My first bet for Week 15 – NFL picks to consider right now

We have an extravaganza of high-profile games on the NFL schedule in Week 15.

Among them are the Detroit Lions visiting the Los Angeles Rams (-6, 55.5), with both teams coming off big wins, the New England Patriots hosting in the Buffalo Bills (-1.5, 50.5) in a key AFC East clash and the NFC North-leading Green Bay Packers (-2.5, 43.5) hitting the road to face the AFC West front-running Denver Broncos.

The Minnesota Vikings and Dallas Cowboys meet up for “Sunday Night Football,” with the Cowboys desperately trying to keep their playoff hopes alive.

Matt Bowen, Pamela Maldonado, Eric Moody, Ben Solak and Seth Walder looked at the early Week 15 odds and identified which ones are worth jumping on now before potential shifts later in the week.

Note: Odds by DraftKings Sportsbook and subject to change.

New England Patriots money line (-105) vs. Buffalo Bills

Moody: The Patriots are slight underdogs at home, which is surprising to me. New England has won five consecutive games in Foxborough and beat the Bills earlier this season. The Patriots have been a juggernaut offensively, ranking eighth in total yards and seventh in points per game. Their defense has performed similarly, ranking in the top 10 in both total yards allowed and points allowed. The Bills are 5-15 straight up in their last 20 road games against the Patriots.

Solak: The Bills had a strong offensive day against the Cincinnati Bengals, but we’re far too quickly forgetting that it took a 67-yard pick-six for the Bills to regain control of this game, and then another pick-six for them to build a truly unrecoverable lead. I expect public money to be all over the Patriots this week, and enough sharps should be there that this closes with the Patriots actually favored.

Detroit Lions +6 (-115) at Los Angeles Rams

Bowen: I’ll take the six points with the Lions in this one. Look for Jared Goff to target the deep in-breakers versus Rams’ split-safety coverages. Catch-and-run throws. Detroit creates enough explosive plays to cover Sunday in L.A.
Last week: Bears +6 at Packers (Packers won 28-21)

Lions at Rams total points OVER 55 (-108)

Maldonado: This looks aggressive, but the matchup calls for it. The Rams are a scoring machine, and their pace forces opponents to keep up. The Lions are functional enough offensively to land where they need, even on the road. Matthew Stafford creates explosive plays, Jared Goff plays catch-up and the game naturally tilts into a high-scoring script. Once the line becomes available, the Rams’ team total over is worth consideration.
Last week: Cowboys +3 at Lions (Lions won 44-30)

Green Bay Packers -2.5 (-110) at Denver Broncos

Solak: The Broncos are still struggling to run the football in J.K. Dobbins’ absence, and the defense has shown a few cracks over recent weeks as opposing offenses become more specific with who they target in man coverage. The Packers are closer to full strength at wide receiver with Jayden Reed back in the fold, and the defense shreds against opposing offenses that can’t run the rock. Good matchup for Green Bay here.
Last week: Seahawks -7.5 at Falcons (Seahawks won 37-9), Colts-Jaguars under 48.5 (Jaguars won 36-19)

Dallas Cowboys -6 (-110) vs. Minnesota Vikings

Walder: Forgive me for not buying into J.J. McCarthy just yet after one good game against the worst passing defense in the league in terms of EPA per play. And similarly, I’m not throwing in the towel on the Cowboys’ ability just because they lost by 14 to the Lions. Dak Prescott is the league leader in QBR this season and ought to receive MVP consideration, and DT Quinnen Williams looks like his old self now that he’s in Dallas. He has recorded a 15% pass rush win rate at defensive tackle as a Cowboy, which would rank third at the position for the season if he had kept that pace over the whole year. I like Dallas to clear this spread and then some.
Last week: Abdul Carter to win DROY (+2000)