The NFL season continues into week 15 as the Philadelphia Eagles host the Las Vegas Raiders, in a clash between two sides in poor runs of form.
The Eagles enter this game on a three-match losing streak, with a season record of 8-5 and their playoff spot almost secured. The Raiders, on the other hand, have had a season from hell and come into this game with a 2-11 record, and no chance of a post-season spot.
Despite that, both teams will be desperate for victory, and we’ll break down the matchup to provide you with our best free NFL betting picks, to see if we can earn you some extra cash while you enjoy the action on the field.
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The Eagles began their season as reigning Super Bowl champions with an exciting 24-20 win over the Dallas Cowboys, despite having star man Jalen Carter ejected for spitting after just six seconds. A Super Bowl rematch against the Kansas City Chiefs came next, and they repeated their win in this game too to move to 2-0.
Week 3 saw Philadelphia take on the Los Angeles Rams, and a sensational 26-0 run in the second half, including a last-second touchdown after a blocked field goal, saw them complete a stunning comeback from 26-7 down to claim a huge 33-26 victory.
Philadelphia then took on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and claimed a 31-25 win to move to 4-0, but their 100% record ended against the Denver Broncos in week 5, as they collapsed in the final quarter and fell to a 21-17 defeat.
The New York Giants then made it back-to-back defeats for the reigning champs, as another second-half collapse saw them comfortably beaten. But Philadelphia moved on to a four-game winning streak after that with a bye week sandwiched between wins over the Minnesota Vikings (28-22), New York Giants (38-20), Green Bay Packers (10-7) and Detroit Lions (16-9).
Since then, though, the reigning champs have fallen into rotten form and lost each of their last three games against the Cowboys (24-21), Chicago Bears (24-15) and most recently the Los Angeles Chargers in an overtime 19-22 defeat.
The Raiders came into the season with hopes of improving on a disappointing 2024 campaign, but that has not come to fruition, despite winning their opening game against the New England Patriots.
After that victory, Las Vegas went on a four-game losing streak, including wide defeats to the Los Angeles Chargers (9-20), Washington Commanders (24-41), and Indianapolis Colts (6-40). It wasn’t until week six that the Raiders got back to winning ways, as they defeated the Tennessee Titans 20-10.
Things have only spiralled downhill since that, however, as the Raiders haven’t won a game since.
The Kansas City Chiefs claimed a sensational 31-0 shutout win before Vegas had a bye-week, but they have been unable to turn things around since their mid-season break.
A 29-30 overtime defeat against the Jacksonville Jaguars was their first game back, before a 7-10 loss to the Denver Broncos. But since then they have been handily beaten in their last four games against the Cowboys (16-33), Cleveland Browns (10-24), Chargers (14-31), and Broncos again (17-24), to make it seven defeats on the spin.
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While there is no doubting who the better NFL team are in this game, the betting line isn’t as straightforward as you may think.
The Philadelphia Eagles have lost each of their last three games, and failed to cover the spread in each game too as a result. Offensively, they’ve hardly ripped up any trees, ranking 30th in offensive DVOA, and while there is no doubting that they’re better than their recent form, there’s no guarantee they snap out of it this weekend.
The spread is set at double figures, and Philadelphia have only won by a double-digit margin once in the entire campaign, and that came way back in week 8 when they defeated the New York Giants 38-20.
At this stage of the season, the Eagles will just want to get back to winning ways, more so than making a big statement on the scoreboard, and that could lean towards the Raiders’ favor.
Looking at the spread, the Eagles winning by 12 points is obviously possible, but it just feels like too big of a step considering their recent form and the way their season has gone, especially given their recent struggles offensively.
At -110, there is good value in taking the Raiders to cover the +11.5 points spread, and at least suffer defeat with some dignity.
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About the Author
Daniel is a football writer who has a great thirst for the Premier League and other major European leagues. A lover of the beautiful game and a firm believer that the eye test is better than statistics. Also an avid MMA fan.
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