{"id":378,"date":"2009-09-09T11:51:14","date_gmt":"2009-09-09T15:51:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.broadstreetbelievers.com\/?p=378"},"modified":"2009-09-10T11:55:15","modified_gmt":"2009-09-10T15:55:15","slug":"brys-week-by-week-nfl-preview-week-fourteen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/?p=378","title":{"rendered":"Bry’s Week-by-Week NFL Preview: Week Fourteen"},"content":{"rendered":"

A real interesting Week Thirteen <\/a>opened the month of December.\u00a0 The NFC East has four 8-4 teams (two games better than the division leaders in the NFC West).\u00a0 The defending NFC champs are still in it, despite a 5-7 record.\u00a0 The Steelers and Pats continue to run away with the byes in the AFC, while the South is getting real interesting.\u00a0 Week Fourteen will be big, especially the Sunday Night game between the Eagles and Giants.<\/p>\n

Thursday, December 10:
\n<\/strong>8:20 – PITTSBURGH (11-1) at Cleveland (4-8)
\nThe last gasp of the Browns season goes out against the Steelers.\u00a0 A short week definitely favors the better coached and more physical team–both of which are the Steelers in this one.\u00a0 The Dawg Pound is tough, at times, especially in night games, but the Steelers are rarely intimidated, and they move to an impressive 12-1.<\/p>\n

Sunday, December 13:
\n<\/strong>1:00 – NEW ORLEANS (6-6) at Atlanta (3-9) *
\nAt 3-9, the Falcons have nothing left to play for, while the Saints, at 6-6, still have playoff hopes.\u00a0 This won’t be an easy win for the Saints, but when it comes down to it, they should pull it out.\u00a0 A 10-loss season is not what the Falcons had envisioned coming in, but that is the reality they are facing.\u00a0 This one is tough to call because it’s hard to know just when, if at all, the Falcons will quit.\u00a0 This is a tough game, either way.<\/p>\n

1:00 – Denver (6-6) at INDIANAPOLIS (8-4)
\nBoth teams are coming off tough wins against division rivals (Tennessee and Kansas City), but here in Indy, I don’t think the Broncos will have the firepower to keep up with the Colts, who are trying to keep control in the AFC South.\u00a0 This loss is\u00a0a tough blow to the Broncos playoff hopes.<\/p>\n

1:00 – Seattle (6-6) at HOUSTON (7-5)
\nHonestly, I think the Texans are a better team.\u00a0 If Schaub, Slaton, and Johnson remain healthy, they have a solid offense and should be able to beat the Seahawks, at home, at 1:00, with the season in the balance.\u00a0 The Texans are now one win away from their best season in franchise history.<\/p>\n

1:00 – Carolina (9-3) at NEW ENGLAND (10-2)
\nFortunately for the Panthers, they have built up a 3-game lead in the NFC South, so they are not in dire need to a win in New England.\u00a0 And, that is a good thing because I do not think they will get it in mid-December.\u00a0 The Patriots just know how to win these important games and should get this one done.<\/p>\n

1:00 – Buffalo (7-5) at KANSAS CITY (3-9) *
\nOkay, I cannot really explain why I am taking KC here, except for “this is just the kind of game that Buffalo gives away.”\u00a0 The Bills have 10 days to prepare, and the Chiefs are pretty much out of it with nothing left to play for.\u00a0 But, the homefield advantage is strong in KC and the Bills just may not be ready for a game like this.\u00a0 And, this one hurts.<\/p>\n

1:00 – BALTIMORE (7-5) at Detroit (2-10)
\nThe Ravens, very much in need of a win here, will take care of the Lions.\u00a0 Though this team has a history of playing down to bad opponents and they are coming off of a tough Monday Night game, I do not see them dropping this game in this spot.<\/p>\n

1:00 – Cincinnati (2-10) at MINNESOTA (8-4)
\nThe Bengals are finished–they proved that in losing at home to Detroit last week.\u00a0 The Vikings get a nice break this week.<\/p>\n

