It's beginning to look a lot like...playoffs. That's right. It's the Holiday Season, there's no doubt about it, but the NFL playoff race is well underway and things have really started to heat up with 13 weeks in the books and Week 14 of the 2023 NFL season on deck. There's no question that we need a bit of a bounce-back weekend of NFL picks and score predictions as we took some risks in Week 13 on underdog teams that didn't work out.
But that's the unpredictable nature of the NFL, so predict at your own risk...
There are once again some great matchups on the slate for Week 14 including a matchup that everyone had circled on the calendar at the beginning of the year. Let's jump into this weekend's games.
2023 NFL picks and score predictions for Week 14 games
Week 14 byes: Arizona Cardinals, Washington Commanders
New England Patriots (2-10) @ Pittsburgh Steelers (7-5)
Thursday, December 7, 8:15 ET
Wow, America's "Dud" of the Week. This is a horrible game and horrible for NFL fans. Unfortunately, that's just the way things have gone for both the Patriots and the Steelers this year. Teams behind Pittsburgh in the AFC playoff race are wondering what they have to do to draw this kind of schedule next year.
The Steelers have back-to-back games against arguably the two worst teams in the NFL in Arizona and New England, but the comedy of it all is that the Steelers dropped a home game to the Cardinals. Are they going to drop a home game to the hapless Patriots?
New England was shut out by the Chargers (6-0) in Week 13. They are playing as ugly of football as it gets offensively. The Steelers haven't been much better. Maybe these two teams surprise us all, or maybe it's exactly what we all expect.
Prediction: Steelers win 13-10
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-7) @ Atlanta Falcons (6-6)
Sunday, December 10, 1:00 PM ET
As crazy as it may be, this game has significant implications on the NFC South division race with the Falcons currently in the driver's seat.
Neither of these teams played a pretty game on Sunday but it is what it is. The Falcons won a barn-burner against the New York Jets in which they started off down 2-0 because Bijan Robinson was tackled for a safety. The Falcons have been up and down all season long and I guess that’s evidenced by their 6-6 record. This team isn’t good, but it’s also not bad.
At any point in time, it feels like the Falcons can explode offensively but I’m not so sure it’s going to happen against the Todd Bowles-coached Buccaneers defense.
The Bucs are 5-7 but they’ve got a chance to catch up to the Falcons this week but they are considered 2.5-point underdogs heading on the road to Atlanta this weekend.
These two teams are nearly carbon copies of each other when it comes to what I expect for NFL picks and score predictions. I never know whether to buy either of these offenses on a given week. Just when I expect them to lay an egg, they prove me wrong.
I will go with the Falcons at home in this one.
Prediction: Falcons win 23-19
Detroit Lions (9-3) @ Chicago Bears (4-8)
Sunday, December 10, 1:00 PM ET
The Chicago Bears have been an interesting team when Justin Fields is at his best this season. I wouldn’t say he was “at his best” last week against the Minnesota Vikings, but you got to see late in the game what the best of Justin Fields can be for Chicago.
Is it going to prevent them from taking Caleb Williams with the top pick in the 2024 NFL Draft if the Panthers keep on losing games? Probably not, but Fields has a chance to really give them something to think about down the stretch of this season.
The Bears took the Lions within an inch of their lives a few weeks back, and it took a pretty intense comeback from Detroit to pull off a win against the Bears. Can Chicago get the job done in Week 14? Can they pull off an upset at home against Detroit?
I’m not banking on it.
The Lions are a pretty well-oiled machine at this point, and they’re one of the teams in the NFL right now with a decent margin for error. What do I mean by that? I mean that the Lions are a team that can win in a variety of ways. They can score points in bunches, they can win low-scoring battles, they can air it out, and they can dominate on the ground.
I think they beat the Bears by seven.
Prediction: Lions win 30-23
Indianapolis Colts (7-5) @ Cincinnati Bengals (6-6)
Sunday, December 10, 1:00 PM ET
The Indianapolis Colts are the models of resilience. They are playing some really fun football right now, and it doesn't necessarily mean they are playing perfect games. The Colts are simply finding ways to win, and they've done so all the way to a 7-5 record right now after a totally disastrous season in 2022.
Shane Steichen has done an awesome job for the Colts this year, but he's going to have to prepare Gardner Minshew for a really crucial matchup in Week 14 against Lou Anarumo's Bengals defense.
