That 2019 Super Bowl favorites New Orleans Saints and Los Angeles Rams are through to the playoffs is not in dispute, but otherwise, the NFL is still a big question mark heading into Week 15 this weekend.
Will teams with stout and trusty defenses like the Dallas Cowboys and the Chicago Bears continue to stun, as they have done during the past two weeks when respectively they’ve stopped the rampaging offenses and star quarterbacks of yes, the Saints and the Rams?
That’s a question we might have to wait a bit longer to see answered, but right now more urgent questions await us this very weekend, the most pressing of which is perhaps who will come out best on Sunday in the race to win the AFC West division, the Kansas City Chiefs or the Los Angeles Chargers?
Like the Saints and the Rams, the Kansas City Chiefs have also won 11 games this season, but unlike these two big rivals for a place in the 2019 Super Bowl final, the Chiefs have not yet made certain of their place in the playoffs.
This because their main rival for AFC West honors, the Los Angeles Chargers, are right up there on their heels with 10 wins.
What makes Week 15 so critical to each of them is that tonight (Thursday); they are set to clash with each other at LA’s Arrowhead Stadium starting at 8.20pm ET.
Money Line Odds
With pre-game, money line odds of -195 as opposed to +156 for the Chargers, the Chiefs are the clear favorites of the New Jersey Sportsbooks, possibly because they have won their last three encounters against the Chargers.
In September last year, the Chiefs won 24-10, in December of the same year they did it with a 30-13 score line and recently in September this year, they again triumphed, this time by 38 points to 28.
Biggest threat tonight could be the Chargers’ current form and their home-ground advantage.
For the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens, Week 15 might also be a make or break time.
Neither of these two sides has won anything like 11 games, but with 7 wins, 5 losses and a draw as against the 7 wins and 6 loses of the Ravens, Pittsburgh holds a fragile lead in the AFC North division.
Whether they can hold on to on Sunday is another question
Playing away, they face the New England Patriots, the AFC West leaders and the match favorites of the New Jersey sports bookies in a game the Patriots also need to win to keep themselves clear of the Miami Dolphins.
Unlike the Saints and the Rams, The Patriots, with a 9-4 record, are just two wins clear of the Dolphins’ 7-6 and still some way off from being sure of making the playoffs.
Getting back to the Steelers-Ravens race, we note that the Ravens, while also playing away from home, are the clear favorites of the NJ sports bookmakers to beat struggling Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday.
The Buccaneers have lost 8 of their 13 games this season and all three of their contests against Baltimore since 2014 so don’t be too surprised to see the Ravens as the new leaders of the AFC North division after Sunday.
WEEK 15 FIXTURES
Following are all of this week’s NFL fixtures together with the money line odds (in brackets after each team) as quoted by 888sports NJ on Wednesday as well as 888’s over/ under odds (in [square brackets] at the end of each line).
THURSDAY NIGHT
8:20pm – Chargers (+155) at Chiefs (-195) [o/u 53]
SATURDAY
4:30pm – Texans (-265) at Jets (+210) [o/u 41.5]
8:20pm – Browns (+135) at Broncos (-165) [o/u 45.5]
SUNDAY
1:00pm – Packers (+325) at Bears (-435) [o/u 45}
1:00pm – Lions (+116) at Bills (-141) [o/u 38.5]
1:00pm – Buccaneers (+285) at Ravens (-375) [o/u 46.5]
1:00pm – Cardinals (+325) at Falcons (-435) [o/u 44]
1:00pm – Raiders (+128) at Bengals (-157) [o/u 45.5]
1:00pm – Titans (+128) at Giants (-155) [o/u 43.5]
1:00pm – Dolphins (+250) at Vikings (-315) [o/u 44.5]
1:00pm – Redskins (+255) at Jaguars (-335) [o/u 36]
1:00pm – Cowboys (+125) at Colts (-152) [o/u 47]
4:05pm – Seahawks (-225) at 49ers (+180) [o/u 43.5]
4:25pm – Patriots (-132) at Steelers (+108) [o/u 52]
8:20pm – Eagles (+325) at Rams (-435) [o/u 53.5]
MONDAY
8:15pm- Saints (-250) at Panthers (+200) [o/u 52]