NFL Week 14 Picks: Early Predictions for Every Game

Week 13 certainly didn't make it easy on NFL wagering. Somehow, the deeper we get into the season, the more perplexing it becomes.

A New Orleans Saints team that lost three straight at home will lose on the road against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The faltering Jacksonville Jaguars offense couldn't possibly keep up with Odell Beckham Jr. and the New York Giants. The Atlanta Falcons offense will certainly come up short against a stout Arizona Cardinals defense. Houston Texans quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick will struggle against the Tennessee Titans secondary.

Bettors who believed any of those proposed foregone conclusions probably finished the week in the red, as the Saints lit up the Steelers, the Jaguars capitalized on some Giants mistakes, the Cardinals completely fell apart and Fitzpatrick threw six touchdown passes.

Luckily, there's some light at the end of the tunnel, as several early Week 14 lines appear favorable. In an effort to recoup our hard-earned cash from Las Vegas, let's get a jump-start on the week and predict the winner of each game against the spread.

Matchup	Spread	Pick ATS	Reason
Dallas at Chicago	DAL -3.5	Cowboys	Expect a bounce-back effort from Tony Romo and Co. against an inconsistent Bears team.
St. Louis at Washington	STL -2	Rams	St. Louis just put up 52 points and Washington just gave up 49. That bodes well for the Rams.
Houston at Jacksonville	HOU -4	Texans	See analysis below.
NY Giants at Tennessee	Even	Giants	The Titans couldn't stop DeAndre Hopkins, and now they must face the dangerous Odell Beckham Jr.
Tampa Bay at Detroit	DET -10.5	Buccaneers	Tampa Bay's defense has played well enough lately to keep this one close.
Carolina at New Orleans	NO -10	Saints	Cam Newton continues to struggle, and Drew Brees is coming off a five-touchdown showing.
Indianapolis at Cleveland	IND -3.5	Colts	See analysis below.
Pittsburgh at Cincinnati	CIN -3.5	Bengals	The Bengals keep finding ways to win, and Pittsburgh hasn't been convincing at all recently.
NY Jets at Minnesota	MIN -4.5	Vikings	Minnesota's ball-hawking defense should feast on a turnover-prone Jets offense.
Baltimore at Miami	MIA -3	Dolphins	Ryan Tannehill is on fire of late, and Baltimore's secondary continues to get torched.
Kansas City at Arizona	AZ -1.5	Chiefs	The Cardinals weren't very convincing in any phase of the game against Atlanta in Week 13.
Buffalo at Denver	DEN -9	Broncos	Buffalo's defense is very good, but there will be too much Peyton Manning to handle on the road.
San Francisco at Oakland	SF -7.5	49ers	San Francisco hasn't been impressive, but Oakland just lost by 52 points to the Rams. Ouch.
Seattle at Philadelphia	Even	Seahawks	It's difficult to see Mark Sanchez having success against one of the league's most versatile defenses.
New England at San Diego	NE -3.5	Patriots	Both of these teams were impressive in Week 13, but the Patriots are still the more complete squad.
Atlanta at Green Bay	N/A	Packers	If the Patriots couldn't beat Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay, Atlanta won't stand much of a chance at all.

All game odds courtesy of Odds Shark and current as of November 30.

Early Odds to Bet

Houston Texans (-4) at Jacksonville Jaguars

Don't look now, but Fitzmagic has returned. After a season-ending injury to Ryan Mallett, the Texans didn't appear to be in good shape with the formerly benched Fitzpatrick back under center. Well, six touchdowns later, he proved all of his doubters wrong.

The veteran signal-caller didn't display any rust, quickly regaining his chemistry with DeAndre Hopkins. The speedy wide receiver accumulated nine receptions for 238 yards and two touchdowns against a decent Tennessee Titans secondary. Four other players, including defensive end J.J. Watt, caught touchdown passes from Fitzpatrick as well.

Adding to the team's offensive balance was the return of running back Arian Foster. He averaged 4.2 yards per carry, gaining 79 yards on the ground and adding 26 and a touchdown through the air. Needless to say, Houston's offense hasn't looked so good all year long.

Here's a look back at the quarterback's huge showing, via Houston's official Twitter account:

On the other hand, Jacksonville may have defeated the Giants by a point in Week 13, but the team's offense had little to do with the victory. Blake Bortles was sacked seven times and was constantly under pressure, resulting in plenty of scrambling. The team's running backs weren't given many opportunities, combining for just 50 yards.

It's difficult to expect Jacksonville to return two more fumbles for touchdowns against the Texans, so placing an early wager on the hot offense is the right move here.

Prediction: Texans 31, Jaguars 17

Indianapolis Colts (-3.5) at Cleveland Browns

Speaking of teams struggling to create any kind of offense, let's talk about the Browns. Running back Isaiah Crowell averaged a mere 1.7 yards per carry in Week 13, and quarterback Brian Hoyer continued his streak of terribly inaccurate passing.

Hoyer completed 18 of his 30 passing attempts for 192 yards, zero touchdowns and two interceptions as the Browns watched the Buffalo Bills pull out to a huge lead. This prompted a change at the position, and rookie Johnny Manziel was brought into the game.

Manziel fared well, completing five of his eight passing attempts for 63 yards, adding two rushes for 13 yards and a touchdown. Now, according to Around the NFL, we have a quarterback controversy in Cleveland:

If Manziel is to make his first career start in Week 14, he'll certainly have his hands full against one of the best quarterbacks in the game.

Colts quarterback Andrew Luck put up more gaudy numbers Sunday, torching the Washington Redskins for 370 yards and five touchdowns. A bevy of weapons, including speedy receivers T.Y. Hilton and Donte Moncrief along with tight end Coby Fleener and veteran Reggie Wayne, give the signal-caller a variety of choices and give nightmares to defensive coordinators.

The Browns are tinkering with the quarterback position, while the Colts are in stride and looking to clinch the AFC South crown. Don't expect Manziel's first start to end well.

Prediction: Colts 34, Browns 20