Although the Bengals lost Joe Burrow for the season, this is a game that could ultimately end up being really close. The Colts are basically playing in one-score games each week at this point, and after a really hard-fought win against the Titans on the road this past week, could they be in for a little letdown against the Bengals?
I think this is a sneaky great game especially with the way the Bengals just played on the road against the Jacksonville Jaguars. With backup quarterbacks playing on both sides, I expect some crazy things to happen in this game defensively and maybe on special teams.
The Bengals can really mess up the AFC playoff situation with a win here.
Prediction: Bengals win 27-24
Jacksonville Jaguars (8-4) @ Cleveland Browns (7-5)
Sunday, December 10, 1:00 PM ET
The Cleveland Browns are going to give teams fits all season long. The Browns have had one of the NFL's best defenses in 2023, and that has carried them to a playoff spot if the season ended today. Unfortunately, they might have also suffered one too many injuries to sustain that playoff spot as the season progresses.
Injuries to Deshaun Watson and Nick Chubb were of the season-ending variety, but the Browns have had to deal with key players like Denzel Ward missing time, Jack Conklin going down for the season, and plenty of others.
The fact that they are still in the mix right now is incredible in and of itself. But do they have enough juice to get this win? Can Joe Flacco or Dorian Thompson-Robinson make it happen? They host the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 14 and this was going to be a brutal matchup, even playing at home.
You looked at this game a couple of days ago and felt like the Jaguars might just be able to go into auto-pilot, but things have obviously changed significantly with Trevor Lawrence leaving Monday night's game against the Bengals with a pretty ugly-looking ankle injury. The Jaguars have obviously played good football most of this season but without Trevor Lawrence, they are just another team.
The Browns might be able to pull one out.
Prediction: Browns win 19-17
Carolina Panthers (1-11) @ New Orleans Saints (5-7)
Sunday, December 10, 1:00 PM ET
There are a number of candidates for “dud” of the week this week, aren’t there? While the Patriots and Steelers can’t be beaten in terms of how uninteresting that game really is, at least the Steelers have something at stake in that game.
It doesn’t feel like either of the Carolina Panthers – already eliminated from the playoffs this season – or New Orleans Saints are going to be able to do anything in terms of making noise late this season. The most interesting aspect of the Carolina Panthers right now is whether or not they’re actually going to tank so hard after a massively overhyped offseason that they give the Chicago Bears the #1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
At this point, they are clearly in control of that selection. The only team that is really in contention right now is the Patriots.
The Panthers are going to New Orleans and I think this one is pretty clear. The Saints are likely going to win this game. They are favored by 6.5 points which is indicative of just how bad the Panthers have been all year. Rookie quarterback Bryce Young has looked flat-out bad and is going to need to improve drastically next year.
Prediction: Saints win 21-16
Houston Texans (7-5) @ New York Jets (4-8)
Sunday, December 10, 1:00 PM ET
Wow, the New York Jets lose another low-scoring game. And wow, the Houston Texans win another one-score game.
This has been an incredible season for the Houston Texans and it's been a season of "what if?" for the New York Jets. Like, what if the New York Jets had even a slightly good quarterback for most of this season? They've certainly got the kind of defense to make noise among the NFL's better teams, but the Jets simply are incompetent offensively. There have been some clunkers for them this season, but they only scored six points offensively against the Falcons' 14th-ranked defense.
They had half as many turnovers (3) as they did offensive points scored. The defense got them two points on a safety.
I just think the Houston Texans need to show up in New York, don't make any mistakes, and they'll come away with their eighth win of the year. CJ Stroud has played as well as any quarterback in the NFL this season, and certainly has had one of the best years we've ever seen from a rookie quarterback.
Robert Saleh and DeMeco Ryans know each other very well, but will that familiarity amount to anything in this game? Are the Jets going to lose all of their remaining games this season?
Prediction: Texans win 21-13
Los Angeles Rams (6-6) @ Baltimore Ravens (9-3)
Sunday, December 10, 1:00 PM ET
The Los Angeles Rams have now won three straight games and have taken over second place in the NFC West. The Seattle Seahawks have been in a free-fall, while the Rams have quietly been getting the job done. And although they simply had to beat Joe Flacco this past weekend, the task against Cleveland wasn’t easy with the Browns and their top-ranked defense.
The Rams were able to pull away late after Flacco and the Browns really kept things close there for a while, and we saw Los Angeles put forth another really impressive offensive performance with 36 points after scoring 37 last week.
