NFL week fifteen predictions

Heading into the second-to-last week of the season, the tides have turned in our SCO expert standings. After by far the worst week of the season, Jacob has dropped in the standings to second place. Sam, Jacob's twin brother, has overtaken the lead after a solid week fourteen showing. Also, Abel is now only one game behind Jacob and two games out of the lead. With only a few weeks left before the playoffs, this is really anyone's race.

Standings:

1. Sam: 127-80

2. Jacob: 126-81

3. Abel: 125-82

4. Rohan: 112-95

Chargers at Broncos

Sam: Broncos

Jacob: Broncos

Abel: Broncos

Rohan: Broncos

Sam says: This is a closer game in San Diego. The Chargers can score enough but can they defend? If not, they'll get torched by Peyton Manning.

Jacob says: The Broncos' potent offense led by MVP candidate Peyton Manning should put up more than 35 on a relatively weak Chargers squad.

Abel says: Don't count out some Thursday Night Magic, but I expect this shootout to end with the Broncos on top. Their defense is a bit better than the Chargers', which should give Denver a slight edge, especially at home.

Rohan says: The Chargers come into Denver needing a win to further their prospects of making the playoffs. Even with this added fuel, however, I still don't think they will be able to pull a result out in Denver where Peyton is leading an offense that is scoring almost for fun.

Bills at Jaguars

Sam: Bills

Jacob: Jaguars

Abel: Bills

Rohan: Jaguars Sam says: The Bills have an explosive offense ready to compete with the somehow hot Jaguars. They just cannot get behind early.

Jacob says: The Jags are at home and the fans have something to cheer about. Lets see how the league's worst offense will fare when they're inspired.

Abel says: I will continue to refuse to pick the Jaguars. I mean, they gotta lose sometime right? Despite the Jags' three game winning streak, the Bills have the talent in spots to take advantage of Jacksonville. Buffalo should be able to run the ball with Spiller and Jackson as well as get after Chad Henne with a defensive line that leads the league in sacks.

Rohan says: The Jags are on a roll. I know this is hard to comprehend but they have three wins in a row and I believe that they will get another victory against a poor Bills team.

Bears at Browns

Sam: Bears

Jacob: Bears

Abel: Browns

Rohan: Bears

Sam says: If my main man Josh McCown starts, the Bears should overpower the Browns. If not, I may not be too confident about this one.

Jacob says: With the Bears getting confident after that demolishing of the Cowboys, look for a QB controversy to benefit all parties involved.

Abel says: I'll go with the Browns at home. They have a tasty matchup against a terrible Bears' defense, and their own defense is good enough to at least slow down a Bears' offense that is also returning Jay Cutler to the fold. Jason Campbell has played very well in recent weeks, and I expect it to continue.

Rohan says: The Bears showed their potential last week against the Cowboys and they will continue to demonstrate that good form against the Browns who should be less formidable than the Cowboys.

Texans at Colts

Sam: Colts

Jacob: Colts

Abel: Colts

Rohan: Colts

Sam says: The Colts did show that their passing offense is still in existence. The Texans are in line for the number one overall pick.

Jacob says: The Texans are the new Jaguars.

Abel says: I'll tentatively go with the home team here. The Texans are "hot garbage” as the great Deion Sanders is prone to say, and they seem to have had a distracting past six days.

Rohan says: The Colts are home this week against a Texans team who just lost to the Jaguars away from home. If they are not able to beat the Jaguars then they will surely not be able to beat the Colts at home.

Patriots at Dolphins

Sam: Patriots

Jacob: Patriots

Abel: Dolphins

Rohan:Patriots

Sam says: The Pats are currently 10-3. With two of their losses against the Panthers and Jets coming on blown calls, the Patriots probably should be 12-1 now, with the top spot in the playoffs pretty much in hand. That speaks largely to Tom Brady and what he is doing with all these new receivers and the uncertainty at running back. He is an MVP candidate in my mind.

Jacob says: Although the Dolphins have played well recently, Tom Brady always plays big in big games.

Abel says: Losing a versatile tight end like Gronk is going to at least hurt the Pats for this week. The Dolphins are at home, playing well, and were up two touchdowns at halftime on the Patriots the last time they played.

Rohan says: The Patriots are just too much of a potent team for the Dolphins to handle. This will be demonstrated in this game. Expect Brady to put up very good numbers.

Eagles at Vikings

Sam: Eagles

Jacob: Eagles

Abel: Eagles

Rohan: Vikings Sam says: I was going to pick the Vikings in an upset. Then I learned that Adrian Peterson was likely going to be inactive.

Jacob says: The Eagles offense is looking good under Nick Foles. Look for him to shine in the dome in Minnesota.

Abel says: The Eagles are rolling, and while I have a funny feeling about this game, I'll go with the road team.

Rohan says: After a demoralizing loss to the Ravens last week, the Vikings will look to win at home against an Eagles team that hasn't lost in a while.

Seahawks at Giants

Sam: Seahawks

Jacob: Seahawks

Abel: Seahawks

Rohan:Seahawks

Sam says: This is a close win. The Giants are 4-1 this season when committing one or less turnovers. They can win but the Giants won't.

Jacob says: The Seahawks will certainly bounce back against a Giants team who is just playing for pride at this point.

Abel says: I'm not really as sure of the Seahawks on the road as I am when they're playing in the "Clink”, but they should come out angry after last week's loss and vent on the Giants.

Rohan says: After losing a close game to the 49ers, the Seahawks will try to bounce back against the Giants who have almost lost all hope to make the playoffs.

