NFL Picks Week 14: Giants over Cowboys and Upset Alerts You Need To Know About

Sound the alarm! Week 14 of the 2011 NFL season is about to give rise to some interesting upsets that ought to shake up the playoff picture a bit.

These three, in particular, are poised to pull off (mild) surprises on Sunday.

NEW YORK GIANTS at Dallas Cowboys

The race in the NFC East is set to heat up when the Giants travel to Dallas to take on the Cowboys for the first time this season. Both teams are coming off excruciating losses in Week 13, though New York's 38-35 shortfall at the hands of undefeated Green Bay is far less egregious in the bigger picture than Dallas snatching defeat from the jaws of victory in Arizona.

The Cowboys are listed as 3.5-point favorites to win on Sunday night, and rightfully so, as they'll have the advantage of playing at the Jerry Jones Dome.

But, realistically, this game is New York's to lose. Eli Manning has been playing out of his gourd all season, with 347 yards and three touchdowns against the Packers serving as the latest bit of proof. If this one comes down to the wire, look for Jason Garrett and/or Tony Romo to find some way to blow it on national TV and give the G-Men a de facto lead in the division.

HOUSTON TEXANS at Cincinnati Bengals

Likewise, it's reasonable to pitch the Bengals as three-point favorites at home against the Texans, who will once again start T.J. Yates under center.

Thing is, Houston isn't a quarterback-dependent team and hasn't been all season, even when Matt Schaub was healthy. The Texans still butter their bread with strong defense and a spectacular ground game behind Arian Foster and Ben Tate.

And, to Yates' credit, he performed admirably in his first NFL start, throwing for 188 yards with a touchdown and no picks against the Falcons.

The Bengals, on the other hand, have lost three of their last four games. True, those three losses have come against the Steelers and the Ravens, but even the one victory, a 23-20 decision over the Browns, doesn't exactly stand as an impressive feat overall.

As great as Andy Dalton, A.J. Green and Cedric Benson have been for Cincy this season, they'll be hard pressed to find much of any success against Houston's D, which should then give Foster and Tate enough freedom to put the Texans over the top in the end.

Atlanta Falcons at CAROLINA PANTHERS

Speaking of the Falcons, they've hardly looked like a team on a mission to reach the NFC playoffs. The fact that they're only three-point favorites against the 4-8 Panthers speaks directly to their performance of late.

Atlanta couldn't find a way to win on the road against a Texans team down to its third-string quarterback last week, so how, pray tell, is it that Mike Smith's squad will upend Cam Newton and Company in Carolina?

Granted, the Panthers defense is among the NFL's worst, while the Texans' is arguably the NFL's best, though that merely means that Matt Ryan and the Falcons, with a soft D of their own, will be caught in a barnburner.

Which ultimately favors Carolina, which will put on a show for the home crowd in Charlotte.

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