NFL Week 11 Picks: Breaking Down Showdowns with Major Playoff Implications

We're finally to the time of year where some of the best NFL contests each week have a major impact on how the postseason will play out.

Whether it's a team battling to get in or two teams jockeying for favorable seeding, Week 11 is littered with action that will not only decide where each team stands in the postseason, but it will help to determine which teams make an appearance.

Here is a look at the full slate of games for Week 11, followed by a breakdown of three games that will have an early ripple effect on the playoffs. Enjoy.

Away Team	Home Team	Predicted Winner
Indianapolis Colts	Tennessee Titans	Indianapolis
NY Jets	Buffalo Bills	New York
Baltimore Ravens	Chicago Bears	Chicago
Cleveland Browns	Cincinnati Bengals	Cincinnati
Washington Redskins	Philadelphia Eagles	Philadelphia
Detroit Lions	Pittsburgh Steelers	Detroit
Atlanta Falcons	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Tampa Bay
Arizona Cardinals	Jacksonville Jaguars	Arizona
Oakland Raiders	Houston Texans	Houston
San Diego Chargers	Miami Dolphins	San Diego
San Francisco 49ers	New Orleans Saints	New Orleans
Green Bay Packers	New York Giants	Green Bay
Minnesota Vikings	Seattle Seahawks	Seattle
Kansas City Chiefs	Denver Broncos	Denver
New England Patriots	Carolina Panthers	Carolina

Cincinnati Slips Past Cleveland

Who would have thought this Week 11 AFC North bout would have playoff implications for both sides?

Cincinnati sits at 6-4 and in first as some may have expected, but Cleveland is 4-5 and in second place as a nice surprise.

Both sides have very different momentum, with Cincinnati having lost two overtime games in a row—one from Week 9 via a safety and another in Week 10 on a field goal.

Things have been much better for the Browns, a team hot off a bye week. Before the week off, the Browns pulled off a major upset over Baltimore.

The Browns were able to bring Cincinnati back down to earth in Week 4 with a 17-6 victory in which they held Andy Dalton to 206 yards and an interception. Cleveland quarterback Jason Campbell has been hot since taking the starting gig, as shown by his three touchdowns to no interceptions in the win over Baltimore.

While Cleveland has looked great, the Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium are a tough out. The Bengals still rank in the top 10 against the rush and pass. Cleveland is completely ineffective on the ground with Willis McGahee (2.6 yards per carry), so the stout Cincinnati defense will have no problems keeping a one-dimensional attack in check.

Prediction: Bengals 17, Browns 13

New Orleans Blows Out San Francisco

New Orleans and San Francisco are two teams in a nice spot when it comes to the No. 1 seed in the NFC.

Sure, it would have been nice for the 49ers to pull out a close win over Carolina in Week 10, but a 6-3 record and a close second to Seattle in the NFC West means the 49ers have plenty of room and time to make a move.

New Orleans is coming off a game in which it set a new NFL record with 40 first downs, and the offense as a whole racked up 625 yards of total offense. Drew Brees and the Saints sit at 7-2 and first in the NFC South with Carolina right behind.

The deciding factor will actually come down to defense. Brees (over 3,000 yards, 25 touchdowns and seven interceptions) makes a habit of abusing any and all defenses, so Colin Kaepernick will have to beat the Saints with his arm.

That's exactly what Kaepernick could not do last week against Carolina as the 49ers' elite rushing attack was stuffed. Kaepernick threw for just 91 yards and an interception in the loss.

With his team down early, Kaepernick will have to be efficient through the air against a New Orleans defense that ranks No. 3 against the pass (199.9 yards per game), held Tony Romo to 128 yards last week and is led by a top-25 corner in Keenan Lewis, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required).

Expect more struggles for San Francisco as the Saints pull away and don't look back.

Prediction: Saints 30, 49ers 24

Carolina Upsets New England

Monday Night Football features a showdown between a surging Carolina team looking to claw its way to a playoff berth and a New England team that looks to fend off others in the AFC East.

The Patriots sit at 7-2 atop the AFC East but look up to the undefeated Chiefs in the conference. Tom Brady and the Patriots surely watched Carolina's dismantling of San Francisco last week from the comforts of their bye week.

Before the bye, Brady and his offense torched Pittsburgh for 55 points and over 600 yards of total offense. While that's great, the Carolina defense is a different beast entirely.

In fact, Carolina has the NFL's second-best defense as it allows just 12.8 points per game. Offenses manage just 82 yards on the ground and 201.3 yards through the air.

The Panthers have embarrassed a variety of quarterbacks this year, with the most recent victim being the aforementioned Kaepernick and his 91 yards. A week before that, it was Atlanta's Matt Ryan, who had just 219 yards, one touchdown and three picks.

Brady has not exactly been consistent this year, and his performance against Pittsburgh was only the second time he had surpassed 300 yards on the season and the first he had thrown more than two touchdowns.

New England's offense will sputter in a big way against the elite Carolina defense, which has been nothing but consistent this season.

Prediction: Panthers 21, Patriots 14