1:00 – NEW YORK JETS (2-10) at Tampa Bay (2-10)
\nIn a game that will surely be riveting, I like the Jets to circle the wagons and get a nice road win.\u00a0 Sanchez will have enough time under his belt to maybe be competent, and the Jets defense should be able to take care of an anemic Buc offense, especially with 10 days to prepare.<\/p>\n

1:00 – St. Louis (3-9) at TENNESSEE (6-6)
\nA must-win for the Titans, so they should be fired up and ready to play today, coming off of a tough loss to Indy.\u00a0 The Rams reach double-digit losses for yet another season.<\/p>\n

1:00 – MIAMI (5-7) at Jacksonville (5-7)
\nJacksonville was 5-5 and in contention until a loss in San Fran and then a home loss to Houston has pretty much ended their season.\u00a0 They are definitely a team to roll up the tents when things go south, and by this point, I think they will have done so.\u00a0 Whereas, the Dolphins, under Tony Sparano and Bill Parcells, should continue to play hard and win this battle of Sunshine State squads.<\/p>\n

1:00 – Green Bay (9-3) at CHICAGO (6-6)
\nA do-or-die game for the Bears against their arch-rivals should be plenty to motivate them and get a BIG victory.\u00a0 Throw in the fact that the Packers are coming off of a tough, physical win over the Ravens on Monday Night, and the Bears may be the more prepared team on the field this week.<\/p>\n

4:05 – Washington (8-4) at OAKLAND (5-7)
\nA crushing loss for the Redskins, in Oakland, this week.\u00a0 They were cruising along at 7-2 and looking good, but the schedule and their overall lack of “clutch” performers has caught up with them and they have lose 3 of their last 4 and are stumbling towards another disappointing finish.\u00a0 The Raiders stay alive, barely, in the AFC West race.\u00a0 I just think that the Raiders are a lot better than people give them credit for and this is one of those trap games for the Skins, sandwiched between New Orleans and the Giants on the schedule.<\/p>\n

4:15 – SAN DIEGO (7-5) at Dallas (8-4)
\nThe Chargers are just starting to click, and since the calendar has turned to December, we all know what that means for the Cowboys.\u00a0 The ‘Boys lose their second straight, while the Chargers win their third in a row, in taking control of the AFC West.<\/p>\n

8:20 – PHILADELPHIA (8-4) at New York Giants (8-4)
\nThe Eagles are just starting to get things together.\u00a0 The offensive line should be ready to go by now, and they should have everything figured out on both sides of the ball.\u00a0 Also, they matchup very well with the Giants and should be able to structure a gameplan to exploit their weaknesses.\u00a0 Plus, Brandon Jacobs, who runs as if every carry is his last, only has one guy to share the load this season, not two, so he may be wearing down by this point in the season.\u00a0 Either way, this is going to be an absolutely huge game, as both teams watched the Redskins and Cowboys losing earlier in the day, so both team know that the winner of this game takes the outright lead in the East.\u00a0 I like the Birds to get a big win this week.<\/p>\n

Monday, December 11:
\n<\/strong>8:30 – Arizona (5-7) at SAN FRANCISCO (6-6) *
\nBoth teams watched the Seahawks lose in Houston yesterday, so they know that this game will go a long way in deciding the NFC West.\u00a0 The 49ers will find a way to win this game because they are just more hungry and more determined.\u00a0 Plus, who knows what condition Kurt Warner will be in by this point in the season.\u00a0 I like the Niners, at home, though it is a tough one to predict.<\/p>\n

To go to Week Fifteen, click here<\/a><\/p>\n

STANDINGS AFTER WEEK 14:<\/strong>
\nNFC EAST:
\n<\/strong>9-4\u00a0\u00a0 Philadelphia (2)
\n8-5\u00a0\u00a0 Dallas
\n8-5\u00a0\u00a0 New York Giants (6)
\n8-5\u00a0\u00a0 Washington<\/p>\n

