NFL Week 14: The Ultimate Guide to Sunday's Action

Can you feel it?

All around the NFL, there's a chill in the air. No, it's not just the icy winter blast ready to affect passing attacks and embolden defenses—though that's part of it. Can you feel the ever-increasing pressure as teams head into the ever-important final month of the season?

This is where we separate the pretenders from the contenders. 

With Week 14 barreling down at us, we only have a couple of weeks left before it's playoff time. As of right now, no team has locked up playoff appearances. The New England Patriots, mathematically, could still lose the AFC East. The same can be said for the Green Bay Packers, Denver Broncos and certainly the Arizona Cardinals in their divisions. 

You know who the real winner is this year?

The guy over at the NFL offices who came up with the idea to backload divisional games over the past couple of weeks in the season. It's a relatively new convention, but it means we're going to see the Patriots vs. Miami Dolphins, the Packers vs. the Detroit Lions and the Cardinals vs. the Seattle Seahawks. 

As those teams and many more figure to lock up division races and others jockey for wild-card positioning, we have everything you need to know about Sunday's action in Week 14. Just click ahead. 

Biggest Questions

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Eagles RB LeSean McCoy

Can the Eagles Withstand Their Toughest Test?

Seattle heads to Philadelphia for our game of the week in Week 14, so I'll cover that more fully later, but it's notable here as well. The Eagles are first in the NFC East and coming off a curb-stomping of the Dallas Cowboys, so they look to be in the catbird seat in the division. 

However, the Seahawks have stepped things up defensively over the past couple of games, and Eagles quarterback Mark Sanchez hasn't historically inspired a ton of confidence against great defenses. An embarrassing loss by the Eagles here could embolden Dallas in next week's rematch and allow the Cowboys to regain control of the division. 

Does Anybody Want the NFC South?

The New Orleans Saints and Carolina Panthers face off this weekend at the Superdome, and the Saints already have a head-to-head victory this season. A victory here would end the Panthers' slim playoff chances and give the Saints a leg up over the Atlanta Falcons, whom they face in a couple of weeks and have a much more difficult schedule moving forward. 

Which Bengals Team Shows Up, and Which Steelers Team?

The Bengals didn't really deserve to win last week, and if it had been any other team than the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, we'd likely be talking about the Bengals' season being in jeopardy. They'll need to bring much better effort (well within their abilities) against the Steelers, who have had up-and-down levels of effort this season as well.

The AFC North is still anybody's game, but if the Bengals can't seal the deal down the final stretch of the season, they'll have no one to blame but themselves.  

Are the New York Giants Going to Save Their Coaches' Jobs?

The Giants and their ownership are not going to fire Tom Coughlin outright. He's meant a lot to this organization and is one of the most revered coaches of the last couple of decades. He gets to leave on his terms, but that doesn't mean the team won't strongly suggest he bow out if the Giants not only turn in a losing season, but embarrass themselves in the process. 

It isn't just Coughlin, though...to a man, every position group has underachieved at some point this season, and even if he leaves, there's hope for some on the staff to be saved in a more reasonable transition. However, those coaches will need their charges to step things up for the final month, and that starts against a bad Tennessee Titans team that the Giants have no business losing to. 

Odds and Ends

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Seahawks QB Russell Wilson

• To find out which games are available in your area, check out these NFL coverage maps, via 506 Sports.
• Who's calling your game of choice Sunday? Here are announcer pairings for CBS and Fox, via B-FLO 360.
• Football Zebras provides a look at which referees are working each game so you can tailor your insults accordingly.
• Can't make it to a TV? SiriusXM covers every single game. Here's the lineup.
• If you don't have satellite radio, check to see if Westwood One has a game playing in your area.
• Even if you can watch your favorite team, make sure you have the Bleacher Report Team Stream app for the latest in news, fantasy football updates and highlights.

Important Stats and Trends to Know

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Lions WR Calvin Johnson

The Lions in New Territory Against the Buccaneers

According to our friends over at Odds Shark, the Detroit Lions aren't used to being favored by double digits as they are against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this weekend. It's only happened once since 1996, back in 2011 against the Minnesota Vikings. 

