Updated 2012 Team Win-Loss Record Predictions for NFL Week 11

With the NFL season more than halfway over, many of our preseason predictions are looking pretty terrible. So it's time to amend them.

At this point, predicting each team's overall record is still inexact, at best. At worst, it's educated guesswork. Either way, there's plenty of room for error.

However, we're still in a much better position to make predictions now than we were 11 weeks ago. With that said, let's give it a shot. 

Pittsburgh Steelers

Current Record: 6-3

Predicted Record: 10-6

Remaining Schedule: 

vs Baltimore Ravens L

at Cleveland Browns W

at Baltimore Ravens W

vs San Diego Chargers L

at Dallas Cowboys L

vs Cincinnati Bengals W

vs Cleveland Browns W

Much of this relies on the status of Ben Roethlisberger and his shoulder injury. If Roethlisberger misses a week or two, the Steelers are in a manageable position. Any more than that and things get shaky.

Look for Pittsburgh to fall to the Ravens but still defeat the Browns without Roethlisberger. Then things get a bit more hazy, but four more wins for the Steelers are very possible.

Though the Steelers have a tough road ahead of them, the playoffs are very much still in sight. 

Cleveland Browns

Current Record: 2-7

Predicted Record: 4-12

Remaining Schedule:

at Dallas Cowboys  W

vs Pittsburgh Steelers L

at Oakland Raiders W

vs Kansas City Chiefs L

vs Washington Redskins L

at Denver Broncos L

at Pittsburgh Steelers L

Cleveland seems to be coming around a bit, but the team is still well behind the majority of the NFL. The Browns have some winnable games left on their schedule, but the four games against Pittsburgh, Denver and Baltimore are less so.

Coming off a bye in Week 11, Cleveland has a shot to upset Dallas, and a potentially Ben Roethlisberger-less Steelers could also be defeated. The Redskins and Raiders stand as other potential wins. 

The Browns could win several of these games, but it's tough to imagine such a bad team coming away with more than a couple victories down the stretch. 

Baltimore Ravens

Current Record: 7-2

Predicted Record: 11-5

Remaining Schedule: 

at Pittsburgh Steelers W

at San Diego Chargers L

vs Pittsburgh Steelers L

at Washington Redskins W 

vs Denver Broncos W

vs New York Giants L

at Cincinnati Bengals W

The projected AFC North winner, Baltimore faces a fairly difficult schedule through the remainder of the season. Currently standing with seven wins, though, the Ravens can afford to surrender a victory or two. 

Over the next three weeks, the Ravens face a Steelers team that may or may not have Ben Roethlisberger at quarterback—twice. If he's not available, that's could be a huge boost for Baltimore.

Games against the Chargers, Bengals, Broncos and Giants could go either way, with Baltimore likely the favorite in all of them. 

Cincinnati Bengals

Current Record: 4-5

Predicted Record: 7-9

Remaining Schedule: 

at Kansas City Chiefs W

vs Oakland Raiders L

at San Diego Chargers W

vs Dallas Cowboys W

at Philadelphia Eagles L

at Pittsburgh Steelers L

vs Baltimore Ravens L

Once again, the Bengals look to finish near the middle of the pack. Cincinnati has been a decent team in 2012, winning the games against inferior opponents and losing the ones against superior teams.

The Bengals should be able to secure two easy victories against the Chiefs and Raiders. The other win may be more difficult to come by, but there are good opportunities against Dallas and San Diego.

New York Jets

Current Record: 3-6

Predicted Record: 5-11

Remaining Schedule:

at St. Louis Rams L

vs New England Patriots L

vs Arizona Cardinals W

at Jacksonville Jaguars L

at Tennessee Titans W

vs San Diego Chargers L

at Buffalo Bills L

The Jets simply are not a good team. Even playing in a far-from-elite division, New York has stood out as one of the NFL's worst teams.

Fortunately, the Jets face an easy schedule over the rest of the season. Games against Buffalo, St. Louis, Jacksonville, Arizona and Tennessee could all end with New York on top.

