Watch: Nostrathomas Predicts! The Falcons Playoff Preview that Should have Been
This was one of those circled games when the 2019 schedule came out. Falcons fans were looking at this game as a test to see how well the team was prepared for the postseason. Now, the only thing left for the Falcons to measure is for the alterations needed for 2020.
Heading into Week 15, Nostrathomas is 17-9-1 for a .630 winning percentage against the spread with his picks on Falcon Maven and 14-8 straight-up. Now it’s time for the Seer of Sayers to give you a winning parlay for Week 15.
Atlanta Falcons +10.5 at San Francisco 49ers (4:25PM ET; Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, CA)
San Francisco squeezed past the New Orleans Saints last week in a Week 14 shootout, 48-46. That win gave the 49ers the top seed in the NFC with three games left to play.
As Dave Holcomb pointed out in one of his videos this past week, the 49ers’ final two games will be against division rivals Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks, both of whom are playing for postseason positioning. Will San Francisco be able to get up for a game against a 4-9 team with nothing but pride to play for?
The answer is yes, at least enough to come out on top in this game. It would be ludicrous to think that the Falcons can escape California with a win. The 49ers worked too hard last week to get a game up on their conference opponents. San Francisco also can’t afford to give the Seahawks an opening to win the division. Seattle currently holds the tiebreaker between the two.
However, with six players on defense declared out for this game and two tough opponents to close out the season, expecting the 49ers to win by double-digits points is too much to expect. Take San Francisco to win but the Falcons to cover the spread.
San Francisco 49ers 30 Atlanta Falcons 22
Seattle Seahawks -6.5 at Carolina Panthers (1PM ET; Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, NC)
The spread has jumped two points, from opening with the Seattle Seahawks favored -4.5 to -6.5, where the line is at this writing.
Seattle is 6-1 on the road this season and 3-0 in East Coast games. The Seahawks are also 10-3 against the spread in their last 13 road games. The Carolina Panthers are 2-4 at home this season.
Both teams are coming off embarrassing losses. The Seahawks are the only one of these two who are good enough to do something about it. Also, each week that passes shows that NFL defenses have Panthers quarterback Kyle Allen figured out.
Take Seattle to win and cover but do it fast before another .5 point gets added to the spread. The Seahawks are being heavily bet this week.
Seattle Seahawks 27 Carolina Panthers 13
Los Angeles Rams -1.5 at Dallas Cowboys (4:25PM ET; AT&T Stadium, Dallas Texas)
Dallas opened this week favored by four points and are now underdogs against a Los Angeles Rams team that crushed the Seattle Seahawks last Sunday night.
Jason Garrett may have completely lost the locker room. First, Garrett dismissed the use of in-game analytics after the team’s loss to the New England Patriots, which wouldn’t be a problem if Garrett had a better grasp of game situations. Then last week, to boost team morale, he showed the players a highlight reel of big plays that they’ve made in the past. “In the past” being the key phrase because some of the plays were from 2018.
The Rams are still looking for a way to crash the postseason party with a Wild Card spot. All the Cowboys need to do is beat the Philadelphia Eagles next week to win the most mediocre division in the NFL. Take the Rams to win and cover.
Los Angeles Rams 29 Dallas Cowboys 16
