Week 11 NFL Game Predictions
Sorry that this update has taken so long fans! I have been on vacation in Myrtle Beach with some family for the past week with no computer access to post updates! But, I’m back! So let’s dive into some action!!!!
Some divisions are beginning to heat up, fans! Baltimore has taken over the AFC North reigns from the Cincinnati Bengals, the Indianapolis Colts have leapfrogged the Jacksonville Jaguars for third place in the AFC South, Carolina has taken over second place in the NFC South and the Detroit Lions have claimed the top spot in the NFC North from the Green Bay Packers!!!
With all of that excitement taking place, let’s get down to business and check out what we have going on this week! Hint: A LOT OF DIVISIONAL MATCH UPS!!!
NOTE: Overall Records are in ( – ); Divisional Records are in [ – ]
AFC EAST
New England Patriots – (8-1) [3-0]
Miami Dolphins – (5-4) [2-0]
Buffalo Bills – (4-5) [1-2]
New York Jets – (2-7) [0-4]
AFC WEST
San Diego Chargers – (6-3) [2-2]
Kansas City Chiefs – (5-4) [2-1]
Denver Broncos – (3-6)[1-1]
Oakland Raiders – (3-6) [1-2]
AFC NORTH
Baltimore Ravens – (7-2)[2-1]
Cincinnati Bengals – (6-3)[3-1]
Pittsburgh Steelers – (5-4)[1-0]
Cleveland Browns – (1-8) [0-4]
AFC SOUTH
Houston Texans – (8-1) [2-0]
Tennessee Titans – (4-6) [1-1]
Indianapolis Colts – (2-7) [1-2]
Jacksonville Jaguars – (1-8) [1-2]
NFC EAST
Philadelphia Eagles – (8-1) [2-0]
Dallas Cowboys – (5-4) [1-2]
New York Giants – (5-5) [2-2]
Washington Redskins – (2-7) [0-1]
NFC WEST
San Francisco 49er’s – (8-1)[3-0]
Seattle Seahawks – (4-6) [2-1]
St. Louis Rams – (2-7) [1-2]
Arizona Cardinals – (2-7) [0-3]
NFC NORTH
Detroit Lions – (7-2) [3-0]
Green Bay Packers – (7-2)[1-0]
Chicago Bears – (4-5) [0-2]
Minnesota Vikings – (1-9) [0-1]
NFC SOUTH
Atlanta Falcons – (7-2) [2-0]
Carolina Panthers – (6-3)[2-1]
Tampa Bay Buccaneers – (6-3) [1-1]
New Orleans Saints – (2-7) [0-3]
*Miami (5-4) @ Buffalo (4-5)
Match up to watch: Jake Long v.s. Mario Williams
This could shape up to be a great game, not to mention I love this match up. Long will be kept quite busy with Williams for a full four quarters, although he has done quite a job against Williams in years past. Miami will be looking to build upon a strong start for an under-rated team. Buffalo on the other hand will look to get above .500 and build upon their favorable schedule. I expect this one to be tight until the end – it pains me to say this but I swore to be unbiased – Buffalo should pull it out at home.
Miami – 20 Buffalo – 23
Arizona (2-7) @ Atlanta (7-2)
Match up to watch: Patrick Peterson v.s. Julio Jones
Arizona’s young corner has the challenge of locking up the electric receiver who has been leading Atlanta’s high octane offense – this should be a good one! Arizona is struggling. Bad. Poor quarterback play has led to their demise this season – as in years past, also. Atlanta is battling not only to win their division, but also to lock up the NFC’s #1 seed. Atlanta is too good for Arizona to keep up with, even with Larry Fitzgerald on their team (they still have no quarterback).
Arizona – 19 Atlanta – 28
Cleveland (1-8) @ Dallas (5-4)
Match up to watch: Trent Richardson v.s. Jay Ratliff
Cleveland, Cleveland, Cleveland…Where did we go wrong? The Browns always seem to pick offensive players in the first round – some busts but some all-pros (Joe Thomas, Alex Mack) – maybe next season we learn to take a defensive stud? Maybe? Who knows. Dallas is on a roll and should continue by steam rolling Cleveland at home.
Cleveland – 10 Dallas – 27
*Green Bay (7-2) @ Detroit (7-2)
Match up to watch: Aaron Rodgers v.s. Matthew Stafford
SHOOT OUT! Yikes this is going to be an exciting one! Battle for the top spot in the NFC North between the two power houses of the NFC. Green Bay may have the upper hand based upon experience, but I see Detroit as the little brother to the Pack. Detroit has to take over at some point, but this time around is NOT their time. Detroit let’s it slip through their finger tips in a very close game.
Green Bay – 31 Detroit – 30
Cincinnati (6-3) @ Kansas City (5-4)
Match up to watch: Leon Hall v.s. Jonathan Baldwin
Both Cincinnati and Kansas City have been pleasant surprises this season. Cincinnati is in the thick of things for the AFC North crown, while Kansas City is right behind San Diego in the AFC West. Both squads are young and fast teams in all three phases of the game. Although I love what Cincinnati has on offense this season, their offensive line and running game still need some tweaks, which is why I think the red-hot Chiefs stay strong at home and pull this one off.
Cincinnati – 21 Kansas City – 24
*Philadelphia (8-1) @ Washington (2-7)
Match up to watch: Trent Cole v.s. Trent Williams
Is anyone surprised by the records of both squads in this match up? Anyone? I didn’t think so. Philadelphia is a far superior team to Washington. Although RG3 is almost a young Michael Vick, I don’t expect Griffin to have a similar career to Vick. Although Vick was not as polished when he entered the draft out of Virginia Tech, Vick was more of a running threat than Griffin is – although they both are VERY fast. They are similar, but they do not deserve a comparison. Vick has quite a nice arm on him now, which is why Philadelphia has been able to find success on offense this season. This will not be much of a game, but at least it will be kind of exciting with two of the most shifty quarterbacks in the league.
