NFL Week 14 predictions: Projecting every game on NFL schedule this week, Packers vs Lions

The Detroit Lions are the best team in the NFL and they’ve already proven they can beat the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field earlier this season. However, the mounting injuries on defense for Detroit – Aidan Hutchinson, Josh Paschal, Emmanuel Moseley, Carlton Davis III, Malcolm Rodriguez, Ennis Rakestraw Jr. and Alez Anzalone – put this team in a big hole. It’s certainly possible Jared Goff and the best offense in the NFL can lead the Lions to victory. However, if the Lions injury report for Week 14 doesn’t get better, Green Bay can win this Thursday Night Football battle.

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If Trevor Lawrence clears the concussion protocol, the Jacksonville Jaguars can absolutely win this game. However, given this is a lost season, the franchise shouldn’t be rushing its star player back onto the field. That opens the door for the Tennessee Titans, who are at least getting more splash plays now out of Will Levis. This probably won’t be an entertaining game, but it will be competitive.

The Miami Dolphins evidently have problems beating great teams. Fortunately, the New York Jets don’t resemble anything close to that. Miami’s run defense should have success containing Breece Hall and its pass rush can rattle Aaron Rodgers. With how quickly Tua Tagovailoa gets rid of the football, New York’s defense also won’t be able to consistently hit Tua Tagovaloa the way they did Geno Smith this past week. Miami walks out win a win, keeping its playoff hopes alive.

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Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores has put most quarterbacks in a torture chamber this season, with blitzes and coverage looks that lead to interceptions. Minnesota will dial up the aggressiveness even more against Kirk Cousins, who has thrown 6 interceptions in the last three games and taken 7 sacks over that span. The Vikings’ propensity for close games could make this an intriguing finish, but Minnesota has huge advantages both defensively and offensively.

The New York Giants already had defensive issues with All-Pro defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence on the field, now he’s lost for the season. It makes the game plan easy for the New Orleans Saints, just run the football. A heavy workload for Alvin Kamara paired with just a few stops from the Saints’ defense should do the trick in Week 14 against New York.

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The Philadelphia Eagles can get Saquon Barkley a 200-yard game in Week 14 if they want to. While Bryce Young is playing very well, the Carolina Panthers have the worst run defense in the NFL and a bottom-five pass defense. That’s a recipe for getting your doors blown off by Philadelphia’s electric offense. The Eagles’ defense should also fare much better against the Panthers’ receiving corps than teams like the Chiefs and Buccaneers did.

It’s an opportunity at revenge for the Pittsburgh Steelers, who can make up for their TNF loss to the Cleveland Browns a few weeks ago. While anything can happen in AFC North duels, the Steelers roster is superior and this offense is coming off a season-best performance. Myles Garrett could always change things, but we’re not betting on Mike Tomlin losing twice to the Browns just weeks apart.

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This needs to be a get-right game for Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offense. Sunday’s nail-biting OT win over Carolina should serve as a wake-up call for Mayfield, whose 2 interceptions nearly cost his team the game. Fortunately for the Buccaneers, the Las Vegas Raiders are one of the worst-coached teams in football. While Brock Bowers should feast on Tampa Bay’s defense, he won’t be enough for the road win.

The Seattle Seahawks and Arizona Cardinals are both putting on defensive clinics in recent weeks, as we saw in the last meeting between these two teams. Both defenses are going to create havoc against the pass, with Geno Smith and Kyler Murray spending the majority of Week 14 under duress. Right now, though, the Seahawks are the slightly better team with enough offensive weapons to win it late. Ultimately, this game might decide who wins the NFC West.

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After dominating the San Francisco 49ers in the snow, the Buffalo Bills now travel to experience the relaxing California weather. The disadvantage here for Josh Allen and Co. are the effects from traveling across the country. It could lead to a sluggish start for this Bills’ offense, especially against a Los Angeles Rams pass defense that has held up well over the last month-plus. In the end, though, Allen delivers another MVP-caliber performance led by a strong Bills’ rushing effort.

Call it the one-gamp bump for a coaching change or the benefit of facing an injury-decimated San Francisco 49ers team, either way, this should be a win for the Chicago Bears. Jordan Mason will have plenty of great runs against a bottom-10 Bears defense, but Chicago can control this passing game. On the other side of the ball, Caleb Williams should have time to throw and Thomas Brown’s play-calling has already made this offense very effective. This will be one of the Bears’ best games this year.

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The Kansas City Chiefs can’t consistently generate pressure on opposing quarterbacks and they’ve had a bottom-10 defense since losing cornerback Jaylen Watson to a season-ending injury. It’s also evident that the Chiefs’ run game isn’t as effective as of late and the offensive tackle situation puts them in an even bigger hole against a top-five Los Angeles Chargers defense. Losing on Sunday Night Football will be the moment alarm bells really start going off regarding the Chiefs’ Super Bowl hopes.

The stakes in this Monday Night Football matchup certainly aren’t remotely as high as ESPN imagined coming into the season. Cincinnati’s playoff hopes are dead in the water while the Cowboys are clinging to a life that would only end in more postseason heartbreak. Dallas has played a lot better defensively as of late, but Burrow is posting MVP-caliber numbers against much better defenses. This can be one of the highest-scoring games in Week 14, with Joe Burrow leading the game-winning drive.

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