43-6 win over the Las Vegas Raiders a couple of weeks ago, but they have been fading as of late. They scored just 16 points against the New Orleans Saints last Sunday, and then just 17 points to a defense that allows the sixth-most points per game this past Sunday. This will be Tom Brady's first game against the Falcons as a member of the Buccaneers, but I feel like this unit is on the rise. I'm not fading the move, I'm riding with it. In fact, I think this spread could increase as the week goes on. It just jumped from Bucs -5.5 to Bucs -6 this morning.
Jets at Rams
Current: LAR -17 | Reopen: LAR -17 | Lookahead: LAR -13.5
Why it moved: The Rams have now won four out of their past five games, and their latest victory came via a 24-3 beatdown of the Patriots on Thursday night. They have plenty of time to rest up for the winless Jets, who just suffered their worst loss of the season this past Sunday -- a 40-3 defeat that came at the hands of the Seattle Seahawks. Apparently firing defensive coordinator Gregg Williams after almost defeating the Raiders did not help the team.
Fade the move? This is not a matchup I'm eager to put money on because the spread is so large. The Rams don't have one of the highest-scoring offenses in the league, but they have recorded some big victories this year. They defeated the Eagles by 18 points in Week 2, ran past Washington by 20 in October, took down Kyler Murray and the Cardinals by 10 points a couple of weeks ago and then of course beat the Patriots by 21 on Thursday. It's hard not to at least lean the Rams' way right now.
