NFL Week 11 Predictions: Bengals vs. Ravens Lead a Weak Lineup

In the National Football League, fans are usually treated to great matchups with intense playoff implications around this time of the year. This is when the weather turns cold, and tempers heat up as teams make their drive to the Super Bowl. It almost always means great football is on the way.

Then, we have Week 11 of the 2011 season. This doesn't fit any of those cliches or anything else for that matter. It's almost like the NFL threw up on a piece of paper for this week of the schedule and turned it in.

Week 11 has almost no matchups of significance, as most of the top teams in the league face winnable games against miserable opponents. Then, you have some of those miserable opponents playing each other, resulting in St. Louis vs. Cleveland II (I know all of you were really hoping for a rematch of that shootout).

Yet, it's football. With the NBA in complete disarray, what else are you going to do Sunday afternoon? Let's take a look at Week 11 in the NFL.

New York Jets (5-4) at Denver Broncos (4-5)

When I saw this matchup during the Raiders vs. Chargers game last Thursday, my initial reaction was "Ew." Neither of these teams scream excitement, and the way these offenses are run, this game might be a 2 1/2 hour ordeal on Thursday night.

The Broncos are coming off a win in one of the toughest stadiums in the NFL, as they beat Kansas City 17-10 last week. You might have heard that Tim Tebow completed just two passes in the win. In order to use Tebow's skill set, the Broncos are basically using the spread option offense (that looks more like the wishbone) and hoping for the best. It resulted in 299 rushing yards against Oakland two weeks ago, and 244 last week against the Chiefs.

However, the Raiders and Chiefs don't possess the defense that the Jets have. While the Jets have struggled this season, a coach like Rex Ryan should find a way to stop an offense that makes high school offensive coordinators jealous.

Mark Sanchez and the rest of the Jets offense should do just enough to take out the Broncos.

Prediction: Jets 20, Broncos 10

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-5) at Green Bay Packers (9-0)

Tampa Bay couldn't handle Arian Foster last week. Now they get Aaron Rodgers. Oh, boy.

The Packers almost seem destined to complete the second undefeated regular season since the 1972 Miami Dolphins. Aaron Rodgers has shown Jedi-like powers this season and is on pace to match Tom Brady's record-breaking season in 2008. Sure, there might be somebody that can stop him, but nobody has come close.

Rodgers has posted a QB rating above 110 in all nine games this season, which is an NFL record. He looks poised to do the same to a Buccaneer defense that is down to searching the waiver wire for a legitimate defensive tackle (and still not finding one).

Mix this in with an offense that can't keep up, and the Packers will head to 10-0.

Prediction: Packers 38, Buccaneers 20

Carolina Panthers (2-7) at Detroit Lions (6-3)

Last week got ugly for the Detroit Lions. The Lions reverted back to the Matt Millen era in a 37-13 loss to the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field. Reports say that Stafford, who had his worst game of the season with four interceptions, has a broken finger. That's not good news for Detroit's pass-happy offense.

This week, they come back to Ford Field and host Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers. The Panthers have been in some games this year with Newton's success, but the Lions have faced dynamic quarterbacks before, and Newton may struggle against Detroit's defensive line.

If Newton can avoid the "Silver Rush", he could have a good game against a mediocre Detroit secondary. If not, the Lions will get a much needed win headed into their Thanksgiving showdown with the Green Bay Packers.

Prediction: Lions 24, Panthers 14

Jacksonville Jaguars (3-6) at Cleveland Browns (3-6)

Who says you need to score touchdowns to have a good game?

These two teams are on the complete opposite spectrum of the Green Bay Packers, as they've combined for just 246 points this season.

I have the sneaking feeling that the team who scores a touchdown will probably win the game. The team most likely to do that is the Jacksonville Jaguars, simply because of Maurice Jones-Drew.

If the Browns had a legitimate weapon on offense other than Colt McCoy (who needs other weapons to be effective), it'd be possible they could win this game. However, they don't, so the Jaguars pick up their second straight win.

Prediction: Jaguars 10, Browns 6

Oakland Raiders (5-4) at Minnesota Vikings (2-7)

So you think Denarius Moore had a breakout game against the San Diego Chargers last week? This week, Moore goes up against the Minnesota Vikings secondary!

