Week 14 Patch Pick'Em

Welcome to the weekly Patch NFL Pick 'Em, where Fair Lawn residents and wannabe NFL prognosticators Stuart Pace, Steve Brown, Rich Seibel and Zak Koeske offer up their picks for three games each week and dish out a little fantasy football advice to boot.

If you'd like our opinion on fantasy roster moves, have a fantasy football question you'd like answered or would like to compete against us as a Guest Picker, email Patch NFL Pick 'Em at zak.koeske@patch.com

This week's Pick 'Em games:

• Dallas Cowboys (6-6) @ Cincinnati Bengals (7-5) -- Sunday, 1 p.m.
• Chicago Bears (8-4) @ Minnesota Vikings (6-6) -- Sunday, 1 p.m.
• Houston Texans (11-1) @ New England Patriots (9-3) -- Monday, 8:30 p.m.

Click here and scroll to the bottom to see this week's Patch Survivor picks.

Stuart Pace’s Game Picks:

Dallas, Minnesota and New England

Dallas Cowboys over Cincinnati Bengals --Look, neither team is worthy of a playoff spot, but due to the absolute parity in this league right now, this game is important. Bengals fans have a decent team to root for, and certainly BenJarvus Green Ellis and Ham is having a very good season. But the talent isn’t playing to the level they should. Dallas needs to part ways with Pat Garrett and Tony the Kid, but The Cowboys are a better team and need this to keep pace with the up-and-down Giants. Confidence Level: 2

Minnesota Vikings over Chicago Bears -- Why? How, Stuart, can you select the Vikes over the Bears? Probably because Steve is too far ahead to keep picking the same teams as him so I need to go opposite. And I am guessing he took Chicago. And Cutler stinks. Confidence Level: 1 (least confident)

New England Patriots over Houston Texans -- Come on, you think Bill is going to be outcoached at home in December? This is for home field advantage, and if the Pats get it, just put them in the Super Bowl now. Houston doesn’t have a prayer in New England at night. This Patriot offense clicks on more cylinders than a high performance vehicle on steroids. They are still Kings of the AFC. The king must die sometime. Not this time though. Confidence Level: 3 (most confident)

Upset of the Week

Baltimore Ravens over Washington Redskins -- Baltimore is a dog to Washington? Yup. I’ll take the Ravens.

Steve Brown’s Picks:

Cincinnati, Chicago and Houston

Cincinnati Bengals over Dallas Cowboys -- Tony Romo just surpassed Troy Aikman and was already ahead of Roger Staubach to become the Cowboys QB with the most TDs ever. Statistics are easy to quantify, but leadership isn't and I would take those QBs in the exact opposite order if I needed a big late season win. Dalton to Green has been effective this year and I see no reason why they can't hang 30 on this strangely inept Cowboys defense. Confidence Level: 2  

Chicago Bears over Minnesota Vikings -- Bears, Packers, Bears is the NFC North minefield the Vikings have been asked to tip toe through and so far they've lost the first two. If they wanted the division it was there for them. Instead they have wasted a magnificent season by Adrian Peterson and made Steve cry yet again. Pass the Kleenex, the Bears win this one by halftime and their starters go shopping at the Mall of America during the fourth quarter. Confidence Level: 3 (most confident) 

Houston Texans over New England Patriots -- Not sure why I like the Texans on the road but I do. They haven't really stamped this as a great season with a signature win yet and for some reason I feel this might be the one. The Patriots don't match up well against the balanced Texans on either side of the ball and even though they will have the single best player on the field in Tom Brady, without a run game or Gronk, I don't see him being able to overcome the Pats deficiencies in the running game and on defense. Confidence Level: 1 (least confident)

Upset of the Week

Washington Redskins over Baltimore Ravens - The Ravens were just torn apart at home by Charlie Batch. Worse than that they failed to get ray Rice any touches in the four quarter and committed key turnovers and penalties late in the game. That plus going on the road against a team anxious to win back the respect of that area spells trouble for the Birds.

Sleeper of the Week

T.Y. Hilton, WR (IND) -- Two 100-yard games and three touchdowns in the last three weeks ought to convince people to wake up on this kid. Andrew Luck must think that the T.Y. stands for Thank You, as in Thank You for letting this guy play on my team.

