NFL Predictions Week 11: Picks and Odds Advice for Latest Schedule

If bettors are lucky, the NFL will return to normal Sunday.

It will take quite a bit to shake off a season in which a pair of .500 or worse teams sit atop divisions (New York Giants and the AFC South misery omelet) and big names like Peyton Manning hit the bench.

Even if the situation reverts back to a manageable state, bettors would then have to worry about nailing down projections for the latest slate. Below, let's take the legwork out of the equation by taking into account past performances, projections and more when looking at every odd and detail surrounding Week 11.

NFL Week 11 Odds

Game	Spread	O/U	Predicted Winner
Indianapolis at Atlanta	ATL -4.5	48	IND 23-20
St. Louis at Baltimore	BAL -2.5	42	STL 17-10
Washington at Carolina	CAR -7.5	44.5	CAR 24-14
Denver at Chicago	DEN -1	41	DEN 28-20
Oakland at Detroit	DET -1	49.5	OAK 30-24
N.Y. Jets at Houston	NYJ -3	40.5	NYJ 26-13
Dallas at Miami	DAL -1.5	45.5	DAL 20-16
Tampa Bay at Philadelphia	PHI -6	44.5	PHIL 24-23
Kansas City at San Diego	KC -3	45	KC 23-17
Green Bay at Minnesota	GB -1	44	MIN 24-23
San Francisco at Seattle	SEA -13.5	39.5	SEA 27-20
Cincinnati at Arizona	ARI -4.5	48	CIN 20-17
Buffalo at New England	NE -7.5	48	NE 33-24

Odds courtesy of Odds Shark.   

Last-Minute Odds to Bet

N.Y. Jets (-3) at Houston

It's all right for bettors to cherry pick lines when their own coin hangs in the balance. 

Look at the situation between the New York Jets and Houston Texans. The hosts enter this contest after a short week thanks to an upset victory over the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday Night Football—but won't have starting quarterback Brian Hoyer under center due to a concussion, according to ESPN.com's Adam Schefter.

Long story short, the Texans will trot out T.J. Yates under center, who has four touchdowns to seven interceptions on his career. His outlook against a defense that lets up just 230.3 passing yards and 88.1 rushing yards per game on average doesn't need much in the way of explaining.

Granted, the Jets are in a slump having lost three of their last four. But a Ryan Fitzpatrick-led offense has balance enough to produce on the road as it grinds with Chris Ivory on the ground (643 yards, six touchdowns) and the duo of Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker through the air, who both have at least 42 catches with six scores apiece.

If this weren't a short week and if Houston had a starting quarterback, this projection might look a tad different. But on paper, a showdown between two teams with playoff aspirations plays out in quite the obvious manner thanks to injury.

Prediction: Jets 26, Texans 13

Tampa Bay at Philadelphia (-6) 

Another injury makes for a rather simple play for bettors. 

In a normal week taking the Philadelphia Eagles over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers by around this number would feel quite comfortable. Instead, the hosts will have to give it a whirl without starting quarterback Sam Bradford, according to Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Folks will recall that one Mark Sanchez started Philadelphia's final eight games last season and tossed a gaudy 11 interceptions while the team missed the playoffs. The offense hasn't been encouraging as of late considering the Eagles have dropped two of their last three, winding up with fewer than 20 points in both losses.

These Buccaneers have the talent to keep pace with a Sanchez-led offense. Rookie quarterback Jameis Winston has just 10 touchdowns to nine interceptions, but Doug Martin continues his return to prominence with 706 yards and three scores on the ground.

Perhaps best of all, the Buccaneers quietly rank top 12 against both the pass and rush in terms of yards allowed per game. This is the same defense that went to Atlanta in Week 8 and held the Falcons to 20 points in an upset.

This isn't to suggest the Eagles cannot win at home. A rookie quarterback will continue to make mistakes, and the Philadelphia defense can focus on limiting the run, allowing a ground game led by DeMarco Murray to grind it out.

But at these odds, bettors should know which way to go.

Prediction: Eagles 24, Buccaneers 23

Kansas City (-3) at San Diego

Talk about a tale of two teams out in the AFC West. 

The Kansas City Chiefs look great as of late, having rattled off three wins in a row to sit one win within range of .500, even taking down AFC contenders Pittsburgh and Denver in the process.

Then there's the San Diego Chargers, a team sitting on a 2-7 mark with five losses in a row.

Despite the struggles, coach Mike McCoy says his team won't throw in the towel, according to ESPN.com: "We're not going to make excuses here. We're going to keep on plugging every day, work extremely hard, put great plans together. It's not due to a lack of effort. We've got to finish at the end of the game or make those plays during the game to go up by two scores."

It just hasn't clicked for the Chargers this year, who haven't scored more than 20 points in five of their seven losses. Quarterback Philip Rivers has completed 69 percent of his passes with 19 touchdowns to seven interceptions, but the ground game averages 3.6 yards per carry and his wideouts continue to suffer injuries.

Kansas City is where it's at because the team has responded so well to injury. It lost Jamaal Charles, but Charcandrick West is already up to 357 yards and three scores in his place. The passing attack can withstand such issues as well considering seven names have at least one touchdown catch.

With a lack of a running game to worry about, look for the Chiefs to key on Rivers while controlling the pace with a balanced attack on the way to the road win. Kansas City is simply going to want it more with the idea of sneaking into Wild Card contention on the mind.

Prediction: Chiefs 23, Chargers 17

Stats courtesy of NFL.com and accurate as of Nov. 22. All advanced metrics courtesy of Pro Football Focus.