NFL Week 14 Odds & Tips
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Lions (-3.5) at Bears
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Saints (-6.5) vs Panthers
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Bills at Chiefs – Over 49.5 Points
Point Spread - Detroit Lions (-3.5)
Point Spread - New Orleans Saints (-6.5)
Total Points Over/Under - Over (49.5)
After soaring to a 9-1 lead in the NFC and getting wins against the Dallas Cowboys, Kansas City, Chiefs, and Buffalo Bills in successive games, the Philadelphia Eagles couldn’t make it four in a row.
Running out of steam as hosts to the San Francisco 49ers, the travellers sealed a convincing 42-19 win in Week 13, nudging the 49ers into the favourites spot of the NFL futures at +450 to the +500 of the Eagles and Chiefs.
Now, with plenty of football to play but only two divisions split by a single game for the top spot, we turn to the NFL Week 14 picks and predictions.
Detroit Lions @ Chicago Bears
With their three-gaming winning streak snapped by the resurgent Green Bay Packers, the Detroit Lions came out swinging against the New Orleans Saints, powering to a 21-0 lead after a mere seven minutes of play.
The Saints did wake up, pulling the score to 24-21 at one point, but an assured showing from Jared Goff to throw two touchdowns and 213 yards – 140 of which went to tight end Sam LaPorta – guided the Lions to a 33-28 triumph.
Last week, the Chicago Bears got some long-overdue rest. Having ground down the Minnesota Vikings to a 12-10 victory the week before, Bears fans would have revelled in seeing the Carolina Panthers further enhance their chances of netting the first overall pick in the upcoming draft.
Now, just a few weeks after the showdown in Detroit, the Lions travel to Soldier Field with their tails up. Last time they met, the 31-26 win for the Lions marked their third in a row against the Bears.
While the Lions are the moneyline favourites at -167, the oddsmakers see it as a close affair. So, with what look to be quite generous football odds for the 5-1 road team, the Week 14 pick goes to the Lions at +100 for -3.5 on the spread.
Carolina Panthers @ New Orleans Saints
As noted above, the Saints went down by a huge margin early last week, and even though Derek Carr (again) had to be replaced by Jameis Winston due to injury, New Orleans made the game far closer than it should have been.
Still, the 33-28 home loss marks the Saints’ third in a row even though their red zone work has finally improved, seeing Alvin Kamara net a brace of touchdowns and Taysom Hill also run one in.
Interim head coach Chris Tabor hasn’t offered any kind of spark for the 1-11 Carolina Panthers, whose struggles won’t even be rewarded with a lofty first-round selection.
Last week, it was the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ turn to get a win from the Panthers, but it wasn’t exactly easy. Stellar efforts from veteran receivers got the 21-18 job done in the end, but Chuba Hubbard, in particular, put up a fight.
Coming into this Week 14 rumble, the New Orleans Saints continue to show frailties against the rush – which may be the only area that the Panthers’ offence has been doing well over the last couple of games.
Still, Hubbard’s hot hand shouldn’t be enough to compensate for the lacking air attack and New Orleans’ seemingly revived ground game in the red zone. So, the Saints at -6.5 on the spread for odds of +105 gets the pick.
Buffalo Bills @ Kansas City Chiefs
This will be a game circled on millions of NFL fans’ calendars this year, and it’ll be taking place among the late window kick-offs on Sunday.
Having rested up for a week, the 6-6 Buffalo Bills are sitting three back of the Miami Dolphins after a spirited display to lose 37-34 to the Philadelphia Eagles the week prior. As such, they’ll likely be scrapping for a wild card place.
For the AFC West-leading Kansas City Chiefs, a trip to Lambeau Field ended in a lacklustre 27-19 loss, which also marked the third win on the bounce for the Green Bay Packers.
The Packers came out hot, and the Chiefs could only muster up a pair of field goals to respond in the first half. A trademark romp down the field to open the second got the Chiefs back in it, but a late pick ended the potential comeback victory.
Following a similar trajectory powered by superstar quarterbacks, the Chiefs and Bills have become very familiar of late. Since the turn of the decade, they’ve met five times, with the Chiefs up 3-2 but the Bills winning their last contest.
Across the two 2021 and two 2022 games, these titans duked it out to an average of 60.5 points per game, with one going to overtime and the most recent meet (October 2022) being the only one to miss the 50-point mark (but only by six points).
Mahomes and Allen tend to bring the best out in each other, and so, the Week 14 NFL pick in this game goes to there being over 49.5 points for odds of +120.
NFL Week 14 Treble
The NFL picks for Week 14 go to wins for the Lions and Saints while the Chiefs and Bills battle it out in a notoriously entertaining and high-scoring game.
NFL 2023 Season Preview
We’re a little over a month away from the start of the 2023 NFL season, and while it may be a bit too early to be drafting your fantasy team, it’s the perfect time to see which teams the odds are siding with.
Commencing on Thursday, September 7, with the Kansas City Chiefs hosting the upstart Detroit Lions, each team will then compete in 17 games before the very best enter into the playoffs.
As is often the case in preseason future odds, it’s the reigning champions who’re the favourites to take the 2023 Super Bowl, with the Chiefs at +550 in the betting markets. Still, they’re not exactly the heavy favourites as it stands.
