NFL Week 14 Picks: Gauging the Least Likely Upset Scenarios

Upsets are almost guaranteed nearly every week in the NFL, but as the season winds down and teams begin to separate themselves from the pack, they become less likely, especially when talking about the league's very best squads.

Thus is the case this week, when three teams face such weak opponents that there's little chance they will lose.

Topping this list are the Pittsburgh Steelers, who host the 4-8 Cleveland Browns on Thursday night.

The Browns have trouble on both offense and defense, as they're both unable to stop the run and run the ball themselves, and have only succeeded against the passing game simply because they haven't yet faced a team as reliant on or talented at throwing the ball like the Steelers.

The Steelers have a top-10 defense for yet another year, and are in the top 10 on offense as well, finding success rushing the ball in recent weeks to complement their elite passing game.

There's little chance that Pittsburgh—which can clinch a playoff berth this week with a win and a number of other teams losing their respective games—will drop a game to the lowly Browns at home, even if it is a short week.

Staying within the AFC North, the Baltimore Ravens host the winless Indianapolis Colts on Sunday. The Colts may yet still win a game this season, but there's almost zero chance that it will come against the Ravens.

Baltimore has the league's best defense, giving up fewer than 200 passing yards per game on average and allowing just 88.8 rushing yards per game as well. At the same time, the Colts' offense is near the bottom in both rushing and passing and haven't scored more than 24 points all season. 

When faced with strong defenses, Indianapolis rarely scores in the double-digits. This is the most likely outcome of their contest this week, though every team that has faced the Colts has defeated them, the most-dominant of the bunch have done so decisively.

So much would have to go well for the Colts this Sunday while the Ravens would have to completely collapse for Indianapolis to manage an upset victory. Since that's highly improbable, there's little chance for the Colts to leave Baltimore this week anything but crushed.

While the Colts have been crushed all season long, the Green Bay Packers have been dominating every opponent sent their way.

At 12-0 and clearly a favorite to not just make it to their second Super Bowl in as many years but also to win it, they might just be the best overall football team we've seen this generation.

Though the Packers have a more difficult opponent than either the Ravens or Steelers this week, the odds for them to be upset are just as low.

The Oakland Raiders have been impressive this season, managing a 7-5 record despite injuries that have caused them to make significant personnel shifts.

But the injuries are starting to add up for Oakland and the more offensive starters who aren't able to play on Sunday, the lower their chances are to pull off the upset victory.

Foot injuries are to blame for the recent absences of running back Darren McFadden and wide receivers Jacoby Ford and Denarius Moore, all of whom did not practice on Wednesday.

Barring any of these players making major strides in the next day or two, they aren't likely to take the field against the Packers, effectively lowering the Raiders' chances to win to nearly zero.

Green Bay's defense is susceptible to offenses looking to match Aaron Rodgers and company pass-for-pass, but no offense has been able to match Green Bay's ability to make plays and score points so far.

No defense has been able to come up with a formula to stop Rodgers either.

With the Raiders allowing 373.3 total yards of offense per game and the Packers putting up an average of 405.3 yards per game themselves, it's clear the Raiders are going to be as overwhelmed as the other 12 of the Packers' opponents have been this year.

Perhaps some team will stop the Packers before the season wraps, but it doesn't look good for Oakland's chances to be that team in Week 14.