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Vilardo: 2023 Week 14 NFL West Power Rankings & Previews

The 49ers laid claim to league supremacy for the moment with a trouncing of the Eagles

Posted on December 6, 2023


  By Stephen Vilardo, SuperWest Sports


The NFL’s marquee matchup for week 13 saw the 49ers lay claim to league supremacy for the moment with a trouncing of the Eagles in Philadelphia.

The win gives San Francisco a four-game win streak, the Rams kept pace with their third win in a row while Seattle lost for the third straight time.

The AFC West bunched up a bit more with losses by the Chiefs, Broncos, and Raiders while the Chargers got an ugly win to creep back into the mix.

Week 13 was not my best week of the season, the ML and spread picks did not pan out.

For my picks for the entire NFL, I went 7-6 overall with a 5-8 mark against the spread and a 9-4 over/under totals.

Season-long, 125-72 overall, 103-85-4 ATS, 112-75-6 O/U.

According to Tallysight, my Over/Under total is the third-best among their experts.

Below are my Week 14 Power Rankings for the eight teams with a quick look at the upcoming week’s matchups and my game picks.

1. San Francisco 49ers (9-3) ◄►

Eagles Review 

The 49ers cemented themselves as the best team in the NFL with a dominant win over the Eagles in Philadelphia.

San Francisco has now posted lopsided wins over Philly, Dallas, and Jacksonville, three teams that would also like to lay claim as Super Bowl favorites.

Deebo Samuel put on a show and when he is healthy the Niners are tough to beat. The losses came in a three-week stretch without him, and he is making a case for NFL MVP even ahead of his teammate and QB Brock Purdy.

Samuel had 138 yards on seven touches of the ball as San Francisco got a measure of payback on the Eagles from the NFC Championship game.

Seattle Seahawks Preview 

Sunday, December 10
1:05 pm PT, FOX

The Seahawks and 49ers met just two weeks ago, a 31-13 win for San Francisco. In the Thanksgiving night game, the 49ers raced to a 24-3 halftime lead in Seattle.

The 49ers got six sacks in the win. The 49ers were able to run all over Seattle and Brock Purdy was productive. I look for more of the same in the rematch in Santa Clara.

The Seahawks run defense has struggled recently. Against Dallas last week the defense as a whole was bad, giving up 411 yards and allowing a score on eight of nine drives.

San Francisco could have a field day on the offensive side of things. For the 49ers to claim the number one seed in the NFC, they can’t afford any slip-ups. They will take care of business at home.

My Pick: 49ers 33, Seahawks 17

[Advice: San Francisco is a 10.5-point favorite, a big number but the Niner will win big and cover. The total goes over 46.5.]

2. Kansas City Chiefs (8-4) ◄►

Packers Review 

Were there questionable calls/no calls on the Chiefs’ final drive? You bet there were. Was the biggest issue for Kansas City in the Sunday Night loss? Absolutely not!

For the second week in a row, the Chiefs fell behind as the defense once again allowed touchdowns on each of Green Bay’s first two drives of the game.

This offense is not the same as what we have become accustomed to with Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs of recent years.

Double-digit deficits early are not always really easy to overcome, and this offensive unit is not gifted enough to shake it off as a mere inconvenience.

The defense that has been so good this season made Jordan Love look like a Hall of Famer. The Chiefs blitzed on 18 of Green Bay’s 38 dropbacks and were only able to get to Love twice.

Buffalo Bills Preview 

Sunday, December 10
1:25 pm PT, CBS

The Bills have underachieved this season but are coming off a bye and one of their better performances of the season the week before the bye.

Well, Josh Allen had his best performance at least in the OT loss at Philadelphia. The Bills defense still allowed the Eagles to score at will in the second half and gave up the lead.

While Allen has looked better since the OC change in Buffalo, he still leads the AFC with 13 interceptions thrown and trails only Sam Howell (14) among QBs in the NFL.

If KC can get pressure and create mistakes they will be in good shape. I’d expect the offense to look sharper than they did in Green Bay. Don’t dig a big hole early and KC should get the win at home.

