Papas Picks: NFL Week 14 Underdog Predictions

Alright, I’ve gone 4-1 twice in the last 3 weeks – but the week I didn’t run into 4-1 was a tough one to stomach. I guess that’s the way with underdogs, when the ball doesn’t bounce your way, you look like a dope. I looked pretty solid last week as two of my unpopular dogs won outright, the Dolphins and Raiders. I was pretty stunned the Steelers fell at home to the Raiders, but I was pretty happy looking at 15.5 points against a team that hadn’t won big all year. It’s too bad I never write this article quick enough for Thursday games, because I would have loved getting another underdog win over the Steelers… This week, I have a couple more Dogs that look like pedigree models with all there glorious points – here are this week’s picks.

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Washigton Redskins @ Oakland Raiders (+1): The Redskins find ways to lose, really, they are very good at it. The Raiders have turned it around a bit, and now that they can complete a simple pass to a wide open receiver, they aren’t nearly as bad as before. I like them to win their 3rd in 4 games – crazy.

San Diego Chargers (+3) @ Dallas Cowboys: The Chargers are better than the Cowboys, and Dallas always hits a wall and loses important games late. If they lose here, they have are guaranteed to be 2nd place in the NFC East – that means it’s a big game – that means trouble for Big D.

Green Bay Packers @ Chicago Bears (+3.5): The Bears are 4-2 at home this year – so that’s what I have going for me here. They’ve played much worse than they are, and the Packers have been on a streak of really impressive games – I think those things are bound to turn around in one cold afternoon in Chicago.

Detroit Lions (+14) @ Baltimore Ravens: Oh the Ravens and their impotent offense, I mean un-potent, well, what ever it is, it’s not producing many hits lately. With Daunte starting (for a guy with really small hands, I still think he’s pretty good, but I might be living in his fantasy dominating past) I think the Lions have a good chance to put up a few touchdowns through the air, the kid has always thrown the deep ball well. That will be enough to cover.

Seattle Seahawks (+7) @ Houston Texans: I know the Hawks suck on the road, but this team is finally getting healthy, and there’s nothing like a team finally getting healthy when all the other teams are finally starting to lose some players. Houston has struggled lately, definitely misses having one of their most dynamic players in the backfield, and is just 2-4 on the road this season. Oh yeah, and there’s rumbling that their coach might get the axe – that’s never good. One more thing, they’ve lost 4 straight.

New Orleans Saints vs Atlanta Falcons Pick & Preview

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New Orleans Saints vs Atlanta Falcons Pick & Preview: I know Matt Ryan played a terrible game last week in his chance to show he can still play. But I also know that any quarterback can have a bad game, and the Eagles weird defenses can give any guy a lot of trouble. I know that the Falcons have been a good home team for some time, and that’s been pretty consistent this year (sans last week’s game against the Eagles). Matt Ryan is almost surely out another week, but I think Redman will play just fine. He has proven in the past that he can make all the throws, and he’s had success.

Giving up 10 points to the Falcons at home is just too much. I know they’re missing two of the biggest reasons why they’ve turned their poor play around over the last couple years, but this team can win without Michael Turner (who still might play) and Matty Ice. They still have playmakers all over the field, Roddy White, Tony Gonzalez, and even Jerious Norwood can do a lot with a little space.

The Saints have been amazing all year long, and it’s hard to believe that Atlanta will be able to slow that high powered offense down at all – but New Orleans has been winning quite a few games they haven’t played well enough to win in – and luck is bound to run out one of these times. An undefeated season is almost unheard of, and it wouldn’t surprise me one bit if they threw up a stinker.Either way, I like this game to stay close. I think the Falcons score in the high 20s, maybe even get to the 30s – and if that’s the case, it will be tough for the Saints to cover.

New Orleans Saints @ Atlanta Falcons (+10.5)