Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Washington Redskins, 12/16/18 Week 15 Predictions

Jaguars vs. Redskins Spread Prediction

The Washington Redskins are technically still alive in the NFC playoff picture but they’ll start essentially their fourth-string quarterback Sunday in Jacksonville when they play the Jaguars at 1:00 p.m. ET. Will Josh Johnson lead the Redskins to at least a cover on the road?

Game Snapshot

321 Washington Redskins at 322 Jacksonville Jaguars

1:00 p.m. ET, Sunday, December 16

TIAA Bank Field, Jacksonville, Florida

Public Betting Trends

According to oddsmakers from online sports book BetNow.eu, the Jaguars are 7.5-point favorites to beat the Redskins. The total, meanwhile, sits at 36.5 points. As of this writing, 55% of the public betting tickets are on the Jaguars to cover the point spread.

Washington Redskins

ESPN's Adam Schefter reports Chris Thompson (illness, questionable) is expected to play Week 15 against the Jaguars. There never appeared to be much concern about his status. Thompson has touched the ball eight times in each of his two games since returning from injury, nothing 59 yards from scrimmage along the way. There are better options even in PPR formats.

Jacksonville Jaguars

According to Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports, there is a "growing perception" around the league that Tom Coughlin will replace Doug Marrone as the Jaguars head coach in 2019. Coughlin, a two-time Super Bowl winner with the Giants and the Jaguars' first-ever head coach, returned to Jacksonville in a front office role last year. The Jaguars were expected to be a contender this year after advancing to the AFC Championship in 2017 but they've regressed this year, falling to 4-9. Marrone has been unable to control the locker room and could be at risk of losing his job if things don't improve quickly. Despite his impressive resume with both the Jaguars and Giants, a return to the sidelines might be ambitious for Coughlin, who turned 72 in August.

NFL Betting Trends

Washington

The Redskins are 5-0 against the spread in their last five games coming off a double-digit loss at home.

Jacksonville

The Jaguars are 1-6-2 against the spread in their last nine games overall and are 0-3-1 ATS in their last four games versus a team with a losing record.

Prediction

The Redskins are down to Johnson after losing Alex Smith and Colt McCoy for the season due to injuries and benching Mark Sanchez for his horrendous play in parts of their last two games. Johnson was signed less than two weeks ago so expecting much from him would be unrealistic. That said, the Jaguars shouldn’t be favored by 7.5 over anybody. Cody Kessler has proven in two games that he can’t move the offense and this Jacksonville defense gave up a week ago in Nashville when it allowed Derrick Henry to look like Barry Sanders for a night.

NFL Week 15 Prediction: Washington Redskins +7.5