NFL Week 14 Predictions: Sliding Teams That Will Hit Rock Bottom

So much of the attention is deservedly focused on the playoff races this time of the year. That's well and good, but the entire league needs to be given some recognition.

In the case of these teams, the recognition's not a good thing, but it doesn't matter. These teams have all had dismal seasons and are on terrible slides. When Week 14 ends, their status as bottom-feeders will be even more clear. 

It's hard to imagine these teams being any worse than they are now, but that's going to happen when Sunday's play is over.

Philadelphia Eagles

The Eagles are a bad team. There's just no denying it. Maybe it was the short training camp, maybe the players were just overrated to begin with. 

Whatever the case may be, this team is just not performing this year. They don't do anything on defense against the run. Given that Miami's offense is heavily run-oriented, Sunday won't be any better. The Dolphins are playing a good brand of football right now. I never thought I would say this, but they are just a better team.

It shouldn't be enough to save Tony Sparano's job. The team has regressed too much in his tenure. But it will be enough to beat the Eagles on Sunday. More negativity is going to hit Philadelphia. This team will look much different next season. For their sake, hopefully they find some linebackers that are at least semi-competent against the run. 

Washington Redskins

Unlike the Eagles, the Redskins got off to a nice start this season. But with the exception of beating the Seahawks, this team has been on a terrible slide since their Week 5 bye week.

The way to fix a losing streak is not to face a red-hot New England Patriots team. But, that's what's going to happen on Sunday. This one is going to get badly out of hand. The Patriots just have too many weapons. It's not that they don't have flaws, but the Redskins don't have the weapons to exploit them.

This game will be the ultimate proof that the Redskins need a quarterback if they are ever going to escape mediocrity. The dream duo of Rex Grossman and John Beck will just not be good enough, even in a below-average NFC East.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

This team came into the season with so many reasons to be positive. The early season provided reason for promise, as their 4-2 start included a win against New Orleans. Since then, they haven't won a game. 

While a game against Jacksonville would appear to be a nice fix for that, it's not going to be. The Jaguars have a defense that will take advantage of all of the turnovers committed by the sloppy Tampa Bay offense. 

This team is going to look much different next year. After a surprising 10-6 season in 2010, that was unfathomable. But this team's play has just not been good enough to keep anyone around.

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