NFL Pick'em Pool Week 14 Confidence Rankings, Strategy, & Straight-Up Picks
Big underdogs reigned supreme early this season, which led to our worst start to a season ever in this article. However, we have hit our stride since Week 4, with our top confidence picks each performing exceptionally well during the last two months. Here are our top-ranked selections records since that point.
- Week 4: 8-1
- Week 5: 9-3
- Week 6: 12-2
- Week 7: 13-2
- Week 8: 7-1
- Week 9: 10-1
- Week 10: 8-0
- Week 11: 6-2
- Week 12: 6-3
- Week 13: 7-0
This is my 4th year doing this pick’em and confidence pool article. Our best week ever was Week 3 of the 2021 season in which we went 15-1! That year, we correctly selected 181 of 288 games (62.9% SU). Since the inception of this article, we have correctly selected over 60% of all NFL games, with our top 6 confidence picks cashing at a significantly higher rate.
We are locked in for Week 14 and ready to do everything we can to put readers in a position to beat their friends and colleagues once again.
Below, we have our Week 14 pick’em pool strategy and confidence rankings!
2024 NFL Pick’em
Each week in this article, I will rank each of my selections in order of confidence and provide reasoning on all of my top picks.
As a disclaimer, these picks lock on Thursday afternoon for the purposes of this article, which is, of course, prior to getting final injury reports for the week. If looking for any last-minute thoughts or wishful changes to these selections, make sure to join the RotoGrinders Discord and also follow @CommishFilmRoom on Twitter.
NFL Week 14 Pick’em Pool Confidence Rankings
Week 14 Selections
1. Philadelphia Eagles
2. Pittsburgh Steelers
3. Cincinnati Bengals
4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
5. Minnesota Vikings
6. Miami Dolphins
7. Arizona Cardinals
8. Chicago Bears
9. Los Angeles Chargers
10. Detroit Lions
11. Los Angeles Rams
12. Tennessee Titans
13. New Orleans Saints
NFL Pick’em Pool Strategy Week 14
Eagles (vs. Panthers)
This is maybe the most obvious SU selection of the season to date. Philadelphia has been the league’s most run-heavy offense since their bye week and now gets a home matchup against Carolina – a run defense that ranks 32nd in EPA/play and 32nd in success rate since Week 9. Philadelphia has the likely Offensive Player of the Year in RB Saquon Barkley in their backfield, in addition to the mobile Jalen Hurts, who can make plays with his legs and execute the Brotherly Shove at an elite level. The Eagles are deserving of being such large favorites.
Steelers (vs. Browns)
Pittsburgh lost to Cleveland in Week 12, but the 2nd half of that game was impacted by extremely heavy snow, which dramatically altered the outcome. This time around, the NFL weather forecast appears to be much more conducive to a normal game script, which undoubtedly favors the Steelers. Pittsburgh is fresh off of scoring 44 points against Cincinnati this past weekend and could get EDGE Alex Highsmith back for this game. If Highsmith plays, this is likely an easy win for Russell Wilson and company.
Bengals (vs. Cowboys)
Cincinnati enters play with an underwhelming 4-8 record in 2024, but they have been mostly good against bad teams. Excluding Week 1 (for a variety of reasons), the Bengals have beaten the Panthers, Giants, Browns, and Raiders each by 7+ points, with 3 of those wins coming by double digits. It’s been the tougher opponents on their schedule that have caused the majority of their problems. Fortunately for the Bengals, they get to face the 5-7 Cowboys on Monday Night Football, with Dallas missing their starting quarterback and key pieces on defense as well. Joe Burrow should be able to lead his team to a victory here.
Buccaneers (vs. Raiders)
This ranking has more to do with the Raiders being a disaster than anything else. Simply, head coach Antonio Pierce finds ways to lose games in ways that seem entirely impossible. Las Vegas has been competitive in a number of games this season, but they turn the ball over too much, settle for too many field goals, and don’t manage the clock well. Tampa Bay is a flawed football team, but the return of WR Mike Evans has elevated their offense back to top-15 levels. Baker Mayfield is the better quarterback in this matchup by a wide margin, and somehow Todd Bowles is the better head coach by a comfortable margin too. The Buccaneers should find a way to win this game at home.
Vikings (vs. Falcons)
Kirk Cousins is coming off of his worst game of the season, throwing 4 interceptions against the Chargers, and has an even tougher test in Week 14 against the blitz-heavy Vikings. Assuming Minnesota can get pressure on Cousins, this game could get ugly. Among starting quarterbacks since Week 4, Cousins has the 4th-highest rate of turnover-worthy throws when under pressure. He ranks in the bottom half of the league in passer rating in such situations and has thrown only 4 touchdowns against 5 interceptions. Sam Darnold is capable of making his own mistakes, which could make this game interesting, but the Vikings have the better coaching staff and the better defense, making them a deserving favorite.
2024 Weekly Results
- Week 1: 7-9
- Week 2: 8-8
- Week 3: 6-10
- Week 4: 11-5
- Week 5: 9-5
- Week 6: 12-2
- Week 7: 13-2
- Week 8: 9-7
- Week 9: 12-3
- Week 10: 9-5
- Week 11: 9-5
- Week 12: 6-7
- Week 13: 11-5
Image Credit: Getty Images