NFL Week 14 Tips & Preview

NFL Week 14 Tips & Preview

The byes are done and the NFL season now moves into its final sprint to the finish line.

Each team has four games remaining and for just about everyone, there is still plenty to play for, from home field advantage, to division titles and even draft positions for some.

Week 14 offers up plenty of exciting matchups on paper starting with the Rams and Patriots facing off for the first time since Super Bowl LIII.

Check out who we are taking in that and the other 15 games in Week 14 of the NFL season right here.

Los Angeles Rams v New England Patriots
Under 44.5 Points @ $1.90

It’s not a rematch, but it is the first time the Rams and Patriots have met since the big game in Atlanta two years ago.

On that occasion a defensive masterclass unfolded not just from the Patriots, but the Rams as well as New England won 13-3.

Another scoreline in that vicinity is certainly in play here with both teams being lead by their defences.

Despite scoring 45 on the LA Chargers last week it was a deceptive total thanks to a number of big plays on defence and special teams to boost that total, the Rams won’t give them the same opportunities.

As for when the Rams have the ball, Goff is the sort of young quarterback Bill Belichick will love to face as he can force him into making plenty of mistakes.

The line looks like it’s in the right vicinity and I still want to hold fire on the Patriots against a good team like LA so the under is the value play here.

Carolina Panthers v Denver Broncos
Panthers to Cover the Line

Both teams have displayed varying levels of competitiveness in recent weeks but overall this looks like a game that at least should have a thrilling conclusion, even if its not the highest quality of play.

It sounds like the Broncos will luck out a little bit not facing Christian McCaffrey this week however the Panthers have still found plenty of ways to move the ball in his absence.

I’ll back the Panthers at the line as Denver still just seems to be waiting for things to click as they recover from a locker room COVID scare.

Cincinnati Bengals v Dallas Cowboys
Dallas -3.5 @ $1.90

If there is one consolation to take from this game for the Cowboys, it’s the likelihood that the Bengals have well and truly given up on their season.

That at least means that their half-hearted tackling attempts from the last few games might actually stick.

Not to mention their offence can still produce when it needs to and in a choice between the two, Dallas should stumble home on talent.

Chicago Bears v Houston Texans
Houston to Win & Over 45 Points @ $3.50

Neither of these teams are going to be playing beyond Week 17 so this is one of those games where a questionable level of motivation from either side could throw a spanner in the works.

One player who should absolutely be motivated however is Deshaun Watson who faces one of the teams that passed on him in the 2017 NFL Draft.

The Bears took Mitch/Mitchell Trubisky at number two, who has gone on to have a thoroughly underwhelming career, at least was able to put up some stats against the Lions last week.

Whoever wins this game will need to really get going early on offence and I like the Texans to bounce back from their gut punch loss to Indianapolis last week.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers v Minnesota Vikings
Tampa Bay by 1-13 @ $2.40

When the season kicked off, this was one of the games you couldn’t help but look forward to as it should have featured two NFC playoff contenders.

Admittedly that was done with the idea that both teams would compete for their division titles however right now they are battling for position in the wild card race.

Tampa has looked unstoppable at times this season and are always one drive away from hitting the accelerator but have been plagued by inconsistency and poor execution.

On the other sideline, the Vikings are more than capable of hanging around with rookie sensation Justin Jefferson and Dalvin Cook leading the way on offence.

I still like the Bucs to get home in a tight one, although there is a silver lining to a Vikings win as it would throw the NFC Wild Card race into proper chaos.

Jacksonville Jaguars v Tennessee Titans
Tennessee to Win & Over 53.5 Points @ $2.45

There are red flags aplenty with the Titans with a defence that has fallen off a cliff and an offence that is making too many mistakes to cover their shortcomings up.

In their last four games they have given up 125 points and the Jaguars are starting to build some momentum with the ball with Mike Glennon at quarterback.

With all of that in mind, the Jags have lost 11 straight games and there is nothing the Titans could say or do to make me back them outright.

When these teams met back in September it was a 33-30 Titans win in a shootout so I’ll back a similar outcome with Tennessee in a high scoring game.

New York Giants v Arizona Cardinals
Giants to Win

Something is not right with Kyler Murray at the moment, the injury he suffered against Seattle almost a month ago has really hampered his play.

New York on the other hand just continues to roll with a huge win in Seattle last week.

If the Giants defence can replicate their efforts against a limited Murray, New York could continue its unlikely path to the playoffs.

Miami Dolphins v Kansas City Chiefs
Chiefs by 1-13 @ $2.20

Kansas City returns to the venue of its Super Bowl triumph back in February, knowing that a win over the Dolphins would give them the AFC West division title for another year.

Miami will not go away easily though, knowing they need to keep winning to hold on to the AFC’s sixth seed sitting one game ahead of the chasing Ravens and Raiders.

For the Dolphins it’s a make or break fortnight however their lead in form is not all that convincing, defeating the Jets and Bengals in the last two weeks and really struggling to get things going offensively.

