NFL Week 11 Picks: Can Patriots Take Control of AFC vs. Colts?
NFL Week 11 picks are here, and it's time to break down the full slate of games this week.
There's plenty of big games this week, The biggest being New England Patriots against the Indianapolis Colts.
It's Brady against Manning again. It may end up determining who gets a Wild Card spot and who ends up watching the playoffs at the end of the year.
I make predictions for each of the games and why each team has a shot to win.
Any thoughts? Leave them in the comments.
Chicago vs. Miami
1 of 16
Why Chicago Can Win
Why not?
I mean, do the Bears honestly look like a 6-3 team to you?
They can't protect the quarterback and are a very one-dimensional team, yet the Bears are right in the thick of things in the NFC North. No one's talking about the Bears, and Jay Cutler can beat you with his arm if you give him the chance.
That defense is no slouch, either.
Why Miami Can Win
The Dolphins lost their starting quarterback after the second play from scrimmage,
Chad Henne stepped right in and had Miami in a position to win the game. He went down, and Tyler Thigpen walked on to the field and finished the job.
The Dolphins find ways to make plays at big spots in games. Also, that defense can get after people and cause the Titans a lot of issues last week.
Prediction
Miami 27, Chicago 17
Oakland vs. Pittsburgh
2 of 16
Why Oakland Can Win
The Raiders have been on a roll in recent weeks, running over teams with a high-powered offense that is led by Darren McFadden.
The running back opens up a lot of plays for Jason Campbell down the field and he's making more plays now than at any time in his career. Oakland is finally earning some respect that has been missing for years now.
Why Pittsburgh Can Win
The Steelers, despite last week's loss, have a great defense that shuts down opposing offenses and gives Pittsburgh great field position when its offense takes the field.
The Steelers have struggled with closing out games when they have the lead. But the offense has plenty of dimensions, with Rashard Mendenhall in the backfield and Mike Wallace stretching the field.
Prediction
Pittsburgh 31, Oakland 21
Houston vs. NY Jets
3 of 16
Why Houston Can Win
It certainly won't be with defense.
The Texans have one of the worst secondaries in the league, and it showed on that Hail Mary loss against Jacksonville on Sunday.
One player makes the right play in knocking it down. But the others don't take care of their man, and it leaves Mike Thomas open to walk into the end zone for the win.
The Texans will have to win a shootout to win this.
Why New York Can Win
The Jets are a tough, defensive team that gives a lot of offenses trouble.
They'll make you one-dimensional, and they're going to take away your biggest weapon. Andre Johnson is going to have to go against Darrelle Revis on an injured ankle, and I wish him the best of luck.
Not a lot of people make Darrelle Revis look foolish.
Prediction
NY Jets 37, Houston, 20
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Baltimore vs. Carolina
4 of 16
Why Baltimore Can Win
The Ravens took one of the best teams in the NFC, the Atlanta Falcons, to the wire.
They arguably would have won the game if it weren't for a questionable catch along the sidelines and a missed offensive pass-interference call on Roddy White on the play that turned into the game-winning touchdown. It was a hard-fought game that the Ravens just came a little bit short in.
Why Carolina Can Win
To be honest, I can't think of any reason why the Panthers can win this game.
There is no quarterback worth anything on that roster. The running backs are dinged up, and the Panthers look like a team destined to have the first pick in the draft in the spring.
Prediction
Baltimore 45, Carolina 13
Washington vs. Tennessee
5 of 16
Why Washington Can Win
The Redskins were embarrassed on national television on Monday.
Washington is going to want to get the awful taste out of its mouth after that epic beatdown at the hands of Michael Vick and the Philadelphia Eagles. I expect to see Washington come out feisty on Sunday.
Why Tennessee Can Win
The Redskins clearly can't defend the deep ball.
With Randy Moss and Nate Washington in the lineup, Vince Young is going to have plenty of choices to make in the passing game. That's going to open up Chris Johnson in the running game, and there's a lot of advantages for the Titans when they take the field on offense.
Prediction
Tennessee 38, Washington 20
Detroit vs. Dallas
6 of 16
Why Detroit Can Win
The Lions can move the ball on offense and Shaun Hill can sling the ball up and down the field to Calvin Johnson and company in the passing game.
The defense is aggressive on the line and will have a chance to expose a bad Dallas offensive line.
Why Dallas Can Win
The Cowboys looked energized by the firing of Wade Phillips and seemed to have played harder for Jason Garrett than they ever did for Phillips.
Jon Kitna played his best game of the entire season and was throwing it all over the Giants. It was a shocking performance.
Prediction
Dallas 27, Detroit 20
Green Bay vs. Minnesota
7 of 16
Why Green Bay Can Win
The Packers beat the Vikings in the first matchup at Lambeau Field
Now in the second matchup, Green Bay has the chance to put Brett Favre and the hated Vikings out of their misery and end their season once and for all. I'm sure Aaron Rodgers would love nothing more than to finish off Favre in a big matchup.
Why Minnesota Can Win
The Vikings really should have won that first matchup.
Yet Brett Favre threw the game away with a couple bad interceptions. Even at the very end of the game, the Vikings had a couple shots to get the winning touchdown.
That's not bad. There's also a chance Sidney Rice plays, which would be a big help to a struggling Minnesota offense.
Predictions
Green Bay 27, Minnesota 16
Buffalo vs. Cincinnati
8 of 16
Why Buffalo Can Win
The Bills have one win on the season.
But Buffalo has been in a lot of games this season. Ryan Fitzpatrick has been able to keep his team in games and makes plays down the field to Steve Johnson, who came out of nowhere to be a big impact player.
