Welcome back for another round of picks! Week 14 kicks off the final four weeks of the 2015 NFL season. The playoff race is tightening up for a lot of teams, and the battle for draft position is kind of a big deal. The 49ers are tied with six other teams at 4-8, so a lot will be decided over the next month of football. This week's action opens with the Arizona Cardinals hosting the Minnesota Vikings in a potential playoff preview.
I'll be posting my full picks against the spread on Saturday, but for today, I have posted my straight up picks down below, as well as my ATS pick for TNF. You can view the NN pick 'em contest results over here. I was 11-5 in Week 13, which brings me to 116-78 for the season.
The San Francisco 49ers are on the road this week, traveling back to the Midwest to face the Cleveland Browns. The 49ers are a 1.5-point underdog in this one, coming off their first road win last week. The Browns are 2-10 and rolling out Johnny Manziel after a two-week benching. The 49ers are the better team, but this feels like it has the makings of a let-down game. I think this ends up really close, and if the 49ers are going to build on last week, they'll have to dig deep to pull this one out.
Thursday features one division leader in the Cardinals, and another team tied for the division lead in the Vikings. The Cardinals are coming off a thumping of the St. Louis Rams, while the Vikings were thumped by the Seattle Seahawks. I suppose Arizona could face a letdown, but I just don't see it. The Vikings are missing both of their starting safeties, along with a defensive lineman and linebacker. I think the Cardinals offense will feast in this one.
Here are my Week 14 picks for our pick 'em contest.
Vikings @ Cardinals: Cardinals
Bills @ Eagles: Eagles
49ers @ Browns: 49ers
Lions @ Rams: Rams
Saints @ Buccaneers: Bucs
Titans @ Jets: Jets
Steelers @ Bengals: Bengals
Colts @ Jaguars: Colts
Chargers @ Chiefs: Chiefs
Washington @ Bears: Bears
Falcons @ Panthers: Panthers
Seahawks @ Ravens: Seahawks
Raiders @ Broncos: Broncos
Cowboys @ Packers: Packers
Patriots @ Texans: Patriots
Giants @ Dolphins: Giants