Unfortunately, the Rams might be running right into a buzzsaw at the worst possible time. They couldn’t have asked for a more ill-timed trip out east to take on the Baltimore Ravens in the early time slot, and the Ravens are understandably favored by 7.5 points since they are coming off of their bye week.
This is kind of a big yikes for the Rams. The Rams will undoubtedly put up a good fight in this one, but I think they’re going to need vintage performances from Aaron Donald, Matthew Stafford, and Cooper Kupp in order to pull off an upset.
I’m not going to call the upset here but I have really enjoyed watching the Rams develop this season.
Prediction: Ravens win 28-22
Minnesota Vikings (6-6) @ Las Vegas Raiders (5-7)
Sunday, December 10, 4:05 PM ET
Two teams coming off of a bye week, and two teams that really don't seem to be much of a factor when it comes to the playoff race.
And yet, a win for either team would propel them firmly into the discussion, wouldn't it?
I tend to think that Kevin O’Connell and the Vikings are going to be able to come out of the bye week and look a little sharper than the Raiders. O’Connell has his guys prepared every week, and even when they make a bunch of mistakes, they’re still able to stay competitive in games.
The Vikings desperately need The Passtronaut to return this week after Joshua Dobbs looked lost out there against the Chicago Bears, of all teams. Even with his struggles, Dobbs made some clutch throws late in that game against Chicago, but the Vikings’ defense collapsed.
Are they going to be able to contain Raiders rookie quarterback Aidan O’Connell and wide receiver Davante Adams?
It’s going to be a really intriguing matchup between teams that typically have nothing to do with each other, and they find themselves in a position here late in the season where this rare matchup could determine their playoff destiny.
The Vikings are 1.5-point favorites on the road in this one and I think they pull one out.
Prediction: Vikings win 25-23
Seattle Seahawks (6-6) @ San Francisco 49ers (9-3)
Sunday, December 10, 4:05 PM ET
The Seattle Seahawks lost when scoring 35 or more points for the first time in the entire Pete Carroll era, a streak that had extended to nearly 40 games. That’s pretty crazy, but that’s what happens when you also allow 41 points and don’t block Micah Parsons on the last play of the game, isn’t it?
After starting strong again this season, the Seahawks have come crashing back to earth and, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it doesn’t look like it’s going to get any better in Week 14. The Seahawks have to follow up a matchup on the road against Dallas with a matchup on the road against San Francisco.
Yikes.
The 49ers are a whopping 12.5-point favorites at home in this game. I mean, it’s not unrealistic to think they can win this game by two touchdowns, but to see an opening line like that with two teams that are .500 and above? It speaks to the level the 49ers are playing right now. And they are absolutely cruising.
The 49ers are a team without any real weakness right now. Their coaching is elite, their roster is elite, their execution is elite, and their depth is elite. This is a juggernaut and I would say the best team in the NFL right now. The Seahawks are going to need to force a bunch of turnovers and have everything go right in this game to have a chance.
Prediction: 49ers win 34-20
Buffalo Bills (6-6) @ Kansas City Chiefs (8-4)
Sunday, December 10, 4:25 PM ET
The Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs are two teams that everyone predicted would be fighting for the AFC title this season, but they have both underachieved pretty significantly up to this point and have even gone through some spells of looking, dare I say bad at times this season.
The Chiefs are coming off of a loss on the road against the Green Bay Packers. If you read last week’s NFL picks and score predictions, you might have made some money on that one. We don’t get them all right, but the Packers have been playing some good ball lately and Kansas City doesn’t have an offense that can win shootouts right now.
Is that not wild to say?
Kansas City, a team that is a threat to score at any moment in a game, is struggling to put points on the board this season. Even crazier, the Chiefs are just three-point home favorites over a 6-6 Buffalo Bills team right now. The Bills are coming off of a bye week, and they are obviously in desperation mode.
I think this is going to be a good, hard-fought game. I don’t know if I have the guts to pick Buffalo on the road with the Chiefs coming off of a loss.
Prediction: Chiefs win 27-24
Denver Broncos (6-6) @ Los Angeles Chargers (5-7)
Sunday, December 10, 4:25 PM ET
The Denver Broncos rode a five-game winning streak into their game this past weekend against the Houston Texans, and despite three interceptions from Russell Wilson, they were in position to win the game with a goal-to-go situation in the final minute.
Unfortunately for the Broncos, they weren’t able to punch it in, and dropped to 6-6 on the year. This was Denver’s first loss since their game back in Week 7 against the Green Bay Packers, and as impressive of a run as it was, the Broncos really needed that win against the Texans to push forward with their playoff hopes. They would have had over 60 percent odds to make it had they beat Houston, and their odds dropped under 30 percent after the loss.
