It’s an annual rite of passage for NFL prognosticators. A surprise team exceeds expectations and forces the experts to rethink their original forecasts.

Two such teams this year are the Chicago Bears and St. Louis Rams. Each faces an elite opponent in Week 14, and at least for this week, consider the “Playbook” analysts nonbelievers.

Solomon Wilcots, Mike Mayock and Brian Billick all picked the Patriots to win at Chicago, and likewise went with the Saints to beat the visiting Rams.

For their part, Wilcots and Mayock aren’t dismissing all upstarts: They predict the Chiefs will knock off the Chargers. Billick, however, is sticking with the proven club in San Diego.

Without further ado, take a look at all of their Week 14 picks:

“Playbook” combines Xs-and-Os analysis of each NFL game with roundtable debates on the NFL’s hottest topics. For more information, check out NFL Network’s broadcast schedule.

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