11-21-2023, 04:21 AM
NFL Week 14 game picks: Packers edge 'Hawks; Dallas hits 12-1 Published: Dec 08, 2016 at 07:14 AM Elliot Harrison Many games to get to on the Week 14 slate, but first, an important discu sion ... Who is MVP? There seems to be le s chatter about this award than usual, nationally speaking, probably because the media is hyper-focused on two rookies in Dallas tearing it up, and many can't wrap their head around the fact that the are good. Maybe it's that doesn't have a horse in this race, given his so-so campaign (by his standards). Perhaps the absence of Peyton Manning, Marshawn Lynch and (early on Kendall Graveman Jersey ) play a role here, as well. Whatever the case may be, the kind of buzz that surrounded 's surprising MVP run last season just hasn't been there. Some of you fans have reached out to me on this matter, and thus, here's my ballot heading into this week's games ... 1) , RB, Dallas Cowboys 2) , QB, Oakland Raiders 3) , QB, New England Patriots 4) , QB, Detroit Lions 5) , DE, Oakland Raiders I lob that list into the football ether. What do you think? ( ) On to a few other matters y'all have brought to my attention ... remember when the Panthers losing 6 games was a bold prediction? They are 4-8 now... Spencer Pierce- All Hail Christian Yelich (@srpierce14) Spencer, I got ripped for suggesting the could fall to 10-6. Looks like 6-10 might be a stretch now. who do you see winning the AFC South? Lifestyles (@therealzstiles) Whoever the , or dust in the Wild Card Round. Speaking of, is probably the matchup of the week, considering the quality of the AFC West. and aren't too shabby, either. See who I'm picking below. Your take is definitely welcome: is the place. Now, let's get to it! Big leap of faith here. As talented as the are, how many times have we seen them crap out on the road? I owned a 1978 Celica with a manual moonroof that was more reliable on the pavement. Put some $500 wheels on that baby, too. I tried to shine a turd, in the way that Pittsburgh's four glo sy home wins this year obscure the three ugly lo ses on the road. The lucked out , as quarterback for the trip to Indy. T.T. didn't fare well in Oakland , but the relevant narrative is that he is , not . Keith Butler's Pittsburgh defense has its work cut out for it. **Key matchup to watch
* The ' run defense vs. . Buffalo has allowed 161 rushing yards per game -- 4.7 yards per clip -- since Week 12. And you know what? There are no ma sive 30-yard runs in that grouping. Good thing Bell isn't explosive ... </content:weekly-predictions> How many times can the ' defense lift the stagnant offense to a win? If last season was any indication, however many it takes. Although pick-sixes might be hard to come by in Nashville. Save for and against Oakland, is far from a turnover machine. Denver will have to win this deal by stopping -- but shutting Rollie Fingers Jersey down the run certainly hasn't been a strong point for the (with the NFL's ). The big concern offensively is Denver quarterback is a go. If he's not, well, now has 11 quarters under his belt. Either way, Wade Phillips' defense needs to hold the to le s than 20 points. Mariota has posted eight straight games of multiple touchdown pa ses. The , meanwhile, have only allowed multiple touchdown pa ses twice this year. needs someone to throw the ball to outside who is reliable and can make plays. , it was , he of fame. I forgive you if you haven't heard of him, because I hadn't, either, until he headlined the ' box score against the . There used to be a guy with that same name on a lot. Maybe it's the same dude. Either way, what we do know is that and -- you know, the players who are supposed to be catching touchdowns -- are doing jack for their rookie quarterback. As for Washington, expect to rebound from in the desert. Arizona has won double-digit games three years in a row. At 5-6-1, the won't get there this season, but they do have a favorable matchup here. is playing much better as of late. I generally start my fantasy quarterbacks against Miami, even if they're , who . The not only mi s , but they need to get running back -- who hasn't hit the century mark since Week 9 -- going again in order to provide their defense with the occasional break, la and that well-rested defense. Speaking of running backs, continues his elite season for Arizona. The second-year RB out of Northern Iowa has outlasted his offseason hype to the tune of 1,709 yards from scrimmage. The dude has an outside shot at 1,000 yards. Johnson's put up 100 yards from scrimmage in every game this season. Ugh. Is there an uglier game on the Week 14 slate than this honey of a matchup? The ' offense might be the only unit that looks uglier than the Jags' group week to week. These two teams are a combined 1-13 since Week 7. must challenge Jacksonville down the field, although that has been challenging this season. The are but in picking the ball off. So take the risk, Sam. Or else the rest of the offense won't ever open up. has taken of risks -- in fact, it's a huge reason the Jags are . Bortles knows people are lasering in on his performance Catfish Hunter Jersey , which makes it all the more important that he not laser in on his receivers. We'll see. Huge game in the scope of the AFC South. The escaped big-time against the , getting two late scores to prevail in the fourth quarter after 3.5 quarters of sucking badly. Now Houston has lost three in a row and is looking for a win in a place that has been a house of horrors since the entered the league in 2002. In fact, was their first there . was on fire . What's interesting to note here is that three of Luck's scoring to ses went to tight end , with TE2 coming to another. That said, tight ends have done jack against the ' defense this season. So maybe Luck won't be able to pour it on like he did at MetLife on Monday night. But he won't need to -- Houston is one of five teams that hasn't scored 30 points once this season. It would be just like the to go out and win this game. They get their fans' hopes up, then , then , then return to San Diego . It's been a herky-jerky season for a Bolts team facing an identity crisis -- be it off-the-field future or on-field production -- from week to week. At least we know won't be benched for not wearing his