With Thursday Night Football in the rearview mirror, our focus turns to a Week 15 Sunday slate that is up there with the best of the season. The action kicks off at 1:00 pm ET with 8 games, headlined by Chargers vs Chiefs, Bills vs Patriots, and Ravens vs Bengals. The early-afternoon games will be followed by a 5-game mid-afternoon slate that starts at 4:25 pm ET, spearheaded by 3 games that carry heavy playoff implications in Packers vs Broncos, Lions vs Rams, and Panthers vs Saints. To cap it all off, the Vikings will visit the Cowboys on Sunday Night Football.
Here at Pickswise, we have you covered on EVERY GAME on the Week 15 card! You can find our NFL picks for EVERY side and total, and tail our expert handicappers – who collectively boast a 221-190-3 record so far this season! But for now, let’s break down our NFL best bets from our top experts.
NFL Best Bet: Arizona Cardinals vs Houston Texans Under 42.5 (-108)
Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook at the time of publishing.
It’s hard to even describe just how good the Texans’ defense is. Perhaps the most telling way to say it is that the unit is so good that you might actually tune into a football game for the purpose of watching defense instead of offense. Yes, the Texans’ defense is legitimately fun to watch — and it is the main reason why my Cardinals vs. Texans pick is Under 42.5. They have recorded 36 sacks and have forced 22 turnovers (4th-most in the league). Moreover, the offense has committed the 3rd-fewest turnovers in the NFL (10) — so it rarely puts the defense in bad situations. Speaking of the offense, quarterback C.J. Stroud has been solid but unspectacular in 2 starts since missing 3 games with concussion. In those 2 appearances, he went a combined 37-of-66 for 479 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT.
Meanwhile, Brissett is playing well for the Cardinals but is not getting much help at all from the running game. And no matter what Brissett brings to the table on Sunday, it’s hard to like any offense’s chances against Houston at the moment. Will Anderson Jr., Danielle Hunter and others are probably going to wreak havoc in the backfield. I’m not even entirely positive that Arizona will avoid getting shut out. The under is 4-0 in the Texans’ last four overall and 2-0 in the last two head-to-head encounters.
Read our full Cardinals vs. Texans prediction
NFL Best Bet: Buffalo Bills -1 over New England Patriots (-110)
Odds available at BetMGM at the time of publishing.
The Bills (9-4) have an outside shot of winning the AFC East for a 6th straight season but need to beat the Patriots (11-2) at Gillette Stadium on Sunday to keep those hopes alive. Buffalo lost the first matchup with New England at home in Week 5, falling on a last-minute field goal in a 23-20 defeat as 8-point favorites. That was the second victory as part of the Patriots’ current 10-game winning streak, which is notable because New England won a total of 8 games the previous 2 seasons.
Buffalo has won 3 of its past 4 games since a shocking loss at Miami in Week 10. The Bills rallied past the Bengals in the snow last Sunday, 39-34, scoring 3 touchdowns in the fourth quarter. QB Josh Allen threw 3 touchdown passes and scampered for a 40-yard TD run in the win, solidifying the Bills as a Wild Card team if they can’t leap-frog the Patriots. Buffalo failed to cover as 6.5-point favorites, falling to 6-7 against the spread.
The Patriots are coming off the bye week after crushing the short-handed Giants at home 33-15 as 7.5-point favorites, ending a 2-game ATS slide. QB Drake Maye went from a questionable selection with the 3rd pick to the odds-on MVP favorite in 1 season. Maye is 2nd in the league in passing yards (3,412) and 3rd in TD passes (23), including 9 games with multiple TD passes. In the first meeting with Buffalo, the former UNC standout was held without a TD toss for the only time in 13 games this season.
Seven of New England’s last 8 wins have come against teams with losing records, and the only other victory is against Tampa Bay, who is 7-6. Buffalo is listed as a short favorite and has been susceptible to stubbing its toe this season off a big win. However, it’s tough to pass on the Bills in this revenge spot, even against this red-hot New England squad.
Don’t forget to check out our Bills vs Patriots for picks on both side and total
NFL Best Bet: Los Angeles Rams -6 over Detroit Lions (-110)
Odds widely available at the time of publishing.
The top seed in the NFC is up for grabs heading into the final 4 weeks of the season. The Rams and Seahawks are tied atop the NFC West at 10-3 as the two squads meet next Thursday in Seattle. However, Los Angeles needs to take care of Detroit on Sunday at SoFi Stadium as the Lions are fighting for their playoff lives at 8-5. Detroit has alternated wins and losses in each of the past 9 games, coming off the 44-30 home triumph over Dallas last Thursday.