Steelers Are Not Traveling Well Inside the Division

Also from Odds Shark, the Pittsburgh Steelers have been outscored 57-16 in divisional road games this season. That's an oddity for the Steelers, whose fanbase travels well and who are used to being dominant forces in the AFC North. 

Tannehill Needs to Step Up Against the Ravens

I try to stay away from fantasy advice, as Bleacher Report has plenty of far-more-talented fantasy scribes than I am, but sometimes fantasy analysis bleeds over into "real" football. Here, NumberFire explains why Miami Dolphins running back Lamar Miller might not be a good play:

"

In addition, [the Dolphins] face off against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 14, who have been the single-most effective team against fantasy backs this season, allowing just over 10 points per game to entire rush units.

They are indeed fourth in the NFL in Adjusted Defensive Rushing NEP, and I have every reason to trust that they won't let up against the Dolphins run game, indicating the Fins may turn to signal-caller Ryan Tannehill to lead the way this week against a lackluster Baltimore secondary.

"

Tannehill has a tough matchup if the Ravens bring their A-game, but if he does as well, the Dolphins could win easily. 

Sherman Doing His Best to Keep "Shutdown Corner" Term Alive

There's some truth to the idea that the term "shutdown corner" hasn't been as true as it used to be in the heyday of guys like Deion Sanders. Yet Seattle Seahawks corner Richard Sherman has been doing his level best this season to keep that flame a burning. 

Paul McDonald of Pro Football Focus writes:

"

Kaepernick was true to his word and threw into Sherman’s coverage four times, which resulted in zero completions and two big interceptions. It gave Kaepernick a QB rating of 0.0 when throwing into Sherman’s coverage, and earned Sherman a coverage grade of +3.0. After the game, ESPN reported that Sherman echoed Kaepernick’s pregame words when he said, “I was the open man.”

"

The more Sherman plays like that, the tougher the Seahawks defense will be, as they feed off both his style of play and his confidence.  

To check out even more stats and trends and how those might affect the outcome of these games, take a look at Nick Kostos' Ultimate Bettor's Guide. 

Game of the Day

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Seahawks RB Marshawn Lynch

Who: Seattle Seahawks at Philadelphia Eagles

When: 4:25 p.m. ET on Fox

Where: Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pa.

• Seahawks preview from Featured Columnist Marlon Maloney
• Eagles preview from Featured Columnist Andrew Kulp

As mentioned earlier, this is a huge test for the Eagles. 

However, it's a big test for the Seahawks as well. First off, they're on the road, and this team has not dominated opponents (even in wins) as it has tended to do at home over the past couple of seasons. A tough road victory would be a feather in the cap. 

More importantly, though, the defense has been less than dominant for long stretches this season before settling in as of late. The Eagles and their tempo could create problems, which Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll said on KIRO-AM, as written up by NFL.com:

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"We know that they'll go real fast, and we'll see how much they want to do that," Carroll said, per KIRO-AM. "We're not concerned about that, really. We practice like that all the time because you never know when a team is going to do it."

Carroll pointed out that they've faced the New England Patriots, who moved at an extremely fast pace in 2012 after Bill Belichick met with Kelly while the latter still coached at Oregon. The Denver Broncos are also a team that likes to move fast at times and the Legion of Boom has dispatched them twice in 2014.

"

In all, this game will be settled by how effectively the Seahawks stop the Eagles rushing attack. If they can't, the Seahawks might not score enough points to keep up.

Rest of the Slate (Sunday Night Football on NBC)

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Chargers QB Philip Rivers and Patriots QB Tom Brady

New England Patriots at San Diego Chargers (8:30 p.m. EST)

At one point this season, these were the two best teams in football, and frankly it wasn't the Patriots who were on top. Since then, the Patriots have continued their ascent (other than a hiccup at Lambeau Field against the Green Bay Packers—hardly inexcusable), while the Chargers put together an embarrassing stretch of play that has just now started to self-correct. 

It's a long road trip for the Patriots, but look for head coach Bill Belichick to find ways to pressure a burgeoning Chargers defense exactly at its weak points. In prime-time, it's hard to see Patriots quarterback Tom Brady wilting against the Chargers. 

Rest of the Slate (Fox)

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Saints RB Mark Ingram

St. Louis Rams at Washington (1 p.m. EST)

St. Louis may have the upper hand here, because the defense has been stepping up lately, but Washington's offense is a lot more efficient with quarterback Colt McCoy under center. Either way, this might be a better game to watch than it seemed just a few weeks ago. 

