Another week of the 2023 NFL season is in the books, and what a week it was. The Dallas Cowboys really made the most headlines this week, taking over the top of the NFC East with an impressive win against the Philadelphia Eagles. The playoff picture in the AFC was made even more interesting. Teams are fighting for postseason positioning all over the place, and Week 15 NFL picks and score predictions will be fascinating to make.
This is not a week with a ton of top-tier matchups, but as is always the case the deeper we get into December, it's a race to the finish line.
2023 NFL picks and score predictions for Week 15 games
Week 15 byes: None
Los Angeles Chargers (5-8) @ Las Vegas Raiders (5-8)
Thursday, December 14, 8:15 PM ET
What could have been a matchup of two teams playing for AFC playoff positioning has turned into two teams playing for the higher pick in the top 10 of the 2024 NFL Draft. Unfortunately for both the Chargers and Raiders, this game on Thursday night will merely serve as a three-hour discussion over what the future might hold for each franchise as the Raiders have obviously moved on from Josh McDaniels, and it seems only a matter of time before the Chargers do the same with Brandon Staley.
Now, there is the added intrigue over what the Chargers are going to do with Justin Herbert, who frctured the index finger on his throwing hand in Sunday's loss against the Denver Broncos.
I think the Raiders probably win a bit of a barn-burner.
Prediction: Raiders win 18-16
Minnesota Vikings (7-6) @ Cincinnati Bengals (7-6)
Saturday, December 14, 1:00 PM ET
You have to hand it to Zac Taylor for the coaching job he's done since the Cincinnati Bengals lost star quarterback Joe Burrow to a season-ending wrist injury. The Bengals could have easily just rolled over on the 2023 season, but they have done anything but.
Jake Browning is playing better football than anyone could have possibly anticipated. The Bengals have scored 68 points in their last two games combined, and Browning is operating the offense at an extremely high level. This team just beat another playoff contender (Indianapolis) and only a handful of days before that, they took down the Jacksonville Jaguars on the road.
I am buying stock for this Bengals team, but how is Jake Browning going to fare against an extremely aggressive Brian Flores defense?
Quite frankly, I don’t know that you could bet against the Bengals playing at home in this game. Although the Vikings have played better defensively in recent weeks (12 points allowed to the Bears, 3 to the Raiders), their offense has let them down big time. The Vikings need Nick Mullens (or someone) to play like Jake Browning has played for the Bengals.
If only the Vikings had a guy like Browning…
I think this game, while a battle of backup QBs, is really going to be intriguing. I just don’t think the Vikings are healthy enough to go on the road and make enough plays to get the job done.
Prediction: Bengals win 23-13
Pittsburgh Steelers (7-6) @ Indianapolis Colts (7-6)
Saturday, December 16, 4:30 PM ET
Saturday afternoon should provide us some interesting clarity within the AFC right now. The Indianapolis Colts are playing host to the Pittsburgh Steelers in a matchup of two teams that, frankly are shocking inclusions in the playoff discussion.
The Pittsburgh Steelers are reeling right now. I think anyone who assumed the Steelers were frauds at 7-4 just a couple of weeks ago has obviously been proven correct, and the Steelers’ two straight losses to the Arizona Cardinals and New England Patriots are proof of that. This team just doesn’t have what it takes offensively to be a legitimate playoff team.
Although the Indianapolis Colts have been inconsistent, they have at least proven themselves to be competent offensively at times throughout the course of the season. With that said, they just got absolutely smoked on the road against the Cincinnati Bengals. They had absolutely no running game to speak of and they let Jake Browning run them out of the building.
Without healthy starting quarterbacks or even proven competence offensively, it’s hard to argue with the Colts as 2.5-point favorites in this game. I think it’s going to come down to whether or not Gardner Minshew can find a way to limit the mistakes against a Pittsburgh Steelers defense that is known for causing quarterbacks a lot of problems.
This looks like a better game on paper than it will actually end up being, in all likelihood.
