NFL Week 11 Quick Picks

With the Pittsburgh Steelers winning yet again, they are now 9-0 and there is a buzz about going undefeated. Only the 1972 Miami Dolphins went through an entire season without losing and then winning all their playoff games and taking the Super Bowl’s Lombardi Trophy. The New England Patriots came close a few years ago winning every game up to the Super Bowl but then were upset by the New York Giants.

This week’s slate of games features some key divisional matchups and a team still trying to win their first game of 2020. Last week I went a season’s best 12-2 missing only the Tampa victory over Carolina and the Colts victory over Tennessee. I’ll be hard-pressed to match that given this week’s difficult games.

Arizona Cardinals at Seattle Seahawks

Fresh off an amazing hail mary victory by Kyler Murray to DeAndre Hopkins, the NFC Game of the Week is a first-place showdown between the Cardinals and Seahawks. Both are at 6-3 and find themselves in a three-way tie for first place sharing it with the Rams. Seattle under normal circumstances would have their “12th Man” fans in the stands but that’s not the case and that will be a factor.

Prediction: Cardinals 30 / Seahawks 27

New England Patriots at Houston Texans

The Patriots got off the losing snide last weekend with a huge victory over Baltimore but something tells me they won’t win two in a row.

Prediction: Texans 24 / Patriots 17

Atlanta Falcons at New Orleans Saints

With Drew Brees nursing broken ribs and a collapsed lung, Jameis Winston tries to keep the Saints in the first place. The Falcons can still earn a wild card but they will be hard-pressed to win this one.

Prediction: Saints 17 / Falcons 10

Cincinnati Bengals at Washington Football Team

Each team has two victories and this game is for pride and an opportunity to see if Joe Burrow can bounce back from being schooled by the Steelers last week.

Prediction: Washington Football Team 30 / Bengals 24

Detroit Lions at Carolina Panthers

A strange season for both teams has seen the Panthers win just three times and Detroit four. But both teams have been competitive. This game I will guess should be close.

Prediction: Panthers 31 / Lions 28

Philadelphia Eagles at Cleveland Browns

There may have never been a season where the division leader has so few wins past the halfway mark of the campaign. That is the case with the Eagles who are tied with the Giants in the NFC East having only three victories. For Philly, they have lost five times and tied once whereas New York has seven losses. New York is in their bye week on Sunday so by default they might be just one loss behind in the standings if Cleveland prevails. They will.

Prediction: Browns 33 / Eagles 23

Pittsburgh Steelers at Jacksonville Jaguars

For the Steelers to remain unbeaten they will have to defeat a team on the road that has lost every game since the season opener. Mike Tomlin fended off questions about a “trap” game and for the second week in a row, Pittsburgh gets to go after a rookie quarterback. This week it is Jake Luon who threw for an impressive 304 yards facing the Texans two weeks ago but fell back to earth last weekend in Green Bay with a QBR of just 33.2 and only 169 yards passing while missing on 17 passes. Expect a worse performance this Sunday.

Prediction: Steelers 38 / Jaguars 9

Tennessee Titans at Baltimore Ravens

The Ravens thought to be one of the AFC’s best teams took a huge step backward last weekend losing to the New England Patriots. The Titans are also in a bit of a slide so this game boils down to who wants it more. It will be the home team.

Prediction: Ravens 28 / Titans 24

Miami Dolphins at Denver Broncos

The surprising Dolphins have a shot at winning a division title that has been owned by the New England Patriots for many years. It will either be the Bills or Miami that finally unseats New England but something tells me in this game Denver is going to surprise the ‘Phins.

Prediction: Broncos 27 / Dolphins 21

New York Jets at Los Angeles Chargers

If the Jets wanted to garner their first victory of the season, they should not plan on getting it this week.

Prediction: Chargers 27 / Jets 13

Dallas Cowboys at Minnesota Vikings

The Vikings are beginning to mount a challenge for a wild card spot in the playoffs while the Cowboys are in last place in their division but incredibly just one game out of the win column behind first-place Philadelphia.

Prediction: Vikings 35 / Cowboys 20

Green Bay Packers at Indianapolis Colts

The Packers are safely in first place in their division where the Colts are tied in theirs with Tennessee. Green Bay barely beat the one-win Jaguars last week and they will certainly face a tougher challenge here.

Prediction: Colts 23 / Packers 21

Kansas City Chiefs at Las Vegas Raiders

The AFC Game of the Week is a rematch of an upset win by the Raiders earlier this season over Kansas City. Then they celebrated by having their team bus circle around Arrowhead Stadium. The Chiefs were not pleased by that but no matter because they are going to lose again.

Prediction: Raiders 31 / Chiefs 27

Los Angeles Rams at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Bucs will try to win their division now that Drew Brees is out indefinitely but to do so they will need to keep winning. Both teams are facing a must-win so I must go with the Rams.

Prediction: Rams 28 / Bucs 24

Bye week: Buffalo, Chicago, NY Giants, San Francisco