It's Week 15. Just three games remain. For the Pittsburgh Steelers, the outlook seems bright, but with just a one-game lead on the Baltimore Ravens, they're not in the clear just yet. If Pittsburgh can get by the Jets at Heinz Field, they'll have a great opportunity to close out the regular season at 13-3 and on a seven-game winning streak. Their final two opponents are the Panthers and the Browns.
Like we do every week on SB Nation Pittsburgh, here's a tour through various NFL odds and lines.(Odds courtesy of Odds Shark, SB Nation's official odds partner)
Pittsburgh Steelers (-6) vs. New York Jets
Baltimore Ravens (-2.5) vs. New Orleans Saints
Philadelphia Eagles (+3) at New York Giants (+100)
Indianapolis Colts (-5) vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
Analysis
- Even though the Steelers have been ravaged by injuries, they seem to be peaking at the right time of year. The same can't be said of the New York Jets, who have looked atrocious in their past two outings, both losses. I like Pittsburgh to cover the six points, and if you're feeling frisky, consider adding the under (36) in there as a parlay. It's hard to see the Jets having much success offensively against the Steelers defense.
- Great inter-conference matchup between two teams that would be in the playoffs were the season to end today. The Ravens and Saints are both one game back in their respective divisions, so a loss this week would certainly cripple their divisional aspirations. We'll see how Drew Brees and the Saints look away from home, but all signs point towards them rounding into form at just the right time as well. The Ravens defense is still a good unit, but it's no longer the dominating force it's still thought of by many, including the general betting public. I see Brees and his stable of playmakers having a big day against the Ravens secondary - a unit that looked like Swiss cheese against the Bills, and in their recent Monday Night win over the Texans.
- What to think of the huge NFC East clash between the Giants and Eagles? The world is high on the Eagles and for good reason. We'll see how healthy DeSean Jackson is for this one. If he's hobbled even slightly, I wouldn't be surprised to see the Giants defense play very well this time around against the Eagles. A very interesting game, but one that I wouldn't feel comfortable taking a position on.
- After Week 15, we'll know once and for all whether to even consider Indianapolis an outside threat to make some noise in the playoffs. First, if the Colts lose to the Jaguars, they're probably staying home for the playoffs. But a convincing victory over a Jaguars team that continues to find ways to win and there will still be a slew of people who believe Peyton Manning might be able to will his team to an unlikely playoff win. I like the Colts here, though I'm not sure about them covering five points. I do like the teams to score more than 48.5 points, though. Neither defense is all that great, and you know Peyton Manning will be on point after struggling in recent weeks.
- No lines still on the Chiefs-Rams or Pats-Packers games. Vegas is clearly waiting to see if Matt Cassel will be able to play before releasing a line; same goes for the concussion status of Aaron Rodgers.