NFL Week 14 bold predictions: Lamar Jackson returns to MVP form, more surprises

The Dallas Cowboys entered “Thursday Night Football” in Week 14 at the Detroit Lions riding high on a three-game winning streak that included consecutive wins over the last two Super Bowl champions: the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs.

However, the Lions shockingly shut down Dallas wide receiver George Pickens, limiting him to just 37 yards receiving — his fewest since having 30 in Week 1. Detroit also had no issue with the Cowboys’ new-look run defense led by All-Pro defensive tackle Quinnen Williams. David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs combined for 103 yards and four rushing touchdowns — three by Gibbs — in a 44-30 victory. 

What other shocking outcomes could occur in Week 14’s weekend NFL action full of playoff implications? Let’s take a look with five bold predictions.   

Jonathan Taylor goes for more than 100 yards vs. Jaguars‘ top-ranked run defense

First place in the AFC South is on the line with the Colts (8-4) and Jaguars (8-4) squaring off, and unfortunately for the Colts, the game is in Jacksonville. Indianapolis has not won there since 2014, losing the last nine meetings between these division rivals in the state of Florida. 

What also doesn’t bode well for the Colts is quarterback Daniel Jones playing through a fractured fibula, which is apparent since he didn’t have any scrambles in Indianapolis’ Week 13 loss against the Houston Texans. That was his first game without a scramble since Week 5, per Pro Football Focus. 

NFL rushing yards leader Jonathan Taylor (1,282) has also gone under 100 yards rushing in each of the past two weeks, and now he’ll face the Jaguars’ No. 1-ranked rushing defense allowing just 82.4 rushing yards per game. 

However, Taylor, who is averaging an NFL-best 106.8 rushing yards per game, snaps out of his funk to help the Colts end their nine-game Jacksonville losing streak with over 100 yards.

Lamar Jackson goes for three total TDs, no turnovers vs. Steelers

First place in the AFC North is also up for grabs in Week 14 with the Steelers (6-6) visiting the Ravens (6-6). Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson is playing his hated rival at the worst time: he’s had zero total touchdowns in three consecutive games for the first time in his career. The two-time NFL MVP has also struggled since his hamstring injury, registering the highest off-target rate passing in the NFL (18.2%) across the past five games. 

Playing the Steelers isn’t something Jackson has enjoyed throughout his career: he’s lost three of seven starts with 10 total touchdowns to 12 turnovers with 24 sacks taken. Things aren’t shaping up for Jackson to have a big week against Pittsburgh.

However, Jackson has won his last two matchups with the Steelers with five touchdowns to one interception while completing 71% of his throws. He will shake off his recent rash of struggles in 2025, plus his overall history against the Steelers, to produce three total touchdowns and no turnovers in a victory over Pittsburgh.

No wide receiver is having a better year than the Seahawks’ Jaxon Smith-Njigba: he leads the NFL with 1,336 yards receiving in 2025, putting him on pace for 1,892 yards, which would rank as the third most in a single season. That total is buoyed by Smith-Njigba producing at least 75 yards receiving in each of the first 11 games of 2025. 

After having season lows in both catches (two) and yards receiving (23) in Week 13 against the Vikings, the Falcons (4-8) will also hold him under 75 yards for the second week in a row. 

The Falcons are the No. 8 pass defense in football, allowing just 187.8 yards per game. That’s in large part due to Atlanta having the league’s third-best pass rush with 41 team sacks. First-round rookie edge rushers Jalon Walker (5.0 sacks) and James Pearce Jr. (5.0 sacks) are tied for the rookie lead in sacks, while Pearce is second among rookies in quarterback pressures (32). Walker ranks tied for seventh in that metric.

The youthful pass rush, plus former first-round cornerback A.J. Terrell, will keep the NFL’s most productive wideout in a slump.

The Titans (1-11) are not having a great year, circling the NFL drain toward consecutive first overall draft picks. Tennessee is dead last in the league in scoring offense (14.2 points per game), scoring differential (-13.2 points per game), total offense (242.4 total yards per game) and yardage differential (-103.4). 

Quarterback Cam Ward, the first overall pick of the 2025 NFL Draft, has been sacked an NFL-high 48 times this season, which ranks as the third-most sacks through 12 games by a rookie QB since the 1970 AFL/NFL merger.

That doesn’t bode well entering a matchup with NFL sacks leader Myles Garrett and the Browns. Garrett’s 19.0 sacks are the most through 12 games of a season in NFL history. He needs just four sacks over the final five games to break the NFL single-season record of 22.5 set by Michael Strahan in 2001 and T.J. Watt in 2021. The Titans are allowing an NFL-most four sacks per game. 

Ward, who’s played interception-free football in the past four games, will be sacked no more than once against Garrett and Co. despite the clear disadvantage Tennessee’s offense enters its matchup with in Week 14. 

Usually, projecting 2022 NFL Offensive Player of the Year Justin Jefferson hitting 100 yards receiving wouldn’t be a bold prediction. However, he’s on a seven-game streak under 100 yards receiving, which is the longest of his career. That’s not because Jefferson is washed — he’s the NFL’s all-time receiving yards per game leader with a 92.5 average.

It’s because of the issues of his quarterback, 2024 10th overall pick J.J. McCarthy. McCarthy ranks last among all qualified quarterbacks this season in completion percentage (54.1%), touchdown-to-interception ratio (6-10, 0.6) and passer rating (57.9) in 2025 (minimum 150 pass attempts). 

Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix, a draft classmate of McCarthy’s, threw for 321 yards — his second-most in a game this season — at Washington last week. McCarthy finds a similar groove as Nix to overcome his struggles and get Jefferson back over the century mark.