TRUE POWER: How good Vegas thinks a team really is.
HOME-FIELD ADVANTAGE: The value of each team's home field.
BETTOR BIAS: How many points the public overvalues (positive numbers) or undervalues (negative numbers) a team.
POINT-SPREAD POWER: The combination of True Power and Bettor Bias.
To calculate the projected winner of any matchup:
Take True Power (home team), ADD Home-Field Advantage and SUBTRACT True Power (away team).
To calculate the projected point spread of any matchup:
Replace the True Power with Point-Spread Power (which includes Bettor Bias, just like the actual Vegas line does).
Biggest Improvement -- TRUE POWER
Philadelphia Eagles
Arizona Cardinals
San Diego Chargers
Seattle Seahawks
Jacksonville Jaguars
Biggest Drop -- TRUE POWER
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Buffalo Bills
St. Louis Rams
Miami Dolphins
Dallas Cowboys
Here are the Week 15 Vegas NFL Rankings:
Pregame.com's Week 15 Vegas NFL Rankings
Rank Team Home-Field True Power Bettor Bias Point-Spread Power 1 Green Bay Packers 4 100 1.5 101.5 2 New England Patriots 3.5 96.5 1 97.5 3 New Orleans Saints 3.5 96 0.5 96.5 4 Pittsburgh Steelers 2.5 95.5 1 96.5 5 Baltimore Ravens 3 95 0 95 6 San Francisco 49ers 3 94 0 94 7 New York Jets 3 92 0 92 t-8 Atlanta Falcons 3 91.5 0 91.5 t-8 Dallas Cowboys 2.5 91.5 0 91.5 t-8 New York Giants 3 91.5 0 91.5 11 Philadelphia Eagles 2.5 91 0 91 t-12 Detroit Lions 3 90.5 0 90.5 t-12 Houston Texans 3 90.5 0 90.5 14 Denver Broncos 2.5 89.5 0 89.5 t-15 Miami Dolphins 2 89 0 89 t-15 San Diego Chargers 2.5 89 0 89 t-17 Arizona Cardinals 2.5 88.5 0 88.5 t-17 Cincinnati Bengals 3 88.5 0 88.5 t-17 Tennessee Titans 2.5 88.5 0 88.5 t-20 Oakland Raiders 2.5 88 0 88 t-20 Chicago Bears 2.5 88 -0.5 87.5 22 Carolina Panthers 3 86 0 86 t-23 Minnesota Vikings 3 85.5 0 85.5 t-23 Seattle Seahawks 3 85.5 0 85.5 25 Washington Redskins 3 85 0 85 t-26 Buffalo Bills 3.5 84.5 0 84.5 t-26 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2 84.5 0 84.5 28 Cleveland Browns 2.5 84 0 84 29 Kansas City Chiefs 2.5 83 -0.5 82.5 30 Jacksonville Jaguars 2 82.5 0 82.5 t-31 St. Louis Rams 2 80 -0.5 79.5 t-31 Indianapolis Colts 2 80 -1 79
Week-to-Week Injuries (adjustments NOT yet made above)
Ben Roethlisberger: 3.5 points Matt Hasselbeck: 2.5 points Josh Freeman: 2 points Christian Ponder: 2 points Matt Moore: 2 points Colt McCoy: 1.5 points Adrian Peterson: 1 point Matt Forte: 1 point Kevin Kolb: 1 point
The following injuries are season-ending, and adjustments have already been made to True Power for: Texans minus-3 (Matt Schaub); Chiefs minus-2 (Matt Cassel); Bears minus-3 (Jay Cutler).
Most Overrated and Underrated Teams
Wins Best Team (Rk) Worst Team (Rk) 10 or more Packers (1) Texans (t-12) 7 or 8 wins Jets (7) Bears (t-20) 5 or 6 Wins Eagles (11) Chiefs (29) 4 or less Dolphins (t-15) Colts (t-31)
All good bettors know that a team's records against the spread and straight up aren't equal. For example, the New England Patriots are 10-3 SU but only 7-6 ATS; the Carolina Panthers are 4-9 SU but 7-5-1 ATS. To the right are the teams ranked best and worst by the Vegas Rankings, grouped by SU victories. In parentheses is the team's overall True Power ranking.
Projected Spreads
We projected the Week 15 NFL spreads using Point-Spread Power and compared them to the current lines. The table is below, which shows you where Vegas pros think the value lies. This week, the sharps think there is value with the Packers, Steelers, Giants and more.
Projected Week 15 NFL Spreads
Lines displayed from home team's perspective. True Power projects margin of victory. Point-Spread Power projects point spread.
Home Road Open True Power Point-Spread Power Falcons Jaguars -11 -12 -12 Bucs Cowboys +6.5 +5 +5 Giants Redskins -7 -9.5 -9.5 Chiefs Packers +14 +14.5 +16.5 Vikings Saints +7 +7.5 +8 Bears* Seahawks -3 -4 -3.5 Bills Dolphins +1.5 +1 +1 Texans Panthers -6.5 -7.5 -7.5 Colts Titans +6.5 +6.5 +7.5 Rams Bengals NL +6.5 +7 Raiders Lions +1 pk pk Broncos Patriots +6 +4.5 +5.5 Eagles Jets -2.5 -1.5 -1.5 Cardinals Browns -6.5 -7 -7 Chargers Ravens +2.5 +3.5 +3.5 49ers Steelers -2.5 -1.5 -.5 * Injury adjustment included in projections (if injury adjustment is not included, and player is later determined to be out, add adjustment to projections)