New York Giants at Tennessee Titans (1 p.m. EST)

As mentioned earlier, this game could spell doom for the Giants if they bring the same sort of efforts they brought to Jacksonville last week. It's hard for me to even type "Tennessee Titans" without using some sort of negative modifier, but the Giants have been so bad this year that it's easy to contemplate quarterback Eli Manning throwing away his coaches' jobs here. 

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Detroit Lions (1 p.m. EST)

Yes, the Lions are heavily favored in this one, but they should still make sure they have the sort of effort they put together against Chicago on Thanksgiving. Wide receiver Mike Evans can be a load to cover defensively, and the Buccaneers defense has some pieces that could take advantage if quarterback Matthew Stafford is spraying the ball all over the field. I'll highlight the Buccaneers' greatest advantage in two slides. 

Carolina Panthers at New Orleans Saints (1 p.m. EST)

A part of me watches every Panthers game this season and half-expects to see the defense take a step back toward dominance. That same piece of my brain also thinks it's going to see the Saints offense "click" and stop looking so incredibly inept most of the time. Will we see either in this one? It's hard to tell, but something has to give, and the Saints already have a win in Charlotte, so getting one at home should be a cakewalk. 

San Francisco 49ers at Oakland Raiders (4:25 p.m. EST)

The Raiders can play spoiler here, only if their pass rush (which is the only thing on this team worth writing home about) manages to get to 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick and get sacks in the process. Flushing him out of the pocket does them no good as they don't have the bodies to chase after him. They need to bring him (and running back Frank Gore) down. 

Rest of the Slate (CBS)

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Dolphins QB Ryan Tannehill

Pittsburgh Steelers at Cincinnati Bengals (1 p.m. EST)

The AFC North is an enigma this season, and it's starting to roll downhill after an impressive start to the year across the board. The Steelers are not a good football team (at least by their standards), but they're so uneven in terms of play that another six-touchdown game by quarterback Ben Roethlisberger wouldn't surprise me in the slightest. The Bengals are a good team, but there's just as much chance for quarterback Andy Dalton to drop the ball into the hands of the Steelers defense than into any of his receivers'. 

I guess what I'm saying is...anything could happen, so you should watch. I'll meet you there. 

New York Jets at Minnesota Vikings (1 p.m. EST)

The Vikings defense is a little better than public opinion might show, so the Jets are going to have a hard time here dealing with that. I am intrigued about whether the Jets will continue pulling out "all the stops" after they went toe-to-toe with Miami a week ago. If they do, it could be a minor upset up in the cold and frigid north. 

Baltimore Ravens at Miami Dolphins (1 p.m. EST)

The Dolphins have more than enough talent to win this game, but it really does depend on which Ravens team shows up. It's not about quarterback Joe Flacco, as much as it's about the offensive line and the running game. If they can get four or five yards per clip against a tough Dolphins defense, it will open up a more exciting game than if they're relegated to throwing against the Dolphins' blitz.

Indianapolis Colts at Cleveland Browns (1 p.m. EST)

The Browns have gone back to quarterback Brian Hoyer, which is probably good against the Colts, as Johnny Manziel probably wasn't going to come away from this game with a victory anyway. Yet if Hoyer can play within himself, he could mitigate a lot of what the Colts rushers do with shorter passes down the field. If he tries to do too much, we could end up seeing Johnny Football anyway. 

Houston Texans at Jacksonville Jaguars (1 p.m. EST)

My head says the Texans get the win here, but Jacksonville has stepped up its game in a big way over the past few weeks, and I'm impressed with the defense. Still, Texans defensive end J.J. Watt could single-handedly outscore the Jaguars offense, so my head might win out on this discussion. 

Buffalo Bills at Denver Broncos (4:05 p.m. EST)

At this point of the season, the Broncos can't have the sort of speed bumps they had against St. Louis a few weeks back. The Bills defensive line has a similar skill set and can easily get pressure on the Broncos with only rushing four. Quarterback Peyton Manning will need to be at his best, because his best is far better than anyone else's.

Kansas City Chiefs at Arizona Cardinals (4:05 p.m. EST)

Who scores here?