Bust of the Week

Tom Brady, QB (NE) -- WHAT THE WHAT, you say? Yup. Brady had a rough time against the Dolphins and was sacked four times to boot. You have to drop back and sling it a bunch when you only get about 10 yards a catch and have little to no running game. The Texans can bring the heat and are third in the league in sacks and tied for sixth for interceptions. If Brady is going to have a bad game it is highly likely to be this one.  

Rich Seibel's Picks:

Cincinnati, Chicago and New England

Cincinnati Bengals over Dallas Cowobys -- This is a game between two potential Wild Card teams. The Bengals are at home coming off a hard fought win in San Diego. The Bengals have the 8th ranked defense while the Cowboys are the 8th ranked offense. But the Cowboys have no running game and the "Law Firm" BenJarvus Green-Ellis should have a good day against the Cowboys and continue their momentum. Confidence Level: 3 (most confident) 

Chicago Bears over Minnesota Vikings -- Vikes are a home dog and the Bears are without Urlacher and coming off a tough OT loss. But the Bears should know they need to stop the Peterson Express and the Bears are the better team and should continue to win on their way to a division crown. Confidence Level: 1 (least confident)

New England Patriots over Houston Texans -- This is going to be a real Heavyweight Fight and possible AFC Championship matchup. New England is a fairly large favorite at home. While I would love to see the Texans take it to them here, it is going to be Brady getting the win this time. Confidence Level: 2

Upset of the Week

Detroit Lions over Green Bay Packers -- I have been picking the Lions often this season. I just believe they have talent and can put it together and beat the Packers in Green Bay. This is the Lions' Super Bowl, if they lose here they can pack it in and go home for good and look for a new coach.

Sleeper of the Week

Rock Cartwright, WR (SF) -- Im running out of sleepers, none have been awake for me this season. The Niners acquired Rock Cartwright from the Raiders last year and with the injury to Kendall Hunter it is time for him to emerge. (Ed. note: This is possibly Rich's best sleeper choice yet, since I believe Cartwright got cut in training camp)

Bust of the Week

Robert Griffin III, QB (WSH) --  RGIII is going to have a tough week. After a close Giants game I think the Ravens will give him a dose of reality and the running game will control the ball.

Zak Koeske's picks:

Dallas, Chicago and New England

Dallas Cowboys over Cincinnati Bengals -- Cincy is a tough team, but I'm buying the Cowboys in this one. After a miserable start to the season (which included both a 4 INT and a 5 INT game) Romo has been excellent over the last five weeks, completing over 70 percent of his passes with 10 TDs and only 2 INTs. With DeMarco Murray finally back running the ball and Dez Bryant looking like the superstar he was drafted to be, I expect the Cowboys' offense to overpower Cincinnati at home. Confidence Level: 1 (least confident)

Chicago Bears over Minnesota Vikings -- Both of these teams are mired in brutal parts of their respective schedules and neither has fared well recently. The Bears' only win in its last four games came on the road against this Vikings team. At home, with a healthier Matt Forte and Jay Cutler than they had the last time these teams met, I expect the Bears to prevail. As we've seen recently, no matter how good he is, Adrian Peterson can't do it all. Confidence Level: 3 (most confident)

New England Patriots over Houston Texans -- Both teams come in havign won six straight, but the Patriots are the team I don't want to face in the AFC right now. Stevan Ridley hasn't been great, but he's been the most consistent Pats back I can remember in recent years and Brady is always excellent. The Texans are banged up on defense and playing on the road, which doesn't bode well for their chances.  Confidence Level: 2

Upset of the Week

Carolina Panthers over Atlanta Falcons -- Cam Newton's coming off two huge games and faces the Falcons at home, a team he lit up for three touchdowns and 86 yards rushing in September in a 30-28 loss.

Sleeper of the Week

Kenny Britt, WR (TEN) -- He's scored in his last two games and faces one of the most WR-friendly defenses in the NFL in Indy.

Bust of the Week

Antonio Gates, TE (SD) -- Anyone who has been unlucky enough to have Gates on their fantasy team this season knows how frustrating it has been. At this point, you have to find another option if he's on your team, especially against the Steelers who have been very tough against TEs.

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