NFL Predictions Week 14: Early Odds, Picks and Projections for Upcoming Schedule

It's clinching season in the NFL, and heading into Week 14 of the 2017 NFL season, we still haven't had any teams officially win their division titles. 

That could change this week.

The 10-2 New England Patriots can clinch the AFC East if the Buffalo Bills lose to the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday afternoon or they beat the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football.

In the NFC, the 10-2 Philadelphia Eagles missed their shot to clinch the NFC East in Week 13 when they fell to the Seattle Seahawks, but the division will once again be on the table for Philadelphia in its Week 14 matchup with the Los Angeles Rams. 

This might be difficult for Eagles fans, but they'll also want to be rooting for a division rival because if the New York Giants beat the Dallas Cowboys before their 4:25 p.m. ET kickoff, the Eagles also win the NFC East. 

The enemy of my enemy is my friend...right?

Ten wins is the magic number this time of year, as the 10-2 Minnesota Vikings have also put themselves in position to win the NFC North title if they beat the Carolina Panthers, or if division rivals Detroit and Green Bay lose in Week 14. 

Let's break down every matchup in Week 14, with odds and picks for each one, and look at the biggest favorites in the NFL heading into this slate of games. Projected winners are indicated in bold. 

NFL Week 14 Odds and Picks

Thursday, Dec. 7

New Orleans (-4) at Atlanta: 8:25 p.m. NFLN 

Sunday, Dec. 10

Chicago at Cincinnati (-6.5): 1 p.m. Fox 

Detroit at Tampa Bay (n/a): 1 p.m. Fox 

Green Bay (-6) at Cleveland: 1 p.m. Fox 

Indianapolis at Buffalo (n/a): 1 p.m. CBS 

Minnesota at Carolina (-1): 1 p.m. CBS 

Oakland at Kansas City (-4): 1 p.m. CBS 

San Francisco at Houston (-3): 1 p.m. Fox

Dallas (-6.5) at New York Giants: 1 p.m. Fox

New York Jets at Denver (even): 4:05 p.m. CBS 

Tennessee (-2.5) at Arizona: 4:05 p.m. CBS 

Washington at Los Angeles Chargers (-6): 4:05 p.m. CBS 

Philadelphia (-2.5) at Los Angeles Rams: 4:25 p.m. Fox

Seattle at Jacksonville (-3): 4:25 p.m. Fox

Baltimore at Pittsburgh (-7): 8:30 p.m. NBC

Monday, Dec. 11

New England (-10.5) at Miami: 8:30 p.m. ESPN

Biggest Week 14 Favorites

New England Patriots

Raise your hand if you're surprised: Once again, the New England Patriots are the league's biggest favorite heading into yet another week of NFL action. 

New England has won eight games in a row and is favored by 10.5 points over the AFC East rival Miami Dolphins, and there's a lot on the line for the Patriots in this matchup.

If New England wins, it will clinch the division, but the Patriots might not even need to take the field to do that. If the Buffalo Bills fall to the Indianapolis Colts, New England takes the crown. 

But the plot gets juicier. As Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald points out, if things shake out just right for New England, the Patriots can actually secure the AFC's No. 1 seed in Week 15 if they can lay the groundwork in Week 14:

On Sunday, however, New England will be without its top receiving weapon in tight end Rob Gronkowski.

Gronk will serve a one-game suspension, as ESPN's Adam Schefter confirmed, for this unnecessary late hit on Bills cornerback Tre'Davious White:

Of course, given his recent injury struggles, the Patriots have had to experience life without Gronkowski before, most recently for the entire final quarter of the 2016 season. 

It's not likely to slow them down that much. 

Pittsburgh Steelers 

Gary Landers/Associated Press

The early Vegas lines have the Pittsburgh Steelers favored by seven points over the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday Night Football...but after the oddsmakers review the Steelers' Week 13 Monday night outing, that spread could become a lot closer.  

If you only managed to see the final score of that game, you'd see that the Steelers defeated the Bengals 23-20 and that all seemed right in the world. 

But wait: Pittsburgh needed an overtime period to score the winning field goal.

And the Bengals were up 17-3 at halftime.

That's not a great look for a 10-2 Pittsburgh team that's hoping to stay neck and neck with the Patriots to have a shot at locking down the No. 1 seed in the AFC in the postseason.

The "Steelers struggle on the road" narrative that from recent seasons is a little overblown this season; Pittsburgh is 4-1 at home and 6-1 away this season. 

But when you dig a little deeper, you'll see that, like in Monday's game, the Steelers may get wins on the road, but they don't always look good doing it.

Pittsburgh averages 285.4 yards per game at home, compared to just 249.6 on the road.

Ben Roethlisberger's completion percentage plummets when the team plays away; he connects at 65.4 percent at Heinz Field and 60.8 elsewhere. 

The Steelers host the Ravens in Week 14, which could help give them a boost in both the division and the conference. But they have their work cut out for them if they hope to keep up with the Patriots. 

Dallas Cowboys 

Michael Ainsworth/Associated Press

We haven't seen the Dallas Cowboys, who have struggled to a 6-6 record this season due in part to losing running back Ezekiel Elliott to suspension, be favored by this many points in a while.

But here we are in Week 14, where Dallas is favored by 6.5 points over NFC East rival New York Giants on Sunday afternoon.

However, there's an invisible asterisk next to this point spread.

These early odds were released prior to the announcement Monday that the Giants not only fired head coach Ben McAdoo and general manager Jerry Reese, but that wronged franchise quarterback Eli Manning would reclaim his starting job in Week 14, as ESPN.com's Jordan Raanan confirmed:

Normally, a coach ouster in the final quarter of the season would bring a team's odds down. And Manning hasn't exactly looked elite this season.

That being said, this Giants team looked pathetic behind Geno Smith last week, and the players could rally behind Manning in his return to the huddle. 

Meanwhile, the Cowboys made defeating Washington 38-14 look easy in Week 14, but don't necessarily assume that all the problems with the offense have been fixed.

This team could still struggle as long as it's without Elliott. 

Odds courtesy of OddsShark and current as of Dec. 5.