Each week I pick the winners of all the NFL games (or try to, anyway) without point spreads and without bias, either. Here are my picks for Week 11.
I keep getting hotter as the weather gets colder. Another scorching week (12-2) and a four-week run with 40 wins in 54 games brings my year-to-date straight-up record to 90-56 (.616). This week marks the final bye Sunday, as Carolina, Indianapolis, Miami, the New York Jets, San Francisco and Tampa Bay will be sidelined.
(All games are on Sunday afternoon unless otherwise noted)
Courtesy ESPN
Pittsburgh 27, Tennessee 23 (Thursday night): The Steelers barely escaped last week with a win at Indianapolis, but they will be at home this time around, where they have looked a lot sharper. The Titans will complete four straight games against the AFC North teams, during which they’ve been winning, but not that impressively.
Baltimore 17, Green Bay 16: This is the ultimate good news-bad news game; the Ravens are 14-7 after their bye week, but they have never won at Lambeau Field (0-3). Baltimore is facing yet another backup quarterback in Brett Hundley, but they are 2-2 against second-stringers this year. The deciding factor? The Ravens are getting healthier, while the Pack is not.
Jacksonville 33, Cleveland 13: The Jaguars had to sweat last week against the pesky Chargers. No such problem this time around, even on the road.
Detroit 23, Chicago 20: The Bears have shown how pesky they can be, especially at home–but they are still not good enough to win enough of these games to break into the league’s middle class. I’ll take Matthew Stafford over Mitch Trubisky every time.
Arizona 19, Houston 16: The Texans will be at home, but a season full of injuries and bad luck have stripped them of their most impactful players on both sides of the ball. The Cardinals haven’t been much better, but they have a little more to play for as the stretch run begins.
Minnesota 24, Los Angeles Rams 23: Even though this is hardly a playoff rematch from the 1970s, this is the week’s best matchup, and a possible postseason preview. Squaring off will be two great offenses led by two rising-star quarterbacks, but I’ll go with the home team, which has the better defense.
Courtesy UPI.Com
New Orleans 37, Washington 17: The fading Redskins should send the New York Giants a thank-you note for holding up the bottom of the NFC East. Washington should sink further into the morass on the road against the red-hot Saints, winners of seven straight.
Kansas City 30, New York Giants 10: This interconference battle looked very appealing back in April when the schedule was released. It looks anything like that now, with one team pointed towards the playoffs, and the other headed for a housecleaning.
Buffalo 20, Los Angeles Chargers 17: For some reason, this game has been cross-flexed from CBS to Fox in search of more viewers. Because the hard-luck Chargers will be playing at their soccer-stadium home, they might not get them in person or in front of the tube. The Bills had their souls ripped out at home by the Saints last week, but they rebound here.
Denver 27, Cincinnati 20: The Broncos have endured a nightmarish midseason stretch, but they will be at home against a Bengals squad that has seen their own campaign get away from them, not to mention some late leads.
New England 34, Oakland 23 (at Mexico City): The Azteca Stadium audience will be thoroughly entertained by their favorite team – the Raiders – against the NFL’s current gold standard. The Patriots’ defense has righted the ship after a horrid start, and the Tom Brady-led offense seems to be clicking now.
Dallas 30, Philadelphia 27 (Sunday night): The hunch play of the week. The bye may have come at the wrong time for the streaking Eagles, and if Dallas left tackle Tyron Smith can play, that will be huge. Smith’s absence was felt more acutely by the Cowboys than that of running back Ezekiel Elliott. The Eagles are very good, but I don’t see them holding steady at one loss the rest of the season.
Atlanta 26, Seattle 24 (Monday night): The Seahawks would usually be an automatic pick at home, but injuries to their vaunted defense have left them vulnerable. The Falcons will still find the going tough, but should have enough to pull out a win.