Given the Jets' overall lack of talent, though, it seems unlikely that the team claims but a couple of those. 

New England Patriots

Current Record: 6-3

Predicted Record: 11-5

Remaining Schedule: 

vs Indianapolis Colts W

at New York Jets W

at Miami Dolphins W

vs Houston Texans L

vs San Francisco 49ers L

at Jacksonville Jaguars W

vs Miami Dolphins W

Despite getting off to a slow start (by Patriots standards), New England seems poised for the playoffs. The Patriots again have one of the NFL's premier offenses, though their defense remains at the bottom of the league.

With games against San Francisco and Houston, New England doesn't have a cake schedule over the remainder of the season. Playing the Jaguars and Jets does do something to compensate for this fact, though.

There isn't a game the Patriots can't win, but there are many they could lose. It's possible New England will win out, but it's also possible they drop four of the last seven games. 

Miami Dolphins

Current Record: 4-5

Predicted Record: 7-9

Remaining Schedule: 

at Buffalo Bills W

vs Seattle Seahawks L

vs New England Patriots L

at San Francisco 49ers L

vs Jacksonville Jaguars W 

vs Buffalo Bills W

at New England Patriots L

The Dolphins have been surprisingly decent thus far, winning four games. As the team's record suggests, though, Miami is not yet a playoff contender.

With two games against the Patriots and one against the 49ers, the Dolphins still have some difficult games ahead of them. Games against Buffalo and Jacksonville should end with Miami on top, however. 

With a middle-of-the-road team like the Dolphins, any game can go any direction. This makes predicting their record especially difficult. 

Buffalo Bills

Current Record: 3-6

Predicted Record: 6-10

Remaining Schedule: 

vs Miami Dolphins L

at Indianapolis Colts L

vs Jacksonville Jaguars W

vs St. Louis Rams L

vs Seattle Seahawks W

at Miami Dolphins L

vs New York Jets W

Chalk this one up to strength of schedule. As anyone who has watched them can attest to, the Bills are among the NFL's worst teams.

With three wins in the bag, Buffalo has several more winnable games on the schedule. Note Jacksonville, St. Louis and the New York Jets.

The Bills stand as a pretty bad team, but they aren't so terrible that they can't pull of a surprise victory or two. Miami and Indianapolis are potential upsets. 

Indianapolis Colts

Current Record: 6-3

Predicted Record: 9-7

Remaining Schedule: 

at New England Patriots L

vs Buffalo Bills W

at Detroit Lions L

vs Tennessee Titans L

at Houston Texans L

at Kansas City Chiefs W

vs Houston Texans W

This rather pessimistic view isn't because of a thought that Indianapolis is overachieving but rather a difficult remaining schedule. Andrew Luck and the Colts have played admirably, but they have some tough games coming up.

Two games against the 8-1 Texans and another against the Patriots clearly illustrates this point. As impressive as the Colts have been this year, they will struggle to win those games, and they need to lose just one more to meet this predicted record. 

Other games against the Titans and Lions could go either way. The teams match up fairly well, but it would be difficult for the Colts to leave those two games with two victories. 

Jacksonville Jaguars

Current Record: 1-8

Predicted Record: 2-14

Remaining Schedule: 

at Houston Texans L

vs Tennessee Titans L

at Buffalo Bills L

vs New York Jets W

at Miami Dolphins L

vs New England Patriots L

at Tennessee Titans L

Across the board, there isn't a worse team in the NFL than the Jaguars. Between Blaine Gabbert at quarterback, a terrible wide-receiver corps and an all-around awful defense, Jacksonville is simply a bad football team.

Even with weak opponents like the Jets and the Bills, the Jaguars seem unlikely to win more than another game. It was hard enough to believe that they won that one. 

Houston Texans

Current Record: 8-1

Predicted Record: 14-2

Remaining Schedule: 

vs Jacksonville Jaguars W

at Detroit Lions W

at Tennessee Titans W

at New England Patriots W

vs Indianapolis Colts W

vs Minnesota Vikings W

at Indianapolis Colts L

The Texans entered 2012 as many analysts' top-ranked team, and they have remained atop such lists. Houston adds an above-average offense to an elite defense to form an incredible overall team.