Philadelphia – 34 Washington – 17
*Tampa Bay (6-3) @ Carolina (6-3)
Match up to watch: Gerald McCoy v.s. Jordan Gross
Both teams have been quite surprising this season. Tampa, on one hand, has built themselves quite a nice team via free agency. Carolina, on the other hand, has built themselves a young and talented squad via the draft. Both teams boast a powerful offense led by their star quarterbacks and an excellent defense. Carolina, though, has the superior defense which will ultimately give them the upper hand in this game – not to mention they are at home (that usually helps too, unless you are Miami).
Tampa Bay – 24 Carolina – 27
*Jacksonville (1-8) @ Houston (8-1)
Match up to watch: Maurice Jones-Drew v.s. Brian Cushing
Jacksonville is probably the second worst team in the AFC and third worst in the NFL. The team has holes across the board that remind me of swiss cheese. Houston is the best team in the AFC, possibly even the entire NFL right now. Jacksonville has no shot of competing this season, next season or even the season after – unless they somehow spend a boat load of money on free agents and pick correctly in the first three rounds of the draft, which they have an issue with. Bottom line here, do not expect this contest to be much of a game.
Jacksonville – 13 Houston – 30
New York Jets (2-7) @ St. Louis (2-7)
Match up to watch: David Harris v.s. Steven Jackson
The New York Jets are not impressive at all. Their defense is aging – while it IS still good, though – and their offense is slow and sluggish. The Tebow experiment in New York will come to an end after this season – along with the Sanchez experiment. New York needs more talent at quarterback, wide receiver, tight end, and on the offensive line – the right side. St. Louis also will not compete this season, but there is hope. The team has a young defense and young wide receivers that still have time to develop. Although I think that St. Louis has the superior team, their inexperience at wide receiver and offensive line woes will cause a loss here at home.
New York Jets – 27 St. Louis – 20
Indianapolis (2-6) @ New England (8-1)
Match up to watch: Reggie Wayne v.s. Devin McCourty
Indianapolis has a young and quite talented squad, but inexperience and offensive line issues will keep the team out of contention for the next year or two. New England, on the other hand, has quite a good squad. The team has minimal holes across the board, but has fixed their defense up quite nice this past offseason. While the Patriots could use some secondary help, badly, the Pats’ should bully Indianapolis up quite nicely in this contest.
Indianapolis – 10 New England – 45
New Orleans (2-7) @ Oakland (3-6)
Match up to watch: Mark Ingram v.s. Tommy Kelly
New Orleans has been missing their head coach (not to mention half of the staff) very much this season, and it shows. The team has a lot of talent, but I see the team taking a step back – especially in a loaded NFC South. Oakland on the other hand has a boat load of talent on offense at the skilled positions but the team also has the worst offensive line in the NFL. On the flip side, the defense has a boat load of talent on the defensive front, but it quite weak at linebacker and corner. Oakland’s weakness at corner will allow New Orleans’ offense to open up and wreck havoc in Oakland.
New Orleans – 34 Oakland – 17
*San Diego (6-3) @ Denver (3-6)
Match up to watch: Philip Rivers v.s. Champ Bailey
Denver is the home team in this one, so they’re a lock to win right? Wrong. Although the home team usually has the advantage, the San Diego Super Chargers have been hot this season and have a tendency to play extremely well on the road. But the Broncos have Peyton, that has to mean something…Not really. Although I think that this Denver team is more talented than last years team, I feel like the Tebow led Broncos were nothing but a fluke. The team still has issues on the offensive and defensive line, not to mention linebacker and stability at wide receiver and tight end. San Diego on the other hand has one of the NFL’s most under-rated defenses and a stellar offense who can put up points with the best of them.
San Diego – 27 Denver – 24
*Baltimore (7-2) @ Pittsburgh (5-4)
Match up to watch: THE GAME IN GENERAL
It’s Baltimore – Pittsburgh PEOPLE! One of the best games of the season, EVERY SEASON!! First off, I expect Pittsburgh to win at home. Although Baltimore is a hot team right now, they’re a little too hot and need to cool down. Baltimore and Pittsburgh are the clashing titans of the NFL, I love this game. Secondly, Pittsburgh is in a must win situation or else they may miss a shot at the playoffs. I expect quite a low scoring game. Both teams have top 15 offenses, but both teams also boast top 4 defenses – ultimately I think the defenses will rule the game. Although both teams are too good to suffer a shut out, I expect to read a baseball-like score on the score board when the clock strikes zero.
Baltimore – 6 Pittsburgh – 7
Chicago (4-5) @ San Francisco (8-1)
Match up to watch: Matt Forte v.s. Patrick Willis
Chicago was supposed to compete with the Packers and Lions this year, right? What happened!? Chicago has been stuck in a rough patch and it only gets worse facing one of the NFC power houses this week. Although the Bears do have weapons for Jay Cutler to throw to now, they still cannot keep their star quarterback standing upright. Not to mention the defense is aging quickly. San Francisco is one of the best in the game on both sides of the ball. The Niners know how to win the old fashioned way and have not bought into the new pass happy offense. This is a smash mouth team who will kick anyone’s butt in their way.
Chicago – 16 San Francisco – 29
BYE: Tennessee (4-6) , Minnesota (1-9) , New York Giants (5-5) , Seattle (4-6)
Well fans, another week in the books! The Playoff picture is starting to shape up! I will work on creating a playoff outlook for the remainder of the season. In the mean time, keep checking back for more updates!
Keep your fins up fans!!!
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