The San Francisco 49ers and New England Patriots will get together on Sunday Night Football. San Francisco leads the NFC West with a 9-3-1 record. The Patriots are also leading their division; the AFC East with a 10-3 record. Both of these teams heading into Week 15 would be the second seed in their conference. The 49ers are coming off a home win over Miami, while the Patriots picked up a huge Monday Night win over the Houston Texans.

The Patriots are red hot right now. They have won seven straight games and have the highest point differential in all of the NFL. The Patriots are coming off their big win on national TV and would like to repeat that in Week 15. New England continues to play with Tom Brady under center. The best quarterback in the last decade has thrown for nearly 4,000 yards this season. New England adds a solid running back duo in Stevan Ridley, who has 10 touchdowns. The Patriots continue to play without their top tight end Rob Gronkowski, who is out with a broken forearm.

The San Francisco 49ers came back from their overtime loss to St. Louis with a nice win over the Dolphins. Now San Francisco wants to run the table and receive a first round bye in the postseason. The 49ers are the second best running team in all of the league with nearly 162 yards per game. Frank Gore has been the beast, with over 1,000 yards and 7 touchdowns. San Francisco has seen both Michael Crabtree and Vernon Davis catch five touchdown passes. The 49ers have two divisional foes remaining on their 2012 regular season schedule.

Odds and Sports Betting Line

• San Francisco 49ers +5.5
• New England Patriots -5.5

Free Prediction and Pick

This is going to be an excellent football game. The schedule makers did a great job scheduling this game, especially this late in the season. There is no doubt, the Patriots are an offense first team, while San Francisco is one of the best defensive teams in the league. Tom Brady will be challenged by the San Francsico defense. The Ptriots defense has been better as of late, and will create alot of havoc for Collin Kaepernick. Look for New England to score early, and often and come away with a win in this game.

Prediction: New England Patriots 27-17

The Patriots are nearly a touchdown favorite in this game. New England is listed at -5.5 to start the week. We like San Francisco to stay around for a little bit, but in the end, the defense of the 49ers will wear down, and Brady will continue tossing touchdowns. We are taking the New England Patriots -5.5 in this game.

Pick: New England Patriots -5.5