Prediction: Colts win 22-17
Denver Broncos (7-6) @ Detroit Lions (9-4)
Saturday, December 16, 8:15 PM ET
The Detroit Lions are opening as four-point home favorites in a game that will pit Dan Campbell against his old boss Sean Payton. Campbell has obviously been one of the best branches of the Sean Payton coaching tree and has done a tremendous job with the crew he’s got in Detroit. The Lions are legitimate contenders in the NFC, and they’ve proven throughout the course of this season that they are going to be able to hang with anyone come time for the playoffs.
But no one promised the road to the postseason was going to be easy, by any means.
It’s been some tough sledding for the Lions lately, who just lost this past weekend to the Chicago Bears after pulling off a close win against New Orleans the week before, and losing at home to the Green Bay Packers on Thanksgiving.
Again, no one promised it would be easy, and the Denver Broncos are going to make getting that 10th win brutal. The Broncos have been playing some incredible defense over the last eight games and are making life absolutely miserable for opposing quarterbacks. They are forcing turnovers at a high rate, and have won six of their last seven games.
Sean Payton has done an incredible job coaching this team back into the playoff race, and with the Broncos just one game out of the AFC West race (much less a Wild Card spot), this is one of the best stories in the NFL right now.
I think this is shaping up to be a really hard-fought game and I think the Broncos will gut out a win.
Prediction: Broncos win 27-23
Chicago Bears (5-8) @ Cleveland Browns (8-5)
Sunday, December 17, 1:00 PM ET
The NFL is too crazy to be scripted, all you conspiracy theorists. This is wild.
The Cleveland Browns have had one of the best defenses in the league all season, but the reason they are 8-5 is because head coach Kevin Stefanski and his staff have done such an incredible job of preparing their quarterbacks to play on a weekly basis. The Browns are one quarterback shy of a full five-man pitching staff at this point.
Deshaun Watson, PJ Walker, and Dorian Thompson-Robinson have all taken their turns for this Browns team, but Joe Flacco is the one who has the best passing outing of the season for Cleveland (311 yards, 3 TDs), and he did it this past weekend.
With the Browns playing at home in this game, and Flacco looking as good as he has, it’s understandable that Cleveland opens as a three-point favorite in this game. I can’t help but be intrigued by Justin Fields, DJ Moore, and this Bears team, however.
It’s just hard to know which way to go, even for NFL picks purposes. I have almost no confidence in this pick regardless of which way I go. I’m going to take the Bears in a road upset, with Flacco perhaps coming back to earth a little bit.
Prediction: Bears win 26-24
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-7) @ Green Bay Packers (6-7)
Sunday, December 17, 1:00 PM ET
Well, how can you not be intrigued by this Buccaneers team, right?
Each week, you have absolutely no idea what you’re going to get. It’s like Buccaneers fans have been enrolled in the “Jelly of the Month” club, but instead of getting different flavors of preserves each month, they are getting their emotions pulled in a different direction with every passing game.
And while it’s torturous to endure, it also has them right in the thick of things in the NFC South with just four weeks left to play. And you can’t ask for much more than that, especially when a lot of folks said that this Bucs team would be one of the worst teams in the NFL this season.
But Baker Mayfield has stepped up in some spots, and the Bucs can go on the road against a young Packers team and get back to .500. Doing that is easier said than done…
The Green Bay Packers are a young team that has gone through some difficult learning experiences throughout the season. Their loss in Week 14 to the New York Giants and Tommy DeVito was actually crushing because the Minnesota Vikings managed to pull off a 3-0 win against the Las Vegas Raiders.
The Packers dropped to 6-7 after a hard-fought Monday night battle against the Giants, and now they’re going to have to go home and face a Bucs team that is out for blood. This could end up being one of the better games of the week.
Prediction: Packers win 28-25
Houston Texans (7-6) @ Tennessee Titans (5-8)
Sunday, December 17, 1:00 PM ET
The Houston Texans were absolutely destroyed on Sunday against the New York Jets, but this young team was due for a letdown. Unfortunately, it just had to happen against Zach Wilson…
And what’s worse for the Texans is the fact that they lost CJ Stroud in the process, among a number of other players. The loss of CJ Stroud would likely be insurmountable for the Texans over the longer haul, but we’ll have to see if he’s able to clear concussion protocol in time to play against the Titans on Sunday. If not, it’ll be Davis Mills giving it a shot against Mike Vrabel’s Titans, and that could be problematic.
