NFL Week 15 bold predictions, plus grades for Rams-49ers and previewing Bills at Lions showdown

Welcome to the Friday edition of the Pick Six newsletter!

It’s not just any Friday, it’s Friday the 13th and it’s probably already the worst day of the year for 49ers fans. They had to wake up this morning with the realization that their playoff hopes are basically zero after Thursday night’s 12-6 loss to the Rams. Going into Week 15, the 49ers needed a win to keep their playoff hopes alive, but their offense forgot to show up for the game. 

The 49ers scored exactly zero touchdowns on a night where they didn’t even hit 200 yards of total offense. If you’re like me and you’re a fan of field goals, then it was the greatest game of the season because it was the first time all year that EVERY point in a game was scored on field goals. 

In today’s newsletter, we’ll be handing out grades for the Thursday night game, plus we’ll be previewing Bills-Lions and we’ll be making some bold predictions for Week 15. 

As always, here’s your daily reminder to tell all your friends to sign up for the newsletter. To get them signed up, all you have to do is click here.

1. Rams top 49ers in NFC West showdown: Grades and notes for ‘Thursday Night Football’

If the 49ers had any hopes of making the playoffs, those basically went down the drain Thursday night. In a rainy game that featured exactly zero touchdowns, the Rams topped the 49ers, 12-6. The win allowed the Rams to sweep the 49ers for the first time since 2018. 

With a record of 8-6, the Rams now control their fate in the NFC West: If they win out, they’ll win the division. The Rams close the season with a road game against the Jets in Week 16 before facing the Cardinals (Week 17) and Seahawks (Week 18) at home. 

Here are our grades from the game: 

RAMS GRADE: C+

One week after the offense carried the Rams to a win over the Bills, the defense returned the favor on Thursday night by leading the team to a win over the 49ers. The defense had its most dominant performance of the season and a lot of that had to to with a pass rush led by Kobie Turner that flustered Brock Purdy. Turner tallied two of the Rams’ three sacks. The defense played exceptionally well in the second half: Not only did they hold the 49ers to just 83 yards over the final two quarters, but Darious Williams came up with a fourth-quarter interception that essentially iced the game. With rain falling for most of the game, the Rams’ offensive strategy was simple: They gave a heavy workload to Kyren Williams, who had an impressive night with 29 carries for 108 yards. Puka Nacua also came up big for the offense with seven catches for 97 yards. The unsung hero of the game was Joshua Karty, who had four field goals, which wasn’t easy to do, considering the weather. This is a Rams team that’s looking more dangerous every week and it won’t be surprising at all if L.A. ends up stealing the NFC West. 

Rams notes

• Kyren Williams passes Eric Dickerson in the record book. Whenever you pass Eric Dickerson in the record book, that’s a big deal and that’s exactly what Kyren Williams did on Thursday night. With 29 carries for 108 yards against the 49ers, Williams has now rushed for at least 60 yards in 12 straight games, which is a franchise record, topping Dickerson’s old mark of 11. 
• No one does 12-6 like the Rams. Over the past 23 years, there have only been three NFL games that have ended with a final score of 12-6 and the Rams have somehow been involved in ALL of them. They lost a 12-6 game to the Cardinals in 2014 and they also lost a 12-6 game to the Steelers in 2015. Including Thursday’s game, those are the only 12-6 games that the NFL has had since 2001. This win marked the first time since 2016 that the Rams were able to win a game without scoring a touchdown. 

49ERS GRADE: D

With their season on the line, the 49ers offense laid an egg. With an constant downpour falling for most of the game, Brock Purdy was never able to get the offense going. Purdy completed just 14 of 31 passes for 142 yards on a night where the 49ers were plagued by drops by their receivers and erratic throws from their QB. Purdy killed any chance the 49ers had of winning the game when he threw an interception deep in Rams territory late in the fourth quarter. The 49ers totaled just 191 yards, which is the lowest in any regular-season game ever under Kyle Shanahan. One problem for the 49ers is that Purdy kept trying to force-feed Deebo Samuel, who caught just three passes for 16 yards. The 49ers defense looked sharp for most of the game before melting down during a fourth quarter where the Rams were able to score every time they touched the ball. The defense also dropped at least two interceptions in the first quarter that could have changed the game. The 49ers had a chance to keep their season alive, but instead, it feels like the season is all but over for the reigning NFC champions. 

