Week 14 Picks and Preview

By Matt Quinn

We’re approaching the home stretch in the NFL regular season and teams are fighting for those precious few playoff spots. There are a few clinching scenarios this week too that will be interesting to follow. Detroit already clinched their spot in the playoffs last night when they took down the Packers in a Thursday Night thriller 34-31. The season has been exciting throughout the year and this week looks to be no different as we get set for the playoffs in a few short weeks. Here are a few matchups to keep an eye on.

Browns at Steelers- 1pm Sunday

It’s a revenge game in Pittsburgh this Sunday as the Steelers welcome Jameis Winston’s Browns to Pittsburgh for round 2 of their matchup. The Steelers are coming off a big division win at Cincinnati. A win in which the Steelers put up 44 points which is the most they’ve scored in a game since November of 2018. The Browns were also involved in a shootout in Denver, where they fell 41-32 to the Broncos. Jameis threw for nearly 500 yards but it was his 3 interceptions, 2 of which were returned for touchdowns, that did them in. The Steelers are looking to avenge an earlier loss to the Browns and I think they do it in convincing fashion as they look to take another step towards clinching the division. Steelers win 38-13.

Falcons at Vikings- 1pm Sunday

Kirk Cousins returns to Minnesota on Sunday to take on the 10-2 Vikings. Cousins will be looking to bounce back from his worst performance as a Falcon where he threw 4 interceptions, including a back-breaking pick six. The Vikings continue to build off of their strong start to the season. After starting 5-0 this year, they then dropped two straight, before rattling off 5 straight more wins after that to get to 10-2, one game behind the conference leading Lions. The Vikings can’t afford a loss here if they hope to catch the Lions in the division. I do expect a bounce back performance from Kirk Cousins against his former team but I don’t think it will be enough as the Vikings are just a better football team right now. Vikings win 27–17.

Seahawks at Cardinals- 4:05pm Sunday

The race for the NFC West is heating up and who would have thought it would be the Seahawks and Cardinals fighting for the division crown, as the 49ers and Rams have seen their seasons crumble due to a bunch of injuries. But the Cardinals will be looking to bounce back from a loss to the Seahawks a few weeks ago in which Kyler Murray and the offense looked pretty bad and couldn’t get much going against an improving Seahawks defense. I think the Cardinals get back on track at home. Kyler will do enough and the run game will hit a few big plays to close the gap in the division and make for an exciting stretch run. Cardinals win 24-17.

Bills at Rams- 4:25pm Sunday

The Bills clinched the AFC East title last Sunday night against the 49ers and continue to look for the top seed in the playoffs if they can get Kansas City to slip up at some point. The Rams need to win to keep their division title hopes alive. They sit a game behind the Seattle Seahawks and a win here, coupled with a Seahawks loss, will put the Rams in great position to climb back into the division race. It’s a tall task though, as the Bills are playing their best football right now and look to be the scariest team in the AFC at the moment. Josh Allen continues to play at an MVP level and the running game with James Cook has seen a spark recently. Matt Stafford and WR Puka Nacua are a formidable combination, but it shouldn’t be anything the Bills and Josh Allen can’t overcome. The Bills should take care of business here but it may be closer than most people think. Bills win 31-23.

Chargers at Chiefs- 8:20pm Sunday

We finish with the most intriguing game of the Sunday slate of games. The Chiefs look to solidify their hold on the division and the number one seed in the AFC. The Chiefs have looked flawed for most of the year but have continued to find ways to win. You can call it luck if you want and nobody would blame you. The Chiefs have been on the winning end of some crazy finishes as well as some questionable calls that have led to victories. The fact is though, they are still winning games and they still do have Patrick Mahomes, who is very capable of turning it on and having a great game at any point. As for the Chargers, they bounced back from a tough loss to the Ravens with a solid defensive performance against the Falcons, forcing 4 turnovers from Kirk Cousins and winning despite not scoring a single offensive touchdown. This should be a good one though as these division rivals have everything to play for. I think the Chiefs’ luck begins to run out this week. Chargers win 24-20.

So that’s it for this week’s games. It’s exciting times in the NFL at this point of the season and we’ll have some more answers after this week about which teams will finish strong and which teams falter. Who will save their season? Who will finish locked in at the number one draft pick spot? Will anyone knock off the Chiefs? These questions and more will be answered as we head into December and January football.