NFL Week 14 Preview
Fantasy Football Start Em’ Sit Em
Quarterback Start: Jameis Winston, Philip Rivers, Kirk Cousins, Matthew Stafford
Quarterback Sit: Tyrod Taylor, Marcus Mariota, Ryan Tannehill, Blake Bortles
Running Back Start: Jeremy Hill, Thomas Rawls, Johnathan Stewart, Todd Gurley
Running Back Sit: James Starks, Devontae Booker, LeGarrette Blount, T.J. Yeldon
Wide Receiver Start: Julian Edelman, Washington receivers, Cincinnati receivers
Wide Receive Sit: Sammy Watkins, Richard Matthews, Allen Robinson, Brandon Marshall
Tight End Start: Ladarius Green, Zach Ertz, Jermaine Gresham, Jason Witten
Tight End Sit: Dwayne Allen, Martellus Bennett, Dennis Pitta, Coby Fleener
Defense/ST Start: Lions, Bengals, Falcons
Defense/ST Sit: Ravens
Week 14 Game Picks
Raiders vs. Chiefs: The Raiders will look to to expand their lead in the AFC West with a tough road game in Kansas City. In the AFC, there probably isn’t a tougher team to beat in their own building. One thing the Raiders have in their favor is a great offensive line that should pave the way for a similar game plan we saw when the Raiders beat the Broncos. Expect a lot of physical runs on their part. The Chiefs offense will have to mimic their offensive output against the Falcons in order to keep up with Oakland, but most importantly they’ll need to force some turnovers. Tough task considering the Raiders typically take care of the ball. I’ll pick the Raiders to find a way to win again on the road.
Redskins vs. Eagles: Washington’s offense has been good without their starting left tackle Trent Williams. Now he’s back and should give the Eagles pass rush trouble. And with a thin secondary, the Eagles can only hope an off day stops the Redskins from airing it out on them. Washington should have no trouble picking up the win.
Texans vs. Colts: Houston has the defense and the running game to compete with any team, but it always comes down to how Brock Osweiler is playing. Unfortunately, he’s not having too many good days this season. But even he should be able to find some success against the Colts defense right? Andrew Luck is the more trustworthy quarterback, but I’ll pick the Texans to win by using a lot of running plays, defensive stops and Osweiler not throwing the game away.
Bengals vs. Browns: RG3 is back and Hue Jackson has some insider information on the Bengals since he was just coaching there a season ago. Can the Browns finally pick up a win? Not this week. I still think their best chance to win comes in a couple of weeks. I expect the Bengals to stifle the Browns offense en route to a win.
Broncos vs. Titans: One thing you can expect in this game is a lot of handoffs to the running backs. The AFC South is in reach for the Titans and an upset win over the Broncos would greatly aid them. The problem is they won’t be able to throw the ball against the Denver secondary and everyone knows it. So DeMarco Murray, Derrick Henry and Marcus Mariota will have to have big games on the ground for them to even stand a chance. In a game where the first team to 20 will probably win, I have to pick the Broncos here because they have better weapons and don’t have to line up against their own defense.
Cardinals vs. Dolphins: It looked as if the Dolphins came crashing back to Earth last week against the Ravens. Now they’ll be facing a team with a defense just as good as Baltimore’s and one of the best running backs in the league. The secret is out on Miami. Just stop Jay Ajayi and win the game. And that’s what the Cardinals will do.
Bears vs. Lions: This game should mark the second straight game where the Lions won’t trail in the fourth quarter. The Bears don’t have much left. The Lions shouldn’t have much trouble winning this game.
Steelers vs. Bills: Buffalo’s ball control offense won’t be able to keep up with the Steelers if they’re on their game. There’s just too many weapons wearing Steelers jerseys. The Pittsburgh defense will be out to step a Bills offense that have accumulated at least 150 rushing yards in five consecutive games. And if they can slow that down, that leaves the Bills with Tyrod Taylor’s ability to throw the ball quickly and accurately. With that said I’ll pick the Steelers to win the game.
Chargers vs. Panthers: The Panthers looked like they went on vacation early last week in Seattle. Their season is over and they don’t even look like a broken shadow of last year’s team. As for their opponent, it seems like the Chargers have half of their roster on IR. But at least they don’t seem to be ready to quit. The only question I have about the them is if they’ll be able to keep a lid on the turnovers. When the Charger turn the ball over excessively, they’re guaranteed to lose. Philip Rivers should have no problems torching the Panthers secondary, and the Chargers should win as long as he doesn’t give the ball away.
Vikings vs. Jaguars: Adrian Peterson claims he isn’t coming back if the Vikings are eliminated from the playoffs. Luckily they should have no problems beating a bad Jaguars team.
Jets vs. 49ers: If you put these two rosters next to each other, the Jets look like a playoff team and the 49ers look like a team that will be picking at the top of the draft. However, the Jets are playing so poorly that they will find themselves with a high draft pick just like the 49ers. After their performance against the Colts and the comments by head coach Todd Bowles, I don’t think anyone will really feel comfortable picking them to win after flying across the country on short rest. So I’ll pick the Niners to pick up the win.
Falcons vs. Rams: This is a must-win game for the Atlanta Falcons this week. Just a month ago it looked like they would cruise to the NFC South crown and Matt Ryan would be an MVP candidate. Now they’re beginning to look like last year’s team that got off to a good start only to plummet and miss the playoffs. The Buccaneers aren’t going anywhere for the time being, so the Falcons will need to recapture their magic. A look at their schedule shows that they should be favored to win every game down the stretch of the regular season. Even with the Falcons defense being their biggest weakness, even they should be able to stop the awful Rams offense. Look for the Falcons offense to put up big numbers as well in the victory.
Saints vs. Buccaneers: Speaking of the Buccaneers, they find themselves atop the NFC South by way of a tiebreaker and could take the division as long as they win out. They’ve won their last three games as an underdog, their defense is playing well and Jameis Winston is backing up his talk about not being a loser. The Saints will be an adequate test for them as they should be angry with their performance in Detroit. Drew Brees must find a way to limit turnovers and the pass protection of the Saints must hold up in order to win. With the Buccaneers being a young team in uncharted territory, I expect a set back this week and a Saints win.
Seahawks vs. Packers: We’re going to see how big of a hole is left in the Legion of Boom without Earl Thomas. Aaron Rodgers is probably looking forward to testing that himself. Expect a whole lot of quick and tight passes in the area that Thomas would’ve been. On the other side, expect Dom Capers to dial up whatever he can to test the Seattle offensive line. If all goes well, the Packers should be victorious in this one.
Cowboys vs. Giants: The Giants remain the only team to have beaten the Cowboys this season. The Giants high priced defensive line was obviously built to combat the Great Wall of Dallas, but now Jason Pierre-Pail is out. That spells trouble and leaves a hole for the Cowboys to attack. Also, the Cowboys will have had 10 days to prepare for this game to go along with the added motivation of wanting to avenge their loss. I’ll pick the Cowboys to do just that Sunday night.
Ravens vs. Patriots: This is a big test for the Patriots. No team has played them tougher over the last decade than the Giants and the Ravens. Baltimore is one of the few teams that religiously gives the Patriots all they can handle and don’t seem to be afraid of the Patriots aura of dominance. Their defense is the best in the league and don’t even have to worry about Gronk or Amendola. I expect the Patriots to respond with a lot of passes to their running backs to make up for those losses, but I don’t expect them to find much room. And look for Joe Flacco to have one of his weird good games as he always seems to bring it in Foxborough. I’m going with the Ravens to win.
