NFL Picks Week 11: Can Troy Smith Keep 49ers Playoff Push Alive vs. Bucs?
NFL Week 11 is here and it's time for the picks.
Last week was one of the wilder weeks of the season, with a bunch of upsets highlighted by the Cowboys lights-out (pun intended) performance at the New Meadowlands against the Giants that left Atlanta and New England tied for the best record in the NFL and a week of debate ahead.
This week promises to be just as, if not more exciting, with rivalry games across the league and division leads on the line in the NFC East, as well as the NFC West, where everyone is alive. Even the Cardinals and 49ers, who are tied for last at 3-6. So this is what parity looks like.
So with that in mind, here are the picks for Week 11.
Buffalo at Cincinnati
1 of 15
Why the Bills will win: Buffalo finally got its first win of the season last week, but the Bills could very easily have three or four wins to this point. Ryan Fitzpatrick has emerged as one of the NFL's best surprises at quarterback, but he'll need help from what has been a non-existent running game at times if the Bills have any chance.
Why the Bengals will win: Remember when the Bengals offense used to be a dynamic attack that could score at will? The Cincinnati offense might not be that explosive anymore, but they might look it by facing one of the league's worst defenses. Ochocinco and T.O. may have some good news to talk about on their television show after this week.
Prediction: Bengals 31, Bills 13. If the Bengals don't win this week, it may be another month before they have a good chance to again.
Detroit at Dallas
2 of 15
Why the Lions will win: Shaun Hill has been pretty solid for the Lions, filling in for the injured and suddenly injury-prone Matthew Stafford. Well, unless he's throwing two-point conversions out of bounds. Detroit has a chance if they can get the running game going with Jahvid Best and put pressure on Jon Kitna. Plus Detroit has to win a road game sometime. Right?
Why the Cowboys will win: They're more talented, stronger, faster, and perhaps for the first time this season, playing hard for their coach. They should win easily. Of course all the experts said the same thing about the Jacksonville game too. We saw how that turned out.
Prediction: Cowboys 28, Lions 7: Jason Garrett improves to 2-0 as Cowboy coach, and becomes an Internet legend by being the first coach to throw a challenge flag 30 yards.
Washington at Tennessee
3 of 15
Why the Redskins will win: It really can't get much worse than last week. That's something. Keiland Williams had a strong game last week filling in for Ryan Torain and Clinton Portis, that's positive too. But if the defense looks as lifeless or even makes Vince Young look half as good as Michael Vick did Monday night, well that's just bad.
Why the Titans will win: Chris Johnson against one of the worst run defenses in the league. Enough said.
Prediction: Titans 38, Redskins 17. Another addition to Redskins fans' long list of grievances against Dan Snyder.
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Arizona at Kansas City
4 of 15
Why the Cardinals will win: As bad as it's been in the desert, Arizona is only two games out of first in the NFC West. Larry Fitzgerald has started to break out from his early season struggles, to the delight of Cardinal fans and fantasy owners continent-wide, and it could be a good time to catch the Chiefs while they are struggling. If they only had a quarterback.
Why the Chiefs will win: Truth be told, Kansas City needs this game. Coming off an embarrassing blowout at Denver and in the midst of a two-game losing streak, a loss to a bad team at home would be devastating. At this rate, the Chiefs season might come down to a countdown to Royals' season, which is already a countdown to Chiefs season.
Prediction: Chiefs 27, Cardinals 20. KC gets a much needed win and the Cards wonder if that guy from "Dancing With The Stars" wants to play quarterback.
Green Bay at Minnesota
5 of 15
Why the Packers will win: Simply put, a team that is starting to click and get healthy at the right time. The defense gave Brett Favre fits earlier this season in Lambeau, and there's no reason to suggest this time won't be different. The Packers look like the team that should come out on top in this division and they can finally finish Minnesota this week.
Why the Vikings will win: Pure desperation. That's about all a team who has an all-world running back and a hall-of-fame quarterback who refuses to hand the ball off to said running back and throw the ball into triple coverage has left. And if they play their cards right, they may not have their hated coach for much longer either.
Prediction: Packers 24, Vikings 20. The Packers will officially start Brett Favre's Farewell Tour No. 5 this week.
Houston at New York Jets
6 of 15
Why the Texans will win: The Texans need a win for a multitude of reasons. They need one to bounce back from a heartbreaking loss last week, they need one to stay alive in the AFC Playoff race. But most importantly, they need one to prove to themselves they can get a quality road win and ensure it won't be another meaningless December. If Matt Schaub is smart and gets Arian Foster involved, they have a chance.
Why the Jets will win: They need to make a statement. I know 7-2 is 7-2 and this is the NFL, but there's no way Detroit and Cleveland should be taking you to overtime on consecutive weeks if you are as good as Rex Ryan says they are. That being said, they find ways to win and I can see Mark Sanchez exploiting Houston's D.
Prediction: Jets 27, Texans 10: The Gary Kubiak "relieved of coaching duties" pool starts in earnest.
Oakland at Pittsburgh
7 of 15
Why the Raiders will win: The Raiders are 5-4. Let that sink in. They're doing it with a stingy pass defense and a strong running attack, both of which could play big roles against the Steelers, who are struggling. And let's put it this way, if JaMarcus Russell could win in Pittsburgh, then Jason Campbell sure as heck can.
Why the Steelers will win: With a tough defense and the memory of last weeks debacle against Tom Brady (or was that Justin Bieber, I can't tell them apart with the hair), Mike Tomlin will have them ready to play. And if there's a quarterback who could beat the Raiders' secondary, Ben Roethlisberger is one of them.
