Ben Roethlisberger threw three interceptions in the Steelers’ Week 8 loss to the Bengals.
By BRETT MICHAEL DYKES
December 10, 2015
Here’s a look at the best games of N.F.L. Week 14, and who we think will win them.
Best Games to Watch
Steelers (7-5) at Bengals (10-2)
1 p.m. Line: Bengals by 3
When these teams met in Week 8, a 16-10 Bengals victory, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger threw three interceptions, including two in the final minutes. Still, Pittsburgh had a chance to win on the final play, but Roethlisberger overshot his receiver. With wide receivers Antonio Brown and Martavis Bryant now back to full health, DeAngelo Williams running well and tight end Heath Miller possibly returning, look for Pittsburgh’s offense to give the Bengals’ stout defense a good test.
The Bengals, after losing two in a row, to the Texans and the Cardinals, after an 8-0 start, appear to be back on track with consecutive dominant performances against the Rams and the Browns. And they did so largely without one of their major offensive weapons, tight end Tyler Eifert, who sustained a neck injury against the Rams. Eifert, who leads the league with 12 touchdown receptions, returned to practice during the week and appears ready to play, which bodes well for the Bengals because the Steelers have struggled to defend tight ends.
This one is pretty close to a must-win for the Steelers if they hope to make the playoffs. If the season ended today, they would be excluded from the postseason, while the Bengals would have home-field advantage throughout.
PICK: Steelers
Bills (6-6) at Eagles (5-7)
1 p.m. Line: Bills by 1
What’s new in the continuing N.F.L. soap opera “The Long Philly Days and Nights of Chip Kelly”? Well, Kelly indicated that he would like to talk to the former Eagles running back LeSean McCoy, who now starts for the Bills. McCoy, after being traded from Philadelphia in the off-season, accused Kelly of trying to ship off all the Eagles’ best black players.
“I’d love to shake LeSean’s hand,” Kelly said on a conference call, adding that he had tried to call McCoy after the trade.
McCoy told the news media that he had no desire to reconnect with Kelly.
“I’m not talking to Chip,” McCoy said Wednesday. “We got nothing to talk about. He can’t call me. He can’t shake my hand. There’s nothing he can do with me.”
He added, “I don’t dislike him; I don’t have nothing against him,” which, wild guess, might not be entirely true.
Kelly’s current starting running back, DeMarco Murray, reportedly went to the Eagles’ owner, Jeffrey Lurie, to complain about the way Kelly was using him after he was on the field for only 14 plays in Philadelphia’s 35-28 victory against New England last week.
PICK: Bills
Patriots (10-2) at Texans (6-6)
8:30 p.m. Line: Patriots by 3.5
Having lost twice after a 10-0 start, the Patriots travel to Houston to play the resurgent Texans, winners of five of their last seven games after starting 1-4. And it looks as if they will have to do so without tight end Rob Gronkowski and wide receiver Julian Edelman, who are battling injuries. Without Gronkowski and Edelman, and lacking any other notable weapons, the Patriots struggled last week against the Eagles, whose defense had been torched for 45 points on consecutive weeks by the Buccaneers and the Lions.
Equally problematic for the Patriots, their banged-up offensive line cannot seem to block anyone and now must keep J.J. Watt and Jadeveon Clowney off quarterback Tom Brady. Perhaps Coach Bill Belichick should consider sitting Brady for his own protection and concede this one.
This game will also see the longtime Patriots defensive anchor Vince Wilfork lining up against his former team for the first time. To hear Wilfork talk about it, Sunday’s game is likely to be a bit bittersweet for him, to say the least.
“I never thought that, in my whole career, I’d be playing in something other than a Patriots helmet, but that’s the way the cookie crumbles sometimes, and it did,” Wilfork said during the week. “I will always love Bill Belichick, that organization, the teammates, the fans. I will always have my love for those guys because of the 11 great years we had up there.”
