NFL Picks: Week 14

As the postseason push intensifies, the Indianapolis Colts and Las Vegas Raiders meet in a ‘Sin City’ matchup with AFC playoff implications. The Colts are one game ahead of the Raiders for the AFC's final playoff spot.

A so-so Week 13 didn’t damage the overall picks percentage, and the record for choosing Indianapolis Colts games kept pace with their mark at 8-4.

The fact that the Colts are three-point road favorites in a Week 14 trip to Allegiant Stadium to face the Las Vegas Raiders (7-5) is encouraging. But head coach Jon Gruden’s Raiders are most unpredictable.

Consider that the Silver & Black came within the final seconds of giving the New York Jets their first win last week before Derek Carr threw a 47-yard TD pass to rookie wide receiver Henry Ruggs for a 31-28 escape from New York (yeah, couldn’t resist that one).

There was no escaping the reality that the Raiders didn’t bother to show up at Atlanta two weeks ago. The Falcons (4-8) have been disappointing and didn’t have star players Julio Jones and Todd Gurley, yet trounced Las Vegas 43-6.

As quickly as the Raiders can be dismissed based on poor recent performance, keep in mind this team went to Kansas City and gave the Chiefs their only loss in a 40-32 Week 5 win at Arrowhead Stadium. And the Raiders were on the verge of a sweep of the Chiefs before Patrick Mahomes worked his magic with a late TD drive for a 35-31 win at Las Vegas.

In summation, based on how the Colts have distinguished themselves by beating the Green Bay Packers (9-3) but also opened the season with a road loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars (1-11), these two AFC teams can run hot and cold and Sunday should be considered a toss-up.

Colts defensive end Justin Houston (99) goes up against Raiders offensive right tackle Trent Brown in a 2019 game at Lucas Oil Stadium. The teams meet again on Sunday in Las Vegas :: Matt Kryger/USA TODAY Sports

Good luck, pickers!

AFC Team Sites

NFC Team Sites

Monday Morning Quarterback

SI Fantasy

SI Gambling

PhilB’s Picks

Patriots at Rams — Rams

Texans at Bears — Texans

Cowboys at Bengals — Cowboys

Chiefs at Dolphins — Chiefs

Cardinals at Giants — Cardinals

Vikings at Buccaneers — Buccaneers

Broncos at Panthers — Panthers

Titans at Jaguars — Titans

Colts at Raiders — Colts

Jets at Seahawks — Seahawks

Packers at Lions — Packers

Saints at Eagles — Saints

Falcons at Chargers — Chargers

Washington at 49ers — 49ers

Steelers at Bills — Bills

Ravens at Browns — Browns

Week 13 — 10-5 (.666)

Overall — 128-63-1 (.669)

(While these picks are for entertainment purposes only, SI recently launched our Premium Betting Membership backed by Vegas Insiders. SI Fantasy PRO members get real-time betting alerts whenever information comes in. Our NFL, CFB, and MLB plays and information delivered to SI PRO members have gone 177-118-2 YTD so far in 2020.)