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Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers seems to fit. The Packers will try to keep up with the race . . . [] for a top playoff seed during a week 14 matchup with rival Detroit Lions.
Week 14 of 2020 began with the Rams taking revenge on the Patriots, suffering one loss in six games that included two Super Bowl losses with a convincing 24-3 win on Thursday night. There’s still a lot of football on the program this week. 30 teams are still preparing for their respective games over the next two days. 14 of these matchups will take place on this action-packed Sunday, including a number of meaningful competitions that will have a profound impact on the image of the 2021 NFL playoffs.
Some of the most important games of the 14th. Week start at 1am. m. ET windows including a critical NFC game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Minnesota Vikings, two teams currently battling for a seat at the conference. The 7-5 Bucs would be No.. 6 seeds if the postseason started today but the 6-6 Vikings – currently the No.. 7 team in the NFC – could close this gap and earn a valuable tiebreaker today with a road win.
Another important early afternoon affair is the Miami Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs, a clash where the outcome will help shape the AFC portion of the 2021 NFL playoff bracket. The 11-1 Chiefs are the only team in the conference to have taken a postseason berth to date but are still lagging behind the 11-1 Pittsburgh Steelers, which is more important than ever this year as only the No.. 1 seed earn first round goodbye. The 8-4 Phins have an incredible campaign after years of mediocrity, but despite their impressive record, they are still far from certain that they can invest after the season. The club would be No.. 6 seeds if the playoffs started today but have little breathing space as three teams with 7-5 or better are behind them. Miami is also just one game back from AFC East-leading Buffalo Bills, a team they lost to earlier this year and that they’ll see again in the final game of the season that could be vital for tiebreaker purposes.
Even in this window of time, don’t sleep in the battle of the Arizona Cardinals-New York Giants, a game both sides are dying to win in order to keep their post-season dreams alive. The 5-7 G-Men have a narrow lead in the NFC East, having won two head-to-head matchups with 5-7 Washington, at least tie the soccer team for the best record in the division after week 17. The 6-6 cards aren’t out of competition either, despite being stuck in a three game loss and losing four of their last five after a hot start to the 2020 season. The association is currently No.. 8 seeds in the NFC, but could turn things around and make a wild card run with three of their last four opponents who own sub. 500 records.
Five games begin in the late afternoon between 4:05 and 4:25 p.m.. m. ET, a busy window where numerous competitors compete against each other to improve their post-season and seeding chances. Expect a fierce battle in the Indianapolis Colts in the Las Vegas Raiders competition as both organizations can’t afford to lose to keep looking for a playoff spot. The 8-4 Colts follow the Dolphins for the last wild card seed of the conference and lose a tiebreak based on the win percentage in AFC matchups. The 7-5 Raiders still have a lot to do, but a “W” against a tough opponent like Indy would go a long way towards getting this program back into the postseason for the first time since 2016 and only for the second time since their Super Bowl in the year 2002.
The schedule for prime time, which concludes week 14, is fascinating, beginning with a Sunday night showdown between the AFC power plants at the Pittsburgh Steelers and Buffalo Bills. The Steelers stagger from their first loss of the 2020 season, falling to 11-1 after being stunned by Washington last Monday. They still hold first place in the conference but need to turn things around to avoid being usurped by the defending champion bosses. It won’t be easy as not only will the Steelers play their third game for 12 days, but the Bills will be one of the biggest challenges Pittsburgh faces year-round. This Buffalo team is talented and hungry to win their first AFC East title since 1995. There is one game ahead of the Dolphins in the overall standings and for the time being has the head-to-head tiebreaker, but does not want to forego a few games to secure the division crown that has eluded the franchise for so long.
Week 14 ends Monday night with the AFC North taking center stage, bringing the Baltimore Ravens and Cleveland Browns together for the second and last time this regular season. The glowing Browns sit in the driver’s seat and grab the conference number. 5 seeds and still have an outside chance to fight for the division title at 9-4 as the Ravens hope to turn things further and make a playoff push in the late season after losing three games and changed to 7-. 5 with a win over Dallas last week. Baltimore wiped Cleveland out at the kick-off in 2020, but a lot has changed in the months since that match, but not so much that the Ravens still don’t prefer – at three on the street to be precise – to sweep in to complete prime time.