PICK: Texans
Cowboys (4-8) at Packers (8-4)
4:25 p.m. Line: Packers by 7
Paris is probably not on anyone’s shortlist of hotbeds for American football, but on Rue St.-Jacques in the Latin Quarter, near the Sorbonne and Notre Dame, is an establishment, called W.O.S. Bar, where Packers fans gather each week to watch the team play. Patrons of the bar, where a self-proclaimed American expatriate troubadour who goes by the name of Cisco Kid performs after most games, claim that the Packers are the most beloved American football team in Europe, and the bar bills itself as “the official Green Bay Packers bar in Europe.” Perhaps it’s the shared love of cheese that is responsible for such an unlikely Paris-Wisconsin pairing.
Taking this into consideration, maybe this game should be billed as one that pits America’s team versus Europe’s team.
PICK: Packers
Falcons (6-6) at Panthers (12-0)
1 p.m. Line: Panthers by 7.5
A year ago, Panthers quarterback Cam Newton was involved in an automobile accident that left him with two fractures in his lower back. The Panthers have not lost since. So does Newton have powers similar to those held by Bruce Willis’s character in the M. Night Shyamalan film “Unbreakable”? Anyone who has watched him play this season knows it’s entirely possible.
PICK: Panthers
The Rest
Saints (4-8) at Buccaneers (6-6)
1 p.m. Line: Buccaneers by 4
For Jameis Winston, who has been improving each week and is looking every bit like the top draft pick, this week may be his Christmas as the atrocious Saints defense rolls into town giving away yards and points the way a drunken Mardi Gras float captain gives away beads.
The Santa Claus of this unit is unquestionably Brandon Browner, statistically the league’s worst cornerback in 2015, according to Pro Football Focus. Browner may well finish by having the worst season by any defensive back in N.F.L. history. Quarterbacks have accumulated a 107.9 passer rating when throwing at him, and with four games to play, Browner needs two more penalties to become the most penalized player in a single season since 1999, the year the league first started tracking individual penalty statistics. (The former Houston Texans tackle Chester Pitts holds the record with 22 penalties in 2003.)
Improbably, the Buccaneers are seventh in the N.F.C. playoff race, a game behind Seattle for the sixth seed, after starting the season 1-3.
PICK: Buccaneers
Colts (6-6) at Jaguars (4-8)
1 p.m. Line: Pick ‘Em
Colts quarterback Andrew Luck will again be sidelined with a lacerated kidney, so Matt Hasselbeck, who has been battling a nagging neck injury, is likely to get the start. If he cannot go, Charlie Whitehurst will be under center.
Both defenses in this one are pretty terrible defending the pass, while both offenses have struggled to run the ball, so look for each team to really air it out.
Pick: Jaguars
Redskins (5-7) at Bears (5-7)
1 p.m. Line: Bears by 3
The Redskins fumbled a golden opportunity to take control of the N.F.C. East last week, losing at home to the Cowboys, who were without Tony Romo. This week Washington hits the road, where it has a nine-game losing streak, the longest in the N.F.L. The Redskins have won once in their past 19 road games.
Working in the Redskins’ favor, however, is that the Bears have been terrible at home, losing eight of their last nine at Soldier Field. Makes you wonder, what would happen if these teams played on a neutral field?
PICK: Bears
49ers (4-8) at Browns (2-10)
1 p.m. Line: Browns by 1.5
Johnny Manziel will start at quarterback for the Browns, two weeks after he was benched for his off-the-field behavior. It will mark the sixth change at quarterback for the Browns this season, and the third time Manziel has been given the keys to the offense.
“He’s been solid in the building over the last couple of weeks and we are hopeful he takes this opportunity to continue to build on the progress he’s made on the field throughout the season,” Browns Coach Mike Pettine said about Manziel. “The goal for every game is to go out and win, and Johnny needs to show that he can put us in position to do so during these last four weeks of the season.”
