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Fearless Rick's NFL Picks Week 14

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Fearless Rick's Pro Football Picks Week 14 Late Sunday and Monday night Games Rick Gagliano | 12/7/05 Sunday, Dec. 11 N.Y. Giants (-7, 39 1/2) at Philadelphia 4:05 p.m. - The Giants, with the win over Dallas on Sunday, have finally wrested control of the top spot in the division and should not have much of a problem handling the Eagles, who are coming off one of the worst beats in team history, losing in humiliating fashion to Seattle, 42-0, on Monday night. The Giants are not only hot, they are healthy, and that certainly can't be said of the Eagles. PREDICTION: Giants 28 Eagles 14 San Francisco at Seattle (-16, 44) 4:05 p.m. - The Seahawks got little more than a scrimmage against the Eagles on Monday night, so they may not be as sharp as expected here. San Fran came within a two-point conversion of tying their latest against the Seahawks just three weeks ago. The 49ers keep trying despite losing just about every time they take the field, but they should be competitive here. PREDICTION: Seahawks 27 49ers 16 Washington (-3 1/2, 40) at Arizona 4:05 p.m. - The Redskins continue to win games they should and lose the ones in which they are not favored, so this falls under the "should win" column. The defense finally stepped up against the Rams last week, as the 'Skins cruised to a 24-9 win. With the three games after this all against NFC East foes, to say this is a must win for Washington would be putting it lightly. At 6-6, a loss here would just about close the book on their season, so they will be up for it, despite being on the road for the second straight week. The Cardinals have won only once at home and that was against the 49ers back in Week 4, so they basically have no advantage on their own turf. PREDICTION: Redskins 30 Cardinals 17 Baltimore at Denver (-14, 40) 4:15 p.m. - The Broncos, after losing to Kansas City last week, are now in a position in which they may have to win out to make the playoffs, despite being 9-3. They have Buffalo, Oakland and San Diego remaining after this game, but should not overlook the defense-minded Ravens, who have a history of winning ugly. The last time these two met was in 2003, in Baltimore, and the Ravens came away with a 26-6 win, though that outcome should not be in the cards here. The Ravens do have plenty of film to look at and will slow down the Denver running game, but they are pretty banged up on defense. While the Ravens look always on the verge of imploding, and they haven't won a game on the road this season, they should hang around enough to make this interesting. Denver hasn't lost a home game all season, but has allowed 52 points in their last two games, which isn't exactly a shut-down unit. PREDICTION: Broncos 24 Ravens 12 Kansas City at Dallas (-3, 43 1/2) 4:15 p.m. - One of the best matchups of the week pits two teams in must-win situations. Both are a game behind in their respective divisions, but the Cowboys haven't been able to generate consistent offense for some time, with last week's 10 points equaling their season low. The Chiefs, on the other hand, have been putting up points with greater regularity, scoring 45, 26, and 31 in their last three, all wins. PREDICTION: Chiefs 27 Cowboys 21 Miami at San Diego (-13, 45) 4:15 p.m. - The Dolphins got a shot in the arm beating Buffalo last week after falling behind 23-3, only to come back for the win on the last play of the game for a 24-23 victory. They're not likely to be as fortunate against the streaking San Diego Chargers, winners of five straight. Miami has won 2 of their last 3 road games, though those came against New Orleans and Oakland, not exactly front-runners. The Chargers should handle the Dolphins and in effect, hand the AFC East title to the Patriots. PREDICTION: Chargers 34 Dolphins 17 Detroit at Green Bay (-5 1/2, 36 1/2) 8:30 p.m. - Call this one the battle for the bottom. Green Bay has had problems with health issues all season and still don't have their best players on offense, but they do have a little more grit than the hopeless Lions, who have lost 5 of their last six and three in a row. On the road, the Lions are a miserable 1-4, with their sole win a 13-10 win over equally-helpless Cleveland. The Packers should be able to avenge their opening-day loss to the Lions and at least get a win and some semblance of self-respect. PREDICTION: Packers 21 Lions 10 Monday, Dec. 12 New Orleans at Atlanta (-10, 43 1/2) 9:00 p.m. - The Falcons have really disappointed their fans this season, especially last week, dropping a key game to Carolina, 24-6. It wasn't that they lost that was so upsetting, but how they lost and the margin of victory. Michael Vick was largely ineffective and the defense was only average. With that loss, the Falcons trail the Panthers by two full games and their playoff possibilities are growing slimmer. Playing the Saints at home should be tonic for the ailing Atlantans, though in their first meeting, Atlanta prevailed by a slim 34-31 margin. New Orleans has been playing fairly well of late, although they've managed to lose three of their last four. They lost to Chicago by 3, and New England and Tampa Bay by 7, with their only win coming at the NY Jets, 21-19. The season's long been over for the Saints, but they might extract a bit of revenge for that earlier loss to the Falcons, in which many of the players and coaches thought was lost due to the refs. PREDICTION: Saints 34 Falcons 31 Early Sunday games - PAGE 1 Last week's early games Last week's late games College Football Bowl Games Picks Get Fearless Rick's Top Pro Picks for only $24.95. Final Four Weeks of the regular season plus playoffs and Super Bowl. DISCLAIMER: Fearless Rick's Pro Football Picks offers NFL pre-game analysis on every professional football game during the regular and post season. While Las Vegas lines are presented in parentheses, they are for reference purposes only, indicating the relative strengths and weaknesses of teams and the predicted total score.