NFL Week 11 Picks: Looking at Teams Guaranteed to Turn Things Around

After a tough loss, getting a response win is the best and only way to turn things around. And that holds especially true for those still alive in the playoff race.

To that end, here are three teams that turn things around and remain a solid playoff contender through Week 11.

Detroit Lions (vs. Carolina)

Last week the Lions were greatly exploited by division rival Chicago and are now in gut-check mode. Visiting The Motor City this week are the Panthers, who finally have appeared to show their inexperience.

For weeks, despite continually losing games, Carolina was taking opponents down to the wire. However, they were blasted off their home field by the Tennessee Titans 30-3.

Now, I do think the Lions will win this game, but not by a large margin. For one, Detroit has lost three of their last four games and is one of the worst teams inside the trenches. That said, Carolina has no one to matchup with WR Calvin Johnson and as long as Matthew Stafford has minimal time to throw, he will shred the Panthers defense.

As for Carolina's offense, they do run the ball rather well, but much can be attributed to rookie QB Cam Newton's dual-threat ability. So although the Panthers move the ball, most drives stall once near the red-zone.

Lions over Panthers

Baltimore Ravens (vs. Cincinnati)

Last time the Ravens lost a road game they bounced back with a spectacular comeback win over Arizona at home. And now that they've been through such an experience, the odds become that much more favorable.

Unfortunately for the visiting Bengals however, Baltimore's defense ranks in the Top 10 against both the pass and rush, whereas Cincinnati's offense ranks No. 23 in passing and No. 20 in rushing.

Also hurting Cincy is the current status of rookie WR AJ Green. According to Geoff Hobson on Bengals.com, Green's knee injury is up in the air:

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"Green, who hyperextended his knee on his only catch of last Sunday's 24-17 loss to the Steelers—a 36-yard touchdown—said he won't practice Wednesday and probably couldn't play in a game because it is stiff and sore."

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So, let the pendulum swing more in favor of the Ravens and expect them to turn their 2011 campaign around much quicker than Cincinnati. The Bengals won't move the rock much on offense and although their defense holds Ravens RB Ray Rice in check, Cincy's defense isn't good enough to overcome multiple turnovers and bad field position.

Ravens over Bengals

Atlanta Falcons (vs. Tennessee)

We've seen this story before from both the Titans and Falcons. In Tennessee, the Titans show up once in a great while, dominate a game otherwise unexpectedly, then drop a few games thereafter.

As for Atlanta, the Falcons will put on a disappointing performance then rebound for a little while then revert back to underachieving once again. So to some extent, you never know that to expect with either of these franchises.

Then again, it's so surprising as to why both teams are not worse or better than 5-4. But when they meet in The Georgia Dome on Sunday, The Dirty Birds get the much needed W as they're much better at controlling the line of scrimmage.

On the year, Atlanta ranks No. 12 in rush offense and No. 4 in rush defense. Tennessee however, ranks dead last in rush offense and No. 22 in rush defense. Neither team will turn the ball over, but the Falcons have a better offensive system being that they're more balanced.

The Titans have just struggled with inconsistency and have a much worse down-side. As evidence from the Texans and Steelers rolling them at home.

Falcons over Titans

Be sure to check out John on Bleacher Report. 

You can follow him on Twitter @ Sportswriter27.