The Texans had been getting MVP-level play out of Stroud most of the season, but after a hard-fought win against the Broncos in Week 13, you sort of felt like things might be cooling off in the near future. And Robert Saleh’s New York Jets came out and had arguably their best game of the entire 2023 season against DeMeco Ryans’s crew.
This might be a weird matchup for the Houston Texans, especially if the Texans don’t have CJ Stroud available. I might actually take the Titans, regardless of CJ Stroud's health, at home in this one. They are currently two-point favorites.
Prediction: Titans win 21-17
New York Jets (5-8) @ Miami Dolphins (9-4)
Sunday, December 17, 1:00 PM ET
Things could not have gone better for the New York Jets in Week 14. It was a complete and utterly dominant performance by New York, including a huge game out of Zach Wilson. And the Zach Wilson factor may have been the most surprising thing of all about Week 14 across the entire NFL landscape.
I will admit, I had no faith that we were going to get anything even close to 300 passing yards and a multi-touchdown game from Wilson, but he proved a lot of people wrong. Good for Zach.
The Jets now have to find a way to keep that momentum going and continue playing spoiler, and now they have proof of concept that they are capable of playing at a pretty high level offensively. Sure, it was just one game, but that kind of performance can give you a ton of confidence going into the next week.
Unfortunately, I just don’t see the Jets being able to keep it up against the Miami Dolphins.
The Dolphins haven’t been playing flawless football as of late, and they looked rough at times in their home loss to the Titans. I think we’re going to see a tighter game here than the opening spread indicates. The Dolphins are favored by 10.5 points, but this game might end up a bit closer than that. I think Miami could get upset, but I'm not betting on it.
Prediction: Dolphins win 24-20
Kansas City Chiefs (8-5) @ New England Patriots (3-10)
Sunday, December 17, 1:00 PM ET
The Kansas City Chiefs concocted one of the most brutal ways to lose a game that I have ever seen. And just when you think you’ve seen it all in the NFL, you really haven’t.
Late in their matchup against the Buffalo Bills, the Chiefs drew up a pass play to Travis Kelce, who had them not only in easy field goal range for Harrison Butker but well within range to score a game-winning or go-ahead touchdown. But just when it looked like Kelce was going to be tackled, he threw the ball across the field in a legal lateral to Kadarius Toney, who sprinted into the end zone for the go-ahead touchdown.
It would have been the craziest potentially game-winning score in the NFL this season, but Toney was flagged for starting the play offsides. Incredible. The Chiefs ended up losing the game by three points, and they were absolutely fuming after the loss, their fifth of the season already. They are now in legitimate danger of falling out of first place in the AFC West.
Meanwhile, the Patriots pulled off a nice upset against the Pittsburgh Steelers in a prime time matchup, and they’ll be playing spoiler the rest of the way this season. I think the Pats are going to get a ticked off Chiefs team, but are they going to get a distracted Chiefs team?
The oddsmakers are expecting the Chiefs to win by double digits.
Prediction: Chiefs win 24-14
New York Giants (5-8) @ New Orleans Saints (6-7)
Sunday, December 17, 1:00 PM ET
The season continues to stay alive for the New Orleans Saints. They are 6-7 after notching another win in Week 14, and while the Saints certainly haven’t passed the eye test for most of the season, they have the benefit of playing in the horrendous NFC South, where three teams now have a 6-7 record and we find ourselves in nearly the same situation as last season.
The NFC South could come down to the wire, and as the rest of the NFC South teams look around the division at who plays who in Week 15, the other teams have got to be livid that the Saints are drawing a Week 15 matchup against the New York Giants.
And I say that as though the Saints have some massive advantage, but going into Week 14, the Saints and Giants were only separated by a game on the standings. This is just a game you expect the Saints with the veteran players they have in key positions to go out and win, especially playing at home.