Why Cincinnati Can Win
The Bengals do have offensive weapons in Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco.
It's just the matter of Carson Palmer making the right throws. That's been the biggest problem with the Bengals this year.
Palmer has struggled this year and looks like he could be done as an effective quarterback.
Prediction
Buffalo 23, Cincinnati 20
Cleveland vs. Jacksonville
9 of 16
Why Cleveland Can Win
The Browns are one of the most pleasant surprises in the league this season.
Colt McCoy has stepped in under center and beaten New Orleans and New England this year. He also gave the Jets everything they could handle and almost walked away with a tie in a great game.
Peyton Hillis has been a monster this year for the Browns.
Why Jacksonville Can Win
The Jaguars are an odd team.
Some weeks, they'll look great. The next, they'll be awful.
It all revolves around David Garrard. Garrard is pretty inconsistent, but when he's on, he's hard to stop under center.
The Jags have weapons on offense, and he'll kill you if you give him the chance.
Prediction
Cleveland 31, Jacksonville 24
Arizona vs. Kansas City
10 of 16
Why Arizona Can Win
To be honest, the Cardinals don't look like a team that should be winning many ballgames.
Arizona just isn't that good statistically, and have no quarterback and no running game. It's really a nightmare scenario, especially when you factor in how bad the Cardinals' secondary is.
Why Kansas City Can Win
The Chiefs have a good running game.
In recent weeks, Matt Cassel has turned into the type of passer that we saw in New England when he stepped in for Tom Brady a couple of years ago when he blew his knee out.
Kansas City struggled last week, but that was a division game. Anything can happen in those.
Prediction
Kansas City 34, Arizona 23
Seattle vs. New Orleans
11 of 16
Why Seattle Can Win
The Seahawks are an inconsistent team.
But when they're on, they're hard to beat.
Mike Williams has turned his career around in Seattle and has become the favorite target in that offense. Marshawn Lynch is there, so you have to be honest in defending the running game.
Seattle is a lot better than people thought they'd be this year.
Why New Orleans Can Win
The Saints really turned it around after a sluggish start to the season.
Drew Brees and company are fresh off of a bye week and a victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. New Orleans is under the radar right now in the NFC, and no team should sleep on the defending champs.
Prediction
New Orleans 42, Seattle 16
Atlanta vs. St. Louis
12 of 16
Why Atlanta Can Win
The Falcons have been one of the best teams in the NFC all year long.
They got a huge win against a Baltimore team thought of as the best in the NFL coming into that week.
Matt Ryan's had a great season. With the weapons around him, he can do a lot of damage to an opposing defense.
Why St. Louis Can Win
The Rams are scrappy, you have to give them that.
St. Louis manages to hang around in games with Sam Bradford under center. He's done a great job of keeping the Rams in contention despite a lack of talent on the team.
Danny Amendola has looked productive this year and the Rams could keep it close.
Prediction
Atlanta 31, St. Louis 21
Tampa Bay vs. San Francisco
13 of 16
Why Tampa Bay Can Win
It's not always pretty, but Josh Freeman finds a way to win ballgames.
He is the king of the fourth quarter. If it's close, Buccaneers fans always feel like they have a chance to win the game late.
Freeman has turned into quite the starter for Tampa Bay, and the Bucs are somehow in the playoff hunt.
Who would have thought?
Why San Francisco Can Win
The 49ers have been on a bit of a roll recently.
They just got a big win against the Rams to pull closer in the NFC West race.
San Francisco was thought to be dead and buried a couple of weeks ago. But with Troy Smith under center, the 49ers are slowly crawling back into contention. Don't forget about Frank Gore, Vernon Davis and Michael Crabtree in that San Fran offense, either.
Prediction
Tampa Bay 21, San Francisco 17
Indianapolis vs. New England
14 of 16
Why Indianapolis Can Win
Peyton Manning, despite injury to most of his offensive weapons, has still managed to put together another MVP season under center for the Colts.
He has the ability to torch a young defense like the one the Patriots is going to put on the field on Sunday. He could have a monster game.
Why New England Can Win
Tom Brady has done the same thing in New England.
But this time it's without Randy Moss. Moss has left, and Brady still torched the Steelers on Sunday night and didn't turn the ball over once against arguably the best defense in the league.
Imagine what he can do to a weaker Colts defense.
Prediction
New England 31, Indianapolis 30
NY Giants vs. Philadelphia
15 of 16
Why New York Can Win
Eli Manning has been able to have a lot of success in the passing game this year.
When you throw Ahmad Bradshaw into the mix, it creates a potent offense that can have a lot of success against an Eagles secondary that has struggled at times this year.
Why Philadelphia Can Win
The Eagles have the X-factor in Michael Vick.
Vick can create havoc for opposing defenses. With those speedy wideouts on the outsides, it's a nightmare to try and stop.
Philadelphia has an offense that can play with the best out there. Vick's on a roll right now and he's taking care of the ball.
It's not an easy challenge.
Prediction
NY Giants 28, Philadelphia 24
Denver vs. San Diego
16 of 16
Why Denver Can Win
The Broncos are a pass-heavy team.
With Kyle Orton under center, Denver has been slinging it all over the field and the Broncos live by the pass and they die by the pass. This past week, Orton and company threw all over the Chiefs to get a big win.
They'll need Orton to be huge again to upset the Chargers.
Why San Diego Can Win
The Chargers are making that second-half charge again.
Philip Rivers is, arguably, the MVP of the league with the way he's been playing this year. Rivers is making plays with Antonio Gates and essentially no one else.
With Vincent Jackson not playing so far this year, people thought Rivers would struggle. But he's had one of the best years of his career.
Prediction
San Diego 35, Denver 28
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