NFL Week 14 picks against the spread

Baltimore Ravens @ Kansas City Chiefs (-6.5)

The Baltimore Ravens are riding their defense to sit in the final playoff spot in the AFC. They are now taking their number one defense in the entire league, and playing the team that has scored more point than any other team in the league. The Ravens have a huge question at QB with Joe Flacco coming back and Lamar Jackson winning games, but as long as the defense is intact they have a chance against anyone.

The Chiefs defense has been breaking more often than we are used to, but the Chiefs are finding ways to win. This team just allowed 33 points to the anemic Oakland Raiders offense. They still won the game because they have Patrick Mahomes, but it was much closer than they’d like it to be.

This might be the hardest game to pick this week. Six and a half is a lot of points when two playoff teams play, but this Chiefs offense is good enough to break away from any defense. However, we don’t know if the Ravens are good enough offensively with Flacco or Jackson to take advantage of the issues with the Chiefs defense. Go with the Chiefs, but don’t feel great about it.

Kansas City 38, Baltimore 31

Indianapolis Colts @ Houston Texans (-4.5)

The playoff picture just became clearer after the Indianapolis Colts scored zero points against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Andrew Luck was not able to get anything going, and the Jags defense stopped them in their tracks. Now, they are back to .500 with the Ravens in the driver’s seat. The playoffs are still a possibility, but they need to win most of their games.

The Houston Texans haven’t lost a game since September. Their first win of the season came in Week 4 against the Colts, and now they look to bookend this streak with another win against their division rival. They are doing this with defense and toughness up front. They are keeping Deshaun Watson clean, and making their opposing QB very dirty. If J.J. Watt can lead this defense to knock down Luck over and over again, then it will be an easy game for them.

I’m going with the upset here. The Colts clearly looked past the Jaguars, and they paid for it. They don’t have the ability to just lose another game. Luck will learn from last week’s mistakes, and do what he can to keep the Texans defense at bay. The Texans will fight to the end, but it will come up just short.

Indianapolis 26, Houston 24