The action doesn't stop when the slate locks … John Laghezza is here to bring you his picks and predictions for the Week 14 afternoon slate:
In case you missed my betting breakdown of the Week 14 early (1:00 PM ET) games, you can find that edition of the Betting Life Newsletter here (subscribe while you're at it!).
As we move through the Week 14 slate, I have separated out the late slate and Sunday Night Football game below with my leans on each game.
I present to you, the Sunday NFL Blitz, Afternoon Slate edition …
Week 14 NFL Picks and Predictions - Afternoon Slate
Seahawks (7-5) at Cardinals (6-6) Pick
Is there a division more entertaining than the NFC West? Highly doubt it since no other contains a five-win team pulling up the caboose. Heading into Week 14 it’s still anybody’s race—so for all intents and purposes there’s another postseason game in the desert this afternoon. Nothing’s sticking out to me more regarding these two squads than leveling up on the defensive side. Maybe it’s the West Coast bias or low-scoring games boring the masses, I don’t know.
Sure, the offenses are clearly flawed and Kenneth Walker is out. Regardless, not enough people are talking about two of the best units over the past month. In fact, three teams (TEN, CLE, CIN) have given up more points per game than the Seahawks and Cardinals combined (29.7). They rank top-5 in scoring, yardage, and EPA/dropback against competent offenses—while neither allowed a single +20-yard carry or more than +190 passing yards/game in that span as well. Geno Smith and Kyler Murray just slugged it out a couple of weeks ago and I got my movie popcorn ready for the sequel.
LEAN: SEA/ARI u44.5
Bills (10-2) at Rams (6-6) Prediction
Another big-time 4 pm game with major season-long implications? Enough already. Uncle, uncle! Someone, please tell my wife she’s in for the full seven-hours-of-commercial-free-football experience today. And send an edible arrangement to the NFL schedule makers while you’re at it.
One of the things that makes these Bills so entertaining and also so dangerous is the ability to win in a variety of ways. Whether getting down and dirty in a snowy dogfight or running tons of plays on the fast track, Buffalo’s lighting up the scoreboard regardless—they’ve now circled the wagons for +30 points in six straight. Whoa.
Sean McDermott and company face the 6-6 Rams. They’ve won five of seven games since their Week 6 bye to climb to .500. And believe it or not, LAR’s somehow got the best conference record of the bunch—with a head-to-head win over Arizona that could be the deciding factor in a tie.
I’m expecting fireworks, and lots of them.
LEAN: BUF/ARI O49.5 (-110)
Bears (4-8) at 49ers (5-7) Pick
By Week 6’s final whistle, Chicago and San Fran sat at or above .500 near the tops of their respective divisions. Fast forward to early December after going a combined 2-10 and I’ll be watching this in condensed-version mode sometime next week. Sad to see this iteration of the Niners get ripped to shreds, not only by injuries to Christian McCaffrey and Nick Bosa but personal tragedy. Quick aside, all positive thoughts and prayers for Niners’ star OL Trent Williams, who’s mourning the loss of a still-born twin.
Chicago’s missing starters on the defensive side as well, which makes the 43.5 game total feel particularly low for a good weather game. I think the Bears miserable month of defending at 6.5 yards/play continues against Kyle Shanahan with his back up against the wall. One more loss for SF and it’s a wrap for 2024.
LEAN: CHI/SF O43.5
Picks and Predictions - Week 14 Sunday Night
Chargers (8-4) at Chiefs (11-1) Prediction
Remember to save room at Sunday dinner, someone brought a nice dessert. In a matchup of two 5-1 teams over their last six, we get Jim Harbaugh versus Andy Reid as a nightcap. Let’s go.
I’ll just say it outright—I’ve been both higher on the Chargers and lower on the Chiefs than the public all season. I understand Kansas City has a single loss but they just got taken to task in back-to-back games by bad teams. One bounce here or there and it’s fully plausible the Chiefs could be in a full tailspin, losers of four straight (remember Denver missed a late FG that cost them the game).
Fading the Chiefs has led straight to the unemployment office for a decade but I can’t shake it—the Chargers are the better football team today. There, I said it.
LEAN: LAC +4.5