As a Viking fan, let me tell you about the Viking secondary. They lost their best corner in Antoine Winfield to a broken collarbone last week. The remaining corners make me think that a post dug into the ground would be better at covering any receiver, and I'm not even going to describe what I think of their safeties because I wouldn't be writing for Bleacher Report much longer after doing so.

So with that, yes, I think Denarius Moore has a big day. I also think Carson Palmer, who is becoming more comfortable with the Raider offense, also lights up the same secondary that got burned for 250 yards and four touchdowns by Aaron Rodgers on national television last week.

Prediction: Raiders 31, Vikings 17

Buffalo Bills (5-4) at Miami Dolphins (2-7)

The Miami Dolphins have found a bit of a renaissance the past three weeks. It started with the Dolphins leading the New York Giants for most of the game before giving up a late touchdown to Victor Cruz. Since then, the Dolphins have been able to beat teams that they should beat in Kansas City and Washington.

Reggie Bush is having the best three-game stretch of his career, and Matt Moore is doing a good enough job at quarterback to keep the Dolphins in games (and destroying their chances at Andrew Luck in the process).

On the other sideline, the Buffalo Bills are starting to fade a bit. Teams are starting to figure out that the way to stop the Bills offense is throwing everything you have at Fred Jackson. Jackson is still doing a great job on the ground, as evidenced by his 113 yards on 13 carries last week at Dallas. However, the Bills' passing game has fallen off and hasn't been able to lead the team back like they were able to early in the season.

I think this game turns out to be a close one, and I think the Dolphins continue their hot streak, further distancing themselves from the No. 1 pick.

Prediction: Dolphins 20, Bills 17

Dallas Cowboys (5-4) at Washington Redskins (3-6)

The Dallas Cowboys have started to find their stride since making Demarco Murray the starter. In four games since replacing Felix Jones, Murray has rushed for over 600 yards and has entrenched himself as the lead back.

The addition of the running game has let Tony Romo take off, as he's been able to find Dez Bryant and Laurent Robinson for big gains, and the Dallas offense has been significantly better than it was early in the season.

The Washington Redskins find themselves in a completely different direction. The decision by Mike Shanahan to go with Rex Grossman and John Beck at quarterback didn't look too terrible at the beginning of the season as the Redskins went 3-1. Since then, they've lost five straight games and lost many of their offensive weapons to injury.

This will lead Dallas to their third straight win after an embarrassing defeat at Philadelphia three weeks ago.

Prediction: Cowboys 34, Redskins 10

Cincinnati Bengals (6-3) at Baltimore Ravens (6-3)

Here's that playoff type matchup we're used to seeing in Week 11.

The Cincinnati Bengals are coming off a crushing 24-17 home loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Many people were wondering what would happen when the fast-starting Bengals ran into the mega powers of the AFC North (Ravens and Steelers). For last week, the Bengals looked pretty good despite the loss.

There are two things to note in this matchup. The first is that A.J. Green will be a game-time decision for the Bengals. If the Bengals don't have their star receiver in the game, it will be tough to crack the Ravens' defense.

Also, the Bengals are 4-1 on the road this season. While three of the four victories have been against teams with a losing record, that record can build confidence going into a tough place like Baltimore.

The Ravens will be angry coming off a 22-17 loss at Seattle. They haven't shown consistency all season, but I think they'll show enough to beat the hard charging Bengals at home.

Prediction: Ravens 24, Bengals 20

Arizona Cardinals (3-6) at San Francisco 49ers (8-1)

The San Francisco 49ers have been the story of the year in the NFL. With a dominating defense led by Navarro Bowman and Patrick Willis, the Niners find themselves not only in first place of the NFC West, but in contention for the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs.

While the 49ers do play in the weak NFC West, they have been able to rack up some wins over quality opponents this season. It's something that former coach Mike Singletary couldn't get them to do, but Jim Harbaugh has had success with essentially the same team.

The 49ers can clinch the NFC West in two weeks, and the first roadblock is the Arizona Cardinals. John Skelton has looked nice in replacing Kevin Kolb, and there are whispers that Skelton could eventually replace Kolb if he plays well down the stretch.

Alas, the 49ers are red hot at the moment. It will take a team with more talent than the Arizona Cardinals to hand them a loss at this point of the season.

