Week 14: How to survive and advance in your knockout pool
Survival is the name of the game
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At this point, the field has been whittled and the choices are slimmer. If you were savvy enough to save some playoff contenders for the last quarter, Bravo. On to Week 14 and the game to play and the ones from which to stay away.
Don't think about it
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Let's open by closing the door on Thursday's Super Bowl LIII rematch. No way to touch either the New England Patriots or Los Angeles Rams. Don't go near the Minnesota Vikings and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Neither team can be banked on for consistent success ... or failure. ... The Dallas Cowboys are horrendous. The Cincinnati Bengals are awful. Do you seriously want to risk the pot o' gold on teams that have five wins between them? The Falcons and Chargers could be as dismal as the Cincinnati-Dallas contest. Don't watch, don't play. The Pittsburgh Steelers-Buffalo Bills game is must watch and must not play material.
Let the bettor beware
Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports The Broncos visit the Panthers. The most interesting slice of this game will be if Christian McCaffrey returns. Both teams are sluggish and neither has the touch for winning. The Giants have won four in a row and the Cardinals are fading. Arizona can duplicate what San Francisco did, become an NFC West team to win twice in New Jersey in 2020. The Raiders should have lost to the Jets after losing to the Atlanta Falcons. Are the Silver & Black falling apart or will they rise to the level of the competition, in this case, the Indianapolis Colts. It feels as if the New Orleans Saints should have their way with Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles. Just not sure what to expect out of Philly with its new No. 1 quarterback.
Tempting fate
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The Tennessee Titans face the Jaguars in Jacksonville. This seems like a 12th straight loss for Doug Marrone & Co. However, Jacksonville has flirted with victory recently and Tennessee was horrendous in the first half against Cleveland. The Chiefs are oh so tempting as it is Patrick Mahomes against Tua Tagovailoa and the Miami Dolphins. KC had its hands full with Denver for a while and Miami has shown it knows how to win. Be careful. The Bears are struggling big time. The Texans are potent. The game is in Chicago and it feels like the home team can't lose out for 2020. Can it? The Packers should crush the Lions. They also should have swept the Minnesota Vikings. Be careful when it comes to second games with divisional foes. Yes, the Washington Football Team downed the Steelers. However, facing the San Francisco 49ers is no place to let down or look past. The Ravens destroyed the Browns in the season opener. Cleveland, however, is two games ahead of Baltimore in the standings. Talk about a turnaround. How many teams have lost by 30 and come back to beat the same team in the same season? Rest my case.
Go for it
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The Seattle Seahawks just lost to the New York Giants. Hopefully, you went with Miami last week and are still alive. If losing to Big Blue was astonishing, falling to the New York Jets would be mind-blowing. Can't happen.
