NFL Picks Week 11: Heartbreaking Upsets Waiting to Happen

Unless your favorite team is the Indianapolis Colts, chances are you will be heartbroken if your team loses in Week 11 of the 2011 NFL season.

To be clear, I'm not saying that Colts fans don't get upset when their team loses, but most likely, they are growing used to by now.

For most other teams, okay, for a handful of the other teams, the implications of this weekend are huge. Many teams are gearing up for the playoffs or trying to put themselves in a position to have a chance to get in, so a loss would be absolutely devastating.

The only thing worse than losing a game you need in Week 11 is losing a game to a team you should have beat.

Here are two games that I think will be upsets in Week 11.

Carolina Panthers vs. Detroit Lions

I have a very hard time believing in the Lions right now. While I do believe they are a talented team, I'm not sure they have the mental fortitude and experience needed to come up big in a playoff race.

Everything about this game screams "trap game" to me.

The Lions have a huge Thanksgiving Day game coming up with the Green Bay Packers, and the 2-7 Panthers are a lot more dangerous than their record would suggest.

Cam Newton is one of the most explosive players in the league already, and he should have no problem gashing up a Lions defense that struggles stopping the run, especially on turf and indoors.

Not only that, but Matthew Stafford seems to be completely off. He's been hit far too often, and he's starting to develop "happy feet," which is a killer for a quarterbacks form. He states that the fractured finger on this throwing hand isn't a problem, but his four-interception game and "throwing gloves" would beg to differ.

The Lions desperately need this win to get back on track and stay in the Wild Card hunt, but I think they are going to get caught looking ahead at the Packers.

Oakland Raiders vs. Minnesota Vikings

Minnesota is always a tough plays to play, and I think the Raiders are going to find that out first hand. At 5-4, the Raiders are on top of the AFC West, but the Chargers and Broncos are right behind them, so it's anybody's division.

Carson Palmer is still getting used to the speed of an NFL game and the Raiders system, and it looks like the Raiders will still be without star running back Darren McFadden.

Palmer is going to have to deal with Jared Allen and his 13.5 sacks all day, plus a very rowdy home crowd.

I believe this game will come down to another star back though, Adrian Peterson of the Vikings. He was shut down against the Packers and ran for only 51 yards. I don't expect the same against a Raiders defense that is averaging 132.4 yards against on the ground.

Finally, Christian Ponder isn't looking half bad as a rookie under center, and I think he is due for a pretty good game against Oakland. He won't be spectacular, but all he has to do is manage the game and let Peterson do what he does best.

This will be quite a big upset for a Raiders team in the middle of a very close divisional race.