NFL Football Picks

The Los Angeles Rams take on the Chicago Bears on Sunday at Soldier Field on a key NFC week 14 matchup. The Bears, playing without starting QB Mitchell Trubisky for the second straight week, saw their five-game win streak broken on Sunday in a rough overtime loss to the Giants, 30-27. They look to bounce back with the return of their QB, but it’s not easy when the team with the best record in the conference is coming to town. Despite the league records online sportsbooks are only favoring the Rams by a field goal.

There is no denying that you are what your record says you are at this time of year in the NFL. Bad breaks, injuries or any other excuses have to be put aside and your favorite team is either a playoff contender or not. For the fortunate fans, that means meaningful football ahead and for the not-so-fortunate, it means watching a team play out the string with one eye firmly on next year. Atlanta visits Green Bay this weekend in a matchup of teams that certainly thought they would be in better shape heading into Week 14. With talent and pride on the field, as well as a new coaching record in play, does Green Bay cover the bookmaker’s line and win by a TD?

Colt McCoy is out for the season after going down with a fractured fibula against the Eagles and that leaves Mark Sanchez, who the Skins signed just two weeks ago. Sanchez wasn’t horrible, finishing 13-of-21 for 100 yards and 1 interception but this offense is reeling since losing Alex Smith to injury. Can Sanchez be the QB that can stay on the field and take advantage of a terrible Giants passing defense?

Let’s just look at how fast things have turned for Baltimore in the last several weeks. Following the home loss to the Steelers, the Ravens were just 4-5 and largely an afterthought in the AFC North. On top of those factors, starting quarterback Joe Flacco had suffered a hip injury and the Ravens were forced to turn to rookie quarterback Lamar Jackson who many considered would never make it as an NFL quarterback. Yet 3 weeks later, the Ravens have amassed 3 straight wins and climbed back into the playoff hunt. Can the Ravens keep the momentum and give the sportsbooks an underdog outright winner?

The Bills crushed the Jets 41-10 in East Rutherford at MetLife just three games ago and now the venue switches to Ralph Wilson Stadium in Buffalo. The Jets have been playing better football since that disaster playing the Pats tough for most of the game two back and putting a scare into the Titans on their home field. The line is a little fishy even if Sam Darnold returns with the Bills laying just -3. Predictem capper Franks believes the visitor is the way to go here – find out why.

Philadelphia improved to 6-6 after outlasting the Washington Redskins 28-13 Monday night, setting up an NFC East showdown with the Cowboys on Sunday that could make or break its chances of returning to the postseason. Dallas is a 3.5 point favorite. Rick Wise has your NFL pick.

The Colts travel to Houston to take on the sizzling Texans at NRG Stadium in Week 14 betting action. Houston is posted as a -5.5 spread favorite on most betting boards with a total line of 49 points. The Texans have put together a nine-game winning streak covering six of the games. The Colts come into this match of a surprising 6-0 shutout at the hands of the Jaguars and have now dropped two straight. Key series trend: The visitor is 5-2 straight up and 5-1-1 versus the line.

Are online sportsbook pricing the Raiders based on their tanking? Oakland appeared to hit rock bottom in the first two games of November when they lost in consecutive weeks to in-state rivals San Francisco and the LA Chargers. The 49ers embarrassed the Raiders in week 9 beating their cross-town rivals by 30 points with an undrafted free agent QB in his first NFL start. Oakland followed that up with a home loss to division-rival Los Angeles by 14 points. Jon Gruden’s offense managed a total of 3 field goals over those games. Now, they are getting 11.5 points to take on the Steelers.

In today’s NFL, we rarely see many games where defenses shine throughout a full 60 minutes of football. Perhaps that is why Jacksonville’s shutout last week against one of the better offenses in the NFL was thoroughly surprising. However, low scoring in Jags games is expected. There have been only 5 games this season in the NFL that have closed with a over/under below 40, the Jaguars have been involved in 3 of those 5 games. Obviously Jacksonville has become a defensive minded team under Head Coach Doug Marrone which was part of their breakout success in 2017. Will they slow the 4.5 point favorite Titans? Horne has an NFL pick.

The Detroit Lions come to Glendale for a week 14 match with the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday. Neither team has had a successful season based on wins and losses, but their is still fight left in both clubs based on Week 13 games. The oddsmaker has the Cardinals as a small -2.5 home favorite with the total line offered up at 40.5 points. Scoring greater than 20 points has been a problem for both teams all season and the Week 14 match-ups suggest more of the same. Read our prognosticator opinion on how the game will unfold and get his forecast.