49ers at Buccaneers

Sam: 49ers

Jacob: 49ers

Abel: 49ers

Rohan:49ers

Sam says: The Bucs will have no success offensively; Mike Glennon will be forced to throw and struggle doing so.

Jacob says: The Niners will use that top five defense of theirs to completely shut down the Bucs, who rank 31 in total offense.

Abel says: The 49ers should stuff Bobby Rainey and make the Bucs' offense rely too much on Mike Glennon. The rookie Glennon has shown promise but his team is fairly outmatched against the boys from San Fran.

Rohan says: After a win against the Seahawks last week, the 49ers will look to build on this momentum and defeat the Bucs who are just not good enough to beat the 49ers.

Redskins at Falcons

Sam: Falcons

Jacob: Falcons

Abel: Falcons

Rohan: Falcons

Sam says:

Jacob says: With Kirk Cousins starting for the Skins, it seems that we can conclude that the Shannahan RGIII experiment that was so good last year is destined to fail.

Abel says: My gut tells me that the Redskins will play better under Kirk Cousins after a tumultuous week. But the Falcons are at home and will expose this swiss cheese Washington secondary.

Rohan says: With the possibility of RGIII being benched, the focus in Washington is obviously lost on this season and the Falcons will be able to capitalize on this.

Jets at Panthers

Sam: Panthers

Jacob: Panthers

Abel: Panthers

Rohan: Panthers

Sam says: The Jets are the most confusing team in football. It's insane.

Jacob says: The Panthers' D will take out all their anger from last week's loss on the lowly Jets.

Abel says: If the Panthers are who we think they are, they'll beat teams that they're supposed to beat.

Rohan says: After losing to the Saints away, the Panthers will try to benefit from home cooking and defeat the Jets.

Chiefs at Raiders

Sam: Chiefs

Jacob: Chiefs

Abel: Chiefs

Rohan: Chiefs

Sam says: The Chiefs have already showed this season that they can unload against teams with a shaky QB situation. Just ask the Redskins.

Jacob says: The Chiefs are still in it to try and win the division, and the Raiders' uncertainty at QB will surely help them as well.

Abel says: There's nothing like a game against the Redskins to boost your morale and spark some momentum after a three game losing streak.

Rohan says: The Chiefs showed last week what they can do to a bad team, emptying Fedex field at halftime. Look for them to repeat the feat against the Raiders.

Packers at Cowboys

Sam: Cowboys

Jacob: Cowboys

Abel: Cowboys

Rohan: Cowboys

Sam says: Only in three games this season has a team never had to punt, the Cowboys have been the defense involved in two of those. Their defense can't possibly be that bad again. Can't it?

Jacob says: Despite a terrible performance last week, the Cowboys should bounce back against the struggling Pack.

Abel says: With Aaron Rodgers doubtful to play this week as well, the Packers' hopes this week and for the rest of the year are swirling down the toilet.

Rohan says: The Packers barely won last week and I really can't see the Cowboys losing another game with all the pressure that is on them right now.

Saints at Rams

Sam: Saints

Jacob: Saints

Abel: Saints

Rohan: Saints

Sam says: My Saints will still get to the Super Bowl. I will not leave that pick, even if they play again in Seattle.

Jacob says: Drew Brees and the Saints' sixth ranked offense should get the W in this one.

Abel says: Drew Brees should victimize the Rams' secondary.

Rohan says: The Rams have been impressive at home but they will still not be able to defeat a Saints team that has such a potent offense.

Cardinals at Titans

Sam: Cardinals

Jacob: Cardinals

Abel: Cardinals

Rohan: Cardinals

Sam says: The run stuffing defense of the Cardinals will travel to Tennessee to play the Titans and shut down Chris Johnson on the ground.

Jacob says: The Cards are still in the thick of things, look for the D to overwhelm the Titans.

Abel says: I'm not too comfortable with all the consensus picks this week because that just means the opposite will probably happen, but I'll go with the safer pick here in the Cardinals. They need to win this game to realistically stay in the NFC wild card race.

Rohan says: The Cardinals have a good record and they will be looking to improve that against the Titans.

Bengals at Steelers

Sam: Bengals

Jacob: Bengals

Abel: Bengals

Rohan: Bengals

Sam says: I have given the Steelers too much confidence. Not anymore.

Jacob says: The Steelers are old, the Bengals are young.

Abel says: A.J. Green will EAT.

Rohan says: The Steelers are at home but after the Bengals' performance last week, the Steelers are almost sure to lose this one.

Ravens at Lions

Sam: Lions

Jacob: Ravens

Abel: Lions

Rohan:Lions Sam says: This is a blowout. Ravens rookie safety Matt Elam said Megatron is "pretty old”, that is a rookie mistake. With Reggie Bush active as well, I love the Lions in this matchup.

Jacob says: The Ravens have done me nothing but good this year and with teams chipping at their heels for the last playoff spot they will pull it out in the motor city.

Abel says: I might've went with the Ravens if they were at home, but I'll stick with the Lions at Ford Field even after a dismal, butter-fingered performance last week. In other, more important news, rookie Matt Elam claimed that Calvin Johnson, hands down the best receiver in the league, is "pretty old” (Johnson is 28…). He went on to question Johnson's physicality and how his own physicality will make Johnson uncomfortable (Johnson is 6'5”, over 230 lbs while Elam is 5'10 and around 210...). Just food for thought.

Rohan says: The Ravens barely beat the Vikings last week and I think they will fail to repeat that same feat against the Lions who should dispose of them pretty easily.