Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com
The NFL usually schedules Saturday games in Weeks 15 and 16 because the college football regular season is over and there’s no football competition on those Saturdays other than some lower-tier bowl games.
However, because the coronavirus pandemic pushed back the start of the 2020 NCAA season, Saturday is when the Power 5 conference championship games will be played (except for the Pac-12). Thus, the two NFL games will have huge competition in terms of TV ratings and betting action at the various sportsbooks.
Neither Saturday NFL game is very attractive as it features a playoff-bound team looking to get the highest seed possible against a club playing out the string. At 4:30 p.m. ET, the Buffalo Bills visit the Denver Broncos. Those teams played an ugly game in Buffalo in Week 12 of the 2019 season, a 20-3 Bills win. Buffalo, which is on the verge of clinching the AFC East for the first time since 1995, is -7 and has covered six straight in the series.
At 8:15 p.m. ET, the NFC North champion Green Bay Packers continue their push for the NFC’s top seed – they currently own it – when they host the Carolina Panthers. Those clubs also met last year, a Packers 24-16 home victory in Week 10. Green Bay is -8.5, but Carolina has covered its past five on the road.
The Sunday night game was to be San Francisco 49ers at Dallas Cowboys, but that’s essentially meaningless so it was flexed out for Cleveland Browns at New York Giants, two teams battling for playoff spots. Only in this crazy 2020 could a primetime game involving the mega-popular Cowboys be switched to one involving the perennial losing Browns. Cleveland goes for the four-game 2020 sweep of NFC East teams and is -4. The Giants are 4-12 ATS in their past 16 at home.
When the Tampa Bay Buccaneers visit the Atlanta Falcons, it’s a rematch of Super Bowl LI of sorts. In that game, Matt Ryan’s Falcons led Tom Brady’s New England Patriots 28-3 late in the third quarter, but Brady & Co. would stage an incredible rally and win 34-28 in overtime. Of course, Brady is with the Bucs now and faces Ryan – both quarterbacks won league MVPs – for the first time as division rivals. Tampa Bay is -6 and 6-2 ATS in its past eight as a road favorite.
We have saved the best for last, however, as by far the marquee matchup of Week 15 if not the entire season is Kansas City Chiefs at New Orleans Saints (4:25 p.m. ET) in what could easily be a preview of Super Bowl 55. The Chiefs remain favorites to repeat as Super Bowl and AFC champions, and the Saints are co-favorites to win the NFC. Both are in the running to be the top seed in their respective conference. Kansas City is -3 and has won nine straight road games by an average of nearly 11 points per game.