The Lions finished as the top NFC seed last season at 15-2, but were one-and-done in the playoffs after losing to the Commanders in the divisional round. Detroit hasn’t been able to find consistency since posting a 4-game winning streak following its opening week loss at Green Bay. Dan Campbell’s team is 3-3 away from Ford Field, which includes a 1-3 ATS mark as a road underdog. The Lions are averaging 18.5 ppg in the last 4 games off a victory, compared to 36.3 ppg in their first 3 games off a win.
The Rams bounced back from a shocking loss at Carolina 2 weeks ago to rout the banged-up Cardinals, 45-17 as 9.5-point road favorites. QB Matthew Stafford rebounded from a rough performance against the Panthers by throwing 3 TD passes and no interceptions. The Rams are back at SoFi Stadium, where they own a 5-1 record with the lone loss coming in overtime to the 49ers in Week 5. Los Angeles hopes to avenge a pair of defeats at Detroit the last 2 seasons, including in the 2023 Wild Card round, 24-23. Seeing Detroit’s inconsistency the last 2 months, let’s lay the points with the Rams here to take care of business at home.
We have bets on the side and total in our Lions vs Rams prediction
NFL Best Bet: Carolina Panthers -2.5 over New Orleans (-120)
Odds courtesy of Caesars Sportsbook at the time of publishing.
It will be a showdown in the NFC South when the Carolina Panthers visit the New Orleans Saints on Sunday afternoon. New Orleans did Carolina a solid by upsetting division-rival Tampa Bay in Week 14, but the Panthers won’t return the favor by playing nice this weekend. After all, they are now in the thick of a division race. The door is open for the Panthers and — at least for the time being — I expect them to walk through it. My Panthers vs. Saints pick is for the visitors to win and cover. This is a fantastic spot for the visitors. Carolina is coming off a bye and facing an opponent that just picked up its biggest win of the season, thus inflating its value.
The Saints are very bad — way worse than this 2.5-point spread indicates. Their season-long sample size confirms that this is a far inferior team compared to what was on display at Tampa Bay this past weekend. The Bucs really aren’t that good, either. In fact, they have been in shambles since a hot start to the 2025 campaign — their record since a Week 9 bye is 1-4. The Saints gained only 260 yards of total offense but still managed to prevail 24-20. Now they return to the Big Easy, but there is no home-field advantage for them these days. They are 1-5 at the Caesars Superdome this season, compared to 2-5 on the road. Meanwhile, the Panthers are 6-3 SU in their last 9 overall and find themselves tied atop the NFC South with the Bucs. Carolina most recently stunned the Rams in Week 13 as Bryce Young continued to heat up. Young has thrown at least 3 touchdown passes in 4 games so far in 2025.
Find our full Panthers vs Saints prediction
NFL Best Bet: Minnesota Vikings +6.5 over Dallas Cowboys (-115)
Odds available at FanDuel Sportsbook at the time of publishing.
Last week, the good version of JJ McCarthy returned for at least 1 game, even if the rookie got a lot of help from his teammates. Minnesota jumped out to a 14-0 lead after their first two drives. The second drive was a brilliantly executed, 12 minute, 98-yard showcase of O’Connell’s ability to design the perfect offense for any quarterback. However, the Vikings only gained 42 yards for the next two quarters. In garbage time, they eventually capitalized on a few advantageous short fields. While we were mildly impressed by McCarthy in Week 14 (16-23, 163 yards, 3 touchdowns and no interceptions), it doesn’t mean their offense is suddenly “figured out” again, nor do we trust the rookie to perform consistently at that level.
Minnesota’s defense is less of a concern, 9th overall in total in defensive EPA and most weeks keeping their team in the game. They’ll need to be one of the best this Sunday.
The Dallas offense tripped up this past Thursday against the Lions, but we’re not going to fade the Cowboys because of 1 game. Week 14 was more about their opponent, a desperate team at home who rode momentum once they found it. Dallas’ offense still had its chances, and Detroit struggled limiting their production throughout the contest (417 total yards, 25 first downs, both out-pacing Detroit). Regardless, Dallas retains a top unit (7th in EPA per pass, 1st in yards per game). They’ll battle a top-tier defense on the other side, but the Cowboys’ consistent, exceptional play along their front (4th overall in sacks allowed, 12th in yards per carry) can create a formidable challenge for the Vikings’ pass-rush (4th in sack percentage).
On the other side, Dallas’ defense showed notable improvement in Weeks 12 and 13 but took a step back at Detroit, although even great defenses have had similar moments at Ford Field. Overall we still see an improving group, but McCarthy has another opportunity to look his best against a Dallas-defense that’s mostly been abysmal all season (30th in EPA per pass). We wanted to find ways to justify a bet on the Cowboys, but the Vikings are never dead with O’Connell steering the ship. And frankly, our power ratings don’t score these teams as grossly disparate.
Here are our Vikings vs Cowboys picks for SNF
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