The Cardinals offense is lackluster already, and the Chiefs have the defense to make it look even worse. I fear for quarterback Drew Stanton against the Chiefs pass rush, but if they send too much pressure, he has enough of an arm to make them pay. It's more about the running games here, though, and Jamaal Charles has the case to be the biggest factor, but the Cardinals run defense might have something to say about that. 

Key Matchups

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Panthers LB Luke Kuechly

Mark Ingram (RB Saints) vs. Luke Kuechly (LB Panthers)

When Ingram gets to the second level this season, he's done a good job of finding green grass and making defenders glance off him just enough that he either breaks away or at least gets an extra yard or two after contact. That's been a huge difference this season in his game. 

Kuechly needs to put him down in his tracks...as close to the line of scrimmage as possible. The difference between Ingram averaging three yards per carry and four yards per carry is likely a loss for Carolina. 

Arizona Cardinals' Pass Protection vs. Kansas City Chiefs Pass-Rushers

OK, I'm painting this matchup a little broadly, but the Chiefs can rush from about 50 different positions on the field (note: that number might be a little high), and the Cardinals offensive line is going to have issues with that—especially with a backup quarterback whom the Chiefs will try to confuse. The Cardinals will need to go deep often in this one, and they'll need more than a few seconds to do so. 

Dominic Raiola (C Lions) vs. Gerald McCoy (DT Buccaneers) et al. 

This matchup should scare Lions fans. 

Raiola has been bad this season, and McCoy should have this circled on his calendar as the game in which he can remind everyone what an All Pro-caliber talent he is. The shortest distance between two points is a straight line, and from McCoy to quarterback Matthew Stafford, that line goes straight through Raiola. Frankly, I'm not sure if the Lions center will be much of a hindrance at all. 

Earl Thomas (S Seahawks) et al. vs. Zach Ertz (TE Eagles)

The Seahawks will use a dozen different ways to cover the Eagles tight end, but I'm highlighting Thomas here because I'm scared not only of Ertz catching the ball on deeper Cover 3 beater-type routes, but also of yards after the catch. If Thomas is out of position, Ertz's catches will result in much longer gains than if he's catching them seven to 10 yards down the field and being stopped in his tracks. 

For an X's and O's look at even more matchups, take a seat in Matt Bowen's film study. 

Notable Injuries

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Texans LB Jadeveon Clowney

Jadeveon Clowney (LB Texans)—Injured Reserve, Knee

Clowney is done for the year, which isn't a huge deal for the Texans, as they've been playing without him for much of it anyway, but they can't help but be a little worried that this might be a long-term thing for their first-rounder. 

Zach Mettenberger (QB Titans)—Questionable, Shoulder

The Titans are a much better team with Mettenberger under center, and the offense has a bit more pep in its step. The Giants are beatable, but I don't think Jake Locker is the one to do it. 

Greg Olsen (TE Panthers)—Questionable, Knee

The Panthers need Olsen this season more than they need quarterback Cam Newton. That's not a slight on Newton, but Olsen has been a part of just about every positive offensive play whether that's catching passes or pass blocking. 

Andre Ellington (RB Cardinals)—Questionable, Hip

The Cardinals need to run the ball more than ever without Carson Palmer under center and against a tough Chiefs passing defense. If Ellington isn't in, they're not running the ball either. 

Other Notable Injuries

• Carlos Hyde (RB 49ers)—Questionable, Shoulder
• Dan Carpenter (K Bills)—Questionable, Groin
• Latavius Murray (RB Raiders)—Probable, Concussion
• Reggie Bush (RB Lions)—Probable, Ankle/Back

Bleacher Report Expert Consensus Predictions

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49ers Head Coach Jim Harbaugh

Bleacher Report's Week 13 Awards

Week 14 Expert Consensus Picks

NFL Predictions Week 14: Expert Consensus Projections 

The All-Time Defense from B/R Productions

Mike Tanier on Early Coaching Gossip

To follow how the B/R writers stack up against writers from across the web, check out NFLPickwatch.com. 

Michael Schottey is an NFL National Lead Writer for Bleacher Report and an award-winning member of the Pro Football Writers of America. Find more of his stuff on his archive page and follow him on Twitter.