NFL Picks Week 11: 5 Fledgling Teams Whose Playoff Dreams Hang in the Balance

It's make-or-break time for teams in the muddled middle of the NFL. As of now, there are arguably 20 teams in the league within reasonable distance of a playoff berth, though, for those of you keeping score at home, each conference has only six spots to fill.

That, of course, means that at least some of those squads will drop out of contention within the next few weeks, depending on how things shake out atop the divisions in the AFC and the NFC.

These five teams, in particular, will be fighting for their fleeting playoff lives in Week 11.

Philadelphia Eagles

I can picture it now: Vince Young leaves Andy Reid's office at the Eagles' practice facility. Offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg takes him aside and says, "Our playoff life is in your hands, dude."

And then Marty repeats the phrase at Reid's behest.

Yes, it would seem as though Young, the one-time dual-threat phenom for the Tennessee Titans, has become Philadelphia's Accidental Dude, charged with the unenviable task of taking over for the rib-racked Michael Vick at the head of a disappointing 3-6 "Dream Team."

Could things get any worse? Sure, unless playing on the road against the New York Giants and their terrifying pass rush is to be considered an advantage.

The one thing working in Philly's favor is desperation, as a loss to Big Blue would effectively eliminate the Eagles from playoff contention in the NFC. As such, you can bet the Eagles will give it their all, if for no other reason than to keep their postseason hopes alive for one more week.

Or, perhaps, to avoid total humiliation on national television.

And if things don't work out? Aaah screw it, they'll probably just go bowling.

Detroit Lions

What a difference a month makes, especially if you're the Detroit Lions. It was around this time in October that Jim Schwartz's squad was the toast of the NFL, sitting at 5-0 after taming the Chicago Bears on Monday Night Football.

Then came Handshake-Gate after a loss to the San Francisco 49ers, injuries to Jahvid Best and Matthew Stafford and defeats to the Atlanta Falcons and the aforementioned Bears.

Now, the Lions find themselves hanging onto the sixth seed in the NFC so precariously, with the Cowboys and the Falcons nipping at their heels. Detroit shouldn't have too much trouble putting out a Carolina Panthers team that dropped to 2-7 by way of a 30-3 throttling at the hands of the Tennessee Titans last Sunday.

Of course, if the Lions languish against the Cam Newton and Steve Smith Show—which they might if Stafford can't figure out how to throw with his protective glove—then everyone will know just how much trouble they're really in.

Tennessee Titans

Speaking of the Titans, the only 10 I see (get it?) is the number of wins it would likely take this team to get to the AFC playoffs as a Wild Card in Mike Munchak's first season at the helm.

The 2011 season has been a roller coaster ride for these Titans, to say the least, with the highlight of a convincing 26-13 win over the Baltimore Ravens balanced by embarrassing losses to the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Houston Texans and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

All the while, Matt Hasselbeck has looked young again, then old again, then young again (again) while Chris Johnson has struggled to find his footing after sitting out a big chunk of training camp for an even bigger chunk of money.

Yet, at 5-4, the Titans still find themselves in the mix for the AFC South, thanks to a vicious injury bug that's bitten Peyton Manning in Indianapolis and Matt Schaub, Andre Johnson and Mario Williams in Houston.

Still, Tennessee has plenty of its own business to take care of, beginning with a trip to Atlanta to face the Falcons on Sunday amidst a season-ending slate that includes a home game against the Saints and a trip to Reliant Stadium to take on the Texans in what may prove to be a pivotal Week 17 clash.

San Diego Chargers

Technically, there's really no way to knock anyone out of the picture in the AFC West right now and probably won't be until, say, Week 17.

Realistically, though, the Chargers need to get back on the straight and narrow as soon as possible before their already-troubled season goes off the tracks entirely. San Diego has dropped each of its four games since outlasting the Denver Broncos in Week 5 in what proved to be the beginning of Tim Tebow Time.

All the while, Philip Rivers has struggled to snap out of his season-long funk that's only grown funkier with injuries to his receivers and offensive linemen.

And don't even get me started on the Bolts defense, which controls the line of scrimmage about as well as Norv Turner can control his own destiny.

Too soon?

At this rate, it'll take the Chargers some measure of a miracle to keep their skid from sliding to five when they travel to Chicago to take on the white-hot Bears at Soldier Field. Even then, San Diego will likely find itself at 4-6 and, perhaps, still just a game out of first place in their moribund division.

Not that folks in the Bolts' locker room shouldn't still be worried.

Kansas City Chiefs

As frustrating at the Chargers have been, no team in the AFC West has been more perplexing this season than the Kansas City Chiefs.

First, they loved losing (0-3). Then they loved it not (4-0). And now, they seem to be into losing again (0-2).

All told, KC has been as streaky as any squad in the NFL, though Matt Cassel has remained consistently mediocre throughout, though he'll now give way to Tyler Palko on account of injury. What had become a three-headed monster—between Jackie Battle, Dexter McCluster and Thomas Jones—in place of Jamaal Charles has since struggled to come anywhere near the end zone.

And if the Chiefs couldn't keep their roll going at home against the Dolphins and the Broncos, how could they ever even hope to get back on the good foot against the New England Patriots in Foxborough?

These are just the sort of questions that don't keep me up at night, but will leave Todd Haley wondering when everything got so confusing.

Week 11 Picks

And now, as a reward for clicking through my lovely slideshow, here are my game-by-game picks for Week 11:

Buccaneers at PACKERS

Panthers at LIONS

JAGUARS at Browns

RAIDERS at Vikings

Bills at DOLPHINS

COWBOYS at Redskins

Bengals at RAVENS

Cardinals at 49ERS

SEAHAWKS at Rams

Titans at FALCONS

Chargers at BEARS

Eagles at GIANTS

Chiefs at PATRIOTS