Of course, we foresaw that San Francisco would lose stellar running backs Christian McCaffrey and Jordan Mason to long-term injuries in the Sunday nighter at Buffalo, leaving the 49ers with unheralded rookie Isaac Guerendo as a virtual solo act at the position for their upcoming game against Chicago.

Okay, we had no idea this would happen.

Good fortune -- or lack thereof -- plays an oversized role with lookahead wagering in the form of injuries. When a key player -- or, in this case, multiple players with the same role -- goes down, a spread can shift dramatically. We snared the Chicago Bears last week at +6.5 against San Francisco, figuring the Niners might endure a beatdown from the Bills. That they did, with both RBs getting hurt.

We also thought the Bears could hang with Detroit on Thanksgiving Day. That they did, though who would've thought that Chicago coach Matt Eberflus would get canned after pulling off a near-upset? (It might have been an outright upset, not a near one, had he exercised better clock judgment.) As the smoke cleared, the Bears became +3.5 (FanDuel). Quite a difference from the early spot.

An injury has tentatively influenced another game that we grabbed last week. The nasty hit that rendered Jacksonville quarterback Trevor Lawrence concussed has pushed the +3 line against Tennessee to +3.5 (Caesars). We accurately anticipated Lawrence's return from a prior layoff but did not expect him to last less than half of Sunday's outing. 

As for our other pick, we gained a half-point with Carolina on the lookahead line versus Philadelphia. Though the Eagles wowed us by beating the Baltimore Ravens while the Panthers took Tampa Bay into overtime before losing, the spread shrunk a half-tick to +12.5. Possibly affecting the slight change is this: The last four double-digit underdogs have covered easily.

We are blessed with full 16-game slates the rest of the way, providing plenty of choices. Here are three from the Week 15 schedule.

Week 15 lookahead lines

(Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook)

Rams at 49ers (-3), O/U 47
Ravens (-13) at Giants, O/U 44.5
Commanders (-3) at Saints, O/U 49
Chiefs (-6) at Browns, O/U 44.5
Bengals (-3.5) at Titans, O/U 49
Dolphins at Texans (-2.5), O/U 46.5
Cowboys (-1.5) at Panthers, O/U 44
Jets (-3) at Jaguars, O/U 40.5
Colts at Broncos (-3.5), O/U 43.5
Bills at Lions (-2.5), O/U 50.5
Patriots at Cardinals (-7), O/U 45.5
Steelers at Eagles (-4.5), O/U 45.5
Buccaneers at Chargers (-3), O/U 46.5
Packers (-3) at Seahawks, O/U 46.5
Bears at Vikings (-6), O/U 43
Falcons (-3.5) at Raiders, O/U 45

Which Week 15 sides make for great plays before Week 14 kicks off? And which underdog offers a great betting opportunity? ... Join SportsLine right now to see Week 15 lookahead picks from NFL expert Mike Tierney!