NFL Week 14 bold predictions: Matthew Stafford-led Rams upset Ravens; Dak Prescott COOKS Eagles

Matthew Stafford has thrown for fewer than 300 yards in each of the last three contests, despite winning them all. In fact, he hasn’t had a 300-yard passing performance since Week 4. This week, with the Rams traveling to Baltimore, he faces the league’s No. 1 scoring and No. 2 total defense. With the playoffs within reach, the veteran quarterback enjoys his best outing of the season, piling up 300-plus passing yards and four touchdowns in an upset win.

The Panthers will beat the Saints in New Orleans this weekend. Yeah, you heard me. The Saints have really gone in the tank recently, and they barely beat Carolina on the road in Week 2 — when their defense was actually playing well. Not that the Panthers can suddenly score a lot, but even a mild improvement — or an appearance from ex-Saint Andy Dalton, perhaps? — could net just enough to pull off the shocker.

Tyreek Hill notches another game with at least 150 yards and a touchdown. You know a player is having a bonkers season when a prediction like that doesn’t feel bold enough. After all, he’s already accomplished this feat five times this season. Hill’s 32.5 percent target share is tops in the NFL, while his 44.2 percent air yards share is sixth-best, according to Next Gen Stats. Put that against a Titans defense that’s allowing nearly 200 receiving yards per game to wideouts, and Hill is set to dominate yet again.

It feels like CeeDee Lamb tops 100 yards weekly. This week, he blows past that number with a 200-yard game against a division rival. The Eagles are in the top three in yards allowed to receivers on deep passes and in the middle of the field. Lamb is a playmaker who excels on deep passes and leads the Cowboys in targets in the middle of the field. He is going to eat this week. 

Browns WR Elijah Moore’s volume in Week 13 was no fluke. His 12 targets came with extreme upside, featuring the most air yards in a game by any player this season. Moore entered that contest against the Rams with four end zone targets, but Joe Flacco targeted the speedy receiver three times in the end zone on Sunday alone. Having spent a couple seasons together on the Jets, Moore and Flacco have great chemistry. With Amari Cooper (concussion protocol) currently on the mend, Moore will be a fantasy WR1 this week vs. Jacksonville.

One of the more fun NFL Research nuggets for Week 14: The Colts-Bengals game will be the 15th starting QB matchup since 1950 between one quarterback from Washington (Jake Browning) and the other from Washington State (Gardner Minshew). Step aside, Eagles-Cowboys and Bills-Chiefs, because this Apple Cup matchup turns out to be one of the best tilts of the weekend. The pair of backup signal-callers combine for 900-plus passing yards in a wild shootout.

Dak Prescott holds seven of the top 10 single-game passing-yard performances in Cowboys franchise history, but the No. 1 spot has eluded him for nearly seven years. That belongs to Tony Romo (506 yards in Week 5, 2013) … until Sunday night. In a barnburner against the Eagles, Prescott will throw for 513 yards (and four touchdowns) to break the record, beat the Eagles and finish as the fantasy QB1 on the week.