49ers notes

• De’Vondre Cambell causes drama for 49ers. The 49ers linebacker refused to enter the game in the third quarter, and instead, he ended up going back to the locker room. “He said he didn’t want to play today,” Kyle Shanahan said after the loss. Cambell had been a starter, but with the return of Dre Greenlaw on Thursday night, he was demoted, which is something that he clearly wasn’t happy about.”That’s somebody who doesn’t want to play football. That’s pretty simple,” Shanahan said. “I think our team and myself, I know how we feel about that, so I don’t think we need to talk about him anymore.” You can read more about the Campbell situation here. 
• 49ers unbeaten streak ends. Over the course of their franchise history, the 49ers had been 45-0 in divisional games where they didn’t allow a touchdown, but that streak ended on Thursday night in a game where the Rams beat them with four field goals. The 49ers also blew a fourth-quarter lead in this game, which makes them the first team since the 2008 Lions to hold a fourth-quarter lead in four different divisional games and still lose them all. And just as a refresher, the 2008 Lions went 0-16.
• Purdy ugly. This was one of the worst games of Brock Purdy’s career. The 49ers QB finished with a QB rating of 45.4, which was the third-lowest of his career. He also completed just 45.2% of his passes, which is the second-lowest completion percentage of his career. Purdy also threw a back-breaking interception in the fourth quarter and he’s now thrown 13 interceptions compared to just five touchdowns in games where the 49ers are tied or trailing in the second half.  

Finally, you can check out our full takeaways from the game here. 

2. Patrick Mahomes not happy: Five teams set to be hit with brutal stretch and Chiefs are one of them

Going into the 2024 season, it had been six years since any NFL team was asked to play three games in 10 days, but that’s exactly what’s going to happen to five different teams starting this week. 

Here’s what you need to know about the brutal scheduling quirk: 

• Five teams set to face brutal stretch. The Chiefs, Ravens, Texans and Steelers are all playing on Christmas this year, and because of that, each of their next three games will be played on Dec. 15, Dec. 21 and Dec. 25. The Bears will also be starting a period of three games in 10 days: They play on Monday night (Dec. 16) and that will be followed by games on Dec. 22 and Dec. 26. 
• Teams have struggled this year when playing three games in 10 days. Heading into Week 15, four teams — Jets, Seahawks, Saints and Cowboys — have already played three games in 10 days this year and they’ve combined to go 4-8, but those four wins have come against teams that are currently a combined 16-36.
• Patrick Mahomes isn’t happy about how the schedule is set up. “It is not a good feeling,” Mahomes said of the upcoming brutal stretch. “You never want to play this many games in this short of time. It’s just not great for your body. But at the end of the day, it’s your job, your profession. You have to come to work and do it.”
• Even Mike Tomlin has been talking about it. Although Tomlin is trying to keep his players focused on this week, he admitted that his players are likely looking ahead to this brutal stretch coming up. “I’ve made some day to day decision in terms of keeping guys upright, giving guys rest days and so forth,” Tomlin said on the “Pat McAfee Show” this week. “I’m sure everybody is aware of the schedule, but our job this week is the Philadelphia Eagles, and so, I’m going to delve deeper into that probably more with the collective on the other side of this game.”

The only upside for the four teams playing on Christmas (Ravens, Chiefs, Steelers, Texans) is that they’ll get a 10- or 11-day break before taking the field in Week 18, which means they should be well rested for the playoffs.

If you want to check out Patrick Mahomes’ full thoughts on the subject, you can read our full story here. 

3. Bills at Lions: Breaking down the biggest CBS game of the week

This is such a huge game that THE NFL TODAY will be live from Detroit on Sunday. If you’re going to be in the Detroit-area, you can join the CBS crew at the corner of Brush and Adams near Ford Field (You can see a map here). 

