NFL Week 14 Tips: Back the Pittsburgh Steelers to continue their march

The 2022 NFL season is as competitive as ever and multiple teams still have a realistic chance of making the postseason. Here, expert Tom Collins offers his week 14 predictions.

Baltimore Ravens (+1.5) @ Pittsburgh Steelers (-1.5)

Kick-off: 6pm Sunday GMT

The Pittsburgh Steelers made a slow start to this season - they were 2-6 through their first eight games - but that included a month with Mitch Trubisky at quarterback. Rookie Kenny Pickett was then given the starting job and he had to acclimatise to the NFL, but he is now playing some good football. 

Fast forward to now and the Steelers are now 5-7 and looking for their fourth win from five games after victories over the Saints, Colts and Falcons. Their defence has really stepped up, while the offensive line is finally creating gaps for running back Najee Harris to roll through. Once the run game gets going, we know the Steelers can consistently move the ball. George Pickens, Pat Freiermuth and Diontae Johnson can all beat man coverage outside.

Pittsburgh have also won their last four match-ups against the Ravens, including a crucial win in the final game of the regular season last year that sent them to the playoffs. Tyler Huntley led the Ravens that day - he threw for 141 yards, zero touchdowns and two interceptions - and will be their starting quarterback again here due to Lamar Jackson’s injury.

Huntley, who is very athletic, is way below Jackson’s level as a passer and clearly has faults. He has only thrown three touchdowns in 11 NFL games, averages around five yards per pass completion as he sticks to checkdowns and short routes, and often fails to feel pressure from edge rushers.

The Ravens only just scraped over the line against the Broncos last week and will struggle once more without their star quarterback, as well as boasting injuries across the defence. Give me Pittsburgh -1.5.

Prediction: Pittsburgh Steelers -1.5 @ 1.91

Minnesota Vikings (+2) @ Detroit Lions (-2)

Kick-off: 6pm Sunday GMT

I remain convinced that the Minnesota Vikings aren’t as good as their 10-2 record suggests. The majority of their victories this year have come against teams with losing records, and nine of the ten wins have been decided by eight points or fewer. They can tough out games - that’s not up for debate - but they rarely put a team away.

One example of that was last week’s home against the New York Jets. Minnesota ended up winning 27-22, but they were completely outplayed as the Jets had over 200 more yards on offence and just struggled to convert easy third downs. You could make a good case for the Jets being the best team that day, and by some distance.

They now have a divisional match-up against the Detroit Lions, who boast a quarterback (Jared Goff) in good form, two contrasting running backs that can get the job done through the air (D’Andre Swift) and on short yardage plays (Jamaal Williams), and a wide receiver (Amon-Ra St Brown) that will cause the Vikings corners all kinds of trouble. 

Detroit will put up points in this game, there is no doubt about that, and their defence has improved of late. The Lions pumped Jacksonville in this stadium last week, crucially converting eight of their 12 third downs, and similar efficiency should see them beat the table-topping Vikings.

Prediction: Detroit Lions -2 @ 1.91

Miami Dolphins (-3) @ Los Angeles Chargers (+3)

Kick-off: 1.20am Monday GMT

Both of these defences have just been hemorrhaging points of late. The Los Angeles group has given up an average of 26 points per game - they even conceded 24 points against the Texans back in week four! - while the Miami Dolphins have shipped 24 points per game this season, which increases to 33 points allowed per game on the road. 

Miami played well enough against a good San Francisco team last week, but 49ers’ rookie quarterback Brock Purdy was allowed to replace the injured Jimmy Garoppolo and dictate matters against the Dolphins defence - that’s never a good sign. They are 3pt favourites to bounce back, but I’m worried about their consistency. 

On the other side of the field, the Chargers boast the worst pass-blocking offensive line in the league. Quarterback Justin Herbert is a phenomenal talent, but he’s barely able to do a three-step drop before feeling pressure. If they can get him some time in the pocket, which is by no means a guarantee, then I’d back the Chargers in this match-up. But, as it is, the over has to be my play.

Prediction: Over 54 points @ 1.91

NFL Week 14 Tips

Pittsburgh Steelers -1.5 @ 1.91
Detroit Lions -2 @ 1.91
Dolphins v Chargers: Over 54 Points @ 1.91

Accumulator odds: 6.97 decimal, 5.97-1 fractional