Week 15 NFL Schedule Is Loaded With Great Games, But Ends With Huge Letdown

ESPN had to be ecstatic when the NFL agreed to let it have a late-season Monday Night Football doubleheader. The only problem is that the network's two games in Week 15 are, for lack of a better word, terrible.

That wouldn't be so bad if the entire schedule were bad, but it isn't. In fact, the late-afternoon window is arguably loaded with TOO MANY great games. For those with four TVs in their living room (including yours truly), this isn't a problem. 

For the people who love NFL Redzone, it is also not a big problem. For the rest, though, you're going to have to pick a game to focus on and that's tough. 

But before we get there, let's start at the start. 

Week 15 starts with a fantastic matchup between the Los Angeles Rams, who just beat the Buffalo Bills, and the desperate San Francisco 49ers coming off a blowout victory over the Chicago Bears. 

Both teams are battling for both the NFC West title and Wild Card positioning. That makes for a great backdrop for a Thursday Night Football matchup, particularly in Week 15. The only downside is that both teams have to play this crucial game on a short week. 

But for fans, it's an excellent way to kick off the week. 

Unfortunately, the early-afternoon window on Sunday isn't great. The best game is probably the Miami Dolphins visiting the Houston Texans. Miami, obviously, has to win to keep itself in the AFC playoff hunt. Houston can clinch the AFC South with a win and a Colts loss. 

Plus, the spread (Texans -2.5) indicates that Las Vegas sees this as a potentially close match. 

None of the games in the early window feature two teams that both have winning records, but this is the closest one (the Dolphins are 6-7, Texans 8-5). 

The Miami Dolphins are coming off an overtime win