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N.F.L. Week 15 Predictions: Our Picks Against the Spread

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A week that could decide several playoff races is highlighted by Chargers-Chiefs, Cowboys-Colts and Bears-Packers.
Is everyone ready for a week that may significantly shape the N.F.L. playoff picture? Twenty-six teams still have a mathematical chance of making the playoffs, but several spots are likely to be settled this week despite few must-see matchups.
[ Week 15 Update: Chargers get bold and beat the Chiefs]
The week will start out strong on Thursday night with an A. F. C. West battle between the Chargers and the Chiefs. On Sunday, the surging Cowboys and the Colts will face off in Indianapolis, and the Packers will travel to Chicago in hopes of knocking down the mighty Bears.
Here’s a look at N.F.L. Week 15, with all picks made against the point spread.
Last week’s record: 11-5
Overall record: 116-87-4
Cowboys at Colts, 1 p.m., Fox
Everyone piles on Jerry Jones when things go wrong — it’s fun! — but fair is fair, and the Cowboys’ owner absolutely nailed the decision to trade a first-round pick for Amari Cooper.
Jones, who has made some bizarre transactions, identified what his team needed most (a No. 1 wide receiver) and paid a high price to get it. And he did not waver when the world told him he’d made yet another blunder.
The Cooper era started with a loss, which came only a few days after he joined the team, but then blossomed into a thing of beauty, with the Cowboys (8-5) reeling off five consecutive wins and taking a two-game lead in the N. F. C. East.
Cooper hasn’t been a part of the solution, he has been the total solution. In six games, he has 40 receptions for 642 yards and five touchdowns. Last week, he beat the Eagles almost single-handedly. Somehow, his 75-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter was not his best play of the day. In overtime, he snagged a tipped ball out of the air for the game-winning touchdown.
Now Dallas heads to Indianapolis for a game in which it can clinch a division title with a win. The Colts (7-6) are mild favorites, owed to home-field advantage and their string of six wins in seven games, but the Dallas secondary is capable of limiting Andrew Luck, and the balance of the Dallas offense — a balance created with Cooper’s acquisition — should be enough to get the Cowboys a win and a division crown. Pick: Cowboys +3
Packers at Bears, 1 p.m., Fox
How about those Bears? Chicago smothered the mighty Rams last week, with the team’s defense making Jared Goff and Todd Gurley simply disappear. There are still plenty of questions about the team’s offense, but the Bears (9-4) are not only winning with defense, but also doing it in style, with Khalil Mack, Akiem Hicks and Eddie Jackson as worthy heirs to the great Chicago defenses of the 1980s.
A win over the Packers (5-7-1) would give the Bears their first division title since 2010, but Green Bay should be taken seriously as an opponent after looking energized in its first game with Coach Joe Philbin last week. Pick: Bears -6
Patriots at Steelers, 4:25 p.m., CBS
Just imagine how mad Coach Bill Belichick and Tom Brady are after the Patriots (9-4) lost ground in the race for home-field advantage in the A. F. C. playoffs by having the Dolphins execute a miracle play in the closing seconds of last week’s game. All of that fury should pour out against the Steelers (7-5-1), who appear to be in free-fall after a nice middle part to the season.
New England can clinch a playoff spot by beating Pittsburgh and having Tennessee lose to the Giants, and can clinch the A. F. C. East if it wins or ties in combination with a loss by Miami. Pick: Patriots -2
Eagles at Rams, 8:20 p.m., NBC
It was just one loss, but when the Rams (11-2) fell to Chicago last week, they not only lost their pole position for home-field advantage throughout the N. F. C. playoffs, but they also put their chance of a first-round bye in jeopardy. Now they host the Eagles (6-7), who have had a rough season, but who have desperation on their side.
Getting the N. F. C.’s top spot back would involve some help from New Orleans, but the Rams can at least secure the bye for themselves by continuing to win; should Chicago lose to Green Bay, the Rams would clinch the bye by beating or tying Philadelphia.
Carson Wentz is out with a back injury for the Eagles, but Nick Foles, last year’s Super Bowl M.

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