My Pick: Chiefs 26, Bills 20

[Advice: The Chiefs are favored by 2.5, they get the win and cover that. The total stays under 47.5.]

3. Los Angeles Rams (6-6) ▲1

Browns Review 

The Rams won for the third straight game against a banged-up Cleveland squad.

Puka Nacua once again had a good game with 105 yards and a TD, becoming the sixth player since the 1970 merger to reach 1,000 receiving yards in his first 12 games.

Holding serve at home in that one was big as the Rams have played themselves back into the playoff hunt.

Of the Rams’ final five games, only two of them are against teams with a winning record. San Francisco in the season finale and Baltimore next week.

Those are two really good games, so the Rams have to win the other ones if they want to play into January.

Baltimore Ravens Preview 

Sunday, December 10
10:00 am PT, FOX

The schedule sets up with a shot at nine wins for L.A. Unfortunately, this week’s opponent—the Ravens—are already sitting at 9-3.

This one is in Baltimore, and the hosts are coming off a bye week. Two of the Ravens’ three losses have come at home and against teams the Rams beat, Cleveland and Indianapolis.

Baltimore has tended to play at their opponents’ level this season, as evidenced by those losses and a near-loss to Arizona. They also beat Seattle and Detroit by a combined 75-9.

The Ravens are good, but LA could get them. If the offense can move the ball this one should be close into the fourth quarter.

My Pick: Ravens 21, Rams 17

[Advice: The Ravens will get the win, but the Rams will cover the 7 points they are getting. The total stays below 42.]

4. Denver Broncos (6-6) ▼1

Texans Review 

The win streak is over for the Broncos and Denver’s playoff hopes took a big hit in the loss. The Broncos are in the middle of a crowded wild-card field in the AFC and have fallen to 3-5 in games within the conference.

They have wins over Buffalo and Cleveland but the losing mark against AFC opponents does not bode well in potential tiebreakers beyond head-to-head.

The good news is at 6-6 Denver is still in the thick of things and the schedule brings opportunity over the next five games.

Four of them are winnable conference opponents with trips to the Chargers and Raiders and home dates against the Patriots and Chargers. A difficult trip to Detroit is the other one left on the schedule.

Los Angeles Chargers Preview 

Sunday, December 10
1:25 pm PT, CBS

Denver’s pass defense had been very good during their five-game win streak. Against the Texans, they did not do a good job against CJ Stroud and Houston’s passing attack.

The Texans had 153 passing yards in the first quarter alone.

This week they have the Chargers and Jake Herbert, which seemingly would be a bigger issue than Houston’s rookie QB, but perhaps not.

The Chargers’ five drops by five different players in their win over New England and have now had 11 dropped passes in the last two games.

Los Angeles is struggling on offense, and if that continues, the Broncos could be in good shape. Denver’s offense has not always been on but the defense has played well in the last six games.

Courtland Sutton has nine TD receptions, the most by a Broncos player in a season since 2014. If Russell Wilson has time to operate, he and Sutton could be a good connection on Sunday.

My Pick: Chargers 17, Broncos 13

[Advice: The Broncos will cover the 3-point on the road, but the Chargers will get the win in LA. The total stays under 43.]

5. Seattle Seahawks (6-6) ◄►

Cowboys Review 

The Seahawks’ offense got back on track against Dallas, but the defense could not stop the Cowboys, who scored on eight of nine possessions.

Geno Smith was able to throw for 334 yards and got the ball out of his hand much quicker in this one than he had been recently.

Seattle played much better against Dallas, but they are the only team with a winning record that the Cowboys have beaten.

In the first 11 games of the season, Smith held the ball for 2.91 seconds per pass, which dropped to 2.54 seconds against Dallas.

San Francisco 49ers Preview 

Sunday, December 10
1:05 pm PT, FOX

The quick release will again be needed this week if Seattle hopes to pull the upset at the 49ers. San Francisco has averaged 4.3 sacks per game in their last three.

The Seahawks had a difficult time moving the ball at all in the first meeting and Smith was sacked six times. This is a big game for the Seahawks, but the Niners are playing too well at the moment.

