Well, after a 2-3 effort in Week 13 I am barely keeping my head above water at 15-15 overall since I began trying my hand at NFL predictions. You know, I knew it was a really stupid idea to pick against Tom Brady, Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots in a huge game at home. I did it, anyway. Dummy!
Let's see what the crystal ball says for Week 14 of the NFL season. As always, I will give you five games -- the Jets and Giants, then three other games I like. So, read on. Oh, and trust me only if you feel like living dangerously.
Giants (-1) at Minnesota: Eli Manning has never beaten the Vikings in four career starts against them, and the Metrodome is never friendly to the Giants. The Vikings are also 2-0 since Leslie Frazier took over as coach from the deposed Brad Childress. All of that said, the Giants are the desperate team this weekend. At 8-4 they have to win to maintain a realistic shot at reaching the playoffs. It won't be easy, but I think the Giants pull this one out. Pick: Giants
Dolphins at Jets (-6): After Monday's 45-3 debacle against New England, the Jets are about as big a question mark as a 9-3 team can be. Are they contenders who had a bad night? Are they pretenders who have eked out a bunch of fortunate victories against terrible teams? Right now, we don't know for sure. The Dolphins, though, are another of those not really good teams and the Jets really need to do more than win another game in the final seconds. Pick: Jets
Now, on to the rest of my selections for the week.
Atlanta (-7) at Carolina: The line on this game is only seven? Are you kidding me? True, Carolina is at home, but the pitiful Panthers are 1-11. The Falcons are 10-2 and look like the best team in the NFC. They won't stumble here. Pick: Falcons
Green Bay (-6.5) at Detroit: I am employing pretty much the same logic here as I did with the Atlanta selection. The Packers (8-4) are chasing the 9-3 Chicago Bears in the NFC North, and are in the middle of brutal fight for a wild-card berth. They have everything to play for, while the Lions are 2-10 and down to their third quarterback. Pick: Packers
Indianapolis (-2) at Tennessee: The Colts are 1-4 and have lost three straight. Peyton Manning has endured what might be the worst stretch of his career in recent weeks. The Titans have lost five straight. I don't think the beaten-up Colts have enough to make the playoffs, but this stretch of bad play can't go on forever for Manning. Pick: Colts
- Check SB Nation's NFL Odds page for the lines on every NFL game
Last Week: 2-3
Season Record: 15-15