Prediction: Steelers 20, Raiders 17. The return of a great rivalry. Someone go find Steve Sabol and cue up John Facenda reciting "The Autumn Wind."
Baltimore at Carolina
8 of 15
Why the Ravens will win: Even in defeat, it was impressive to watch Joe Flacco lead the Ravens back against arguably the best team in the NFL last week. If he can continue to get Anquan Boldin back on track and keep Ray Rice going strong, there's no reason this team can't compete in the AFC. They should be heavy favorites here.
Why the Panthers will win: I'll be honest, I've got nothing. Brian St. Pierre (yes, THAT Brian St. Pierre) is starting for Carolina this week. Anyone who reads this gets extra points for knowing who Brian St. Pierre is.
Prediction: Ravens 31, Panthers 3. One more loss and John Fox might be entering George Costanza range when he tried to get fired from the Yankees. Let's just hope Fox doesn't put on a body suit.
Cleveland at Jacksonville
9 of 15
Why the Browns will win: It's hard not to be impressed with this Cleveland team the last couple of weeks. A win here and the Browns will be 4-6 and could have been 5-5. Colt McCoy is looking like a pro quarterback and he just may be the one that makes the Dawg Pound forget about Tim Couch. And Kelly Holcomb. And Charlie Frye. And Ken Dorsey. You get the idea.
Why the Jaguars will win: Jacksonville is a very quite 5-4, but a somewhat sketchy one at that. David Garrard looks like a world-beater one week and can barely complete a pass the next week. Maybe that's why it's hard to get a read on this team. It might be why no one's noticed the record, fan base included.
Prediction: Jaguars 20, Browns 10: Jacksonville finds a way and stays on pace in the AFC South.
Tampa Bay at San Francisco
10 of 15
Why the Buccaneers will win: Josh Freeman has become a mini-John Elway this year, leading multiple comeback wins for the feisty Bucs. But they'll need a good performance from Cadillac Williams and others like they had last week in a win over the hapless Panthers.
Why the 49ers will win: The Bay Area is probably wondering right now why Troy Smith wasn't the starting quarterback to begin the year after the way he's played the last couple of weeks. They're also probably thinking that if Troy Smith was the quarterback to start the year and not the other Smith, then the 49ers might not be 3-6.
Prediction: Buccaneers 24, 49ers 17. Raheem Morris said earlier this was the best team in the NFC. The best teams in the NFC don't lose this game.
Seattle at New Orleans
11 of 15
Why the Seahawks will win: They're in first place. I really can't think of anything else other than they are somehow leading the NFC West, and that might only be because the Seahawks are strong at home and inside the division. On the road Seattle has been demolished this season and didn't earn a road win until last week at Arizona.
Why the Saints will win: They're at home, they're playing well, they're getting Reggie Bush back, Drew Brees is locked in, Marques Colston has re-appeared again. Take your pick. It just might be that the Saints are just plain better and playing better right now.
Prediction: Saints 30, Seahawks 13. The Champs are looking like the Champs again.
Atlanta at St. Louis
12 of 15
Why the Falcons will win: They might be the best team in the NFL with one of the best quarterbacks in the league and a receiver having an MVP-type season. Not to mention the Falcons beat a pretty good Baltimore team that kept Michael Turner in check. If he gets going against the Rams, this team will be hard to stop.
Why the Rams will win: Sam Bradford was supposed to be the quarterback that had the bad shoulder and the injury concerns that made him risky. Instead he's taken the snaps and helped a Ram team overachieve with a young receiving core and a banged-up Steven Jackson. This could very well be a trap game.
Prediction: Falcons 24, Rams 13. Just like with Tampa Bay, the elite teams don't lose this game.
New England at Indianapolis
13 of 15
Why the Patriots will win: Because these are the games the Patriots just seem to win under Bill Belichick. Very rarely does New England not rise up when the spotlight is shined on them when they are a dominant team, and they look like a dominant team again. Brady exposed the Steelers last week and he can do the same again this week.
Why the Colts will win: Because at this stage of his career, Peyton Manning is not afraid of the Patriots. l'm not saying that he was before, but the Patriots always seemed to have his number. The win in the 2006 Playoffs took care of that and he now has the confidence to beat New England, as he proved last year.
Prediction: Patriots 27, Colts 24. Hard to bet against Belichick. But if he goes for it on fourth down again...
New York Giants at Philadelphia
14 of 15
Why the Giants will win: Giants fans can see the script playing out already. A bad loss at home that eventually undoes a strong start and leads to a wild-card loss or missing the playoffs entirely. Tom Coughlin and Eli Manning have said all week that it won't happen again this year. A win in Philadelphia would go a long way to proving them right.
Why the Eagles will win: The most dangerous offense in the NFL right now. Steve Young called Michael Vick's performance last week "the fruition of the position." He's now a dangerous player who can run and throw, who can throw short and air out the deep ball. If he's even close to what he was on Monday night, look out.
Prediction: Eagles 30, Giants 27. Philadelphia squeaks one out and takes the lead in the NFC East.
Denver at San Diego
15 of 15
Why the Broncos will win: With all the turmoil surrounding the team, especially after the pounding Denver took from Oakland, the Broncos needed an easy week. They got it when Kyle Orton turned into John Elway and torched the Kansas City secondary and Brandon Lloyd turned in a Rod Smith-esque performance (must have been the orange jerseys). The pair have the potential to do that against the Chargers' secondary.
Why the Chargers will win: Philip Rivers might be having his best season yet, doing it with Antonio Gates and little else. He can exploit an aging Denver secondary and do what the Chargers do best under Norv Turner: Play well in the second half before collapsing in the playoffs.
Prediction: Chargers 34, Broncos 17. Chargers will find a way to win this division. They always do.
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