Fantasy Football: 4 Bold Predictions for Week 14

There's nothing quite like the NFL.

Football is one of the most intense, exciting sports on the planet. The source of the now-ubiquitous saying "Any Given Sunday," the NFL is a place where even struggling teams have a chance to topple the best in the league. Anything can happen when you only play 17 regular season games a year.

That uncertainty is a huge driver behind the excitement the NFL generates each and every season. What's more fun than watching something totally unexpected unfold before your eyes?

That's why, this year, we'll be bringing you four bold predictions to watch for in each week the 2023 NFL season.

NFL Bold Predictions for Week 14

Justin Fields Will Finish as the Overall QB1

If there's one thing this season has really been missing, it's been a massive rushing day for Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields. The former Ohio State quarterback was a monster on the ground in his sophomore campaign, posting at least 60 rushing yards in 9 of his last 10 games to close out that season with 3 separate games of over 130 rushing yards. He finished the year with eight rushing touchdowns and the second-most rushing yards ever in a season at the position.

This year, Fields' numbers aren't hitting the same marks. He's topped 60 rushing yards just once all year and has a single rushing touchdown to his name. It's been good to see him take a step forward as a passer, but for fantasy purposes, we really miss those games with 100-plus rushing yards.

Fortunately, Fields will get a rematch with the only team that has let him exceed that 60-yard mark in 2023: the Detroit Lions. The Lions have allowed the most rushing yards per game to opposing quarterbacks this season, including Fields' 104-yard day in Week 12. Their defense is doing a good job of hurrying opposing passers -- their 10.3% hurry rate is the best in the league -- but hasn't been sealing the deal. That's allowed players like Fields to break from the pocket and pick up yards on the ground.

Their once-stout defense has been having a tough go of things recently, too, as they're allowing an average of 30.3 points per game since their Week 9 bye. That sets things up nicely for a fantastic fantasy outing for Fields, who I'm predicting to finish as the overall QB1 this week.

Isaiah Likely Will Be a Top-3 Tight End

We've seen flashes of potential greatness from Baltimore Ravens tight end Isaiah Likely in the past, but we've yet to see him put it all together consistently. As a rookie, he had multiple strong fantasy outings when given the chance, even capping his debut season off with an 8-catch, 103-yard day. He's been stuck behind All-Pro tight end Mark Andrews for most of his career so far, but he has usually looked good -- especially for a tight end -- any time he's had a chance to shine.

He lived up to expectations in his first full game without Andrews (ankle) in Week 12, catching 4 of his 6 targets for 42 yards in the Ravens' comfortable win over the Los Angeles Chargers. Now, fresh off the Ravens' Week 13 bye, Likely should be getting even more comfortable in his role as the team's top pass-catching tight end.

He'll leverage that role into a top-three fantasy finish at the tight end spot in Week 14 as the Ravens take on the Los Angeles Rams. The Rams' understaffed defense has been bleeding yards and touchdowns to opposing tight ends all year, to the point where they've surrendered the third-most fantasy points per game to the position.

Teams that feature their tight ends in the passing game -- like the Ravens -- have had no issues exploiting that weakness in Los Angeles' defense, so it would make sense for the Ravens to feature Likely in their passing game.

Jordan Love Will Finish in the Top-5 QBs

To the dismay of the NFC North, a new Green Bay Packers quarterback has been looking pretty, pretty good recently. Jordan Love is on a hot streak, leading his team to victory over some playoff hopefuls in back-to-back weeks. He's tossed three touchdowns in both of those games and hasn't committed a turnover in almost a month.

The Packers seem destined for a fourth straight win in Week 14 with their matchup against the hapless New York Giants, and Love could be in for a strong fantasy outing himself. The Giants have been surprisingly "stingy" against quarterbacks in fantasy this year, using a blitz-heavy approach to limit the damage their opponents can do via the air. Though they're getting crushed on the ground, their 41% blitz rate (second-highest) is doing a decent job of deflating the passing game. That approach might backfire this week.

Love has earned Pro Football Focus' No. 5 grade as a passer against the blitz this year, completing 60.9% of his passes when blitzed while racking up 979 passing yards and 6 scores. He's been taking shots downfield all year, too, as his 8.8 average intended air yards per attempt is the fourth-highest mark in the NFL. When teams try to generate pressure by sending extra pass-rushers, Love is taking advantage of thinned-out secondaries.

Finally, no team with a winning record has recorded fewer rushing attempts as a team than the Packers (299). The Giants' efforts to direct traffic toward the ground game won't work against a team like Green Bay, who appear to thrive against the blitz and seem perfectly willing to eschew the running game. Love will take advantage of his opportunity this week, tossing three more passing touchdowns and finishing as a top-five quarterback for fantasy.

Ezekiel Elliott Will Be an RB1

This one's about as gross as it gets, but New England Patriots running back Ezekiel Elliott is in a surprisingly good spot for Week 14. Even as the Patriots bottom out after their two-decade run of dominance, their running game has been relatively okay. They've quietly averaged 154 rushing yards per game over their last three contests, which would put them almost on pace with the Ravens' league-best 158.6 rushing yards per game average.

Furthermore, the Patriots have targeted their running backs at the sixth-highest rate in the league, as well. They haven't been getting much out of their wide receivers, so the running backs have had to work double-time as a result. The team is falling apart, but they've handed an enviable number of opportunities to their running backs this season.

Unfortunately for fantasy managers, the team has spent most of the year splitting those opportunities almost down the middle between Rhamondre Stevenson and Elliott, effectively neutralizing both as fantasy football players. However, Stevenson's recent ankle injury should lock Elliott into one of the strongest workloads in the league as the season winds to a close.

Elliott might even be able to convert those opportunities into fantasy points at a reasonably efficient clip against the Pittsburgh Steelers, who have given up the ninth-most rushing yards (1,220) to opposing backs. With Mitchell Trubisky under center, the Steelers aren't likely to force the Patriots into passing game scripts, meaning Elliott should be able to stay involved the whole night.

He'll leverage his opportunities into a top-12 fantasy finish -- his first since Week 14 of the 2022 season.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.