A game against the Patriots could easily go the other way, and it's always possible Houston could lose to one of its inferior opponents remaining. And in week 17, the Texans may be left benching some players, as they have nothing to play for. 

But know this: the Texans have no reason to fear any team left on its schedule. They are the better team.

Tennessee Titans

Current Record: 4-6

Predicted Record: 7-9

Remaining Schedule: 

at Jacksonville Jaguars W

vs Houston Texans L

at Indianapolis Colts W

vs New York Jets L

at Green Bay Packers L

vs Jacksonville Jaguars W

Tennessee has been a bit of an enigma thus far, being on both the giving and receiving ends of blowouts multiple times. It's hard to predict anything for such a team.

So, why not go with more of the same? Despite its inconsistencies, Tennessee stands at slightly under .500, as it probably should. Playing three games against the Jaguars and Jets should help the Titans, but they have established that they are capable of losing any game. 

Denver Broncos

Current Record: 6-3

Predicted Record: 11-5

Remaining Schedule: 

vs San Diego Chargers W

at Kansas City Chiefs W

vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers W

at Oakland Raiders W

at Baltimore Ravens L

vs Cleveland Browns W

vs Kansas City Chiefs L

As Peyton Manning gets more comfortable after a year off, the Broncos continue to improve. With Manning at full strength, Denver is just as dangerous as any team in the NFL.

Every game remaining on Denver's schedule is easily winnable, with the Broncos likely the favorite in every contest. However, the team's inconsistency could lead to a couple losses, especially if John Fox decides to rest starters if/when the team has clinched a playoff spot.

The Broncos could end up with a better record than this. Don't expect a worse one. Week 17 is a potential switch, depending on whether or not Fox does rest his starters. 

Kansas City Chiefs

Current Record: 1-8

Predicted Record: 4-12

Remaining Schedule: 

vs Cincinnati Bengals L

vs Denver Broncos L

vs Carolina Panthers W

at Cleveland Browns W

at Oakland Raiders L

vs Indianapolis Colts L

at Denver Broncos W

The Chiefs aren't quite as bad as they've played thus far in 2012. Yes, Kansas City is a bad team, but it is not No. 1-overall-draft-pick bad.

With games against Oakland and Cleveland, the Chiefs have a reasonable remaining schedule. These games could still go either way, but look for Kansas City to be a better team in its last part of the season.

Week 17 depends on where Denver stands in the playoff race and whether the team rests its starters. 

San Diego Chargers

Current Record: 4-5

Predicted Record: 9-7

Remaining Schedule: 

at Denver Broncos L

vs Baltimore Ravens W

vs Cincinnati Bengals L

at Pittsburgh Steelers W

vs Carolina Panthers W

at New York Jets W

vs Oakland Raiders W

San Diego has struggled thus far largely due to the struggles of Philip Rivers. With any luck, Rivers' Dr. Jekyll-and-Mr. Hyde performance against Tampa Bay is an indication of good things down the final stretch of the season.

If Rivers is playing like his old self, the Chargers are capable of beating any team in the NFL. Even with 2012's Rivers, San Diego should be able to defeat the Raiders, Jets and Panthers. The other two games depend on Rivers. 

Oakland Raiders

Current Record: 3-6

Predicted Record: 5-11

Remaining Schedule: 

vs New Orleans Saints L

at Cincinnati Bengals W 

vs Cleveland Browns L

vs Denver Broncos L

vs Kansas City Chiefs W

at Carolina Panthers L

at San Diego Chargers L

In no aspect of the game are the Raiders a good team. Put Carson Palmer's skewed statistics aside and Oakland is dreadful on offense and still just as bad on defense. 

Having already finagled three wins, Oakland has a shot at a couple more but only because of its weak schedule. Kansas City, Cleveland and Carolina provide potentially easy targets, and the team could escape with a win against San Diego or Cincinnati as well. 

