UTTQ Predictions: Week 14

It's Week 14, and the NFL season is slowly winding down. With only a few more weeks left to the playoffs, the playoff push is on for several teams. Others simply look to the future (ie. the NFL Draft) as they try to play spoiler for several playoff bound franchises.

CLEVELAND 13, PITTSBURGH 38
These two teams are going in very different directions. The Browns have shown no competitiveness all year long, as opposed to the Steelers, who are coming off a demolishing of Cincinnati. Pittsburgh should easily shut down all facets of the Browns game.

KANSAS CITY 17, NEW YORK JETS 28
It's time for the Jets to make their traditional late season surge. But to do that, they must not take even the gimme games lightly. The Chiefs managed a surprising victory against the Bears in a low scoring affair. As long as the Jets don't let the Chiefs defense keep it close, this one should result in a win for New York.

TAMPA BAY 27, JACKSONVILLE 13
Every game for the Jaguars seems to start off with the Jags fighting valiantly, only to lose grasp of momentum and control of the game. The Jags have a tough matchup against a yungry Bucs team looking to reverse a losing trend. Jacksonville looked sloppy on Monday night, and the fact that they lost to a defenseless Chargers team is even more worrisome to the development of their supposed quarterback of the future.

NEW ENGLAND 37, WASHINGTON 16
The Patriots looked dominant against the Colts for the better part of the game, but did ease up in the second half a bit. They will have to baton down the hatches against a topsy-turvy Redskins squad who just barely beat Seattle two weeks ago, and managed to keep up with the Jets for 3 quarters last week. Unfortunately for the 'Skins, the Patriots are way better than both of those teams.

ATLANTA 28, CAROLINA 24
Cam Newton has shown brilliant promise all year, and has certainly been worthy of his number one overall selection. The Panthers have remained competitive throughout the season, but have been inconsistent as well. The Falcons have not looked like a playoff team in that they have not beaten a quality opponent yet. A win against the Panthers would be nice, but the Falcons need to improve fast if they want to make the playoffs.

INDIANAPOLIS 27, BALTIMORE 30
The old Baltimore team visits the new one once again, although this rivalry will be markedly un-trivial this year. The Colts have blown way too many chances to even be competitive in this one, but then again Baltimore has let their guard down before. I think this one will be close, but Baltimore will squeak out a win.

PHILADELPHIA 27, MIAMI 17
Miami has been rising while Philly has been following. These teams could not be going in more opposite directions. That said, I smell an upset alert coming. With Michael Vick coming back, perhaps he can provide a spark to an inept Eagles offense. If not, then how many more games must the Eagles lose before everyone concedes that they will not make the playoffs?

MINNESOTA 20, DETROIT 30
Detroit has been reeling, but Minnesota has been surprisingly feisty. Last week they put up an epic fight against the Denver Tebows, but unfortunately fell flat on the final drive. The Lions got killed in New Orleans, but mostly due to their own mistakes. If the Lions can get their act together and take advantage of playing on their home turf, then they should be able to pull this one out. It's almost certainly a do-or-die game for the Lions, with games against the Raiders, Chargers, and Packers coming up.