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Once again this season, the Baltimore Beatdown staff is picking the winners for each week’s slate of contests throughout the year. Results will be tracked throughout the year to see who is most accurate with their predictions.
Readers can participate by voting in the polls for each game below. Join in on the fun and chime in with your thoughts on every matchup!
Updated Standings:
- BB readers (145-63)
- Vasilis (141-67)
- Kyle (136-72)
- Spencer (135-73)
- Frank, Dustin (134-74)
- Peter (132-72)
- Jakob (128-80)
Consensus Selections —
The staff was in agreement on the following matchups in Week 15:
- Bills > Broncos (BUF -6)
- Packers > Panthers (GB -9)
- Buccaneers > Falcons (TB -6)
- Titans > Lions (TEN -10.5)
- Colts > Texans (IND -7)
- Ravens > Jaguars (BAL -13)
- Rams > Jets (LAR -16.5)
- Chiefs > Saints (KC -3)
- Steelers > Bengals (PIT -12.5)
Once again this week, there are a sizeable amount of games that fall into the unanimous prediction category. In the double digit realm, we see the Rams (-17.5), Ravens (-13), and Titans (-10.5) as heavy favorites. All of our writers envision these playoff contenders avoiding big upset losses.
The same can be said for a quadrant of teams favored by five or more points. On Saturday, our staff likes the Bills and Packers to continue their hot streaks with matchups against the Broncos and Panthers, respectively. Buffalo is favored by just under a touchdown and clinch an AFC East title with a win. Green Bay already locked up their division title last week.
In the early afternoon window on Sunday, the Buccaneers are six-point favorites against the Falcons and the Colts are a touchdown favorite against the Texans. In each of these contests, not a single staff member predicted Atlanta or Houston to pull off an upset.
Perhaps most surprising is that nobody predicted the Saints to defeat the Chiefs. Kansas City is a field goal favorite over New Orleans on the road. The Saints are tied with the Packers for the No. 1 seed in the NFC, while the Chiefs sit alone in said spot in the AFC with just one loss on the season. However, the Chiefs are 0-5 against the spread since Week 9.
What is not surprising, though, is seeing the Steelers picked unanimously to defeat the Bengals on Monday night.
Lone Wolf Selections —
The following writers are alone with these predictions in Week 15:
- Spencer likes the Giants to defeat the Browns on SNF (NYG +4.5)
Surprisingly, Spencer is the only representative on the lone wolf section this week with his prediction of the Giants over the Browns.
New York is coming off a 19-point defeat against the Cardinals in Week 14. The Giants struggled offensively and lost 26-7. On the flip side, the Browns were terrific on the offensive side of the ball last week, scoring 42 points versus the Ravens on Monday night. However, their defense proved to be their undoing.
If the Browns win this game, they’ll secure a double-digit win season for the first time since 2007 and significantly improve their playoff chances — and positioning. For the Giants, a loss here would be a damaging blow to their hopes of winning the NFC East.