Ridin' Pine Week 15 Picks

 A lot of teams are continuing to play for their seasons, it feels like January!

All times are 1:00 p.m. ET unless otherwise noted.

THURSDAY

Los Angeles (A) @ Las Vegas 8:20 p.m. ET

  • Jake: Raiders

  • Sam: Raiders

  • Johnny: Raiders

    • This game scares me, if I were a betting man I would not put money on this game.

SATURDAY

Buffalo @ Denver 4:30 p.m. ET

  • Jake: Bills

  • Sam: Bills

  • Johnny: Bills 

    • Buffalo could be playing for the #2 seed in the AFC, and Denver isn’t going to stop this Bills team the way they are playing

Carolina @ Green Bay 8:15 p.m. ET

  • Jake: Packers

  • Sam: Packers

  • Johnny: Packers

SUNDAY

New England @ Miami

  • Jake: Patriots

    • I don’t think a Bill Belichick team is gonna give up chances at a playoff spot without a fight. Damien Harris has been the one bright spot on offense though, and without him, Cam Newton is going to have to throw the ball more often against the arguably best secondary in the NFL. That hasn’t exactly been a recipe for success so far, though I do think it will be good to see Newton being forced to throw the ball, as the endless QB draw calls are never going to work. Belichick always beats up on rookie QBs though, and I think Tua might struggle a bit in this one without weapons Davante Parker, Mike Geisecki, and Myles Gaskin. I think it's going to be close, but the Dolphins have too many key injuries on offense right now.

  • Sam: Dolphins

  • Johnny: _____

New York (A) @ Los Angeles (N)

  • Jake: Rams

  • Sam: Rams

    • Who's looking forward to watching Darnold have less than half a second to throw every pass, have no help from the run game and no receivers get separation, and then get blamed for the blowout loss despite the defense being at fault for giving up 50? Not me. I’m not looking forward to it. I'm not watching.  

  • Johnny: Rams

Houston @ Indianapolis

  • Jake: Colts

    • The Colts defense is astronomically much better than the Texans’ unit, and given the lack of weapons that Watson has, I’m taking Rivers here.

  • Sam: Texans

  • Johnny: Texans

    • Just a couple weeks ago DeShaun Watson fumbled on a ‘Goal to go’ situation in a 1 possession game inside the 2-minute warning, and he is out for revenge this week.

Detroit @ Tennessee

  • Jake: Titans

  • Sam: Titans

  • Johnny: Titans

Tampa Bay @ Atlanta

  • Jake: Bucs

  • Sam: Buccaneers

  • Johnny: Buccaneers

Jacksonville @ Baltimore

  • Jake: Ravens

  • Sam: Ravens

  • Johnny: Ravens

Chicago @ Minnesota 

  • Jake: Vikings

    • In Mitch we don’t trust.

  • Sam: Vikings

    • Trubisky played a good game last week! It happens every now and then, but don't count on it to happen now. He got benched for a reason and soon he will get re-benched for a reason.

  • Johnny: Vikings

Seattle @ Washington

  • Jake: Seahawks

    • If Smith was starting, I actually think I’d pick the Football Team. They’ve been red-hot, and the Seahawks have not been. I don’t think Wilson and the Seahawks are going to have a huge game against this pass rush—though I think having Chris Carson back will make it a little easier—but Haskins simply is not good. 

  • Sam: Seahawks

    • I’ve had enough of this “NFC East beating good teams” nonsense. It ends here. The Seahawks lapsed vs the Giants and the Football team pulled off a miracle vs the overrated Steelers. Flukes. Don’t forget which team is below .500 in a historically bad conference and which team is 9-4 in football’s best conference (along with having a top tier QB).

  • Johnny: Seahawks

San Francisco @ Dallas

  • Jake: 49ers

  • Sam: 49ers

  • Johnny: 49ers

Philadelphia @ Arizona 4:05 p.m. ET

  • Jake: Cardinals

    • I don’t think Murray lets playoff chances slip away in this one. 

  • Sam: Cardinals 

  • Johnny: Eagles

Kansas City @ New Orleans 4:25 p.m. ET

  • Jake: Chiefs

    • Fantastic matchup. With Drew Brees coming off of a serious rib injury though (and by rib, I mean many ribs), I don’t think he’ll be able to keep up with Mahomes.

  • Sam: Chiefs 

  • Johnny: Chiefs

Cleveland @ New York (N) 8:20 p.m. ET

  • Jake: Browns

    • Colt McCoy is not good.

  • Sam: Browns 

    • Grudge match for Colt McCoy vs his former team! He’s not gonna win tho.

  • Johnny: Browns

MONDAY

Pittsburgh @ Cincinnati 8:15 p.m. ET

  • Jake: Steelers

    • Great strength of schedule for the Steelers!

  • Sam: Steelers

  • Johnny: Steelers

    • Back in the Win column! Against the Bengals! Congrats Steelers!