Derek Carr was signed to get this Saints team back into the playoffs, and now he’s got the chance to force the issue a little bit. Playing at home against a team you should beat? Carr has to be the one to get the job done. As much as we love Tommy Devito ranking his favorite Italian foods, and as great of a story as he’s been, you’ve got to think the Saints win this one. The early betting line has them favored by six.
Tommy DeVito mania will attempt to play spoiler. The Giants may have a substantial coaching advantage in this one. Don't be surprised to see an upset.
Prediction: Saints win 24-18
Atlanta Falcons (6-7) @ Carolina Panthers (1-12)
Sunday, December 17, 1:00 PM ET
It’s really a shame to see how poorly the Carolina Panthers have played this season. They have already lost 12 games and are all but certain to be sending the Chicago Bears the #1 overall pick in next year’s draft. To see the way Bryce Young has played this season is really discouraging and you can’t help but wonder what the Panthers are going to do to try and rectify that whole situation.
While we think about all that, they’ve got a game to host against the Atlanta Falcons, who have been on a rollercoaster ride this season just like we saw last year. Some weeks, the Falcons look awesome and dare I say fun offensively, and other weeks they are anemic and can barely move the ball.
They had a chance – at home – to put some distance between themselves and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but they lost and find themselves on the outside looking in of the playoff picture once again. This is a must-win game for the Falcons and right now, they just that much better of a team than the Panthers that I think you can take it to the bank barring something weird happening.
The Falcons are only favored on the road by three, so I guess the oddsmakers aren’t expecting this to be an overly high-quality game.
Prediction: Falcons win 23-19
Washington Commanders (4-9) @ Los Angeles Rams (6-7)
Sunday, December 17, 4:05 PM ET
The Los Angeles Rams almost pulled off the borderline impossible in Week 14. They very nearly went into Baltimore in December and got a win on the road. That’s not easy for any team to do, much less a team coming from the West Coast to try and pull it off.
And it took the Ravens a miraculous punt return for a touchdown in overtime to fend off the red-hot Rams.
Although the Rams lost that game, you just can’t help but feel a lot better about them as a team overall with the way they played the Ravens. There are no moral victories in the NFL, but you can see a lot in a game like that. The Rams are galvanizing as a team, they are executing well, and they lost a heartbreaker on the road. It happens.
Unfortunately, they had that game slotted on the schedule at the worst possible time, because they could have gained some valuable ground there in the NFC Wild Card race. Now, they get the chance to go back home in Week 15 and get back to .500 with a matchup against the Washington Commanders, who are coming off of a bye but don’t seem to pose much of a threat.
The only thing you really worry about here for the Rams is a letdown after such a hard-fought road game against the Ravens. I think this is a game the Rams will win and get to 7-7. They are substantial 6.5-point favorites.
Prediction: Rams win 27-20
San Francisco 49ers (10-3) @ Arizona Cardinals (3-10)
Sunday, December 17, 4:05 PM ET
At this point, you just expect the San Francisco 49ers to win by a mile in just about every game. I know the Arizona Cardinals are an NFL team and they are coming off of a bye week, so they deserve respect, but it’s hard to see anything happening in this matchup other than the 49ers winning by a couple of scores.
The Cardinals did win heading into their bye week, a nice win against the Pittsburgh Steelers to help a lot of playoff-hungry AFC hopefuls. With Kyler Murray back in the fold, I guess you can’t rule out the possibility of the Cardinals playing spoiler.
But the 49ers are just too talented. They have too much margin for error. San Francisco is favored by 13.5 points in this one and that is obviously indicative of how Vegas thinks this one is going to go. And by that I mean, they think it’s going to get out of hand.
The 49ers didn’t play the cleanest game against the Seattle Seahawks, and while they did win by 12 points, they were a bit sloppier than normal going up against a Drew Lock-led team that kept it close late into the third quarter. Obviously, that could have provided the 49ers an opportunity to refocus so this Cardinals game doesn’t become a “trap” game for the 49ers with a matchup against the Baltimore Ravens looming in Week 16.
