NFL Predictions Week 11: Final Odds Projections and Fantasy Stars to Watch

NFL odds and fantasy football go together as well as, well, the combo is unrivaled, so NFL odds and fantasy football.

On one hand, placing potential coin on the line based on how Las Vegas feels about the NFL makes each game an exhilarating experience. On the other, crafting a team through a draft, waiver wire, trades and more to achieve glory during a season-long quest is just as thrilling. 

Mix the two, and it sounds like the perfect way to spend a weekend. 

With that in mind, let's debrief the Week 11 slate and odds while dissecting some of the top fantasy names to keep a keen eye on as things unfold.

NFL Week 11 Picks Against the Spread

Matchup	Spread	Pick ATS	Reason	Fantasy Stud
Minnesota at Chicago	CHI -3.5	MIN	Chicago looks lost at the moment, while Minnesota had a bye to prepare.	Alshon Jeffery
Houston at Cleveland	CLE -3	CLE	Cleveland is legit and at home while Houston experiments under center. Easy.	Ben Tate
Seattle at Kansas City	KC -1	SEA	Seattle seems to be hitting its stride and will outmuscle Kansas City on the ground.	Marshawn Lynch
Atlanta at Carolina	ATL -1	CAR	Cam Newton can do enough on his own to move past one of the worst defenses in the league.	Cam Newton
Cincinnati at New Orleans	NO -7.5	NO	Cincinnati is lost at the moment, and the last thing the young and injured roster needs is a trip to the Dome.	Mark Ingram
Tampa Bay at Washington	WAS -7	WAS	The return of Robert Griffin III has Washington in a position to at least beat up on bad teams.	DeSean Jackson
Denver at St. Louis	DEN -10.5	DEN	Denver continues to breeze through the schedule, while St. Louis has seemingly lost its will to compete.	Peyton Manning
San Francisco at NY Giants	SF -4.5	SF	New York will have no answer for the San Francisco ground game, so long as the staff actually uses it.	Frank Gore
Oakland at San Diego	SD -10.5	OAK	Derek Carr and Oakland have fight but not enough talent.	Philip Rivers
Philadelphia at Green Bay	GB -6	GB	Philadelphia still has a solid offense, but a duel between Aaron Rodgers and Mark Sanchez is not going to end well.	Aaron Rodgers
Detroit at Arizona	ARI -1	DET	A bout between two defensive contenders defaults to quarterbacks, which in this case defaults to Detroit.	Calvin Johnson
New England at Indianapolis	IND -3	NE	A bet against Tom Brady and New England right now is akin to throwing money in a fire.	Andrew Luck
Pittsburgh at Tennessee (Mon., Nov. 17)	PIT -7	PIT	Pittsburgh has re-entered orbit but has not fallen enough to get caught napping by Tennessee.	Le'Veon Bell

Odds courtesy of Odds Shark and accurate as of 4 p.m. ET on Nov. 14.

Projecting Top Week 11 Fantasy Performers

Calvin Johnson

Rick Osentoski/Associated Press

It was not too long ago that the world of fantasy football was downright crumbling. After a 28-point outburst to start the season, Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson scored eight, eight and one before hitting the shelf with an injury.

Rest easy, football fans. If last week was any indication, Megatron is back to his old self after his time off. He grabbed seven catches for 113 yards and a score in Week 10, good for a cool 17 points.

Keep in mind that this came against Miami, a team that has surrendered only the sixth-fewest points to wideouts this season.

As NFL on ESPN illustrates, though, Johnson may have his hands full against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 11:

While undoubtedly a superb matchup, those who do some digging know that Johnson is likely to explode. The Cardinals have surrendered the ninth-most points to wideouts this season, including notable allowances of 27, 49, 29 and 41 points.

On paper, the showdown between Arizona and Detroit figures to be pretty defensive. The Lions rank third against the pass and second against the rush. In other words, an Arizona team without its starting quarterback will not see the ball all that much.

Johnson and the Lions certainly will. Arizona's leaky secondary is going to surrender plenty of big plays up and down the field, so be ready for fantasy fireworks.

Prediction: 20 points

Mark Ingram

Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

In a rather surprising turn of events compared to the last three or four seasons, the Cincinnati Bengals are miserable against the run this season.

The team ranks 31st in that regard, allowing an average of 143 yards per game. As a result, it allows the fourth-most points to running backs this year. Five of the last six weeks have proven to be a fantasy gold mine for backs who line up against the Cincinnati defense:

WK	OPP	ATT	YDS	TD	PTS
5	@NE	39	211	1	28
6	Car	17	40	1	11
7	@Ind	29	166	1	32
8	Bal	24	95	2	29
9	Jac	21	122	1	21
10	Cle	48	169	3	36

Mark Ingram is about to put on a show.

Yes, the New Orleans Saints are a pass-first team with Drew Brees under center. No, it has not prevented a fully healthy Ingram from destroying any defense he lines up against. Quite the contrary, really, as he feasts while defenses focus on Brees.

Over the course of his past three games, Ingram has been on fire:

WK	OPP	ATT	YDS	TD	PTS
8	GB	24	172	1	23
9	@Car	30	100	2	23
10	SF	27	120	0	13

That damage did not exactly come against cupcake defenses, either. Green Bay had allowed just seven points on the ground the week before the Ingram show. Carolina had allowed just 11 to Seattle. San Francisco, other than being San Francisco, had allowed just 10 the week prior.

As one can see, Cincinnati allowed 36. These Bengals are an absolute mess one week removed from Andy Dalton throwing a trio of interceptions on a 10-of-33 mark. In the loud Dome, it is the Saints that will have the ball early and often.

Ingram might just tally his biggest performance of the year to date.

Prediction: 24 points

Le'Veon Bell

Al Bello/Getty Images

There is no better way to cap off a strong week of football than a great fantasy showing on Monday Night Football.

Owners should be thrilled that Le'Veon Bell of the Pittsburgh Steelers is in the spotlight this week.

Bell enters the weekend as the fifth-highest scorer at his position, having tallied double-digit outputs in all but two contests this year, despite only scoring one rushing touchdown.

What is his secret? Bell is the best dual-threat back in the league this season. His 747 yards and a score on a 4.6 yards-per-carry average are great, but he also rips defenses through the air with 55 catches for 466 yards and a pair of scores.

As Dale Lolley of the Observer-Reporter notes, the versatility has already etched Bell's name into the team's record books:

Bell is a matchup-proof option who produces in any situation. But it certainly does not hurt that Monday's contest will serve him up a miserable defense on a silver platter.

The Tennessee Titans rank 29th against the rush this season. Ken Whisenhunt's defense allows the sixth-most points to back and is coming off its worst two performances of the year. Week 8 was an allowance of 41 points, Week 10 after a bye was 29 more.

Anybody and everybody scores well on the Tennessee defense. Indianapolis' much-maligned starter Trent Richardson got himself 47 yards and a score. Baltimore's Justin Forsett found 112 yards and two scores.

Bell is sure to join a long list of backs who have found great success against the unit by way of smooth cuts on the ground and sure hands in the passing game.

While predictable, Bell's eventual dominance of the Titans sure beats out watching a fantasy dud on a Monday night.

Prediction: 22 points

Stats courtesy of NFL.com. Advanced metrics via Pro Football Focus (subscription required). Dallas, New York Jets, Jacksonville and Baltimore on bye. All scoring info courtesy of ESPN standard leagues, as is points-against info and ownership stats. Statistics courtesy of ESPN.