To figure out who has the edge in this game, Jordan Dajani broke down both teams by position and let’s just say that the Lions appear to have the edge at every position except for one. 

QB: Josh Allen — Jared Goff
Advantage: Bills. “Goff has been one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL this year, which is why he’s an MVP candidate. He ranks second in completion percentage (72.4%), eighth in passing yards (3,265), fifth in passing touchdowns (25) and second in passer rating (109.1). However, Allen is on a different level.”

Running back: James Cook — David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs
Advantage: Lions. “No offense to Cook, who is a dynamic dual-threat back that is currently tied for fifth with 11 rushing touchdowns, but the Lions have the best two-headed backfield in the NFL. Gibbs enters this week ranked fourth in rushing yards with 1,016, and has 10 rushing touchdowns, which ranks ninth. Montgomery has 12 rushing touchdowns in 13 games, which is tied for third in the NFL.”

Tight end: Dalton Kincaid — Sam LaPorta
Advantage: Lions. “A couple of disappointing fantasy players this year, but LaPorta and Kincaid are still two tight ends that can hurt any defense. LaPorta’s numbers are down after a historic rookie season in which he caught 86 passes for 889 yards and 10 touchdowns. He’s caught 36 passes for 445 yards, which ranks 15th among all tight ends, to go along with five touchdowns.”

If you want to see Dajani’s full positional breakdown for this game, then be sure to check out his full story here.   

4. NFL Week 15 picks: Eagles top Steelers in Pennsylvania showdown

It’s officially time for your favorite part of the Friday newsletter, which is where I round up five NFL writers and we all make some picks for the upcoming week. Just in case you’ve forgotten, our five writers are: Pete Prisco, Will Brinson, Jordan Dajani, Tyler Sullivan and myself. In Week 14, we crushed it straight up, going 4-1, but we went just 2-3 against the spread. For the season, that means we’re now 35-35 ATS and 38-27 straight up. 

If you’re new here, here’s how things work: I’ll give you one pick from each writer and then direct you to the rest of their picks. That way, if you like their pick, you’ll be able to click over and check out all of their Week 15 picks, but if you hate their pick, you can ignore the rest of their picks and move on with your life. 

• Pete Prisco — Eagles (-5) 24-17 over Steelers. From Prisco: “The battle of Pennsylvania is between two physical teams that get after it on both sides of the ball. The Steelers don’t run it as well as Saquon Barkley and the Eagles, which will be the difference in this one. Look for Barkley to lead the Eagles as the Philadelphia defense limits Russell Wilson.” For the rest of Prisco’s Week 15 picks, be sure to click here.
• Tyler Sullivan — Bengals (-5) 30-20 over Titans. From Sullivan: “The Titans have an 0-6 record against the spread at Nissan Stadium this year. Meanwhile, the Bengals have been dominant on the road this season from a betting perspective. Cincy is 6-1 ATS on the road this season. On top of that, the Bengals defense — which has been the Achilles’ heel of this season — is holding opponents to 22.9 points per game on the road compared to the 33.3 points they are allowing at home.” For the rest of Sullivan’s Week 15 picks, be sure to click here.
• Will Brinson — Panthers (-2.5) to cover against Cowboys. From Brinson: “For the first time since 2022 (!), the Carolina Panthers are favored to win a football game. What a time to be alive. They should be favored, too, in this spot… The Panthers are just the better football team and are currently capable of hanging with good teams and beating bad teams. The Cowboys are a bad team and Carolina is going to roll in this spot.” You can check out the rest of Brinson’s best bets for Week 15 here.
• Jordan Dajani — Lions (-2.5) 28-24 over Bills. From Dajani: “The Bills are 0-2 against the spread as underdogs in non-divisional games this season, while the Lions are 6-1 ATS in their last seven non-divisional games. With this matchup in Detroit and the number under a field goal, I’ll take the Lions. “ For the rest of Dajani’s Week 15 best bets, be sure to click here.
• John Breech — Broncos (-4.5) 27-20 over Colts. “The Colts have faced seven teams this year that currently have a winning record and they’ve gone 1-6 in those games. The Colts haven’t proven that they can beat good teams and the Broncos are a good team.” For the rest of my Week 15 picks, be sure to click here. 

