The eleventh week of the NFL regular season has arrived. My Week 10 picks resulted in the same outcome as the week prior. I picked 10 of 14 games correctly, though once again, some surprise upsets shook things up. Through ten weeks I’m now sitting at 98-52 with predictions. Let’s see how well I can do with my Week 11 picks. Some of the picks this week are tough—there are lot of good games on slate.
Thursday Night Football — New York Jets at New England Patriots
Winner: Patriots
The Jets upending the Cleveland Browns was one of my misses from last week. For this AFC East matchup, I’m going to roll with the Patriots who are at the top of the AFC East. Second-year quarterback Drake Maye has looked tremendous. If he can wind up avoiding bad sacks, he may just become one of the league’s best quarterbacks in short order.
Sunday Football (Early Game) — Washington Commanders and Miami Dolphins
Winner: Dolphins
The Commanders and Dolphins both sport 3-7 records. The Commanders have dropped five in a row while the Dolphins are coming off a huge win against the Buffalo Bills. With a homefield crowd and some momentum gained from last week’s victory, I think the Dolphins are poised to win this overseas matchup.
Sunday Football (Early Game) — Chicago Bears at Minnesota Vikings
Winner: Bears
With a 6-3 record, the Bears have roared back from a slow start and are tied with the Detroit Lions for the lead in the NFC North. The Vikings, who have fizzled to 4-5, desperately need a win to keep pace with their rivals. Caleb Williams has been improving, but going up against Brian Flores’ defense will be a tough task. Even so, I think Williams continues to impress and finds a way to deliver Chicago’s seventh win of the season.
Sunday Football (Early Game) — Carolina Panthers at Atlanta Falcons
Winner: Falcons
At 5-5, the Panthers have looked good at times and terrible at others. Last week’s loss to the New Orleans Saints was an awful game for them. The Falcons took the Indianapolis Colts to overtime but wound up losing in a heartbreaker. Division rivalry games are always tricky to predict, but I’ll go with the Falcons here.
Sunday Football (Early Game) — Cincinnati Bengals at Pittsburgh Steelers
Winner: Steelers
With each week that passes, it seems like the Steelers are beginning to let the AFC North slip away from them. They’ve already lost to the Bengals once this year and can’t afford to drop another division game. I fully expect them to look much better than they did against the Chargers on Sunday Night Football to ensure they stay atop of the division. I’ll take Pittsburgh here.
Sunday Football (Early Game) — Green Bay Packers at New York Giants
Winner: Packers
The Packers lost an ugly game on Monday Night Football to the Philadelphia Eagles. While the Giants, losers of four in a row, fired Head Coach Brian Daboll. With that in mind, I expect the Packers to come on a road game and take care of business. They need this victory to keep up with the Lions and Bears in the NFC North.
Sunday Football (Early Game) — Houston Texans at Tennessee Titans
Winner: Texans
At 4-5, the Texans are trying to keep pace in the chase for a wildcard spot in the AFC. Meanwhile, the Titans continue to struggle and are just a one-win team on the season and the early favorite for the top pick in next year’s draft. I’m not sure what the Titans could do to muster up a victory at home, they struggle in all phases. For that reason, I’ll be taking Houston on the road.
Sunday Football (Early Game) — Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Buffalo Bills
Winner: Bills
This may be one of the most exciting matchups of the week. These are both good teams at 6-3, arguably two of the best in the NFL. Interestingly enough, each of them is coming off Week 10 losses. Baker Mayfield and Josh Allen going head-to-head should be a treat for football fans. At the end of the game, I expect Allen and Bills to get a much-needed victory in front of a hometown crowd.
Sunday Football (Early Game) — Los Angeles Chargers at Jacksonville Jaguars
Winner: Chargers
Winners of three straight and sporting a 7-3 record, the Chargers have an injured offensive line, but a great defense and a very good quarterback in Justin Herbert. A win here coupled with a loss by the Denver Broncos would give them the top spot in the AFC West. They have a lot to play for and ultimately, I think they wind up firing on all cylinders to defeat the Jaguars.
Sunday Football (Late Game) — San Francisco 49ers at Arizona Cardinals
Winner: 49ers
Injuries may have finally caught up to the 49ers who are now 6-4. The Cardinals at 3-6 are struggling and their defense is really starting to go downhill quickly. For this NFC West matchup, I’ll be taking the road team. Despite being banged up, I think they have much better coaches that will make the difference here.
Sunday Football (Late Game) — Seattle Seahawks at Los Angeles Rams
Winner: Rams
This another great game for this week. Both teams are at 7-2 and fighting for the top spot in the NFC West. Sam Darnold and the Seahawks have been impressive this season, but the work the Rams are doing on both sides of the ball also deserves praise. I think this will be a close game, with turnovers being the deciding factor. I’m going with my gut here and taking the Rams at home.
Sunday Football (Late Game) — Kansas City Chiefs at Denver Broncos
Winner: Chiefs
I never like picking against the Broncos, but the recent injury news and concerns about Bo Nix’s play as of late have me worried. If J.K. Dobbins is out with a foot injury, I’m not sure the Broncos will be able to be successful running on first down. That’ll put even more weight on Nix’s shoulders to put together a consistent game. Can he do it? Certainly? Will he? I have my doubts and believe Steve Spagnuolo’s defense will give him fits. I’ll take the Chiefs on the road in this AFC West battle.
Sunday Football (Late Game) — Baltimore Ravens at Cleveland Browns
Winner: Ravens
Another game, another divisional matchup. With the Steelers struggling, the Ravens keep chalking up victories (three in a row) and find themselves within striking distance of the AFC North lead. That’s pretty impressive considering how awful they were to begin the season. I think Baltimore gets their fourth win in a row notching a big victory against the Browns in Cleveland.
Sunday Night Football — Detroit Lions at Philadelphia Eagles
Winner: Lions
Sunday Night Football’s matchup boasts two division leaders. The Lions devoured the Commanders last weekend and the Eagles barely snuck by the Packers. If Philadelphia plays as poorly as they did against Green Bay, they are in for a world of hurt here. Ultimately, I think Dan Campbell and Detroit find a way to reign supreme in primetime and get their seventh dub of the season.
Monday Night Football — Dallas Cowboys at Las Vegas Raiders
Winner: Cowboys
After a great slate of games, Week 11 is capped off with a lackluster matchup with the Cowboys taking on the Raiders in Las Vegas. Both of these teams are on losing streaks, but I feel Dallas is much better poised to earn a primetime dub and keep chase in the NFC playoff race.