Parity is alive and well in the NFL. Though there are some teams that have clearly established championship-caliber aspirations, it’s worth pointing out that most of the league’s teams are still mathematically alive for the playoffs heading into Week 14.
The margin between winning and losing in the NFL is razor thin. We’ll certainly see that play out this weekend.
The following six games feature favorites that are in danger of being upset in NFL Week 14.
Note: Odds courtesy of Bovada
Dallas Cowboys (-4) vs. New York Giants
NFC East rivalry games are always unpredictable. The Cowboys and Giants have a history of pushing themselves to the wire, with nine of their last 11 games being decided by one score. Dallas bounced back with a huge win on Thursday night last week against Washington, but if we’re being honest that was the exception, not the rule.
Dak Prescott has struggled in a big way since Ezekiel Elliott was suspended. He’ll be on the road in a stadium that will be riding high on emotion as Eli Manning gets the nod as New York’s starter once again following Ben McAdoo’s awful decision to start Geno Smith last week. Also, Odell Beckham Jr. will be on the sideline with the Giants for the first time since his season-ending injury.
New York has a defense that can cause problems to Dallas’ offense. The Cowboys aren’t scaring many teams on the defensive side of the ball apart from DeMarcus Lawrence up front. We’re expecting Big Blue to send the ‘Boys back to Dallas with their tails between their legs.
San Francisco 49ers vs. Houston Texans (-3)
The 49ers have been a feisty team all year long. Despite a litany of injuries that has decimated their roster, they’ve been in a lot of games. Now they have a quarterback in Jimmy Garoppolo who was very impressive last weekend on the road in Chicago in his first start ever for San Francisco. Winning a second road game in a row isn’t all that far-fetched an idea.
Especially when that team is Houston. The Texans are in the doldrums offensively, as quarterback Tom Savage has been awful the past four weeks. He’s thrown six interceptions during this stretch, and Houston has won just one game against an ailing Arizona squad. Houston’s defense has been pretty pathetic in recent weeks as well, with the lone exception being the play of Jadeveon Clowney.
Likely, neither team will run away with this game. Though in the end this scribe expects the Texans to drop their ninth game of the season as the 49ers continue their positive momentum into the offseason.
Chicago Bears vs. Cincinnati Bengals (-6.5)
The Bengals come into this game seriously banged up. Due to their uncomfortably violent game against Pittsburgh on Monday night, three starters — Vontaze Burfict, Dre Kirkpatrick and Joe Mixon — are out with concussions. All three of these players are key contributors, none more so than Burfict, the leader of Cincinnati’s defense.
Without Burfict manning the middle of the field, Chicago’s running backs should have a big game. Jordan Howard is coming off two awful games against Philly and San Francisco but is due to break out. Tarik Cohen can score on any given play and is capable of getting into the end zone in a multitude of ways.
Both teams have a penchant for losing winnable games, so this one could go either way. The Bears really do have the talent defensively to put pressure on Andy Dalton, who hasn’t thrown an interception in six games. If they can force him into mistakes the Bears can definitely win this game.
Oakland Raiders vs. Kansas City Chiefs (-4)
You can’t say either team in this matchup is on the upward swing. Both the Chiefs and Raiders have struggled this year, and both come into the game with 6-6 records, tied with the Los Angeles Chargers in the AFC West.
The big key for Oakland will be keeping Kareem Hunt in check. The first time these two teams played just so happens to be the last time Hunt eclipsed 100 yards in a game, running and receiving combined. On the other side, Marshawn Lynch needs to have another huge game for the Raiders to have a shot at winning this one on the road. Amari Cooper, who was unstoppable in Week 7, is questionable with an ankle injury, so we shouldn’t expect him to explode again.
Of the two quarterbacks, we trust Alex Smith a bit more to keep the ball away from the opposing defense. But given Kansas City’s defensive problems of late (including Marcus Peters being suspended), Derek Carr could very well have a monster game for the Raiders, too.
Seattle Seahawks vs. Jacksonville Jaguars (-3)
It’s easy to envision the Sacksonville defense having its way with Seattle’s offensive line. There hasn’t been a single game this year in which Russell Wilson has been able to sit comfortably in the pocket — he’s constantly running for his life. Yet, somehow, the diminutive gunslinger continues to play at an MVP level, which is why the Seahawks are very much alive in the NFC playoff race.
The Jags do feature the NFL’s top passing defense, and they’ve sacked opposing quarterbacks 45 times to lead the league there, too. So, again, it’s easy to think Jacksonville will romp at home.
That said, Seattle’s defense isn’t chopped liver. And if we’re looking at which quarterback has a chance to struggle, Wilson isn’t the guy.
Blake Bortles has been up and down this year. He’s coming off a very solid game, albeit against the godawful Indianapolis Colts. The Legion of Boom is missing some key members but continues to create problems for opposing quarterbacks — just ask Carson Wentz.
Baltimore Ravens vs. Pittsburgh Steelers (-4)
Who knows which Joe Flacco will show up Sunday night in Pittsburgh? We sure don’t. Yet, he might struggle and the Ravens can still win. The big reason this is possible is that no team in the NFL is as adept at forcing opposing offenses into turnovers as Baltimore, which has created 29 turnovers this year.
Ben Roethlisberger has thrown at least one interception in seven of his last nine games for a grand total of 12 in that stretch. He’s had plenty of moments where he rebounds and throws touchdowns, but the Ravens are very good at turning interceptions and fumbles into points. Without JuJu Smith-Schuster in the lineup (suspended one game), the Steelers will have to rely on Antonio Brown, who is still dealing with a sore toe, all the more.
All it’s going to take for Baltimore to win is some mistakes by Big Ben and a halfway decent game by Flacco. That’s very plausible.