As we enter the final month of the 2020 NFL regular season, the playoff race in both the AFC and the NFC is wide open.
Here are the five must-watch games in Week 14 that will have big implications on the playoff picture.
1. Minnesota at Tampa Bay
There’s a mad scramble for playoff spots in the NFC where astonishingly, thanks to the ordinary NFC East, all 16 teams in the conference are in the playoff hunt with one month to play.
The Bucs (7-5) and Vikings (6-6) currently hold the sixth and seventh seeds respectively, so this a huge opportunity for one team to gain some ground on the other.
The Vikings have done well to get back to 6-6 after starting the season 1-5, while the Bucs are beginning to stutter with a struggling Tom Brady at quarterback, losing three of its last four games.
Tampa Bay haven’t had too many issues with lesser teams this season, expect that to continue at home tomorrow.
Prediction: Bucs 35-28 Vikings
2. Kansas City at Miami
This is a true litmus test for the surprise packet of the season, the Miami Dolphins.
The Chiefs return to the scene where they broke their long Super Bowl dought in February and, despite being the number two seed in the conference, was the first AFC team to clinch a playoff spot last week. The Chiefs haven’t been dominating teams as one might expect lately, winning their last four games by a combined 15 points.
Miami on the other hand have lost just once in its past eight games despite switching between veteran quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick and promising rookie Tua Tagovailoa.
The only question in this one is can Brian Flores’ defense, which has been terrific this season, stop Patrick Mahomes and a Chiefs team that have the crosshair on the Pittsburgh Steelers and the conference’s number one seed?
Prediction: Chiefs 28-20 Dolphins
3. Indianapolis at Las Vegas
As things currently stand in the AFC playoff race, the Colts (8-4) occupy the seventh seed with the Raiders just outside looking in at 7-5. So yeah, this is a big one.
The Raiders have had a solid season in 2020, but a dreadful loss to Atlanta and a lucky last second win over the inept Jets last week has the Raiders fans experiencing de ja vu after unravelling last December after a promising start.
Similarly, the Colts had their backsides handed to them by Tennessee two weeks ago before falling over the line against a mediocre Houston side after reeling off impressive wins against Tennessee and Green Bay the two weeks prior.
With the surging Browns and Dolphins in the conference, it’s likely one of these teams misses out on the playoffs. There’s plenty on the line tomorrow.
Prediction: Colts 27–24 Raiders
4. Pittsburgh at Buffalo
We’ve got two beauties coming up on Sunday and Monday night football this week.
Buffalo are starting to rock ‘n roll, winning five of its last six including an impressive win last week over a tough San Francisco team, while Pittsburgh registered its first loss of the season last week in an upset to Washington.
This is a monster on Sunday night football between the current first and third seeds in the AFC and a win at home for the Bills would bring them within a game of a top two seed.
Coupled with a Miami loss to Kansas City earlier in the day, the Bills have an opportunity to pull two games clear in the division as they roll to a first division title in 25 years.
Prediction: Bills 30-24 Steelers
5. Baltimore at Cleveland
If you like running the football, you’re going to love this one on Monday night, where the top two rushing attacks in the league meet in an AFC North showdown.
Surprisingly, the Browns have gone above pre-season Super Bowl fancy Baltimore within the division, sitting at 9-3 after an impressive win over Tennessee last week. Contrarily, Baltimore (7-5) are currently outside the playoff picture looking up at Cleveland and Pittsburgh within the division.
A 10th win for the Browns would all but clinch their first playoff appearance since 2002 and make life awfully difficult for the Ravens down the stretch.
It’s the biggest Baltimore-Cleveland matchup in 20 years.
Prediction: Browns 21-17 Ravens