NFL Picks Week 14: Game-by-Game Advice for Current Vegas Spreads

The Kansas City Chiefs have been a powerful team through the first 13 weeks of the NFL regular season.

The Chiefs have been successful because they have a dominant offense that is capable of stringing touchdowns together and lighting up the scoreboard. But the Chiefs don't have a defense that comes close to matching the offense.

So, just how qualified are the Chiefs for making a run in the playoffs? A strong indication may come to the surface this week when the Chiefs host the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday.

The Ravens can't come close to matching the Chiefs in offensive prowess. However, the Ravens have one of the best defenses in the league, and defense has traditionally been a key factor in winning in the postseason. 

The Chiefs will try to attack with Patrick Mahomes, who has been spectacular throughout the season. Mahomes has passed for an average of 326.9 yards per game while tallying 41 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

He has a pair of game-breaking receivers in Tyreek Hill and tight end Travis Kelce, but he no longer has Kareem Hunt, who was waived by the Chiefs last week. That means Spencer Ware is likely to get most of the carries when the Chiefs decide to run.

The Ravens have turned to Lamar Jackson as their starting quarterback, but there is a chance that Joe Flacco could be ready to return to action in this game. Jackson has given the Ravens something of a spark as they have won all three of his starts, but he is a rookie quarterback and has just a 2-3 touchdown-to-interception ratio.

The Ravens have the top-ranked defense in the league, and the Chiefs have the third-ranked offense in the league. The Chiefs are 6.5-point favorites per OddsShark and they should be in their element playing at Arrowhead Stadium.

If they are truly the dominant team they have indicated they are to this point in the season they will score 35 or more points and win this game easily. Look for Kansas City to unleash its powerful offense once again cover the 6.5-point spread.

Week 14 NFL Odds (Point spreads provided by OddsShark)

Jacksonville at Tennessee (-4.5) | O/U (37.5)

Baltimore at Kansas City (-6.5) | O/U (53)

Indianapolis at Houston (-5) | O/U (48.5)

Atlanta at Green Bay (-6) | O/U (52.5)

N.Y. Jets at Buffalo (NL)

N.Y. Giants at Washington (NL) 

New Orleans (-8) at Tampa Bay | O/U (56)

New England (-8) at Miami | O/U (47)

Carolina (-1.5) at Cleveland | O/U (47)

Denver (-5.5) at San Francisco | O/U (43.5)

Cincinnati at L.A. Chargers (-14) | O/U (48.5)

Detroit (-2.5) at Arizona | O/U (40.5)

Philadelphia at Dallas (NL)

Pittsburgh (-11.5) at Oakland | O/U (51.5)

L.A. Rams (-3) at Chicago | O/U (52.5)

Minnesota at Seattle (-3.5) | O/U (45)

Lynne Sladky/Associated Press

New England Patriots at Miami Dolphins

The Patriots are cruising to another AFC East title and they are also in line for a bye in the wild-card round of the playoffs as the No. 2 seed in the conference.

They trail the Chiefs for the top seed by less than a game. The record shows the Chiefs at 10-2 while the Pats are 9-3, but if the two teams finished tied, the edge goes to the Patriots since they beat the Chief when the two teams met during Week 6 in Foxboro.

It's easy to dismiss the Dolphins as one of the three other teams in the AFC East that have been chasing the Patriots for years, but that would not be correct. The Dolphins are 6-6 and they are one game behind the Baltimore Ravens for the second wild-card spot, and they are still clearly in the fight.

While the Pats have been the dominant team in their division for the last 17 seasons, playing the Dolphins in Miami has regularly been a challenge. Miami has beaten New England in four of the last five games played in South Florida.

The Dolphins held a substantial edge in this series at one point, as New England failed to win a game in Miami until the 1985 postseason. The Patriots had won a road game against the Dolphins in 1969, but that game was played in Tampa and not at the Orange Bowl in Miami.

That really is ancient history as far as the NFL is concerned. Tom Brady is having a solid season as he has completed 65.9 percent of his passes with a 20-8 TD-interception ratio. He will spread the ball around to Julian Edelman, Josh Gordon, James White and Rob Gronkowski. Rookie Sony Michel is a solid running back with 649 yards and a 4.5 yards per carry average.

The Dolphins are a much better team when Ryan Tannehill is in the lineup, and he has completed 118 of 178 passes for 1,313 yards with a 13-6 TD-to-interception ratio. Veteran Frank Gore gives Miami credibility in the running game with 616 yards and a 4.4 yards per carry average, while ex-Patriot Danny Amendola could hurt his old team with his ability to make difficult catches in key situations. 

The Patriots are eight-point favorites on the road, and that's too much in this division game. Look for the Dolphins to play their best game of the year and beat New England.

Cincinnati Bengals at Los Angeles Chargers

The Bengals have fallen badly and don't appear to have the wherewithal to get up and rescue their season, while the Chargers are playing superior football and are trying to run down the Chiefs in the AFC West.

Normally, when an NFL game seems like such an obvious mismatch, the best course of action is caution. There is no such thing as a sure thing, and the struggling team often finds a way to stay inside the spread.

That's not going to happen this time. The Chargers are 14-point favorites over a team that has lost four games in a row and has slipped to 5-7. The Bengals have turned to Jeff Driskel at quarterback since Andy Dalton is done for the season, and wideout A.J. Green (torn ligaments-toe) is also out.

The Bengals rank 26th on offense and dead last on defense, and that's no way to go into the game against Philip Rivers & Co.

Rivers is completing 69.7 percent of his passes with 28 touchdowns and six interceptions, while Keenan Allen is one of the top receivers in the league and has caught 83 passes for 996 yards and five TD passes.

Melvin Gordon, who missed the Sunday night game against the Steelers with an MCL sprain, could be back for this game. That would just add to the point differential in this game.

The Bengals win by four touchdowns as they turn this game into a rout before halftime.