The Patriots and Steelers had the lowest point total since 1993 (30.5) and the over hit at halftime of Thursday night’s Patriots-Steelers game, though the outcome wasn’t necessarily advantageous for either team. After a 21–18 road win, New England is now tied with the Cardinals for the second-worst record in the NFL while Pittsburgh fell out of the AFC playoff picture.
What a strange start to Week 14.
This week is about more than backup quarterback matchups and games with historically low over/unders — it’s also the final week of the fantasy football regular season. To those who have already clinched a playoff spot, congratulations! And if you haven’t done so just yet, good luck and keep reading for assistance setting your best possible lineup.
Not everyone is competing for glory at this point of the season, though. There’s many teams that are fighting to avoid a last-place punishment, be that the Waffle House challenge or have to take the SAT again, and Winners Club wants to hear from you about your league’s punishment!
Shoot us an email at winnersclub@si.com or tweet @SI_Fantasy for a chance to be featured in next week’s newsletter.
In today’s Winners Club you’ll find:
- Fantasy football player rankings
- Picks for the best Week 14 NFL games
- Odds for all 41 college football bowls
Fantasy Football Lineup Decisions
Only two teams — the Commanders and Cardinals — are on bye in the final week of the fantasy regular season. If your team is still competing for a playoff spot, or looking to lock up a first-round bye, hopefully you’re not overly reliant on Kyler Murray or Brian Robinson Jr.
The league’s other 30 teams are all in action in Week 14 but the expectation for many games is a ton of punting and not a lot of points. We’ll get into this in more detail when we go over this week’s spreads and totals, but over/unders in the 30s are never good news as far as fantasy production goes.
Michael Fabiano is here to guide us through this most pivotal week with his start/sit recommendations and player rankings, so be sure to consult both before kickoff on Sunday.
Start ’Em, Sit ’Em: QB | RB | WR | TE | K & D/ST
Player Rankings: QB | RB | WR | TE | FLEX | K | D/ST
Tim Heitman/USA TODAY Sports
Justin Fields and DJ Moore both had top-10 finishes at their respective positions a few weeks ago when the Bears last played the Lions. Jen Piacenti recommends running it back with the Fields-Moore stack in your DFS lineup this week, or even pivoting to Cole Kmet, who has four top-12 finishes in his last five games. As far as bargain options go, the Joe Flacco-Elijah Moore combination seemed to work out last week — why not run it back against the Jaguars?
NFL Week 14 Picks and Lines
This week’s NFL slate holds quite a bit of weight with the regular season winding down.
The marquee matchup is Eagles-Cowboys; Philadelphia got the best of its division rival when these teams met a few weeks ago but now Dallas gets to host. This game could not only decide the division but potentially the No. 1 seed in the NFC as well. See which other games were picked among the five best games to bet and where Matt Verderame, Gilberto Manzano and I landed on each.
Manzano also shared his five best over/under bets for the week. He only picked one game with a total in the 30s of the six on the docket. Like I said earlier, don’t expect a ton of points on Sunday.
Piacenti also singled out her favorite player props and she’s honing in on the over for two Bengals players after Cincinnati’s surprising win last week.
Want more picks? We’ve got ’em! The MMQB team picked every game straight up. No one saw the Pats upset coming, but several writers have the Chargers on upset watch.
Jamie Germano/USA Today Network and Kevin Jairaj/USA Today Sports
1 p.m. ET (CBS): Buccaneers vs. Falcons (-1.5) | Total: 40.5
1 p.m. ET (FOX): Lions (-3.5) vs. Bears | Total: 42.5
1 p.m. ET (CBS): Colts vs. Bengals (-1.5) | Total: 44.5
1 p.m. ET (CBS): Jaguars vs. Browns (-3.5) | Total: 32.5
1 p.m. ET (FOX): Panthers vs. Saints (-4.5) | Total: 37.5
1 p.m. ET (CBS): Texans (-3.5) vs. Jets | Total: 33.5
1 p.m. ET (FOX): Rams vs. Ravens (-7.5) | Total: 39.5
4:05 p.m. ET (FOX): Vikings (-2.5) vs. Raiders | Total: 40.5
4:05 p.m. ET (FOX): Seahawks vs. 49ers (-10.5) | Total: 46.5
4:25 p.m. ET (CBS): Bills vs. Chiefs (-1.5) | Total: 48.5
4:25 p.m. ET (CBS): Broncos vs. Chargers (-2.5) | Total: 44.5
8:20 p.m. ET (NBC): Eagles vs. Cowboys (-3.5) | Total: 51.5
8:15 p.m. ET (ESPN): Titans vs. Dolphins (-13.5) | Total: 46.5*
8:15 p.m. ET (ABC): Packers (-6.5) vs. Giants | Total: 36.5*
*Monday Night Football
Bowl Season Begins Next Weekend
The dust has (sort of) settled since the College Football Playoff Committee’s controversial decision to leave undefeated Florida State out of the final four in favor of Alabama.
The Seminoles got their bowl assignment on Sunday, as did 81 other programs who have a postseason game to look forward to over the next month. Take a look at the lines for all 41 games from the Pop-Tarts Bowl to the Peach Bowl and everything in between.
Here are some of the highlights:
December 29
Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic: No. 9 Missouri (-2.5) vs. No. 7 Ohio State | Total: 48.5
December 30
Capital One Orange Bowl: No. 6 Georgia (-14.5) vs. No. 5 Florida State | Total: 45.5
Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl: No. 11 Ole Miss vs. No. 10 Penn State (-3.5) | Total 49.5
January 1
CFP Semifinal Rose Bowl: No. 4 Alabama vs. No. 1 Michigan (-1.5) | Total: 45.5
CFP Semifinal Allstate Sugar Bowl: No. 3 Texas (-4.5) vs. No. 2 Washington | Total: 63.5
The first bowl game doesn’t kick off until Dec. 16, but the annual Army-Navy game is scheduled for Saturday afternoon. The Black Knight are 2.5-point favorites and the over/under is set at… 27.5.
Matthew Dobbins-USA TODAY Sports
The Heisman Trophy will be handed out in New York to one of four finalists: LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels, Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr., Oregon quarterback Bo Nix or Ohio State receiver Marvin Harrison Jr.
Even though Penix is the only player whose team made it to the playoff, Daniels is a heavy favorite to win the award. His Tigers went 9–3, the worst record for any of the finalists, but he tallied 52 total touchdowns and almost 5,000 total yards. If Daniels wins, he’ll become the first LSU player since Joe Burrow to win the Heisman.
Interestingly enough, Burrow was a transfer and Daniels, Penix and Nix are all on their second stops as well.
In Other News
SI’s 2023 College Football All-Americans: Heisman Trophy finalists Jayden Daniels and Marvin Harrison Jr. both earned first team spots along with Georgia tight end Brock Bowers and Missouri running back Cody Schrader.
John Rahm Leaving PGA Tour for LIV Golf: Just a few months removed from his Masters win, Rahm is leaving the tour for a big payday. “Things have changed a lot and so have I and I’ve seen the growth of LIV Golf and the innovation,” Rahm said. “That’s why we’re here today."
Duke Among the Biggest CBB Disappointments: The Blue Devils have fallen to 5–3 after back-to-back losses to Arkansas and Georgia. Michigan State and Maryland have also fallen short of expectations early in the year with the start of conference play quickly approaching.
Thanks for reading! Winners Club will be back in your inbox Sunday morning. Until then, find all of our coverage and content @SI_Fantasy and @SI_Betting and don’t forget to send in an email to winnersclub@si.com or tweet at us about your league’s last-place punishment!
