Patriots vs. Packers 2014 picks and predictions: Experts split on Sunday’s top matchup

The Patriots and Packers play in Sunday’s most interesting game, and the experts can’t call it one way or the other.

Nov 29, 2014, 3:20 PM UTC

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The Green Bay Packers and New England Patriots meet at Lambeau Field Sunday, both in control of their respective divisions. The Patriots are in a much better place, atop the AFC East with a 9-2 record. The Miami Dolphins and Buffalo Bills are putting up a fight, but they're both 6-5 and have a long way to go to catch up with the Patriots.

Green Bay is 8-3 on the year and sitting at No. 1 in the NFC North, but the Detroit Lions are right behind them at 8-4. Both the Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings are non-factors, though the Lions have been playing well enough to unseat the Packers if they falter.

The Packers may not be producing the kind of numbers they hoped on offense, but they still show well in most categories. Behind Aaron Rodgers, they throw for 261.8 yards per game, good for ninth in the league, and have the league’s No. 18 running game on top of that. Defensively, they’re one of the worst teams in the league when it comes to stopping the run, but the secondary has performed well, ranking 12th.

New England's running game is only marginally better than Green Bay's, but the Patriots will be expected to outperform their opponents in that vein, given that they have the league's No. 14 rush defense with 108.2 rushing yards allowed per game. Tom Brady has led New England to the league's No. 6 passing offense, so this game could definitely come down to which secondary performs the best.

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The Patriots are currently riding a seven-game winning streak, which includes dominant wins over quality opponents like the Cincinnati Bengals, Denver Broncos, Indianapolis Colts and Lions. The Packers, meanwhile, have won seven of eight and are perfect at home this year.

The experts can’t seem to come to a consensus about this matchup of red-hot teams, however. Over at ESPN, six of the 13 experts went with the Patriots to win, with the other seven siding with Green Bay. Five of the eight panelists at CBS Sports think the Packers will win at home. At Fox Sports, they actually did manage to reach a consensus, with all six experts picking the Packers.

Here at SB Nation, the panel is going in the other direction, with six of the eight picking the Patriots. David Fucillo and PFT Commenter are the only dissenters.