The upset on the road is not going to be there this week.

My Pick: 49ers 33, Seahawks 17

[Advice: San Francisco is a 10.5-point favorite, a big number but the Niner will win big and cover. The total goes over 46.5.]

6. Las Vegas Raiders (5-7) ◄►

BYE Week Review

The Raiders exit their bye week and have looked much better under Antonio Peirce than they did in the opening eight games of the season.

The offensive numbers have improved drastically under the new coaching staff, which speaks volumes about Josh McDaniels.

Josh Jacobs has seen a huge jump in his numbers in the last four weeks as he has averaged 90.1 yards per game after going for just 51 yards per game in the opening eight games. Scoring has also improved.

Minnesota Vikings Preview 

Sunday, December 10
1:05 pm PT, FOX

Both the Vikings and Raiders experienced a late season bye last week and it came at a good time for both. As one would expect, after 12 games both teams have some lingering injuries.

For the Raiders, the most notable player looking to get healthy is Maxx Crosby. He played two weeks ago against the Chiefs despite being listed as doubtful, I expect we will see him again vs the Vikings.

The Vikings’ offense looked terrible against the Bears in their last game. They did not try and run the ball and Joshua Dobbs was out of sync.

Nik Mullens and Jaren Hall will both be available this week, but it looks like Dobbs will again be under center.

The Raiders will need to keep Danielle Hunter in check as he had 1.5 sacks, a total of three quarterback hits, two tackles for loss, and forced a fumble vs Chicago.

This game is a must-win for both teams if they hope to make a playoff push, but the Vikings may be in better shape.

My Pick: Vikings 17, Raiders 16

[Advice: The Raiders are getting 3 points at home and will cover, but the Vikings win it outright. The total stays under 40.5.]

7. Los Angeles Chargers (5-7) ◄►

Patriots Review 

Sometimes a loss looks pretty good, but you don’t really want to say that. And sometimes a win looks really bad, and it is okay to say that.

The Chargers 6-0 win over New England was bad! The defense pitched a shutout, so that was good, but the Patriots are a mess.

New England has been shut out at home twice this season and has not scored in the first half of either of their last two games.

The L.A. offense did not look good at all against the Pats. In the last three games, the Chargers have averaged just 13 points per game and only scoring six against the lowly Patriots is cause for concern.

Khalil Mack was once again a beast with two sacks, marking the third straight game he has got to the QB twice. He now has a career-high 15 sacks this season.

Denver Broncos Preview 

Sunday, December 10
1:25 pm PT, CBS

The Chargers have struggled against teams with winning records this season. The Broncos enter week 14 with a 6-6 mark.

Los Angeles once again may be in a situation where they don’t have to score a lot of points to get the win, but the offense will need to be better than it was in Foxborough.

The Chargers had five dropped passes against New England after having six the week before. They simply have to stop the self-induced errors on that side of the ball.

The Chargers defense should be in good shape against Denver and the offense should get enough done for a win at home.

My Pick: Chargers 17, Broncos 15

[Advice: The Broncos will cover the 3-point on the road, but the Chargers will get the win in LA. The total stays under 43.]

 

8. Arizona Cardinals (3-10) ◄►

Steelers Review 

Arizona is heading into their bye week coming off a win; and a convincing win on the road at that. Add to that the win was over a Pittsburgh team that is in the thick of the playoff hunt.

James Conner returned to Pittsburgh and put together his second 100-yard rushing performance in the last three games. The offensive line that was able to open up running room for Conner did not do as well in pass protection.

Murray was sacked twice in the first half and did not have a lot of time to operate. The biggest plus for the Cardinals in the 24-10 win was their play on third down.

Arizona finished the day 10-for-17 on third downs. In the opening half, Arizona had gains of 21, 19, 17, and 15 yards on third downs.

BYE Week

Arizona heads into the final four games of their season with a little momentum and excitement.

The final stretch will not be easy, starting with the 49ers and then the Bears, Eagles, and Seahawks.

That Christmas Eve game in Chicago looks like the best bet for a win and could have huge draft order implications.