Expert Week 14 NFL Picks: Tips, Advice for Pick 'em pools

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Expert Week 14 NFL Picks: Tips, Advice for Pick 'em pools image

The experts from TeamRankings are back to help inform your Week 14 NFL picks with value-based strategy advice that can help you dominate your pick 'em pools. For more tips and a quick primer on how our data-driven method can help you win weekly and yearly prizes, check out our article on NFL pick ’em pool strategy.

This analysis is provided by TeamRankings.com, the only site that customizes pick recommendations to give you the best chance to win your football pools. Last season, 81 percent of TeamRankings subscribers reported winning a prize in a football pick ’em contest. So far this year, their subscribers have already won nearly 1,300 weekly pool prizes.

For pick recommendations for your pools, check out TeamRankings' NFL Pick 'em Pool Picks. TeamRankings also provides data-driven College Bowl Pick 'em Picks and NFL betting picks.

Week 14 Fantasy Rankings:
Quarterback | Running Back | Wide Receiver | Tight End | D/ST | Kicker

Expert Week 14 NFL Picks Advice: Pick 'em pools

As always, we'll break down five noteworthy Week 14 games that stand out because of win odds and pick popularity. Deciding which way you want to go on these games should be top of mind when you make your Week 14 picks.

Keep in mind that, we are not saying you should make all of these picks. The best picks for your specific football pick 'em pool depend on multiple strategy factors, such as the number of entries in your pool, whether it uses confidence points; and whether it offers season prizes, weekly prizes, or both. Our Football Pick 'em Picks product helps figure out the best strategy for you.

Reminder: The w in odds and pick popularity data below is subject to change between now and kickoff. For the latest numbers, our pick 'em product updates multiple times per day with the latest information.

Favorites At A Reasonable Price

New York Giants (at Washington)

The Giants are 3.5-point favorites on the road against the Redskins. New York pulled off a big upset against the Bears last week, but things didn’t go as well for the Redskins. Washington QB Colt McCoy was injured in last week’s loss to Philadelphia and is done for the season. With original starter Alex Smith already on IR, the Redskins were forced to rely on third-string journeyman Mark Sanchez. Given Washington’s quarterback issues, it’s not surprising that betting markets have the 4-8 Giants with almost 63-percent implied win odds in this game. At roughly 70-percent pick popularity nationwide, the Giants are not being significantly overrated by the public relative to their win odds, meaning that there are certainly way better upset picks on the board this week than Washington.

Pittsburgh Steelers (at Oakland)

The Steelers are 11-point favorites on the road against Oakland in Week 14. Pittsburgh is coming off a three-point loss to the Chargers in a game with playoff seeding implications and looking look to bounce back against the Raiders. As such big underdogs, the risk/reward profile for Oakland as an upset pick just doesn't look great here, with Pittsburgh having Vegas-implied winning odds of nearly 84 percent. In comparison, the Chiefs are just about as popular a pick as the Steelers this week, but KC is significantly less likely to win. So, you'd be foolish to even consider Oakland as an upset pick instead of a team like Baltimore.

Green Bay Packers (vs. Atlanta)

Green Bay is favored by five points at home against the Falcons this week. The Vegas-implied win odds for the Packers are about 67 percent, while 77 percent of the public is selecting them in pick’em pools. Although technically "overrated" like almost all favorites are, Green Bay's pick popularity is comparably lower than teams like the Texans and Titans even though those other teams aren’t favored by as many points. The Packers fired head coach Mike McCarthy after their Week 13 loss to Arizona, so the public may be more wary than usual to pick a favorite that is in a coaching transition.

MORE TEAMRANKINGSIntro to data-driven NFL picks

Value Gambles

If you're behind in your pick 'em pool and need to make up some points, time is now running out. Although it's a risky strategy, at this point you're probably going to be best served by taking some risks on significantly underrated underdogs that still have a reasonable chance to win.

Chicago Bears (vs. LA Rams)

The Bears are three-point underdogs at home against the Rams. After an overtime loss to the Giants last week, Chicago’s pick popularity is a paltry 15 percent. However, the betting markets have Chicago’s win odds at 41 percent, and our models are slightly more optimistic about their winning chances. While the Rams have the best record in the NFL, the Bears also have a lot to play for, as they are currently leading the NFC North and have the third best record in the NFC. A nearly 27-point difference in win odds and pick popularity is a very large differential, making the Bears are very solid consideration for pick ’em pools with weekly prize payouts as well as season prize pools if you are trailing in the standings.

New York Jets (at Buffalo)

The Jets are 3.5-point underdogs at Buffalo this week. The Bills and the Jets are among the weakest teams in the league, and both are looking to bounce back from four-point losses last week. With Buffalo having home field, it’s understandable that the Bills are the favorites, but the Jets still have Vegas-implied win odds of around 38 percent, which is substantially higher than their nationwide pick popularity of only 13 percent. Picking the Jets is a significant gamble, but if they pull off the upset, the payoff should be significant in terms of gaining ground on your opponents.

If you want to take a little less risk than the Jets, the Vikings (at Seattle) also look like a good upset pick from a risk/reward standpoint. And if you really want to go for it, there's a ton of value on San Francisco (home vs. Denver) -- but the 49ers only have about a 35-percent chance to win

Which Of These Five Picks Should You Make in Week 14?

Maybe all, maybe some. Sorry to sound wishy-washy, but the fact is it takes a lot of number-crunching to get to the right answer for you.

We built our Football Pool Picks to handle the math and figure out the data based on your specific pool. Just answer a few quick questions about your setup (type of pool, number of entrants, weekly vs. yearly prizes, etc.), and our picks product will customize Week 14 recommendations to give you the biggest edge.

If you're in college bowl pool or planning on betting NFL Week 14 games, check out our College Bowl Pick 'em Picks and NFL betting picks.

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