Mahomes, Chiefs Will Do Enough In Marque Matchup
Week 10 Results: 8-6
Record this season: 94-54
Week 11 of the NFL season brings us a number of fascinating matchups.
We have a heavyweight matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Rams that was originally scheduled for New Mexico but moved to Los Angeles on Tuesday due to poor field conditions at Estadio Aztec Field.
Never mind that, a battle of two 9-1 teams is worth the price of admission no matter where its played, and fans should be treated to quite a battle on Monday night.
Also on the docket, a key AFC South matchup in Indianapolis between the Titans and Colts, division leaders clash in Landover as the Washington Redskins host the Houston Texans, and Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears battle at Soldier Field for the NFC North lead.
I’m looking forward to this week as much as you guys likely are and anticipate these matchups leaving up to the hype.
With that said, here are my picks for Week 11 of the NFL season.
Green Bay Packers at Seattle Seahawks
The Green Bay Packers are winless on the road, and now enter arguably the toughest venue in the NFL to play football in. The catch here is that Seattle is only 1-2 at home, but given that they’ll be getting the return back of a number of players, you sense that Seattle will come out treating this game like it’s a do-or-die affair at 4-5 this season and in need of wins, fast.
Prediction: Seattle Seahawks 33 Green Bay Packers 23
Dallas Cowboys at Atlanta Falcons
Matt Ryan has been great this season, experiencing just his third subpar game of the season vs the Cleveland Browns last week. He faces one of the best defenses he’s seen this season in the Dallas Cowboys this Sunday, but as last week showed, you can beat Dallas down the field if the quarterback has time in the pocket. Look for Calvin Ridley to have a huge day.
Prediction: Atlanta Falcons 27 Dallas Cowboys 24
Carolina Panthers at Detroit Lions
The Carolina Panthers are coming off one of the worst losses in franchise history to the Pittsburgh Steelers last Thursday, but it’s not the end of the world for this team, especially given their foes this week. The Detroit Lions can’t protect Matthew Stafford and their pass defense has struggled over the past three weeks. Rebound game for the Panthers, who can ill afford to lay an egg here.
Prediction: Carolina Panthers 30 Detroit Lions 20
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at New York Giants
The New York Giants are winless at home this season, but a turnover prone Tampa Bay Buccaneers team could prove vital. The Buccaneers don’t force turnovers, and have one of the NFL’s worst defenses. If Odell Beckham Jr. doesn’t beat them, Saquon Barkley certainly will.
Prediction: New York Giants 23 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 21
Tennessee Titans at Indianapolis Colts
This is a true pick em. I don’t trust Tennessee after they went on the road and put up a stinker on offense vs Buffalo back in Week 5, but I suppose they may have finally turned the page on that loss and the losses that would follow after dominating the Patriots last week. Hard to pick against the Colts here at home, but I believe Tennessee’s ability to convert on third down will make the difference.
Prediction: Tennessee Titans 30 Indianapolis Colts 27
Houston Texans at Washington Redskins
The Houston Texans had a bye week to prepare for one of the NFL’s lowest scoring offenses. It’s saying something when Washington scores 16 points vs Tampa Bay’s defense last Sunday, but now they face a J.J. Watt-led defense? Count me as pessimistic about Washington’s chances of winning a game like they did last week this week.
Prediction: Houston Texans 24 Washington Redskins 14
Pittsburgh Steelers at Jacksonville Jaguars
The Pittsburgh Steelers want to win this game for obvious reasons. One, to not lose their hold on the No. 2 seed. The other, to finally beat the Jacksonville Jaguars, who beat them twice last year at Heinz Field in embarrassing fashion. The Jaguars look like they’re mailing it in on defense right now, and that should produce great results for Pittsburgh.
Prediction: Pittsburgh Steelers 27 Jacksonville Jaguars 10
Cincinnati Bengals at Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens are quiet regarding their quarterback on Sunday, but for the sake of it being so late in the week making these picks, I’ll just assume Baltimore is going with Lamar Jackson. If they are, there’s no film on him and he’s going up against one of the worst defenses in the NFL. This is more-so a step-up game for the Ravens defense, which has taken a step back in recent weeks.
Prediction: Baltimore Ravens 24 Cincinnati Bengals 16
Oakland Raiders at Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals just slowed down the Kansas Chiefs offense that benefitted from a interception by linebacker Justin Houston just to reach their season-low of 26 points. Consider a loss at home to the Oakland Raiders as a complete disaster at this point with all things considered.
Prediction: Arizona Cardinals 23 Oakland Raiders 7
Denver Broncos at Los Angeles Chargers
The Los Angeles Chargers are rolling, with their defense coming up huge in the past five weeks. This defense is allowing just 13.2 PPG in that span. Denver has weapons on offense, but a beatable offensive line and a inconsistent quarterback, two aspects Los Angeles will fully take advantage of.
Prediction: Los Angeles Chargers 31 Denver Broncos 16
Philadelphia Eagles at New Orleans Saints
The Philadelphia Eagles simply don’t look like themselves on defense from the team we saw a season ago, and that spells doom in a trip to New Orleans. The Saints have four out of their past five games by double digit points and have scored 43 or more points four times during this streak, they’ll eclipse the 40-point mark again in this one.
Prediction: New Orleans Saints 42 Philadelphia Eagles 24
Minnesota Vikings at Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are one of the few teams capable of matching up with Minnesota’s wide receiver duo on the outside without double teaming too often. While Kirk Cousins won’t be shy in targeting Adam Thielen or Stefon Diggs, he’ll have little time to do so going against this pass rush.
Prediction: Chicago Bears 20 Minnesota Vikings 14
Kansas City Chiefs at Los Angeles Rams
The Los Angeles Rams are 9-1, but they’re limping into this one. The defense is playing poorly and have allowed teams to run the football on them with frequent success. When looking at this matchup, the pass rush off the edge by Kansas City is the difference. I believe Dee Ford, Justin Houston and Chris Jones will cause just enough disruption for Jared Goff in the pocket to force Los Angeles into punts, which will be very few in this high-scoring matchup.
Prediction: Kansas City Chiefs 37 Los Angeles Rams 33
What are your thoughts on this week’s NFL Week 11 games? Leave your comments below!