The teams Oakland will defeat are hard to predict, but the Raiders are good enough to come up with two wins against this schedule. 

San Francisco 49ers

Current Record: 6-2-1

Projected Record: 11-4-1

Remaining Schedule: 

vs Chicago Bears L

at New Orleans Saints L

at St. Louis Rams W

vs Miami Dolphins W

at New England Patriots W

at Seattle Seahawks W

vs Arizona Cardinals W

The 49ers have shown they are not an unbeatable team, but they are still considerably better than the majority of their competition. However, San Francisco does not face a group of pushovers as the season dwindles down.

With games against New England, New Orleans, Chicago and Seattle, the 49ers could easily drop a few games. As tough as this schedule is, though, San Francisco is more than capable of squeaking out a few wins. 

The team's remaining contests against St. Louis and Arizona are less challenging but still possible to lose. 

Arizona Cardinals

Current Record: 4-5

Predicted Record: 5-11

Remaining Schedule: 

at Atlanta Falcons L

vs St. Louis Rams W

at New York Jets L

at Seattle Seahawks L

vs Detroit Lions L

vs Chicago Bears L

at San Francisco 49ers L

Arizona's dreadful quarterback play, lack of rushing attack and difficult schedule leave it likely to struggle throughout the remainder of the season. This is essentially a worst-case scenario, but it's not unrealistic.

The Cardinals will struggle to win games against Atlanta, Seattle, Chicago and San Francisco. The team will likely win at least one game against the Jets or Rams, but it may not escape with any more. 

Arizona isn't so bad that it's impossible for the team to pull off an upset. It's just more likely that they won't. 

Seattle Seahawks

Current Record: 6-4

Predicted Record: 10-6

Remaining Schedule

at Miami Dolphins W

at Chicago Bears W

vs Arizona Cardinals W

at Buffalo Bills L

vs San Francisco 49ers L

vs St. Louis Rams W

The Seahawks are playing an old-school game, and it's working for them. Seattle's No. 4 defense and No. 7 rushing attack are winning games.

With a remaining schedule consisting of games against St. Louis, Miami, Arizona and Buffalo, the Seahawks stand a good chance to actually make the playoffs. These teams won't be pushovers, though, and Seattle will have to keep doing what it's been doing. 

In fact, Seattle could easily drop one or two of these games and pull off a couple upsets. The Seahawks are good enough to beat the best teams in the NFL but not so dominant to avoid upsets. 

St. Louis Rams

Current Record: 3-5-1

Predicted Record: 6-9-1

Remaining Schedule: 

vs New York Jets W

at Arizona Cardinals L

vs San Francisco 49ers L

at Buffalo Bills W

vs Minnesota Vikings W

at Tampa Bay Buccaneers L

at Seattle Seahawks L

Though St. Louis' record doesn't stand particularly strong, the team has competed throughout the year, as its near-upset of the 49ers shows. With that said, the Rams still aren't a particularly good team and deserve to lose more than they win.

Games against the Jets, Cardinals and Bills can easily be won. In fact, St. Louis has a manageable schedule down the stretch—the Rams also play Seattle, Minnesota and Tampa Bay—but the team seems more likely to lose than win in the majority of these games. 

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Current Record: 5-4

Predicted Record: 8-8

Remaining Schedule: 

at Carolina Panthers W

vs Atlanta Falcons W

at Denver Broncos L

vs Philadelphia Eagles L

at New Orleans Saints L

vs St. Louis Rams W

at Atlanta Falcons L

It can be nearly impossible to get a read on the Buccaneers. One week, they'll lose to the Redskins. Another, they'll annihilate the Vikings.

As their season winds down, the Buccaneers face some easier opponents like Carolina, Philadelphia and St. Louis. Of course, Tampa Bay also has four games against Atlanta, New Orleans and Denver.

In other words, the remainder of the Buccaneers' 2012 season could go a variety of ways. 

