NFL Picks Week 14: Odds and Over-Under Advice Before Sunday Kickoff

With only four weeks remaining in the 2014 NFL regular season and a bevy of teams still in contention for a spot in the playoffs, games will rapidly increase in intensity, leading to tighter scoring margins and narrower point spreads as a result.

Obviously, this can lead to some tricky wagering scenarios for bettors.

If a little too many games feature odds that are a little too close for comfort, a backup plan may be necessary. Of course, when it comes to betting on football, the over-under lines are the first choice of a fallback option for most bettors.

If you happen to fall into this category, you're in luck. Below, you'll find the entire slate of Week 14 contests, their corresponding odds, over-under lines and picks for each.

Matchup	Spread	Pick ATS	O/U	O/U Pick
St. Louis at Washington	STL -3	Rams	44	Over
Houston at Jacksonville	HOU -6	Texans	42.5	Over
NY Giants at Tennessee	Even	Giants	46	Over
Tampa Bay at Detroit	DET -11.5	Lions	41.5	Under
Carolina at New Orleans	NO -10	Panthers	50	Under
Indianapolis at Cleveland	IND -3	Colts	50	Over
Pittsburgh at Cincinnati	CIN -3.5	Bengals	48	Over
NY Jets at Minnesota	MIN -5	Jets	40	Under
Baltimore at Miami	MIA -3	Dolphins	45.5	Over
Kansas City at Arizona	AZ -1	Chiefs	39.5	Over
Buffalo at Denver	DEN -10	Bills	47.5	Under
San Francisco at Oakland	SF -8	Raiders	41	Under
Seattle at Philadelphia	PHI -1	Seahawks	48	Under
New England at San Diego	NE -3.5	Patriots	52	Over
Atlanta at Green Bay	GB -12.5	Packers	55.5	Under

All game odds courtesy of Odds Shark and current as of December 6.

Take the Over: St. Louis Rams at Washington Redskins (O/U: 44)

Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images

This is a great case of two non-playoff teams experimenting with their respective offenses and seeing dramatic improvements as a result. These alterations heavily favor the over in this contest.

The Rams are coming off a 52-0 drubbing of the Oakland Raiders. They have a great rookie running back in Tre Mason, who carried 14 times for 117 yards and two touchdowns, adding three receptions for 47 yards and another score.

Mason's prowess out of the backfield is a revelation for a team that has struggled to get its running game going this season.

While the Redskins have been decent against the run this season, they did allow a 49-yard scamper from Indianapolis Colts running back Daniel Herron in Week 13. That's great news for Mason, who ripped off an 89-yard scoring run against Oakland.

The rookie ball-carrier is already making his presence felt in the St. Louis record books, via ESPN Stats & Info:

Washington is more than capable of putting up some points with Colt McCoy at the helm. Quarterback Robert Griffin III was obviously struggling, and the switch to McCoy may not have translated to wins, but it did lead to an increase in the offense's efficiency.

McCoy passed for 392 yards and three touchdowns against the Colts in Week 13, leading his team to 27 points. He should be expected to do the same against a St. Louis defense that ranks 20th in the league against the pass.

There's enough offense on both of these teams to warrant a bet that they will combine for more than 44 points.

Take the Under: Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Detroit Lions (O/U: 41.5)

Rick Osentoski/Associated Press

So, here's the thing: The Lions own the league's stingiest defense, and the Buccaneers maintain one of the NFL's most inept offenses. Detroit is allowing an average of just 17.3 points per game this season, and Tampa Bay's offense is only scoring an average of 18.3 points per game.

Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times tweeted the team's average score with quarterback Josh McCown at the helm:

The Lions are extremely stout against the run, allowing a league-leading 65.9 yards per game. Conversely, the Buccaneers' running game is ranked 29th in the league, averaging just 83.3 yards per contest.

Needless to say, we shouldn't be expecting Tampa Bay to get much of anywhere on the ground against Detroit.

This will force the Buccaneers into a one-dimensional offense featuring McCown. The veteran signal-caller couldn't muster much of anything in Week 13 against a good Cincinnati Bengals secondary, completing 15 of his 29 passing attempts for 190 yards, zero touchdowns and one interception. Expect more of the same against Detroit's 12th-ranked pass defense.

The Buccaneers may not find the end zone on Sunday.

As for the Lions, they've been extremely inconsistent on the offensive side of the ball this season. They're coming off a 34-point performance against the Chicago Bears; however, they only managed a total of 15 points in their previous two games combined.

Tampa Bay has actually been better against the pass in recent games, holding opposing quarterbacks to under 220 yards and allowing no more than one passing touchdown over its last four games.

Detroit will score points, but not enough to put the game over the 41.5 limit.