Prediction: 49ers 28, Cardinals 13

Seattle Seahawks (3-6) at St. Louis Rams (2-7)

The Milwaukee Brewers' talk about "Beast Mode" has apparently re-energized Marshawn Lynch.

The Seahawks running back has ran for 100 yards in back-to-back games for the first time in his career. He will look to fuel Seattle's offense as they head to St. Louis to take on the Rams.

The Rams are coming off an epic battle with the Cleveland Browns in which Phil Dawson gift wrapped their second victory of the year. The dream of Sam Bradford having a great season with offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels has been thrown away, and the Rams already have nothing to play for at this point of the season.

The Edward-Jones Dome can be a tough place to play, but not when the Rams are this bad. Marshawn Lynch will lead the Seahawks to victory.

Prediction: Seahawks 24, Rams 7

Tennessee Titans (5-4) at Atlanta Falcons (5-4)

For the Falcons, Mike Smith may have gotten too aggressive by going for it on 4th-and-inches from their own 30 in overtime last week. Those losses really hurt, especially when it's to the team that is leading your division in the New Orleans Saints.

The Falcons can go either one of two ways here. They can be lethargic and let the Titans run up and down the field on them as they did against Carolina last week.

The Falcons could also be motivated to get behind their coach and play one of the most inspired games of the season at home.

I'm thinking the Falcons will do the latter. Take into note that since Smith has been head coach of the Falcons, they have lost just six home games. Of those six, five of them have been to the Saints or the Green Bay Packers.

The Titans aren't either of those teams, so it's safe to bet the Falcons will pick up a much needed win this week.

Prediction: Falcons 27, Titans 17

San Diego Chargers (4-5) at Chicago Bears (6-3)

A couple of weeks ago, the Chicago Bears went into Ford Field, and fell to 2-3. It seemed like the Bears were headed toward a disappointing season after reaching the NFC Championship game in '10.

The Bears have since rattled off four straight victories, capped off by a bone-jarring 37-10 win last week over the Detroit Lions. The Bears have been able to get pressure on the quarterback in each of these games, led by a ferocious Julius Peppers.

This week, they'll welcome the San Diego Chargers to town. This is not good news for Philip Rivers, who was smeared across the turf last Thursday against the Oakland Raiders.

Adding in the fact that Rivers has not been himself, the Chargers face a tough trip to Soldier Field on Sunday afternoon.

Prediction: Bears 27, Chargers 20

Philadelphia Eagles (3-6) at New York Giants (6-3)

Shortly after the Philadelphia Eagles signed Vince Young, the underachieving quarterback uttered two words that have haunted the team all season: "Dream Team."

Since then, the Eagles have been put under a microscope. Young hasn't been seen on the field too much since those words were said, but he'll have a chance to back it up now.

My gut is that Michael Vick will not be able to play Sunday night against the New York Giants. That would mean Young would make his first start in roughly a calendar year.

The Giants will be licking their lips to get a shot at Young, and don't forget that last time these two teams met at Metlife Stadium, the Eagles pulled off a stunning fourth quarter comeback. The Giants will be motivated to bury the "Dream Team's" chances of getting back into the NFC playoff picture.

Prediction: Giants 31, Eagles 14

Kansas City Chiefs (4-5) at New England Patriots (6-3)

The Kansas City Chiefs have had an interesting calendar year. They win the AFC West, and then get blasted at home by the Baltimore Ravens. Then the lockout happens. When the Chiefs return, Todd Haley decides that the best way to shake off all that rust from the lockout is to...sit all of his starters. Huh?

The Chiefs started the season 0-3 and lost Jamal Charles and Eric Berry for the season due to knee ligament injuries. Haley looked like he would be fired if he lost to the Minnesota Vikings in Week 4, but the Chiefs won.

The Chiefs would go on a four game winning streak. Todd Haley grew a beard and refused to wash his cap. Then, they ran into the Miami Dolphins and Denver Broncos.

After being manhandled at home in back to back weeks, Haley seems to be fighting for his job once again as the Chiefs head to Foxborough.

The Patriots had been having trouble scoring points, but hung 37 on the Jets Sunday night. It seems like the ship has been righted and since they are not the Minnesota Vikings, Haley's beard may be fitting seeing as he'll be in the unemployment line very soon.

Prediction: Patriots 34, Chiefs 7