Atlanta Falcons

Current Record: 8-1

Predicted Record: 12-4

Remaining Schedule: 

vs Arizona Cardinals W

at Tampa Bay Buccaneers L

vs New Orleans Saints W

at Carolina Panthers W

vs New York Giants L

at Detroit Lions L

vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers W

Until Week 10, the Falcons were the NFL's lone undefeated team. However, Atlanta was never the NFL's best team, and its record was better than the team.

As the season winds down, the Falcons will see some games that could go either way. New Orleans, Tampa Bay, New York and Detroit could all easily defeat the dirty birds. 

The remainder of the season could result in a nearly-undefeated Falcons team or a team that got off to a hot start, faltered a bit and still made the playoffs. Either way, not a bad outcome. 

New Orleans Saints

Current Record: 4-5

Predicted Record: 10-6

Remaining Schedule: 

at Oakland Raiders W

vs San Francisco 49ers W

at Atlanta Falcons L

at New York Giants W

vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers W

at Dallas Cowboys W

vs Carolina Panthers W

The Saints got off to a terrible start in 2012, losing their first four games. As their record shows, they have rebounded quite nicely and are now looking like the Saints of old.

New Orleans will still need fantastic play throughout the rest of the season, but the team has a shot at the playoffs. At this point, no game is beyond reach for the Saints.

A fairly easy remaining schedule won't hurt New Orleans' playoff chances. 

Carolina Panthers

Current Record: 2-7

Predicted Record: 4-12

Remaining Schedule: 

vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers L

at Philadelphia Eagles W

at Kansas City Chiefs L

vs Atlanta Falcons L

at San Diego Chargers L

vs Oakland Raiders W

at New Orleans Saints L

In 2011, when the team's offense was elite, Carolina still struggled to win games. Now, with a, uh, less-than-elite offense, the Panthers are even worse.

Carolina isn't so bad that it is incapable of winning, but it will probably need some pretty bad opponents. Fortunately, the Panthers still have some of those left in Kansas City and Oakland.

It's always possible Cam Newton will revert to 2011 form and lead the Panthers to a couple of surprise victories, but that seems unlikely at this point. 

Minnesota Vikings

Current Record: 6-4

Predicted Record: 8-8

Remaining Schedule: 

at Chicago Bears L

at Green Bay Packers L

vs Chicago Bears W

at St. Louis Rams L

at Houston Texans L

vs Green Bay Packers W

In the midst of Adrian Peterson's best season ever, the Vikings are exceeding the low expectations set for them. They will struggle as the season ends, though, due to a terrible schedule.

Minnesota has four games against Chicago, Green Bay and Houston left on the schedule. It's unreasonable to expect much from the Vikings against three of the NFL's best teams.

Even with this difficulty, though, Minnesota should be able to squeak out a couple more wins, perhaps even against the aforementioned difficulties. 

Detroit Lions

Current Record: 4-5

Predicted Record: 7-9

Remaining Schedule: 

vs Green Bay Packers L

vs Houston Texans L

vs Indianapolis Colts W

at Green Bay Packers L

at Arizona Cardinals W

vs Atlanta Falcons W

vs Chicago Bears L

Despite a recent turnaround in play, the Lions seem unlikely to overcome their slow start and compete for a playoff spot. This isn't an absence of acknowledgment for what Detroit has done lately as much as it is an awareness of who the team still has to play.

Remaining on Detroit's schedule are five games against Green Bay, Chicago, Atlanta and Houston. These four teams are among the best in the NFL, and the Lions will struggle to escape with a single victory there.

It's always possible the Lions' explosive offense can outgun a few of these teams, though, and escape with upset victories. 

A terrible remaining schedule all but kills Detroit's hopes for a postseason. The team will need a truly remarkable finish for that to even be a possibility. 

Green Bay Packers

Current Record: 6-3

Predicted Record: 11-5

Remaining Schedule: 

at Detroit Lions W

at New York Giants W

vs Minnesota Vikings W

vs Detroit Lions W

at Chicago Bears L

vs Tennessee Titans W

at Minnesota Vikings L

After both Aaron Rodgers and the entire Packers team got off to a slow start, Green Bay is now playing like the team we expected to see in 2012. It will be difficult for the team to win the division, but the playoffs remain likely.