Prediction: 49ers win 34-17
Dallas Cowboys (10-3) @ Buffalo Bills (7-6)
Sunday, December 17, 4:25 PM ET
After everything that transpired on Sunday, this game couldn’t be more intriguing. The Dallas Cowboys are playing like one of the best teams in the NFL right now. They took out some rage leftover from a loss earlier this season to the Eagles and absolutely obliterated their division rivals in front of an excited home crowd.
Although Dallas has had some really disappointing games this season, their win against Philadelphia on Sunday was really a landmark moment for the season. The Cowboys are one of the most complete teams in the NFL, and we’ve seen them play that way throughout the season.
We also saw them get absolutely destroyed by the 49ers.
Now, the Cowboys face another tough test with a road trip to take on the Buffalo Bills, who just pulled off an emotional win on the road against the Kansas City Chiefs. With the way the Bills have played for the majority of this season, it’s hard to expect them – even playing at home – to be able to hang with Dallas the way the Cowboys have been playing.
Dak Prescott looks like the league MVP. The Cowboys’ defense is playing fast and aggressive at every level. The early betting line has the Buffalo Bills as one-point favorites at home, but this will be a tough game for the home team to pull off.
Can the Cowboys extend their winning streak to six games? Which one of these two teams is going to come out more focused after really emotional victories in Week 14? This should be a great game.
Prediction: Cowboys win 31-27
Baltimore Ravens (10-3) @ Jacksonville Jaguars (8-5)
Sunday, December 17, 8:20 PM ET
The Jacksonville Jaguars are going on a skid at the worst possible time, and they have raised some serious questions about the legitimacy of their 8-3 start in the last couple of weeks. Sure, the Jaguars have lost to a now 7-6 Bengals team and they just lost to the now 8-5 Cleveland Browns, but when push comes to shove, this is the reality:
The Jaguars failed to cement their status atop the AFC South with matchups against Jake Browning and Joe Flacco.
It’s inexcusable, and hopefully they are able to right the ship in time to maintain their status atop that division, at least for their sakes. It had been a great season up to the last couple of weeks for the Jags, and it looks like they narrowly avoided disaster with Trevor Lawrence playing just a few days after slamming his helmet in pain against the Bengals on Monday night.
Now they have to play a home game against a very physical Ravens team which is coming off of an emotional win against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 14. The Ravens are not a flawless team, by any means, but they are really well-rounded and they are fast defensively. I think they can give the Jaguars fits and I think Jacksonville is spiraling a little out of control right now.
This is not a good matchup for a team in need of a “get right” game. The Ravens are favored by three, and I think I like them by four or more.
Prediction: Ravens win 33-24
Philadelphia Eagles (10-3) @ Seattle Seahawks (6-7)
Monday, December 18, 8:15 PM ET
Nobody is going to accuse the Philadelphia Eagles of being frauds anytime soon, but you certainly can’t help but see them as “human” with the way the last two weeks have gone down. The Eagles obviously have been flirting with disaster much of the season, but they’re a team with so much built-in room for error that it hasn’t mattered up to this point.
Now, they’ve dropped consecutive games to two of the best teams in the NFL, but two teams that they’re going to have to face off against in the playoffs if they want to get back to the Super Bowl (49ers, Cowboys).
The Eagles now have to travel out to Seattle to face off against the Seahawks where the home team is also coming off of losses to both the Cowboys and 49ers. It’s pretty wild that the Eagles have played poorly enough in the eyes of the oddsmakers to just be four point favorites on the road against Seattle here. The Seahawks are not playing well, and even though they are in desperation mode, they don’t match up well against the Eagles.
The Eagles couldn’t have possibly drawn up the final four games of the season to be more favorable. Although every matchup in the NFL is difficult, the Eagles’ final four games are against Seattle, Arizona, and two against the New York Giants. They should be able to sleepwalk to 14-3, but it feels like they’ve done too much sleepwalking this season.
With the division now in the hands of the Cowboys, I think we’ll see a ticked-off and focused Eagles team in Week 15.
Prediction: Eagles win 34-21