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AP staff NFL preview and predictions for Week 15

The Chiefs played on Thursday night — but we’re picking all of this weekend’s games.

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New York Jets v Indianapolis Colts Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images

Week 15 of the NFL season opened with the Kansas City Chiefs notching a thrilling 34-28 overtime victory against the Los Angeles Chargers on Thursday Night Football.

In other AFC West games this week, the Cleveland Browns (7-6) host the Las Vegas Raiders (6-7) at 4 p.m. (Arrowhead Time) on Monday (originally scheduled for 3:30 p.m. Saturday), while the Cincinnati Bengals (7-6) will play the Denver Broncos (7-6) at Mile High during Sunday afternoon’s late games.

On Saturday, there’s a big game for Chiefs fans: the New England Patriots (9-4) on the road against the Indianapolis Colts (7-6) at 7:20 p.m. Arrowhead Time. The other game Chiefs fans will want to watch carefully is during Sunday’s early games: the Pittsburgh Steelers (6-6-1) hosting the Tennessee Titans (9-4).

You can root for the Colts on Saturday while watching on NFL Network or Amazon Prime Video. On Sunday, you’ll be able to cheer for the Steelers by watching CBS (locally on KCTV/5).

Sunday’s other early games include the Carolina Panthers (5-8) against the Buffalo Bills (7-6) from upstate New York and the Baltimore Ravens (8-5) hosting the Green Bay Packers (10-3).

Sunday Night Football will feature a great NFC South game: the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (10-3) playing host to the New Orleans Saints (6-7). Then Monday Night Football will shift to the NFC North with the Minnesota Vikings (6-7) in the Windy City to play the Chicago Bears (4-9).

A big NFC West matchup (originally scheduled to be during Sunday’s late games) will now be played at 6 p.m. (Arrowhead Time) on Tuesday: the Seattle Seahawks (5-8) on the road against the Los Angeles Rams (9-4).

2021 bye weeks are now finished. Every team will play this weekend — and every week through the end of the regular season.

Here are our picks for this weekend’s games. Be sure to cast your vote, too!


Arrowhead Pride readers pick

READER RECORD: 131-74-3

Poll

Which team wins Raiders (6-7) at Browns (7-6)?

This poll is closed

  • 29%
    Raiders
    (194 votes)
  • 70%
    Browns
    (461 votes)
655 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Which team wins Patriots (9-4) at Colts (7-6)?

This poll is closed

  • 19%
    Patriots
    (91 votes)
  • 80%
    Colts
    (379 votes)
470 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Which team wins Jets (3-10) at Dolphins (6-7)?

This poll is closed

  • 3%
    Jets
    (23 votes)
  • 96%
    Dolphins
    (719 votes)
742 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Which team wins Cowboys (9-4) at Giants (4-9)?

This poll is closed

  • 90%
    Cowboys
    (667 votes)
  • 9%
    Giants
    (74 votes)
741 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Which team wins Cardinals (10-3) at Lions (1-11-1)?

This poll is closed

  • 96%
    Cardinals
    (701 votes)
  • 3%
    Lions
    (28 votes)
729 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Which team wins Panthers (5-8) at Bills (7-6)?

This poll is closed

  • 11%
    Panthers
    (80 votes)
  • 88%
    Bills
    (647 votes)
727 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Which team wins Texans (2-11) at Jaguars (2-11)?

This poll is closed

  • 42%
    Texans
    (302 votes)
  • 57%
    Jaguars
    (407 votes)
709 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Which team wins Packers (10-3) at Ravens (8-5)?

This poll is closed

  • 89%
    Packers
    (669 votes)
  • 10%
    Ravens
    (76 votes)
745 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Which team wins Washington (6-7) at Eagles (6-7)?

This poll is closed

  • 45%
    Washington
    (320 votes)
  • 54%
    Eagles
    (383 votes)
703 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Which team wins Titans (9-4) at Steelers (6-6-1)?

This poll is closed

  • 25%
    Titans
    (203 votes)
  • 74%
    Steelers
    (596 votes)
799 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Which team wins Falcons (6-7) at 49ers (7-6)?

This poll is closed

  • 8%
    Falcons
    (57 votes)
  • 91%
    49ers
    (630 votes)
687 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Which team wins Bengals (7-6) at Broncos (7-6)?

This poll is closed

  • 57%
    Bengals
    (419 votes)
  • 42%
    Broncos
    (304 votes)
723 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Which team wins Seahawks (5-8) at Rams (9-4)?

This poll is closed

  • 11%
    Seahawks
    (82 votes)
  • 88%
    Rams
    (605 votes)
687 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Which team wins Saints (6-7) at Buccaneers (10-3)?

This poll is closed

  • 24%
    Saints
    (175 votes)
  • 75%
    Buccaneers
    (539 votes)
714 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Which team wins Vikings (6-7) at Bears (4-9)?

This poll is closed

  • 78%
    Vikings
    (574 votes)
  • 21%
    Bears
    (160 votes)
734 votes total Vote Now

Reader Record by Week

Predictions W-L-T
Week 1 picks 8-7-1
Week 2 picks 10-6-0
Week 3 picks 10-6-0
Week 4 picks 10-6-0
Week 5 picks 11-5-0
Week 6 picks 9-4-1
Week 7 picks 10-3-0
Week 8 picks 8-7-0
Week 9 picks 8-6-0
Week 10 picks 9-4-1
Week 11 picks 11-4-0
Week 12 picks 8-7-0
Week 13 picks 9-5-0
Week 14 picks 10-4-0
Total 131-74-3

AP Staff Record

TW LW Staffer W L T Pct
1 3 Bryan Stewart 134 73 1 0.6466
1 2 Pete Sweeney 134 73 1 0.6466
3 8 Mark Gunnels 113 62 1 0.6449
4 4 Kristian Gumminger 73 40 1 0.6447
5 7 Ron Kopp Jr. 132 75 1 0.6370
6 1 Kramer Sansone 127 73 1 0.6343
7 9 Talon Graff 130 77 1 0.6274
8 6 Matt Stagner 121 72 1 0.6263
9 5 Stephen Serda 129 77 1 0.6256
10 10 Jared Sapp 127 80 1 0.6130
11 11 Ethan Willinger 125 82 1 0.6034
12 12 Rocky Magaña 123 84 1 0.5938
13 13 John Dixon 122 85 1 0.5889

In Week 14, Mark Gunnels nailed all of his head-to-head predictions, so his 14-0-0 record led the Arrowhead Pride staff. Ron Kopp was right behind at 13-1-0. Mark also led the staff against the spread — coming in at 11-3-0 — while Pete Sweeney, Jared Sapp and Kristian Gumminger were all 10-4-0. Ron Kopp led the way in over/under with a 10-4-0 record, followed by Rocky Magaña at 9-5-0. Overall, Mark was tops at 32-10-0 — with Ron right behind at 31-11-0.

Among 240 Tallysight experts in Week 15, Mark’s perfect head-to-head record was (obviously) enough for him to be ranked first; Ron was ranked fifth and Talon Graff came in 15th. Against the spread, Mark and Pete both made the top 20, while Ron ranked 11th over/under. Overall, Mark and Ron were ranked fifth and eighth.

Over the whole season, Pete and Ron are ranked in the top 20 head-to-head, while Mark, Pete and Bryan Stewart rank second, third and 19th. In over/under, Kristian, Jared and Talon are ranked third, sixth and 19th — and overall, Pete is second, Kristian is 10th and Mark is 19th.

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