With so many exciting promotions happening over the next two days, it’s easy to overlook some value on the board when betting these games or picking winners against the spread for pools. Fortunately for readers, Jon Price of SportsInformationTraders. com did the job for you and made their predictions for some of the top 14 competitions. Week sent. Before getting to the pro handicapper’s projections, be sure to check out the start times, TV channels, and updated odds for each game on the schedule. You can also find some key betting trends to help you make informed decisions when it comes to your week 14 NFL selection.
Sunday Night Football is broadcast live on NBC Sports Live and Monday Night Football courtesy of WatchESPN. Any game outside of the market during the 2020 NFL season can be streamed on the NFL Game Pass.
The Cardinals have won 4-1 against SU and ATS in the last five matches with the Giants, with a perfect 3-0 record against SU and ATS as the away team. Arizona visits East Rutherford on week 14 as 2nd. The 5-point favorite and history show that the club has great chances of success at this location. The cards have been in 8-4-2 ATS since Kliff Kingsbury became head coach at the start of the 2019 season, while the Giants have been 4-9 ATS at MetLife Stadium for the same period. New York has consistently been one of the worst home teams in football since it moved to the venue in 2010. Big Blue has only gone 35-49-2 ATS over this stretch, a 41. 7% home coverage rate, which is worse than all but five teams in the past decade.
The Chiefs haven’t had much success on their South Beach trips, having only played 2-7 SU in their last nine street games against the Dolphins. Kansas City have been a tough road team overall lately, scoring a perfect 8-0 SU in their last eight away games. Now it has to face a Miami squad that has won and covered seven of its last eight games and an NFL best is 5-1 ATS at home in 2020. Spreading for this game, the « Phins » got a full touchdown on their own digs for a game that could make a huge difference in the look of the 2021 NFL playoffs.
The Buccaneers have made a habit of topping the Vikings at Raymond James Stadium, playing 6-1 SU and ATS in the last seven games between those on-site teams. Minnesota traveled well in 2020 and has a coverage rate of 80% (4-1 ATS) which is better than all but two teams in the NFL this year. The Vikings were also lucrative as underdogs at the same time, scoring 4-1 ATS when they got points and 3-1 ATS as an away dog. Tampa was far more inconsistent as the home team, having a mediocre 3-3 ATS record with Raymond James and only going 1-3 ATS as home chalk that season. The Bucs place seven in a 14th matchup. Week against the Vikings, which should be much closer than the spread suggests.
The Lions have set an impressive 4-3 SU and 6-1 ATS records in the past seven encounters with the Packers. Detroit had finally captured its six-game title streak from Green Bay when these NFC North rivals met at Lambeau Field at the start of the 2020 NFL season, but has generally been a tough game in that series in recent years. The Lions have won their first game since former head coach Matt Patricia was fired and covered as an underdog, upset another division opponent at the Bears at Soldier Field last week. You face a much tougher challenge in Week 14 in the form of an up and coming Packers team trying to cement a top seed in the NFC but potentially keeping things closer than the 8. 5-point spread indicates.
While they haven’t won a single game since their 2020 NFL season opener, the Jaguars are becoming a great value for weather in four of their last five games. The team narrowly held up against their upcoming opponent, AFC South rivals Titans, in Week 2, eventually losing by a 33 to 30 lead, but easily prevailing as underdogs with seven points on the road.
Tennessee hits the streets eleven in the rematch, a tough line since the Jags have covered two of the last three in this series and the Titans have known fighting on the street against division enemies. The club have only completed 7-20-1 ATS in the last 28 away competitions against AFC South. The Titans have also often downplayed to the level of a weaker opponent, scoring only 6-20 ATS in their last 26 matchups with teams below that . 500. While it is unlikely to be a complete surprise, it is certainly not impossible with the Jags battling the Titans today. So take the double digits and expect this to be closer than Vegas believes.
I’ve worked in the sports field my entire career, starting out as a breaking news writer at Arizona State University. After three years of writing
I’ve worked in the sports field my entire career, starting out as a breaking news writer at Arizona State University. After three years of writing, I moved onto the business side of the industry as a senior research analyst for two large companies. I now combine these two experiences to create some great content for you to enjoy on Forbes!
NFL, Pittsburgh Steelers, Kansas City Chiefs, Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, Jacksonville Jaguars
Predictions Against the Spread
Ref: https://www.forbes.com