Kansas City has not been putting its opponents away in the last month, doing just enough to get the victory each week, their last four victories have come by a combined 15 points.

Brian Flores will have his team ready to go in this game, but the talent of the Chiefs will get them home for another win and they can celebrate a (slightly less important) achievement in Hard Rock Stadium in 2020 again.

Seattle Seahawks v New York Jets
Seattle -13.5 @ $1.90

It was oh so close for the Jets last week, they almost won their first game of the season, then they remembered they needed to keep losing to ensure they hold onto the top draft pick.

Seattle has really struggled lately but if there was ever a game for Russell Wilson and company to get their season back on track, this is it.

The Jets don’t have the defence to cause Wilson problems the way the Giants did last week, so it’s just a case of Seattle by how much.

Two touchdowns is a huge line for Seattle to cover, but it is the Jets they’re playing.

Las Vegas Raiders v Indianapolis Colts
Raiders +3.5 & Over 51.5 @ $3.25

In terms of the AFC playoff picture, there are few more meaningful games than the Colts trip to Las Vegas.

Right now, Indianapolis has a one game lead over the Raiders for the seventh and final playoff spot, but an upset win here could flip the two in the standings.

As it stands the Colts have been fantastic travellers in 2020 going 4-2 on the road and the away team has won five of their last six games.

Vegas is either the most dangerous offence in the league or one of the most hilariously incompetent ones.

After this game we will know a lot more about the mettle on both teams but I can’t split them so I’ll take the Raiders with their head start plus the points.

Los Angeles Chargers v Atlanta Falcons
Atlanta -6.5 @ $2.40

Last week was a worst case scenario situation in every sense of the word for the Chargers, getting belted 45-0 by what is a pretty average Patriots team.

Atlanta at least has steadied the ship after their horror start and while they were a step behind the Saints last week, they are absolutely capable of coming to LA and leaving with a big win.

What swings this game for me is the fact that the Chargers just seem to have an innate ability to shoot themselves in the foot and they are getting more injured in the last few weeks instead of healthier.

I’ll happily take a few extra points in the alternate line market to get the Falcons up to -6.5.

Detroit Lions v Green Bay Packers
Detroit +7.5 @ $1.90

Detroit is still very much in the playoff race this season, just one game out of seventh spot in the NFC.

In a last-ditch attempt to right the ship, they got rid of head coach Matt Patricia who at least found ways to play the Packers close.

Green Bay is another one of those teams that is doing enough week in week out to pick up the necessary victories against teams they are better than on paper.

That 7.5 point line is way too high for my liking however, especially with the questionable at times defence the Packers have shown.

Philadelphia Eagles v New Orleans Saints
SGM: Saints -7 & Taysom Hill Anytime TD Scorer

By the time the Saints kick off, they could already be the NFC South champions if Tampa Bay loses.

If Tampa does defeat Minnesota, then the Saints at least will have the knowledge that they can win the division themselves by getting by the Eagles who have just made a quarterback change.

Jalen Hurts might just be a really good quarterback in the future but he’s got a lot of development to do before getting there.

New Orleans should have few dramas against this Eagles team and with Taysom Hill progressing week on week, it’s hard to see this as anything more than a minor speedbump on their road to the playoffs.

San Francisco 49ers v Washington Football Team
Under 43.5 Points @ $1.90

San Francisco’s Arizona sojourn enters its second week as they now face the suddenly strong Washington Football Team.

Last season the 49ers snuck home 9-0 in a horrendous rainstorm that ran through Maryland although we should see a few more points in this one considering it’s being played in a retractable roof stadium.

Perhaps not too many more points though with both teams coming into this game on a short week after playing Tuesday (AEDT).

Buffalo Bills v Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh to Win @ $2.20

You lose one game and all of a sudden nobody believes in you!

At least the market for this game doesn’t, the 11-1 Steelers are underdogs as they head up to Buffalo for a huge game in the AFC Playoff race.

Pittsburgh has struggled the last few weeks so perhaps their loss should not be that much of a surprise but now with the “perfect season pressure” off them, they can now just focus their attention solely on getting a seventh Lombardi trophy.

Buffalo has looked really good but their offence will need to be on their game against a very good Steelers defence.

I’m not ready to jump off the Steelers just yet as their schedule returns to something resembling normal with this game and at this price, I’ll jump on them to win outright.

Cleveland Browns v Baltimore Ravens
Cleveland to Win @ $1.94

Baltimore got their season back on track with a comfortable win over the Cowboys during the week but they have a tough task ahead of them taking on a Browns team that looks like a real contender.

In Week 1, Baltimore demolished the Browns 38-6 but their respective fortunes have turned drastically since then.

Cleveland have won their last four and had a statement victory going to Tennessee and putting up 41 on the Titans.

There is every chance this game comes down to the final possession but, for the first time since their rebirth in 1999, I have to have more faith in Cleveland in a big game.