We’re getting into December, and that means we’re getting into the cold weather. That cold weather is going to affect our picks on game totals, because scoring goes down when it is below freezing. High winds won’t help. Most of the lines for Week 14 are right on but we’ll pick a couple of sides too.(All odds are per BetMGM.)Tennessee Titans at Cleveland Browns Under 33.5This is an incredibly low number, and normally I would be picking the over on something this low. However, Tennessee and Cleveland represent two of the three worst offenses in the league according to my DVOA ratings. Cleveland has the No. 3 defense, although the Titans defense is not very good. The current forecast is for freezing temperatures with a chance of snow showers. It’s going to be tough to score points.Seattle Seahawks -7.5 at Atlanta FalconsI have a general rule that I try not to bet on Atlanta Falcons games, because weird stuff seems to happen to that team. But we had the Falcons in last week’s column and correctly picked a Jets upset, so let’s try them again. Seattle is back to No. 1 in the DVOA ratings with the best defense in the NFL. Atlanta is currently 21st, and they’ve been worse since Kirk Cousins took over for Michael Penix Jr. at quarterback. Drake London might be back for the Falcons this week, but we’ll still pick the Seahawks to cruise on the road.Pittsburgh Steelers +6 at Baltimore RavensThe Ravens have struggled of late, especially on offense, where Lamar Jackson doesn’t appear to be fully healthy. It’s affecting his throwing mechanics as well as his ability to run with the ball. As a result, the Ravens are down to 18th in DVOA while the Pittsburgh Steelers are 13th. The Ravens are certainly better when you take out the games played by backup quarterbacks, but they’ve had negative offense for three weeks straight. These division matchups tend to be very close, so I feel comfortable picking a Steelers underdog cover despite the hand injury that is limiting Aaron Rodgers’ ability to hand the ball off.Cincinnati Bengals at Buffalo Bills Under 53Here’s another pick that’s heavily impacted by weather, with the expectation for a high of 25 and snow showers in Buffalo on Sunday. The Bengals are one of the worst defenses in DVOA history, but remember that defense is less predictive than offense. They had a good defensive week against the Ravens in Week 13! The Bengals should be able to run over a bad Bills run defense, but running the ball shortens the game, which should contribute to fewer points.Philadelphia Eagles at Los Angeles Chargers Over 40.5This one is not exactly indoors, but Los Angeles means we’re playing under a roof in a controlled environment. The Eagles are surprisingly still 11th in offensive DVOA while the Chargers are 13th. The Eagles defense has been playing better as of late, but the Chargers defense is pretty average, and this total is low. Working against us: The Chargers and Eagles both play with a slow pace. But we’ll go with the over nonetheless.
