NFL Picks Week 11: Forecasting Sunday's Most Overlooked Encounters

With a meaty slate of NFL games to come on Sunday, it's inevitable that a few intriguing matchups slip through the net of most fans' viewing schedules.

Most are focusing on the massive clashes between Detroit Lions-Arizona Cardinals and New England Patriots-Indianapolis Colts. But earlier in the day, three games feature plenty of division implications.

The six teams involved aren't at the top of the standings, but wins in Week 11 could help get them there.

Time (ET)	Away	Home	Spread	Straight-Up Pick
Sunday
1 p.m.	Minnesota Vikings	Chicago Bears	CHI -4.5	See Below
1 p.m.	Houston Texans	Cleveland Browns	CLE -3	CLE
1 p.m.	Atlanta Falcons	Carolina Panthers	CAR -2.5	See Below
1 p.m.	Cincinnati Bengals	New Orleans Saints	NO -5.5	See Below
1 p.m.	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Washington Redskins	WAS -6	WAS
1 p.m.	Denver Broncos	St. Louis Rams	DEN -8	DEN
1 p.m.	San Francisco 49ers	New York Giants	SF -3	NYG
1 p.m.	Seattle Seahawks	Kansas City Chiefs	SEA -1	SEA
4:05 p.m.	Oakland Raiders	San Diego Chargers	SD -8	SD
4:25 p.m.	Detroit Lions	Arizona Cardinals	ARI -3	DET
4:25 p.m.	Philadelphia Eagles	Green Bay Packers	GB -4.5	GB
8:30 p.m.	New England Patriots	Indianapolis Colts	IND -2	NE
Monday
8:30 p.m.	Pittsburgh Steelers	Tennessee Titans	PIT -4	PIT

Note: Spread info is courtesy of OddsShark.com.

Chicago Bears vs. Minnesota Vikings

This game will be interesting if only to see if the Chicago Bears sink any further. They've lost three games in a row, allowing Aaron Rodgers to throw six touchdown passes in a single half in the process. The Bears were considered a playoff contender, but now they could finish last in the NFC North.

Marc Trestman's job is under serious threat, and fans are running out of fingers to point all of the blame.

Jay Cutler's long been a figure of ridicule when things go wrong for Chicago, so it's little surprise that he's receiving the brunt of the criticism. Fans are even going to the extreme of burning his jersey.

Cutler's not letting the slight get to him, per Jeff Dickerson of ESPN Chicago:

Of course, Cutler wasn't playing defense on Sunday night when the Bears were shredded by Rodgers and Jordy Nelson:

Suffice it to say, things are a complete mess for Chicago. The good news for the Bears is that they get the Minnesota Vikings and Tampa Bay Buccaneers over their next two games.

Chicago has way too much talent to be this bad, so sooner or later, the Bears will start putting it together. It's probably too late to turn things around in 2014, but a strong finish to the season could rebuild the fans' faith in Cutler and save Trestman's job.

Maybe, just maybe, the Bears can get hot and make a run at the NFC North.

Prediction: Chicago 24, Minnesota 10

New Orleans Saints vs. Cincinnati Bengals

Speaking of teams heading in the wrong direction, it wasn't that long ago that the Cincinnati Bengals were considered a possible Super Bowl contender.

As bad as the losses to the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts were, the Bengals bottomed out against the Cleveland Browns. Andy Dalton went 10 of 33 for 86 yards and three interceptions. His performance set the new standard for awful, per CBSSports.com's Will Brinson:

Sports Illustrated's Doug Farrar added that Week 10 isn't an outlier for Dalton either:

With that said, the thing with Dalton and the Bengals—at least the modern-day Bengals—is that neither are irredeemably poor forever. Pro Football Focus' Sam Monson illustrated how Dalton runs extremely hot and cold from week to week:

The perfect tonic for Dalton might be the New Orleans Saints defense, which ranks 22nd against the pass, according to Football Outsiders. The Bengals are eighth in pass defense, so they should be able to limit Drew Brees enough to keep the game within reach.

You never know which Dalton will show up from week to week, but he should be headed for a bounce back in Week 11. As long as Cincinnati doesn't allow Mark Ingram to run wild, it will walk out of New Orleans with a massive victory.

Prediction: Cincinnati 30, New Orleans 27

Carolina Panthers vs. Atlanta Falcons

In the event the Saints do lose, the Carolina Panthers and Atlanta Falcons will have the chance to make up some ground in the NFC South. The division is fascinating in that the 1-8 Tampa Bay Buccaneers could realistically make the playoffs. They're only three games back of the Saints.

Taking a backseat to the division race, at least in regard to this game, is the health of Cam Newton.

Bleacher Report's Mike Tanier observed that in the Panthers' 45-21 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, Newton was visibly hurt:

Having been peppered by writers as to his current status, Newton responded that "Yes, I'm hurt," per ESPN.com's David Newton.

"If you are asking me am I hurt right now? Yeah, I'm hurt," he said. "I haven't felt 100 percent for a long time. But is that going to be my excuse as to why we're on a losing streak? No. Absolutely not."

It's not hard to see why Newton would be dealing with some sort of lingering injury. Between his more mobile nature and a poor offensive line, he's been constantly hammered since entering the league. ESPN's Adam Schefter listed the leaders in QB sacks/hits over the last four years, and Newton's nearly double the No. 2 guy:

Still, Newton at 75 or 80 percent should be enough to propel the Panthers past Atlanta.

The Falcons have one road win this year, which came against the lowly Bucs. Before that Week 10 victory, they had a five-game losing streak.

While Newton is hobbled, he should move the ball against a defense that ranks last in passing yards allowed per game.

Prediction: Carolina 20, Atlanta 10