A challenging remaining schedule could be an obstacle, though, as the Packers face several solid competitors in Detroit, Minnesota and New York, and a single elite team in Chicago. Given Green Bay's recent play, though, the team should be able to win the great majority of these games. 

Chicago Bears

Current Record: 7-2

Predicted Record: 12-4

Remaining Schedule: 

at San Francisco 49ers W

vs Minnesota Vikings W

vs Seattle Seahawks L

at Minnesota Vikings W

vs Green Bay Packers W

at Arizona Cardinals W

at Detroit Lions W

Chicago's always-dominant defense is even better than usual this year, and its offense is surprisingly adept. This has made for a deadly combination, as the Bears have been perhaps the NFL's second-best team.

As their record shows, though, the Bears aren't unbeatable, and they face some legitimate competition through the remainder of the season. Games against San Francisco and Green Bay will be especially difficult. 

Detroit and Seattle also poise potential threats, though Chicago is definitely the superior team. The Bears will likely win the majority of their remaining games, but it won't be easy.

New York Giants

Current Record: 6-4

Predicted Record: 9-7

Remaining Schedule: 

vs Green Bay Packers L

at Washington Redskins W

vs New Orleans Saints L

at Atlanta Falcons W

at Baltimore Ravens W

vs Philadelphia Eagles L

Until a couple short weeks ago, 9-7 would have been incredibly pessimistic for the Giants. However, the recent play of Eli Manning has completely changed that.

Manning is playing the worst he has in several years, and the New York team hasn't been good enough to still win. Remaining games against the Saints, Packers, Falcons and Ravens further hurt New York's chances of winning.

If Manning turns his game around, this is a slightly different story. Either way, the Giants face a difficult path to double-digit wins. A weak division means New York still probably makes the playoffs. 

Dallas Cowboys

Current Record: 4-5

Predicted Record: 6-10

Remaining Schedule: 

vs Cleveland Browns L

vs Washington Redskins W

vs Philadelphia Eagles L

at Cincinnati Bengals L

vs Pittsburgh Steelers W 

vs New Orleans Saints L

at Washington Redskins L

Yes, this would require a pretty impressive collapse. However, the Cowboys are clearly struggling in 2012, and they don't have a single game remaining that stands out as an easy win.

Dallas has several games that it could win. Cleveland, Washington and Philadelphia stand out. However, all these teams could just as easily beat the overachieving Cowboys.

This is, in all likelihood, a worst-case scenario. That doesn't mean it's inaccurate, though. 

Washington Redskins

Current Record: 3-6

Predicted Record: 7-9

Remaining Schedule: 

vs Philadelphia Eagles W

at Dallas Cowboys L

vs New York Giants L

vs Baltimore Ravens L

at Cleveland Browns W

at Philadelphia Eagles W

vs Dallas Cowboys W

Washington has pulled out some impressive performances in 2012, along with some pretty disastrous ones. Part of this inconsistency goes with having a rookie quarterback, albeit a pretty fantastic one. 

It's impossible to know what Redskins team to expect in a given week. Making this prediction even more difficult is that each remaining game on Washington's schedule could go either way.

No games stand out as easy wins or almost-certain losses. In the end, this optimistic prediction comes down to Robert Griffin III and his assumed continued progression. 

Philadelphia Eagles

Current Record: 3-6

Predicted Record: 7-9

Remaining Schedule: 

at Washington Redskins L

vs Carolina Panthers L

at Dallas Cowboys W

at Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 

vs Cincinnati Bengals W

vs Washington Redskins L

at New York Giants W

Philadelphia's 2012 season has been a disaster and will likely lead to longtime head coach Andy Reid's departure. Now the Eagles are at a crossroads, though, as Michael Vick faces an extended absence thanks to a concussion.

With Nick Foles at the helm, will things improve or worsen for Philadelphia? This rather conservative prediction expects what is essentially status quo, as the Eagles win three more games. 

The remainder of the year is crucial for the Eagles, and it's anybody's guess how it will go with a third-round rookie taking over at quarterback.