NFL Week 14 Picks: Jets and Desperate Teams That Keep Breathing

Nothing is more exciting than watching a desperate team in the NFL.

When a team knows it has to win out, it’s the best time to see who thrives under pressure and who can’t handle it.

This week the following three teams find themselves in must-win situations, and I think all three of them score the much-needed victory.

Kansas City Chiefs at New York Jets

The Jets have been in must-win mode ever since they got Tebow’ed three weeks ago and are 2-0 since.

Do you expect the seventh-ranked pass defense to lose to Tyler Palko? The Jets may be dealing with a QB in Mark Sanchez that has almost zero confidence right now, but the running game is beginning to get back on track, which is setting up third-and-short for Sanchez, something he’s more than capable of converting.

The Jets may not be the same team that went to back-to-back AFC Championship Games, but they take care of the bad teams. Their five losses have all been to playoff contenders (Oakland, Baltimore, New England twice, Denver). They take care of the bad teams and expect them to breeze to victory on Sunday.

Prediction: Jets 24, Chiefs 6

Houston Texans at Cincinnati Bengals

The Texans surprised everybody by beating the Falcons with rookie T.J Yates under center last week, but now he gets his first road test against the Bengals, who are coming off their worst loss of the season.

With Cincinnati defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer able to digest an entire four quarters of NFL game film on Yates, expect the top-10 unit to really mix things up. The opportunistic Bengals defense is going to force Yates into bad decisions that will yield at least two interceptions.

QB Andy Dalton is coming off his worst game as a pro and has to rebound against a Texans defense that is third against the pass and fourth against the run.  This is where Dalton’s ability to quickly read a defense comes in handy as I expect his running backs and tight end Jermaine Gresham to have big games because of the tight coverage of the Texans secondary.

With the Bengals containing Arian Foster by stacking eight in the box, a Cincinnati team that has to win in order to keep up in the wild-card hunt pulls it out.

Prediction: Bengals 16, Texans 13

New York Giants at Dallas Cowboys

With two games against each other in the last four weeks of the season, winning at home is a must. The Cowboys must shake off the debacle in the desert and give it their all on Sunday.

With the way Tony Romo is playing lately and the way the Giants secondary is stinking up the joint, the Cowboys are going to put up a ton of points. Eli Manning will as well.

The difference is in the running game.

DeMarco Murray is going to be a star in this league while Brandon Jacobs runs like a guy that couldn't care less about wins and losses. Ahmad Bradshaw is still less than 100 percent.  

Expect the Cowboys to dominate the time of possession and keep Manning off the field. The NFC East isn’t sealed with a win, but it makes everything a heck of a lot easier.

Prediction: Cowboys 34, Giants 27