PICK: Browns
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Lions (4-8) at Rams (4-8)
1 p.m. Line: Pick ‘em
Let’s hope that Matthew Stafford’s improved play and the subsequent recent success of the Lions — winners of three of their last four, with the only loss coming to Green Bay on a desperation heave by Aaron Rodgers — leads to Jim Bob Cooter permanently retaining the offensive coordinator job, because if there’s one thing football needs more of it is coaches with names that sound like characters from “The Dukes of Hazzard.”
Pick: Lions
Chargers (3-9) at Chiefs (7-5)
1 p.m. Line: Chiefs by 10
The Chiefs will be vying for their seventh victory in a row, while the Chargers have lost seven of eight, included a 33-3 shellacking at home to the Chiefs in Week 11. On paper, the Chargers stand little chance, but a road game against a red-hot division opponent appears to be just the type of game in which a little Philip Rivers magic could come into play. He will have a healthy Antonio Gates at his disposal, and has performed well away from home, throwing for 1,104 yard with nine touchdowns and no interceptions in his last three road games. Do not be surprised if Rivers pulls a rabbit out of his cowboy hat.
PICK: Chargers
Titans (3-9) at Jets (7-5)
1 p.m. Line: Jets by 7
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The Titans’ rookie quarterback, Marcus Mariota, may dodge a bullet and not have to worry about Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis, who has been held out of practice since sustaining a concussion two weeks ago. But he does have to worry about the Jets’ dominant defensive line obliterating his not-very-good offensive line. Buckle your chin strap, rook.
PICK: Jets
Raiders (5-7) at Broncos (10-2)
4:05 p.m. Line: Broncos by 7.5
Although Peyton Manning has made his first steps toward a possible return, throwing to members of the Broncos’ staff, Brock Osweiler will get another chance to audition for the permanent starting job. Denver, which is fighting for home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, has gone 3-0 behind Osweiler.
Osweiler has not been flashy, but he has not really been given the opportunity to shine, either. The offense the Broncos have run in Manning’s absence has been conservative, to say the least. But against the N.F.L.’s 28th-ranked defense against the pass, Broncos coaches may give Osweiler a chance to show what he is capable of.
PICK: Broncos
Seahawks (7-5) at Ravens (4-8)
1 p.m. Line: Seahawks by 6
The Ravens may have to start Jimmy Clausen at quarterback in the place of Matt Schaub, who is nursing a shoulder injury, but it should not matter much either way because it appears as if the Seahawks have got their groove back. Look for Russell Wilson and Doug Baldwin to continue their hot play against the Ravens’ poor secondary. This one could get ugly.
PICK: Seahawks
Giants (5-7) at Dolphins (5-7)
8:30 p.m. (Monday) Line: Giants by 1
The Giants’ offense has struggled in three consecutive losses after scoring 49 and 32 against the Saints and the Buccaneers. It has not helped that they have consistently blown fourth-quarter leads all season, surely a byproduct of having the league’s worst pass defense.
Whether Miami can capitalize is the question. The Dolphins’ anemic offense is ranked 29th, and quarterback Ryan Tannehill has struggled mightily at times. He was just 9 for 19 for 86 yards in a 15-13 victory against the Ravens last week.
The game will be a reunion for wide receivers Odell Beckham Jr. of the Giants and Jarvis Landry of the Dolphins, close friends and former teammates at Louisiana State.
“This game has been marked on the schedule for a long time,” Beckham told The Associated Press. “It finally being here is so surreal.” Landry said that the bond he and Beckham shared “goes well beyond the game” and added: “His success means everything to me, as mine is to him. I want him to have the game of his life, but I want to win the game.”
PICK: Giants
Correction: December 12, 2015
An earlier version of this article misstated the location of the Dec. 7 Washington Redskins-Dallas Cowboys game. It was at FedEx Field, not AT&T Stadium.