NFL Preview: Week 14

GAME OF THE WEEK: Buccaneers at Panthers (Monday night)
I've given the game of the week space to NFC East matchups and NFC East games against the Steelers plenty of times this year, so I am going to go in a different direction than Dallas-Pittsburgh here. This should be a heck of a football game Monday night between a couple of strikingly similar football teams. Neither gets any respect from the national media (and they should), and are built on running the ball and staunch defense, while being led by veteran quarterbacks who may not be annual Pro Bowlers, but still get the job done. The Bucs rolled 27-3 at Raymond James Stadium in Week 6, but I expect Carolina to make a game of it in Charlotte. I think the Panthers get the upper hand in this game and the NFC South race, with a close victory. I'll say 20-16. A lot of people might be bored by this matchup, but the way both teams play will inject a playoff-like atmosphere into the contest.
OTHER TOP GAMES:

Falcons at Saints
The Saints' role has been reduced to that of a spoiler in the NFC South, and their first chance to wreck havoc on a rival's playoff hopes comes at home against one of the hottest teams in the NFC. Matt Ryan threw for nearly 250 yards in the meeting at Atlanta four weeks ago, and I would not be surprised if he exceeded that mark against a depleted New Orleans pass defense. Drew Brees will have his usual big day as well. I have an inkling that this game will exceed the first contest, in which 54 points were tallied. The Falcons are on the outside looking in of the wild card picture, and need a victory every week December to be certain they extend their Cinderella story into January. This road trip to the Bayou won't be easy. Put the Saints in any other division (outside of the NFC East), and they probably are a playoff team.

Cowboys at Steelers
This game obviously carries great importance for a Dallas team that at 8-4 has an uncertain future when it comes to playing into January. The schedule over the next four weeks will make them earn that playoff berth, with trips to Pittsburgh and Philadelphia and visits from Baltimore and the Giants, but if any team is capable of pulling it off, I believe the Cowboys are the one. ESPN has been harping all week on the Cowboys' tendency to fall off in December. This is a new year, and with the roll the team has been on since Romo returned, a new mean, lean attitude has evolved. They will be physical with the Steelers, but pulling off a victory against this great team at Heinz Field is going to be a tall order. The Steelers' defense will give the Dallas offense one of its biggest challenges of the season, but I think the unit will be ready to play and able to score enough points to at least give the Cowboys a shot at the victory in the fourth quarter.

Redskins at Ravens (Sunday night)
Baltimore is currently barely holding onto a playoff spot, while the Redskins are just on the outside looking in. The Ravens have seen steady improvement from Joe Flacco and the offense as the season has progressed, but they will be tested by a strong Washington defense. It appears to me that the Redskins have fallen back to the pack after a strong start to the season, and if they wish to make the playoffs, they are going to have to beat both the Ravens and Eagles, with easier games against the 49ers and Bengals along the way. You have to wonder if Jason Campbell's confidence will be shattered if he struggles early in this game. After going up against the Giants' tough defense one week ago, he will be challenged again and must step up to lead his team to victory.

AND THE REST:

Raiders at Chargers (Thursday night)
Well, I think it is safe to assume even the most diehard NFL fans are probably going to avoid this one tomorrow night. The only purpose for watching the Raiders is boosting self-esteem (no matter how bad things are going in your life or for your team, there is always Al Davis' circus screwing things up even worse). San Diego has to be considered one of the league's biggest disappointments in 2008, and they are going to have to hope for a miracle to have any chance at catching Denver.

Jaguars at Bears
Chicago has to shake off the loss in Minnesota on Sunday night and refocus their efforts in a hurry. Looking at the remaining schedules for both teams, the Bears seem to have a slight upper hand over the Vikings, but you never know in this league. First up is a Jacksonville team which looked flat on Monday night football, and will probably have a hard time getting up for a trip to the Windy City in early December from their warm Florida home.

Texans at Packers
It's looking pretty grim for Green Bay, seeing how they are two back in the NFC North in third place with four games to play. The schedule is manageable, with home games against Houston and Detroit and trips to Chicago and Jacksonville, but that deficit will be difficult to overcome. Matt Schaub is expected to start at QB for Houston after missing a month due to an injured knee, but that won't be of much help to a Texans team that will be shivering in the brutal Wisconsin winter.

Bengals at Colts
Indy should roll up their winning streak to six games this Sunday, and eventually seven in Week 15 considering that the next two visitors to Lucas Oil Stadium are the worst two teams in the NFL. After a poor offensive performance in nasty weather at Cleveland, I expect Manning and his weapons to come out and pad the stats against a Bengals team that is just counting down the days until their 2008 nightmare is over.

Vikings at Lions
The Williams duo that anchors the Minnesota defensive line will be out for the season thanks to their use of diuretics, but against Detroit, it likely won't make a difference. Then again, the Lions were a what the hell was Dan Orlovsky thinking safety away from sending the first meeting to overtime. Minnesota needs this one if they have any hopes of holding off Chicago and/or Green Bay in the North, considering the fact that their last three games are against Atlanta, Arizona, and the Giants.

Browns at Titans
This wasn't a good week to be a Browns fan (when has it been during the Super Bowl era?). Brady Quinn and Derek Anderson go down for the season, leaving Romeo Crennel's hopes of keeping his job on the shoulders of Ken Dorsey. Anderson gives up a fumble that leads to the winning touchdown against Indy. And now this: they have to go to face Tennessee on the road. The Titans need to keep their two-game advantage over Pittsburgh for home field in case the Steelers come to Nashville and win in Week 16.

Patriots at Seahawks
It's looking more and more like New England's easiest ticket to the playoffs would be winning the AFC East, but they still must make up a game on the Jets and win any tiebreakers. For the second time this season, they start a two-game west coast swing, and will once again spend the week in between games in the Pacific time zone. Back in October, that didn't work out so well, with a win over the 49ers and blowout loss to San Diego.

Chiefs at Broncos
Denver has already lost one home game against a bad division rival and lost to the Chiefs in Kansas City, so you'd figure they would come out and play a great game on Sunday. I'm sure they will be motivated by their poor performance against a Kansas City team that did not win again after that September game until last week in Oakland. But you never know what you'll get from the '08 Broncos. They seem to lose to teams they should beat, and beat teams they shouldn't (i.e. the Jets and Bucs).

Jets at 49ers
CBS has 8 games this Sunday, and this is where they decided to send Nantz and Simms. Granted, I think that was due to the fact that they really don't have a marquee matchup more than a love affair with Brett Favre. The gunslinger had some memorable showdowns with the Niners back in the day, but this one likely won't be that close. However, New York must be wary of the long trip and the fact San Francisco went to Buffalo and won this past weekend.

Rams at Cardinals
Arizona still has not wrapped up the NFC West, thanks to losses against the Giants and Eagles. Instead of relying on a 49ers loss to win the crown, essentially backing into the title, look for the Cardinals to come out and dominate the Rams on Sunday. St. Louis gave up well over 500 yards in the Jones Dome a few weeks ago, and I don't think they have what it takes defensively to slow down Kurt Warner, or offensively to keep up with a high-powered Arizona team.