NFL Predictions Week 11: Picks and Odds Advice for Latest Schedule

The NFL is entering its home stretch in 2016 with playoff races that are not lacking drama heading into Week 11, though for very different reasons between the AFC and NFC. 

The Dallas Cowboys own the league's best record at 8-1, while the Kansas City Chiefs are putting pressure on the New England Patriots in the AFC. The Chiefs have to deal with their own pressure in the AFC West, which features three teams already at seven wins. 

Now is the point of the year in which the real playoff contenders start to separate themselves from the pack, while the surprise hopefuls look to prove they are more than just an interesting novelty act. 

Date	Matchup	Odds	Prediction
Sunday, Nov. 20	Pittsburgh Steelers at Cleveland Browns	Steelers (-8.5)	Steelers, 27-17
Sunday, Nov. 20	Baltimore Ravens at Dallas Cowboys	Cowboys (-7)	Ravens, 24-21
Sunday, Nov. 20	Jacksonville Jaguars at Detroit Lions	Lions (-6.5)	Lions, 31-23
Sunday, Nov. 20	Tennessee Titans at Indianapolis Colts	Colts (-3.5)	Titans, 38-34
Sunday, Nov. 20	Buffalo Bills at Cincinnati Bengals	Bengals (-4)	Bengals, 27-20
Sunday, Nov. 20	Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Kansas City Chiefs	Chiefs (-7.5)	Chiefs, 23-16
Sunday, Nov. 20	Chicago Bears at New York Giants	Giants (-6)	Giants, 30-13
Sunday, Nov. 20	Arizona Cardinals at Minnesota Vikings	Pick'em	Cardinals, 26-16
Sunday, Nov. 20	Miami Dolphins at Los Angeles Rams	Pick'em	Dolphins, 27-10
Sunday, Nov. 20	New England Patriots at San Francisco 49ers	Patriots (-14)	Patriots, 41-14
Sunday, Nov. 20	Philadelphia Eagles at Seattle Seahawks	Seahawks (-4.5)	Seahawks, 28-24
Sunday, Nov. 20	Green Bay Packers at Washington	Washington (-3)	Packers, 27-24
Monday, Nov. 21	Houston Texans at Oakland Raiders	Raiders (-3.5)	Raiders, 31-28

Upset of the Week: Ravens over Cowboys

Nick Wass/Associated Press

The Cowboys got their quarterback situation handled when Tony Romo ceded his starting job to Dak Prescott. It wasn't a hard decision for the coaching staff to keep Prescott under center with the team off to an 8-1 start and Prescott having 14 touchdowns and just two interceptions. 

But this week against the Baltimore Ravens is a classic trap game. The Ravens haven't been sexy in 2016, leading the AFC North with a 5-4 mark, with four of those wins coming by a total of 20 points before last week's 28-7 win over the Cleveland Browns. 

Due to the team's lackluster record, the Ravens defense isn't getting nearly enough attention for how well it's played in 2016. 

Ravens director of public relations Patrick Gleason provided the numbers to show how impressive Baltimore's defense has been:

The Ravens have been Jekyll and Hyde so far this season, starting with a three-game winning streak and following that with a four-game losing streak before winning their last two games. 

It would not be a surprise to see the Ravens fall on their face in this spot. They don't have a victory over a team that currently has a winning record, and three of their four losses have come against teams currently over .500. 

Ezekiel Elliott is doing historic things for the Cowboys in his rookie season, per SportsCenter:

However, it is fair to ask just how good the Cowboys are. They look tremendous to this point, but their schedule has not featured a team anyone would describe as a Super Bowl contender. Their best win is either over the Philadelphia Eagles, who are 2-4 since a 3-0 start, or the Pittsburgh Steelers, who have lost four straight games. 

The Steelers game was one of the weirdest things in 2016, because the Cowboys seemingly blew their shot at a win when Ben Roethlisberger pulled a Dan Marino with a fake spike to find Antonio Brown before Elliott bailed them out.

Eventually the Cowboys are going to have a game in which Prescott and Elliott struggle. It might as well happen against the best defense they have faced in 2016.

Lock of the Week: Patriots over 49ers

Acknowledging the New England Patriots are going all the way across the country to play the San Francisco 49ers without Rob Gronkowski, per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, and oddsmakers tend to be cautious when it comes to favoring a road team, there's no way the Patriots don't cover the 14-point spread. 

The Patriots are coming into the game angry after losing a heartbreaker in Week 10 against the Seattle Seahawks in which they were unable to cash in from the 1-yard line on the final drive. 

There's also the small matter of the 49ers being awful. If the Browns didn't exist, they would be carrying the torch for worst team in the NFL. They did show signs of life last week in a 23-20 loss against the Arizona Cardinals, but Tom Brady isn't going to throw two careless interceptions like Carson Palmer did. 

San Francisco has allowed the most points and yards per game in the NFL. There's no way the 49ers are able to keep this score within 20 points.