NFL Week 11 Predictions: Initial Vegas Odds, Lines, Spreads and Projections

The 10th week of the 2016 season is nearly over. Once the Cincinnati Bengals and New York Giants finish with their Monday night contest, it will be time to turn the page over to Week 11.

We'll have a total of 14 games in Week 11, beginning with a Thursday night battle between the Carolina Panthers and New Orleans Saints. How will those games unfold? That's a tricky question. As we saw in Week 10—and really all season—making accurate predictions hasn't been easy.

Who saw the Saints losing on a last-minute blocked extra point in Week 10? How many folks expected the San Francisco 49ers to push the Arizona Cardinals to the limit? Who expected the Seattle Seahawks to march into Foxborough and knock off the New England Patriots?

Even though making predictions has been tough, we're going to take a crack at it. We'll examine the early Vegas odds, per Odds Shark, and make our predictions against them. We'll also examine some of the top matchups of the upcoming slate.

Week 11 Schedule and Odds

Day, Time (ET)	Game	Early Line	Prediction
Thur. 8:25 p.m.	New Orleans at Carolina	CAR -4	CAR
Sun. 1 p.m.	Jacksonville at Detroit	DET -6.5	DET
Sun. 1 p.m.	Baltimore at Dallas	DAL -7	BAL
Sun. 1 p.m.	Buffalo at Cincinnati	CIN -4	BUF
Sun. 1 p.m.	Tampa Bay at Kansas City	KC -7.5	KC
Sun. 1 p.m.	Pittsburgh at Cleveland	PIT -9	PIT
Sun. 1 p.m.	Tennessee at Indianapolis	IND -3	TEN
Sun. 1 p.m.	Chicago at NY Giants	NYG -6	NYG
Sun. 1 p.m.	Arizona at Minnesota	Even	ARI
Sun. 4:05 p.m.	Miami at Los Angeles	Even	LA
Sun. 4:25 p.m.	Philadelphia at Seattle	SEA -4.5	SEA
Sun. 4:25 p.m.	New England at San Francisco	NE -14	NE
Sun. 8:30 p.m.	Green Bay at Washington	WAS -2.5	WAS
Mon. 8:30 p.m.	Houston at Oakland	OAK -5	OAK

Matchups to Watch

New Orleans Saints at Carolina Panthers

Week 11 will begin with an NFC South grudge match. When the Panthers host the Saints on Thursday, with the game will potentially hold playoff implications. Both of these teams are still in the divisional hunt despite owning losing records.

The Atlanta Falcons, who lost on Sunday, sit atop the division with a 6-4 record. A win would push the 4-5 Saints back up to .500. A victory would move the resurgent Panthers to 4-6.

The Panthers have won two of their last three games and could potentially still steal the division if they manage to win out.

This could be a bounce-back opportunity for both teams after heartbreaking losses. The Saints essentially lost because that blocked extra point was returned for a score. The Panthers blew a 17-point lead.

"That’s as bad of a loss as I’ve had in 10 years," Panthers tight end Greg Olsen said, per David Newton of ESPN.com. "To be in complete control in the fourth quarter and self-destruct...it’s tough."

This game also brings a clash of different styles. The Panthers' game plan is to win with defense and a ground-oriented offense. The Saints try to slice through the opposition on the arm of Drew Brees and the passing attack.

The Saints are rated fifth in overall offense by Pro Football Focus. The Panthers are rated 17th in overall defense, but they have allowed 20 points or fewer in each of their past three games.

This should be a close matchup, and the Saints won the first one in New Orleans. Given the way the Panthers have been playing since the last time these two teams met—along with home-field advantage—it's hard not to give the edge to the Carolina.

Baltimore Ravens at Dallas Cowboys

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The Dallas Cowboys are looking like they just could be the best team in football. Dallas has ripped off eight consecutive wins and has battered opponents throughout the season. Week 10's game against the Pittsburgh Steelers was close, but the Cowboys showed enough mental toughness to pull out a late win.

Next up for Dallas is a Baltimore Ravens team that is in control of the AFC North. Baltimore has started to show signs of being a legitimate contender, especially now they are demonstrating signs of life on offense—at least 21 points in each of the past two games.

Defensively, Pro Football Focus rates the Ravens fourth in overall defense.

The Cowboys, who are averaging 28.7 points per game and are rated third in overall offense by Pro Football Focus, have done most of their damage on the opposite side of the ball from Baltimore. This sets the stage for a strength-versus-strength battle of division leaders.

Can the Ravens slow Dallas rookie stars Ezekiel Elliott and Dak Prescott? This is the question Baltimore will try to answer on the road. If the Ravens can do what teams such as the Steelers, the Bengals and the Philadelphia Eagles have failed to do, then it would be time admit they are more than just a front-runner in a weak division.

It would be time to acknowledge that Baltimore possesses a defense that could be championship-caliber.

Green Bay Packers at Washington Redskins

Sunday's matchup between the Washington Redskins and the Green Bay Packers feels like one that could be difficult to predict—primarily because it feels like the struggling Packers are going to bounce back at some point.

The reality, however, is the Packers are wounded and may have already lost their way for the season.

Green Bay was handed an embarrassing 47-25 loss by the Tennessee Titans in Week 10. They now travel to face a Washington Redskins team that has flown largely under the radar this season. At 5-3-1, the Redskins should be viewed as legitimate playoff contenders, even if they haven't garnered the attention of Dallas or Philadelphia in the NFC East.

Washington's biggest strength is an offense that Pro Football Focus rates ninth overall, one that is averaging 23.6 points per game. This unit put up 26 points on a good Minnesota Vikings defense on Sunday. It will face a not-so-good Packers defense in Week 11.

The Packers are allowing an average of 26.0 points per game. They are especially susceptible to the pass—rated 24th in pass coverage by Pro Football Focus—and could provide the opportunity for a big day from Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins.

Unfortunately, the Packers are also a bit of a mess on offense. Aaron Rodgers and Co. simply haven't played with the type of efficiency needed to overcome the struggles on the other side of the football. Rodgers has failed to complete more than 61 percent of his passes in his last two games and has tossed three interceptions between them.

As long as Green Bay is struggling on defense and failing to find chemistry on offense, it's going to be hard to see them rebounding against a talented team like Washington.