NFL Week 14 predictions, odds and betting tips: Broncos bid to buck losing trend

Free NFL tips, best bets and analysis for Week 14 of the 2022 NFL season.

Best bets

Detroit Lions -1.5
6pm Sunday
2pts 20-23 Boyles

Baltimore Ravens +3
6pm Sunday
2pts 8-11 Coral, Ladbrokes

Under 41.5 points in Jacksonville Jaguars at Tennessee Titans
6pm Sunday
2pts 10-11 Betfair

Denver Broncos +9.5
9.05pm Sunday
2pts 10-11 Hills, bet365, Boyles

Minnesota Vikings at Detroit Lions

It’s unusual to see a 5-7 team as two-point favourites against a 10-2 divisional rival but the Detroit Lions have been on such a fine run that bookmakers should prove justified in their pricing for this NFC North showdown.

The Lions have won four of the last five, crushing the Jacksonville Jaguars last time out, and need to keep stacking up wins if they are to stay in the playoff hunt.

The Vikings are five wins better off than Detroit and on the verge of clinching the NFC North title but statistically, there isn’t a lot between the teams, particularly since the Lions’ turnaround began in Week Nine.

Detroit have turned into a top-five offence in that time, thanks in part to a strong offensive line and the return to full fitness of running-back D’Andre Swift and wide receiver Amon-Ra St Brown. It’s all added up to them scoring 30 or more points in three of their last four games.

The Vikings defence clung on by their fingernails for a win over the New York Jets last week after their offence went off the boil, as they have a tendency to do, but face being rolled over in Motor City.

Baltimore Ravens at Pittsburgh Steelers

A knee injury to Baltimore’s starting quarterback Lamar Jackson has seen the betting for this AFC North battle flip but punters shouldn’t fly the Ravens’ nest.

Tyler Huntley replaces Jackson and showed his mettle last week when leading a game-winning drive for Baltimore against a formidable Denver defence.

Huntley is 3-1 against the spread in his previous starts for the Ravens and has proved a capable backup, which is vital for a meeting with a Steelers defence who have held three of their last four opponents below 17 points.

Pittsburgh have won back-to-back games and there are visible signs of improvement in an offence led by rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett but he goes up against a Baltimore defence who give very little away.

This is always a tight match - 11 of the last 14 have been settled by a one-score margin - so getting three points with arguably the better team in Baltimore is tough to ignore.

Jacksonville Jaguars at Tennessee Titans

Back-to-back losses are unlikely to affect Tennessee’s bid to win an underwhelming AFC South division but the defeats have exposed worrying flaws on offence.

In both games, the Titans have been unable to get star running-back Derrick Henry going and their attack has looked blunt as a result with quarterback Ryan Tannehill, who is playing on a pair of injured ankles, having very few passing options.

The Jaguars offence have a few more tricks up their sleeves but have had issues converting promising positions into touchdowns in the redzone, while quarterback Trevor Lawrence is also playing hurt with a toe issue.

Jacksonville’s defence were embarrassed by Detroit last time out so a bounce-back performance is expected, and the same goes for a Titans team who were squashed 35-10 by the Philadelphia Eagles but hadn’t given up more than 20 points in their eight previous games.

Kansas City Chiefs at Denver Broncos

The Denver Broncos take on a motivated Patrick Mahomes after the Chiefs quarterback’s streak of 26 wins in November and December was broken by the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 13.

Mahomes will expect to start a new run in Denver - the Chiefs have won the last 13 meetings between the AFC West adversaries but are unlikely to enjoy the blowout success the handicap suggests.

Mahomes is 1-6 against the spread in divisional games as favourites of seven points or more, while he has a less than 50 per cent record when it comes to covering in December.

As bad as the 3-9 Broncos have been this season, they’ve lost by a double-figure margin only once while their defence has been allowing the second-fewest points in the league on average, keeping them in games.

A modicum of improvement from a Denver offence who match up well against a Kansas City side struggling to stop the run right now should see the Broncos cover.

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