NFL Week 11 Picks: Predictions for Every Game

With the first 10 weeks of the NFL season nearly in the books, the playoff push has officially begun.

Ten teams in the NFC are .500 or better heading into mid-November, which means the stakes will be sky-high this coming weekend. Carolina and San Francisco currently hold down the conference's two Wild Card spots, but each will be up against formidable opposition in Week 11.

Let's take an early look at my predictions for all 15 matchups on the schedule for Week 11.

Matchup/Prediction	Comments
Indianapolis Colts 27, Tennessee Titans 17	The Colts are fully alert following Week 10's debacle while the Titans are short-handed without Jake Locker.
New York Jets 20, Buffalo Bills 16	Buffalo has lost five of six, and the playoff-hopeful Jets are coming off a bye week.
Chicago Bears 26, Baltimore Ravens 17	The Ravens are a different team on the road this season and have zero momentum on the offensive side of the ball.
Cincinnati Bengals 24, Cleveland Browns 21	Cincy must rebound at home against the Browns in order to avoid a three-game losing streak.
Philadelphia Eagles 31, Washington Redskins 25	The Eagles are playing much-improved on both sides of the ball and have seized momentum in the NFC East.
Detroit Lions 22, Pittsburgh Steelers 17	Detroit has won three of four games and is finding ways to win close games. That's encouraging for the Lions moving forward.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 27, Atlanta Falcons 21	If the Jaguars can win, so can the Bucs. Atlanta is winless on the road in 2013 and has lost its last three games by an average of 20.3 points.
Arizona Cardinals 23, Jacksonville Jaguars 13	Arizona's defense is sneaky good, and the Cardinals are playing for an NFC Wild Card berth at this point.
Houston Texans 24, Oakland Raiders 20	Houston's losing skid has to end some time. Why not at home against the struggling Raiders?
San Diego Chargers 31, Miami Dolphins 23	The Dolphins have been unimpressive since opening up the year with three straight wins. Meanwhile, the Chargers are one of the AFC's most dangerous teams when the offense is clicking.
New Orleans Saints 34, San Francisco 49ers 17	See below
Seattle Seahawks 36, Minnesota Vikings 14	Seattle doesn't lose at home while the Vikings haven't won on the road this season.
Green Bay Packers 23, New York Giants 20	The Giants are back to their careless ways. Turnovers should keep the Packers in the game long enough to win it.
Denver Broncos 27, Kansas City Chiefs 20	See below
Carolina Panthers 20, New England Patriots 13	See below

New Orleans Saints Over San Francisco 49ers

The New Orleans Saints are virtually unbeatable inside the Superdome this year, and that's bad news for a San Francisco 49ers team coming off a tough loss in Week 10.

Look for the Saints to improve to 6-0 at home on Sunday afternoon behind another all-around dominant performance. Drew Brees and the Saints offense aren't the only the unit that gets fired up to play on the fast track inside the Superdome. New Orleans' defense is also a nightmare for opponents.

Feeding off the electricity from the crowd, Rob Ryan's unit hasn't allowed more than 17 points in any home game this season.

Meanwhile, Jim Harbaugh's Niners will have to figure out a way to create some offense. Colin Kaepernick was awful in San Francisco's 10-9 loss to Carolina and is lacking the downfield weapons needed to take the Niners to the next level.

More so than location, San Francisco's inability to threaten through the air offensively (32nd in passing yards) makes this a lopsided matchup that the Saints should win easily. 

Denver Broncos Over Kansas City Chiefs

The most anticipated matchup of Week 11 will pit AFC West rivals Denver and Kansas City against one another for the first time in 2013. The Chiefs will put their 9-0 record on the line and try to become the first team to beat the Broncos in their building this season.

But while the Chiefs boast a dominant and opportunistic defense, watch for the Broncos' potent offensive attack to steal the show on Sunday night.

Peyton Manning and Co. are averaging over 41 points per game this season and nearly 44 points per game at home. Plus, in addition to having to slow the Broncos for four quarters, the Chiefs' lackluster offense will have to find a way to move the ball consistently on one of the league's most stout run defenses.

But perhaps the most important fact to keep in mind is that this is the first time Kansas City will be tested by a playoff-caliber team in 2013.

The Chiefs have beaten up on the NFL's bottom-dwellers through the first half of the season and can't expect to get touchdowns from their defense with a future Hall of Fame signal-caller standing across the line of scrimmage. 

Carolina Panthers Over New England Patriots

The Carolina Panthers aren't out of the woods just yet. While many have announced the Panthers' arrival among the NFC's elite, a loss at home to Tom Brady and the Patriots on Monday Night Football would warrant reconsideration. 

New England will be well-rested coming off its bye week but will clearly be the underdog in this matchup. After all, this is the NFL's most consistent defense we're talking about for Carolina. 

The Panthers offense has been far from stellar through nine games, but the defense is dominating across the board, ranking second in scoring defense, second in total defense, second in rush defense and fourth in pass defense. 

What's more, Carolina hasn't allowed more than 15 points to a single opponent over the course of its current five-game winning streak.

The Patriots offense is certainly capable of scoring more than 15 points in this game, but don't count on it. We've seen New England struggle on the road recently, falling to the Jets in overtime in Week 7 and mustering just six points in a loss at Cincinnati two weeks before that.

Carolina's defense will be the star in prime time on Monday night as the Panthers take another step toward their first playoff berth since 2008. 

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