NFL 2014 Week 13 Power Rankings and Week 14 picks

No news or takeaways this week; it's a busy time of year for me as a college professor.

Top Ten [Last week's position]
1.  NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (9-3) [1] : Despite losing to Green Bay, they still have the best body of work this season
2.  Green Bay Packers (9-3) [2] : Their defeat of the Patriots seals them as the strongest NFC team
3.  Philadelphia Eagles (9-3) [6] : Huge win over Dallas makes Philly a threat
4.  Denver Broncos (9-3) [4] : Still a strong team, but consistency is a bit of a problem
5.  Indianapolis Colts (8-4) [7] : Offense had a field day against Washington
6.  Seattle Seahawks (8-4) [9] : Moving back up
7.  Baltimore Ravens (7-5) [5] : Another close loss
8.  Arizona Cardinals (9-3) [3] : Two losses in a row with Stanton under center.  Even I'm beginning to worry
9.  Miami Dolphins (7-5) [11] : Close call against the lowly Jets
10. Buffalo Bills (7-5) [13] : Quality win against Cleveland brings the Bills into the Top Ten

Divisional rankings [Last week's position]
1.  AFC East [3] : Despite New England's loss, Buffalo's impressive win propels them to first place, although the gap is small
2.  NFC West [2] : Seattle is looking better, but the Cards are falling
3.  AFC North [1] : The division did not look good this week.
4 (tie). AFC West [4] : Denver and San Diego did well, but Oakland embarrassed
4 (tie). NFC North [6] : Impressive wins by everyone except Chicago
6.  NFC East [5] : Whither Dallas, and the Giants got skunked by Jacksonville
7.  AFC South [7] : Houston and Jacksonville won, but Indy remains the best team in this division
8.  NFC South [8] : The two leaders won, but this division remains rancid

Thursday night:  Dallas Cowboys at Chicago Bears:  The Bears tend to play well on Thursday night, and the Cowboys have collapsed in December in recent years.  I really should go for the upset here, but I'll pick the favored Cowboys, albeit not by much.  COWBOYS, 27-24

Sunday early games
Baltimore Ravens at Miami Dolphins:  This was actually a tough game to pick.  The Ravens have a better margin of victory, but both teams have a stiff defense supported by a talented offense.  This will likely be a close game, and I often favor the home team or the team with the stiffer defense.  In this case, those are not the same team.  I'll pick Baltimore's defense here, but Miami could pull this one out.  RAVENS, 23-20

Carolina Panthers at New Orleans Saints:  New Orleans' offense should overwhelm the struggling Carolina defense, giving them a temporary half-game lead in the NFC South.  SAINTS, 30-23

Houston Texans at Jacksonville Jaguars:  The Jags won their second game of the season last week, but they won't win two in a row.  TEXANS, 27-13

Indianapolis Colts at Cleveland Browns:  The worst thing Cleveland could have done was pick Johnny Manziel to start.  Yes, he scored a touchdown on his first possession last week, mainly because the Bills defense wasn't ready for him.  Notice how well they adjusted for his next drive.  The Colts defense will be expecting him.  He'll pull out some surprises, but he'll also throw at least one interception -- it's what he does.  COLTS, 31-20

New York Giants at Tennessee Titans:  The Giants have something to prove after allowing Jacksonville the opportunity to take the lead TWICE late in the fourth quarter last week.  They'll play tougher this week, and get past the sputtering Titans.  GIANTS, 27-23

New York Jets at Minnesota Vikings:  The Jets' struggles are well-known.  More than one national analyst is starting to consider them the worst team in the league.  They're not there yet (so long as Oakland continues to flounder), but they definitely contend for the dubious honor.  VIKINGS, 24-16

Pittsburgh Steelers at Cincinnati Bengals:  Both of these teams suffer from inconsistency.  You're never sure which team will show up:  the talented one, or the mistake-prone one.  Since the Bengals are at home, I think the talented group will appear just long enough to win this game.  BENGALS, 23-20

St Louis Rams at Washington Redskins:  The Redskins are suffering internally, as RGIII no longer trusts his coaches and they no longer trust him.  They're putting Colt McCoy back under center, but that's not much better.  The Rams are a good team, and will carve up the less-than-sterling McCoy.  RAMS, 23-16

Tampa Bay Bucs at Detroit Lions:  The Bucs are another team competing with Oakland for "worst team in the league" title.  LIONS, 24-13

Sunday late games
Buffalo Bills at Denver Broncos:  Buffalo's defense will slow the Broncos, but they aren't good enough to slow them that much.  BRONCOS, 27-20

Kansas City Chiefs at Arizona Cardinals:  The Cards are in the midst of a two-game losing streak.  If that continues, KC is good enough to pull off the win.  I think the Cards' defense will slow them enough, but the Chiefs will make this a closer game than it should be.  CARDINALS, 24-23

San Francisco 49ers at Oakland Raiders:  The 49ers get a chance to catch up to Seattle as they play the bumbling Raiders.  49ERS, 24-13

Seattle Seahawks at Philadelphia Eagles:  Seattle, on the other hand, has the daunting task of slowing one of the most prolific offenses in the league.  Tough task.  EAGLES, 30-24

Sunday night:  New England Patriots at San Diego Chargers:  The Patriots want to bounce back from their loss to the Packers.  They should do it, but Philip Rivers and company will make it tough.  PATS, 30-23

MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL:  Atlanta Falcons at Green Bay Packers:  The Pack continue their NFC dominance over a struggling Falcons team, giving the Saints a one-game lead in the NFC South.  PACK, 31-24