For more Week 15 NFL picks, you can check out out our CBSSports.com picks hub here.

5. NFL bold predictions for Week 15: Patriots pull off shocker 

After giving you some bold predictions for Week 14 last Friday, Garrett Podell is back with five more for Week 15. And if last week is any indication, he might nail them all. In Week 14, Garrett correctly predicted that the Rams would shock the Bills.

Let’s take a look at two of his bold predictions for Sunday:   

• 1. Steelers win first game in Philadelphia since 1965. “The Pittsburgh Steelers have lost 10 consecutive road games against the Philadelphia Eagles with their last such win coming in 1965. That ends on Sunday for a few reasons. One being Russell Wilson’s efficient play: he’s thrown for 12 touchdowns to just three interceptions this season, which is why the Steelers are 6-1 in his seven starts in 2024…. Also the Steelers’ defensive strength is defending the run as they allow just 91.5 rushing yards per game, the fourth-fewest in the NFL. That’s exactly what’s necessary to derail the 2024 rushing yards leader in Eagles running back Saquon Barkley and Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts.”
• 2. Patriots shock Cardinals in Arizona. “This will happen because this game features two quarterbacks whose production is going two completely different directions. … Arizona has lost three in a row after a 6-4 start, and that’s in large part because of Kyler Murray throwing five interceptions — tied for the most in three-game span of his career — to only three touchdowns during the losing streak. On the flip side, Patriots 2024 third overall pick quarterback Drake Maye is balling out. He is the fifth quarterback to be averaging over 200 passing yards per game (209.3) and over 40 rushing yards per game (41.6) in his first eight starts since the 1970 AFL/NFL merger”

Podell made a total of five bold predictions for Week 15, and you can check out all of them here. 

It’s been a busy 24 hours in the NFL, and since it’s nearly impossible to keep track of everything that happened, I went ahead and put together a roundup for you.

• Odell Beckham Jr. out in Miami. The receiver’s short stint with the Dolphins is already over with the two sides agreeing to part ways on Friday. The 31-year-old Beckham had caught just nine passes for 55 yards in nine games for the Dolphins. Beckham will now hit waivers and if no one claims him, then he’ll become a free agent on Monday. You can read more about his situation here.
• Saints set to start Jake Haener at QB. With Derek Carr battling a hand injury, the Saints will be turning the offense over to Haener for this week’s game against the Commanders, according to multiple reports. This will mark the first start of Haener’s career. The second-year QB was a Saints fourth-round pick in 2023. You can read more about the Saints’ QB situation here. 
• Steelers looking more and more likely to play in Ireland. The NFL has been eyeing Dublin for a possible game in 2025 and it’s looking like that game is going to happen. According to the Irish Examiner, the deal between the NFL and the Irish government is almost done and once it’s completed, the expectation is apparently that there will be a Dublin game in September that will feature the Steelers. Roger Goodell said in October that there’s “no doubt” that the NFL will eventually play a game in Ireland. You can read more about the NFL’s plans for Dublin here. 
• Garett Bolles land huge extension from Broncos. You don’t see very many big extensions get handed out in December, but Bolles landed one on Thursday. The Broncos starting left tackle has signed a four-year extension that’s worth up to $82 million and includes $42 million in guarantees. Bolles has been with the Broncos since Denver made him a first-round pick in 2017. You can read more about his deal here.  
• Browns noncommittal on Deshaun Watson’s future. It appears that Deshaun Watson might have finally lost the backing of Browns ownership. Browns owner Jimmy Haslam was asked this week if the team might look to make a change at QB and he gave an interesting answer. “We need to get through the season and we will look at everything,” Haslam told ESPN. With Watson under contract for two more years, it will be interesting to see what the Browns do at QB this offseason. You can read our full story on Watson here.