It was a tough swing for Denver, and now they’ve got to go on the road against a Chargers team that has been a disappointment pretty much all year. As is typically the case, the Chargers are in a lot of one-score games, they’re just not winning them. It will be interesting to see how Denver’s defense fares against Justin Herbert after giving up some big plays to Nico Collins and CJ Stroud on Sunday, but that Denver defense has been great since Week 6.
The Broncos historically play the Chargers exceptionally well (at least in recent history) and I think Sean Payton is going to stick it to a team that was supposedly the favorite to hire him in the offseason before they passed on entering the head coach carousel altogether.
Prediction: Broncos win 24-20
Philadelphia Eagles (10-2) @ Dallas Cowboys (9-3)
Sunday, December 10, 8:20 PM ET
How could you not be juiced for this game? The Dallas Cowboys have been outstanding for so much of this season, but they have failed to come up big in some of their biggest games so far. Their game against the 49ers earlier this season was an abject disaster, and the Philadelphia Eagles stole one from them a handful of weeks ago.
The Cowboys got their “signature” win of the 2023 season with a victory over the Seattle Seahawks last Thursday, and that win against the Seahawks was huge for so many reasons. The Cowboys needed a win against a quality opponent and the Seahawks gave them all they could handle. It was the first time in Pete Carroll’s tenure as head coach that the Seahawks lost a game in which they scored 35 or more points.
The Cowboys are riding high going into this matchup against Philadelphia, who will be forced to get back to the drawing board after getting absolutely spanked against the 49ers.
The Eagles have been playing with fire for a lot of this season, but they’ve been so resilient. They were boatracing teams last season, and this year, it feels like they’re having to really grind.
I think this is a classic case of unstoppable force meeting immovable object. I think we’re in for a real treat as football fans. The Cowboys are three point favorites at home.
Prediction: Cowboys win 36-33
Tennessee Titans (4-8) @ Miami Dolphins (9-3)
Monday, December 11, 8:15 PM ET
The Miami Dolphins going up against a sub-.500 team…What do we all assume is going to happen here?
The Miami Dolphins have feasted against bad teams this season, and there’s no question about it that the Titans are bad, but they might not be “run of the mill” kind of bad. The Titans are a team in transition in some key areas of the roster, but they still play hard under Mike Vrabel and I think they can be a trap game for any team the rest of the way this season.
With that being said, the Miami Dolphins are probably just way too good at this point in time for a team like the Titans to go on the road and beat. Miami would likely have to have major issues with turnovers if they somehow find a way to lose this game, and there’s a reason they are favored at home by a whopping 13 points.
The primary reason is wide receiver Tyreek Hill, the biggest cheat code in the NFL right now and a player closing in on potentially being the first receiver in NFL history to eclipse 2,000 yards receiving in a season. Hill currently sits at 1,481 receiving yards this season and the Dolphins know how to get him involved on a weekly basis, even with other mouths to feed and even with other teams knowing he’s going to get the ball.
I don’t think this one is a hard one to predict. The Titans are probably going to get beat by two touchdowns easily.
Prediction: Dolphins win 31-17
Green Bay Packers (6-6) @ New York Giants (4-8)
Monday, December 11, 8:15 PM ET
You’ve got to give the New York Giants their due respect. They have found a way to win four games this season, which is more at this point than I thought they would have had given some of their issues and injuries. They are also coming off of a bye week, so that is an added factor in play here that can’t be ignored.
With that being said, the line moved overnight from Sunday to Monday with the Giants as one-point home favorites to the Packers as six-point road favorites. It looks like Vegas is buying into the Packers hype right now.
Very few teams have as “easy” of a schedule to close out the 2023 season as the Green Bay Packers, but after beating the Kansas City Chiefs in prime time, they’ve now got to prove that they can go on the road and not lay an egg against a Giants team that they should beat.
Matt LaFleur and Packers GM Brian Gutekunst came under a lot of fire over the last couple of years for their belief in Jordan Love, the way the Aaron Rodgers situation was handled, the fact that they refused to use first-round picks on offensive skill players, and much more. But the reality of their situation right now is, the Packers are one of the youngest teams in the NFL and they are playing some outstanding football, even with some key injuries.
The 2023 Packers are getting hot at exactly the right time and I think they’ll go on the road and get a win over the Giants.
Prediction: Packers win 23-16