Biggest 2023 NFL Offseason Stories
Once again, the NFL saw a lot of turnover and movement from its players and coaching staff. Perhaps most importantly for the league, however, was the eventual $6.05bn sale of the Washington Commanders to get Dan Snyder out of the picture.
Whether this will allow the Commanders to finally kick on and become relevant in the NFL again is yet to be seen. Also helping to begin a resurgence for flailing teams is the talented batch of rookie quarterbacks from the 2023 draft.
The Carolina Panthers traded up to grab Bryce Young at No. 1, the Houston Texans took C.J. Stroud with their second overall selection, and then the Indianapolis Colts snagged the impressive athleticism of Anthony Richardson at No. 4.
Each of these new QBs has a tremendous amount of potential and showcased a high tier of ability in college football, but none are expected to make enough of an impact to transform their teams into instant playoff contenders.
Staying with QBs a bit more, Aaron Rogers seeks to help the ever-building New York Jets realize their potential, while one of the most impressive teams in the NFL has several question marks dotted around its slinger.
The San Francisco 49ers could stick with unlikely hero Brock Purdy, who went from “Mr. Irrelevant” to being pivotal in a run to the NFC Championship Game.
However, the highly-rated youngster Trey Lance may finally go a season without a surgery-causing injury, and Sam Darnold is also on the roster.
Elsewhere, we saw the Super Bowl finalists, the Philadelphia Eagles, lose both of their coordinators, but the roster seems strong and experienced enough that the losses shouldn’t be too much of a hindrance.
Over in Denver, Sean Payton has taken over as head coach. So far, he’s padded the running back room with Samaje Perine and buffed up the offensive line to hopefully bring out the best in Russell Wilson at QB.
This may also be the season that Lamar Jackson has a supporting cast worthy of his talent. With his contract situation settled fairly quickly – but not without fuss – Jackson can now look forward to being behind a strong offensive line with some tremendous options across the field.
The big story plaguing the league, though, is how it underrates running backs. Many contract disputes are still in the air, and all of Dalvin Cook, Ezekiel Elliott, Kareem Hunt, and Leonard Fournette remain as free agents – all are in their physical prime at 28-years-old or younger.
Which Team Will Win the NFC in 2023?
The team favoured to win the NFC in 2023 is the Philadelphia Eagles at +300 in the NFL odds, followed by the 49ers at +350, Dallas Cowboys at +600, and Detroit Lions at +900.
While they did lose a couple of big names, arguably, the Eagles were one of the top performers in the 2023 draft, gearing up the defence even further with a few out of Georgia, while on the other side of the ball, they still have all of their key passing weapons and what might be the best offensive line in the NFL again.
The Cowboys addressed their biggest need, upgrading the run defence, and their offence should be as potent as last season – even with the running back tandem moving almost entirely to Tony Pollard.
They’re the narrow second-favourites, but there’s certainly a case to be made for the 49ers being the best team in the NFC: it’s just that lingering question about who the lead QB will be.
As shown last season, Kyle Shanahan can create a serviceable QB out of just about anyone, but most will be hoping for either Lance to finally break out into his potential or Darnold to thrive in the first favourable environment of his career.
If the 49ers can establish a go-to and healthy QB in the first couple of games, they should be graded as the top team in the NFC, sporting the best defence and a collection of offensive weapons that’s the envy of the league.
Which Team Will Win the AFC in 2023?
Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes are still seen as being the ultimate duo in modern football, with the Kansas City Chiefs graded at +330 to win the AFC Championship Game.
Seemingly forever bridesmaids, the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals come in at +450 and +500, respectively, while the New York Jets (+800) aim to throw a stick in the spokes of the AFC race.
Easily the most intriguing of the bunch with what might be the highest ceiling of the dark horse contenders is the Baltimore Ravens at +1100. Everything looks to have fallen into place this offseason.
Lamar Jackson is happy; he’ll be throwing to Odell Beckham Jr., Rashford Bateman, Zay Flowers, Nelson Agholor, and Mark Andrews, will be protected by a top-five offensive line, and should have J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards to hand off to – and if either of those backs go down, Justice Hill and Melvin Gordon III are waiting in the wings.
That’s a stacked offence for one of the most talented QBs in the game, but it’s just as exciting on the other side of the ball. The secondary alone contains Marlon Humphrey, Marcus Peters, Marcus Williams, and Kyle Hamilton.
In the trenches is where the Ravens may be a bit lacking, but it’s entirely possible that Odafe Oweh could enjoy a big breakout season. Importantly, the NFL is a pass-heavy league now, and the Ravens boast a top-five secondary.
It’s very clear that the Cincinnati Bengals and Buffalo Bills will join the Kansas City Chiefs as early frontrunners and top-five teams in the whole league, but there’s enough about this Ravens team to potentially upset them all.
Of course, the NFL season is long and arduous for players, and one of the biggest reasons why the favourites don’t fulfil their potential each season is injuries.
These top contenders will need a bit of luck, and if they get it, they’ll remain the frontrunners for their conference titles and Super Bowl LVIII.
*Credit for all images in this article belongs to AP Photo*