bolo tie. Hopefully, . Rivers must allow the game to come to him, and run the offense through if the situation calls for it. Forcing it in the fourth quarter has cost San Diego three games this season -- , -- although was giving it away against the , including Billy Volek. I'm doing it. I'm taking the plunge. I am picking Cleveland to beat Cincy in the we're-not-going-anywhere-but-we're-still-allowed-in-the-AFC-North bowl. OK, I actually pick the , until I found out . Not trying to disparage , but he hasn't played in three months. will get his, so to speak, but will Griffin be able to take advantage of a Cincy defense that has struggled this season (despite )? On offense, the must provide a respectable showing on the ground if they are to finish the season with a quasi-respectable record. Cincinnati is running just 40.7 percent of the time, the lowest run-pa s ratio of the Dalton era. Would anyone be surprised if the came out flat, played like Scott Mitchell and Detroit lost a golden opportunity to take one step closer to the NFC North title? No. That's why they're the . But it really does seem like there is something different about this group, starting with -- but not limited to -- the MVP candidate at quarterback. The defense has competed Ramon Laureano Jersey hard the last couple of weeks, too, especially the much-maligned secondary. Facing one week after is like watching Matt LeBlanc's show after binging on "Westworld." Slight difference in quality, irritating promos aside. Although, they do beat . We digre s. The start winning in time to earn a top-five pick, just the way their fans don't like it. should encounter easy pickins in the red zone against the ' secondary -- this season. At least the run defense makes up for it by . Would you believe opponents have rushed for more than 2,000 yards on the ? Whatever they were paying , they should double it and add that indoor bubble-bath pool Tony Montana owned at his pad. On the plus side for San Francisco, no one on the looked like they were interested in tackling . is playing very well. During this four-game win streak, Winston has thrown six touchdown pa ses to three interceptions, while completing nearly 68 percent of his pa ses. If you think we are cherry pickin' stats here, well, , the sophomore QB threw for three scores with no picks, recording a slick 110.3 pa ser rating. The Bucs' defense has played out of its mind, allowing 51 offensive points during the win streak. And seven of those points, you might recall, . This team is streaking through the quad toward the ' dorm. While the are , the Bucs have allowed just 13.3 points per game since Week 10. That's the lowest mark in the NFL in that span. Careful, careful, careful. The afford to stumble in Los Angeles. The ' defense is a far better unit -- from top to bottom -- than it appears to be after and . You know Gregg Williams' D is going to be pi sed off enough about Blount's comments that better duck. Yes, we know he's short. You get the point. must atone for to ensure a pesky Bucs outfit doesn't surpa s his team in . The are 1-5 this season when they score 30 points or fewer. Thing is, I don't think Los Angeles can sniff 30 points right now. Oh, man -- maybe the toughest game to call on the Sunday slate. Maybe the coolest game on the Sunday slate, too. These teams have engaged in some remarkable affairs in recent history, from to to Yes, Matt Ha selbeck and Brett Favre dueled in that infamous 2003 wild-card game. Thirteen years later, and the quarterback matchup might be even better. has been hot lately. is having by far his worst season, but is running around again. (And it's damn hard to defend.) With Wilson under center, Seattle is 29-7 in December. The are 15-2 at home in December during Rodgers' reign. That's even stronger. That's right: The are moving to 12-1 by beating the only team to beat them this season. Much has been made of . It was 's first NFL start. Ditto . The margin of victory? One point. Sunday night provides Dallas an opportunity to show the rest of the league who is coming out of the NFC tournament this season -- that is, if they win convincingly against their NFC East nemesis. If the are going to slow Dallas' roll again, the front seven had better slow Zeke's first. Big Blue's run defense has been mostly awesome ... though went for 118 (it did take 29 carries). Elliott didn't get loose back in Week 1, but let's be real: He's figured it out since then. After averaging just 3.3 yards per carry in the first two weeks of his rookie season, he's cruising at over 5 yards per tote since. Good luck. The get a couple of scores in the fourth quarter to outlast the -- a group New England might see again in the postseason. Baltimore's defense has been shutting the door on opponents, especially with providing an extra-effective body on the pa s rush. Rookie added . came up with . , as he continues to make plays in Year 10. The ' defense is tops in the league, and won't be giving gimmes. New England's pa s-catching RBs could cause problems for Baltimore's aggre sive unit, though, even this week. Interesting that Brady has thrown 10 picks versus the since 2008 -- tied for the most he's thrown against any team, with the , despite the fact he has faced Baltimore seven fewer times in that span. THURSDAY NIGHT'S GAME What a way to kick off Week 14 in the NFL. This is a bad@$% uni matchup, too. at is cla sic AFL stuff. How about that huge in-game fight that went down in 1970? Now these two are fighting for the AFC West. has had a rough time versus the , especially earlier this season. In fact, over his career, the franchise QB is 1-4 against Kansas City, with six touchdown and five interceptions. Against the rest of the league? Carr has 71 touchdowns and 25 interceptions. His pa ser rating versus the is 72.0. Against everybody else? 90.7 That's a sizable difference. Oh, almost forgot: K.C. will have , and all in the Joe Morgan Jersey same game for just the third time this season. This article has been reproduced in a new format and may be mi sing content or contain faulty links. Please use the Contact Us link in our site footer to report an i sue.
Click here Click here Click here
![1f617 1f617](https://themastergames.com/mybb/images/smilies/EmojiTwo/1f617.png)
Click here Click here Click here