Ravens fans finally get to see one of their favorite players take the field for other first time this season. Dennis Pitta dislocated his hip in the preseason, and the injury and rehab process has kept him sidelined ever since. Pitta may not play much today, but his active status on the roster is a good indication of his return to health and playing shape after practicing with the team for the last few weeks.
Baltimore faces an interesting challenge today in regards to the environmental challenge that has presented itself as of late. We woke up this morning to a relatively light blanket of snow, but that snow continues to fall and won't likely be finished falling until after the Ravens game has ended. The Baltimore area is only supposed to receive 1-3" of snow total, but we also may see some precipitation in the form of freezing rain later in the afternoon and evening. It's anyone's best guess how this will effect the game, but conventional wisdom would suggest that it would favor the team that has more success running the ball, and that team would be assumed to be the Vikings.
If there's one thing that I've learned, however, it's that the Ravens don't shy away from the challenge of inclement weather or impossibly cold temperatures. The other thing to consider is that the Vikings defense is so poor that the Ravens just might have a successful day of running the football as well in the way they did against the Bears a month ago. Regardless, the Vikings are 0-5 on the road this season and despite the temperature of their hometown, the Vikings are a dome team and not as prepared to deal with these types of elements on the road as the Ravens.
We've come to the homestretch of 2013. This is the first week of the final quarter of the season, and some rather pivotal matchups lay before us as the league is so drenched with mediocrity that few teams have playoff spots locked up. The most important games to watch this week are the Colts-Bengals, Lions-Eagles, Dolphins-Steelers, Seahawks-49ers, Panthers-Saints, and Cowboys-Bears games. Every single one of these games could either have playoff implications or give simply give us a preview of things to come in the postseason. Let's take a look at the picks!
WEEK 14 NFL PREDICTIONS
COLTS AT BENGALS- The Bengals looked impressive coming off of their bye last week, and despite their record, the Colts simply aren't going to scare anyone now that Reggie Wayne is out for the season. This should be a fairly cold game, and that doesn't bode well for a dome team. BENGALS 26-17.
FALCONS AT PACKERS- I would say that the Packers can't win without Aaron Rodgers, but the Falcons have been impossibly bad this year and will have a hell of a time stopping Eddie Lacy...in fact they won't stop him. PACKERS 31-23.
BROWNS AT PATRIOTS- Caleb Hanie? The Browns have a great defense this season, but their offense has been crippled by QB turnover. I won't say that there's no chance the Browns win this one, but there's ALMOST no chance. PATRIOTS 37-16.
RAIDERS AT JETS- The Jets have the better record, but they have also looked horrible as of late. Oh well, in a clash of crappy teams it often makes sense to go with the one with homefield advantage. JETS 20-17.
LIONS AT EAGLES- The Lions are explosive on offense, but they won't be explosive enough in frigid Philly weather, and their defense will struggle to slow down the Eagles' high octane offense. EAGLES 42-33.
DOLPHINS AT STEELERS- The Steelers at full strength should win this game, but they're not at full strength. The Steelers left Baltimore with a battered offensive line and a concussed star running back. The Steelers will be one dimensional without Le'Veon Bell. The question is whether or not the Dolphins will be able to handle Pittsburgh in December. Man this is a tough one. Eh, Big Ben still has his receiving weapons and homefield advantage. This could get ugly. STEELERS 20-14.
BILLS AT BUCCANEERS- The Buccaneers' only loss in the last 4 games was in Carolina to the Panthers, and that's totally understandable. The Bills just got done losing to the Falcons. BUCCANEERS 28-19.
CHIEFS AT REDSKINS- The Redskins are bad at football. CHIEFS 23-9.
VIKINGS AT RAVENS- The Ravens are nearly perfect at home this season and the Vikings are 0-5 on the road. Adrian Peterson has not run for 100 or more yards against a top 10 run defense this season, and the Ravens run defense is ranked 6th in the NFL. The Vikings defense is near the bottom of the league. Get em, birds. RAVENS 26-13.
TITANS AT BRONCOS- Manning plays poorly in cold weather, and the high in Denver today is reported to be 16 degrees. The low will be 2 degrees. The Broncos still have enough of a running game to help Manning out when he needs it and the Titans aren't good enough to win this game on the road. BRONCOS 24-14.
RAMS AT CARDINALS- The Rams can sometimes surprise us all, but the Cardinals have actually put together an impressive season and appear to be heating up at the right time winning 4 out of their last 5 games. CARDINALS 27-20.
GIANTS AT CHARGERS- The Chargers turned the ball over at critical moments last week against the Bengals and ruined my hopes that the Ravens would gain ground on the AFC North leader. The Chargers, however, are still good enough to beat the Giants at home. CHARGERS 24-21.
SEAHAWKS AT 49ERS- The Seahawks are impossibly dominant in Seattle, but they've played some close games against on the road against lesser teams that the 49ers. The 49ers have won their last two games, but their passing attack is near the bottom of the league, and their receiving corps STILL doesn't scare the Seahawks. Russell Wilson is improving while Colin Kaepernick is regressing. SEAHAWKS 17-10.
PANTHERS AT SAINTS- The Panthers are without a doubt one of the best teams in the NFL. Their defense may be the best in the league and Cam Newton has finally developed into the playmaker many of us thought he'd become after the blazing hot start to his rookie season. With that said, the Saints are undefeated at home this season and will be looking to bounce back after an embarrassing loss in Seattle last week. SAINTS 28-23.
COWBOYS AT BEARS- The Cowboys are too explosive on offense to lose this game. Josh McKown is playing well, but his team just lost to the Vikings last week, and that shows how pathetic the Bears' defense is at this point. COWBOYS 35-21.
AS ALWAYS
GO RAVENS!!!
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