NFL Week 15 Sharp Betting Picks

NFL Week 15 Sharp Betting Picks

Written by on December 13, 2016

The Cleveland Browns have three more chances to avoid joining the 2008 Detroit Lions as the only teams to go 0-16 in NFL regular-season history. The Buffalo Bills have the longest playoff drought in the NFL and it’s going to continue. So the only interesting thing to do on Sunday when those two meet is to bet on it. Let’s check out some of the NFL lines for Week 15.

NFL Week 15 Sharp Betting Picks

Cleveland Browns at Buffalo Bills (+10)

Cleveland fell to 0-13 with a 23-10 home loss to Cincinnati on Sunday. Robert Griffin III started for the first time since getting hurt in the opener. RG3 did score on a 1-yard sneak in the third quarter, but the Browns lost their 16th straight dating to Dec. 13 last season. Cleveland has lost 23 of 24 and 31 of 34 since the end of 2014. Griffin finished 12 of 28 for 104 yards. He also was sacked three times and didn’t top 100 passing yards until the final seconds of the game when things were already settled. He completed just two-of- 10 passes for 20 yards in the first half and was only marginally better after halftime. His QB rating at the half was 0.0. Many of his decisions were misguided, including an interception off a flea-flicker he threw into triple coverage. Isaiah Crowell was a bright spot for Cleveland, rushing for 113 yards on 10 carries. Crowell made his living off big plays, breaking off runs of 42 and 30 yards. Sunday represented Crowell’s third 100-yard rushing game of the season and the fourth of his career. Buffalo (6-7) lost 27-20 at home to Pittsburgh in the snow. The loss all but mathematically eliminated the Bills from contention, and puts them in jeopardy of extending the NFL’s longest active playoff drought to 17 years — the longest since New Orleans ended a 20-year drought by reaching the postseason for their first time in 1987. The Bills mustered no response on offense or defense at a time when both quarterback Tyrod Taylor and coach Rex Ryan are having their future in Buffalo questioned. The Bills combined for seven first downs and 87 yards net offense on their first nine possessions. Taylor finished 15 of 25 for 228 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Ryan didn’t say Taylor would start again this week immediately after but did Monday. With 19 all-purpose TDs and only eight turnovers despite myriad pass-catcher injuries, Taylor hasn’t been the Bills’ biggest problem this year. Go Buffalo here.

Tennessee Titans at Kansas City Chiefs (-5.5)

It’s a potential playoff preview here. Tennessee (7-6) is tied for the AFC South lead with Houston. The Titans beat visiting Denver 13-10 on Sunday. The Titans came in with the NFL’s third-best rushing offense and the AFC’s top runner in DeMarco Murray, and they ran right over a Denver defense that came in 28th in that category. By halftime, the Titans ran 26 times for 138 yards — the second-most rushes by any team in the first half this season and most allowed in the first half by Denver since 2014. Murray rushed 21 times for 92 yards and one touchdown. Murray’s one-yard touchdown plunge and a pair of Ryan Succop field goals was all the Titans needed to down the reigning champs. Marcus Mariota threw for only 88 yards in his worst game passing this season. He did become the first Titans quarterback with at least 3,000 yards passing in a season since Matt Hasselbeck in 2011. Kansas City (10-3) is tied atop the AFC West with Oakland after beating the Raiders 21-13 last Thursday. Tyreek Hill took back a punt 78 yards for a game-changing touchdown. It followed shortly after he had hauled in a 36-yard touchdown grab. Charcandrick West added a touchdown run and Travis Kelce had five catches for 101 yards as the Chiefs returned from a back-to- back road wins to beat Oakland for the seventh time in eight meetings. Kelce has had at least 100 yards receiving in four straight games, matching the franchise record set by Tony Gonzalez. The win was costly as starting linebacker Derrick Johnson has been diagnosed with a ruptured left Achilles’ tendon, and is done for the season. Johnson knew it the second he went down in non-contact fashion in the first half. Coach Andy Reid simply called it a “sad deal.” The Chiefs still have a loaded defense for the stretch run, but were already having problems up the gut against the run. I like K.C.