NFC NORTH:<\/strong>
\n9-4\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Green Bay (5)
\n9-4\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Minnesota (3)
\n7-6\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 Chicago
\n2-11\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Detroit<\/p>\n

NFC\u00a0SOUTH<\/strong>:
\n9-4\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Carolina (1)
\n7-6\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0New Orleans
\n3-10\u00a0\u00a0 Atlanta
\n2-11\u00a0\u00a0 Tampa Bay<\/p>\n

NFC WEST:
\n<\/strong>7-6\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 San Francisco (4)
\n6-7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Seattle
\n5-8\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Arizona
\n3-10\u00a0\u00a0 St. Louis<\/p>\n

AFC EAST:<\/strong>
\n11-2\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0New England (2)
\n7-6\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Buffalo
\n6-7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Miami
\n3-10\u00a0\u00a0 N.Y. Jets<\/p>\n

AFC NORTH:<\/strong>
\n12-1 \u00a0\u00a0Pittsburgh\u00a0(1)
\n8-5\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Baltimore (5)
\n4-9\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cleveland
\n2-11\u00a0\u00a0 Cincinnati<\/p>\n

AFC SOUTH:<\/strong>
\n9-4\u00a0\u00a0 Indianapolis (3)
\n8-5\u00a0\u00a0 Houston (6)
\n7-6\u00a0\u00a0 Tennessee
\n5-8\u00a0\u00a0 Jacksonville<\/p>\n

AFC WEST:<\/strong>
\n8-5\u00a0\u00a0 San Diego (4)
\n6-7\u00a0\u00a0 Denver
\n6-7\u00a0\u00a0 Oakland
\n4-9\u00a0\u00a0 Kansas City<\/p>\n

PLAYOFF PICTURE AFTER WEEK 14:
\n<\/strong>*-I am going to pick winners (why not?)\u00a0up until the championship games.\u00a0 You can draw your own conclusions from there.\u00a0 And, since the playoffs can be a bit of a crapshoot, the picks for the playoffs will just based on how I\u2019m feeling that day.<\/p>\n

NFC:
\n<\/strong>Just out:\u00a0 Dallas (8-5), Washington (8-5), Chicago (7-6), New Orleans (7-6), Seattle (6-7)<\/p>\n

Wild Card Round<\/u>
\n#6\u00a0New York Giants (8-5) at #3 MINNESOTA (9-4)
\n#5\u00a0GREEN BAY (9-4) at #4 San Francisco (7-6)<\/p>\n

Divisional Round<\/u>
\nGREEN BAY\u00a0at\u00a0#1 Carolina (9-4)
\nMinnesota at\u00a0#2 PHILADELPHIA (9-4)<\/p>\n

NFC Championship<\/u>
\nGreen Bay at Philadelphia<\/p>\n

AFC:
\n<\/strong>Just out:\u00a0 Buffalo (7-6), Tennessee (7-6)<\/p>\n

Wild Card Round<\/u>
\n#6\u00a0Houston at #3\u00a0INDIANAPOLIS (9-4)
\n#5\u00a0Baltimore (8-5) at #4 SAN DIEGO (8-5)<\/p>\n

Divisional Round<\/u>
\nSan Diego at\u00a0#1 PITTSBURGH (12-1)
\nINDIANAPOLIS at\u00a0#2 New England\u00a0(11-2)<\/p>\n

AFC Championship<\/u>
\nIndianapolis at Pittsburgh<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A real interesting Week Thirteen opened the month of December.\u00a0 The NFC East has four 8-4 teams (two games better than the division leaders in the NFC West).\u00a0 The defending NFC champs are still in it, despite a 5-7 record.\u00a0 … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[748],"class_list":["post-378","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nfl","tag-nfl-week-by-week-preview"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/378","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=378"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/378\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=378"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=378"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=378"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}