NFL Odds: Opening Betting Lines for Week 15, Game Trends Roundup
The Philadelphia Eagles (11-2) may have lost quarterback Carson Wentz for the season due to a torn ACL suffered in Sunday’s 43-35 road win over the Los Angeles Rams (9-4), but that has not stopped the NFC East champions from being consensus 7.5-point betting favorites at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com visiting the New York Giants (2-11) in Week 15.
The Eagles will start steady backup Nick Foles at New York, and they have won six of the last seven straight up in the series between the two division rivals.
Elsewhere, the New York Jets (5-8) will be without their starting quarterback this week, as the team saw Josh McCown go down with a fractured hand in a 23-0 road loss to the Denver Broncos last Sunday.
The Jets do not have a reliable reserve on the roster and will go with Bryce Petty when they visit the New Orleans Saints (9-4) as massive 16-point underdogs. The Saints are coming off a 20-17 road loss to the Atlanta Falcons in last week’s Thursday night matchup and have covered the spread in six of the past eight meetings.
Two more teams fighting for their postseason lives are hoping to get their starting quarterbacks back under center, as the Buffalo Bills (7-6) host the Miami Dolphins (6-7) and the Green Bay Packers (7-6) visit the Carolina Panthers (9-4).
The Packers have a much tougher task ahead of them with or without Aaron Rodgers, who will get a CT scan this week to determine if he can be cleared to play following a broken collarbone. Some books have the Panthers as 2.5-point chalk while others have it off the board early in the week.
The Bills need Tyrod Taylor (knee) back too despite winning last week without him. The Dolphins are still mathematically alive in the AFC playoff race following a huge 27-20 upset victory versus the New England Patriots (10-3) on Monday night. Buffalo has gone a disappointing 1-6 SU and against the spread in its last seven divisional games, and these teams will square off twice in the final three weeks.
The Patriots will finish out a string of three consecutive road games when they visit the Pittsburgh Steelers (11-2) as 2.5-point road favorites. The winner of this matchup will likely earn the top seed in the AFC, and New England has won four of the past five road meetings while going 11-3 SU and 10-3-1 ATS in the series dating back to 1998.
The AFC South-leading Jacksonville Jaguars (9-4) are double-digit favorites for the second straight week – and the second time in 10 years – as they host the Houston Texans (4-9) with T.J. Yates at quarterback.
The favored team has gone 2-8 ATS in the past 10 meetings, but the Jaguars have gone 6-1 ATS in their last seven against divisional foes, according to the OddsShark NFL Database.
And the Tennessee Titans (8-5) are expected to have quarterback Marcus Mariota (knee) in action when they visit the San Francisco 49ers (3-10) as two-point road dogs.
