Week 11 NFL Predix

By Jacob Sanders

It happens every year. There is that one week out of the year, where I make my predictions confidently (just kidding, I’m never confident in my predictions) and I am so wrong I wish I would have never written that week’s predictions in the first place. Welp, that was last week where I went a strong 5-8 in my predictions. Great stuff when the Falcons are beating the Saints, the Titans are beating the Chiefs, and the Browns winning a game to give their fan base hope. Speaking of the Browns winning a game, they’re on a 2-game winstreak now with a win against the Steelers over Thursday. That’s pretty nice if they can get rolling but they’re gonna have to do it without the best player on their team. Ouch. Anyway, that’s all I have to say on that. I’m an amateur analyst, not a judge.

Sanders went 5-8 last week putting him to 96-52-1 on the season. He also picked the Steelers to SMASH the Browns last Thursday. Turns out, the Browns smashed the Steelers in more ways than one. 0-1 for the start of Week 11.

NY Jets vs WAS Redskins

For a split second, my initial reaction was to pick the Redskins because the Jets have just been downright horrendous this season. Then I remembered that the Redskins have been worse not scoring a single touchdown in the last three games. Is that a streak I expect to continue? No, but the Jets showed life last week against the Giants. If the Jets have the ability to step up and beat a team as bad as them, then they can beat a team worse than them. At least that’s the logic I’m going with. Also, it’s been pretty clear that Dwayne Haskins is not ready to start in the NFL yet. But here he is, starting games for the Redskins.

Jets 24 Redskins 14

NO Saints vs TB Buccaneers

I’ll be honest. Picking the Bucs here may be the smart move. Why? The Saints just came off of a dreadful performance AT HOME. That never happens. What’s more, is the Buccaneers have always been competitive against Drew Brees and Co. at home. Fun fact: Jameis Winston is 3-4 in his career against Drew Brees. That’s not too bad for a guy who is mistake-prone. In other words, Winston’s A-game seems to come out when he plays the Saints. Now that I’ve given you all these reasons to pick the Buccaneers, I’m gonna backhand you and pick the Saints. There’s no way they follow up the worst offensive performance in the Payton-Brees era with another loss, right?

Saints 27 Bucs 24

Denver Broncos vs Minnesota Vikings

This game will be ugly. The Broncos are 3-6. But this Denver Broncos team has been a tough team to beat. Their record says otherwise, but if you’ve watched their games like I have, their record should be 5-4, and that’s the type of way they have played so far. They’ve played like a 5-4 team that’s tough to beat but probably misses the playoffs. Now, with their record at 3-6, they won’t be making the playoffs, but they’ll be playoff spoiler over the next 6 weeks. What does this have to do with the Vikings? Well, the Vikings haven’t necessarily been a dominant team. However, they’ve been a good team with the ability to run an efficient offense and a bend-don’t-break defense. I love this Vikings team. I have all year. I’ve got them penned to win this game. However, this game may make Vikings fans more uncomfortable than they want to be against a team with a 3-6 record.

Broncos 17 Vikings 26

BUF Bills vs MIA Dolphins

It’s kinda weird how I have the Bills making the playoffs as the No. 6 seed. They have the coaching and defensive talent to do so. But at this point, I expected much more growth from Josh Allen. Instead, it’s been more of the same. He’s shown massive inconsistency and throws just enough pretty balls to win a game for his team. That’s not a good winning formula whatsoever. On the other side of this AFC East battle, is a roster that has been gutted of talent, but has players that have been playing tough, hard, and act like they want their coach to stick around and believe in the team’s future plan. This Dolphins roster is also a reminder of why tanking is a bad strategy. The front office may want multiple picks at the beginning of every round, but in the end, coaches and players want to win games regardless if the odds are stacked against them. The Dolphins have been a tough team to beat the last three weeks. And here? Well, they hand a struggling Bills team another loss. Things are looking up for HC Brian Flores.

Bills 13 Dolphins 19

JAX Jaguars vs IND Colts

With Nick Foles back in the starting lineup for the Jags, one has to wonder if they can make a 5-2 run to sneak into the playoffs. It’s not probable, but it’s also plausible. We’ve seen Nick Foles work some magic before. At this point, the Jags have been just good enough to be near .500 and they can certainly help their chances with a win here against the Colts. Speaking of the Colts, let’s talk about them for a second. I understand that Jacoby Brissett has been injured, but it’s hard to swallow the fact this team is now 5-4 when they were shining like a start in the first quarter of the season. This is contradictory of my take with the Broncos, but sometimes, you are what your record is. And at 5-4, the Colts feel like an 8-8 or 9-7 team as the season finishes. Too often have the Colts blown leads and too often is their future HoF kicker missing easy points. If you’re blowing leads and missing free points from kicks, you’re not gonna win too many games. To me, the Colts have too many deficits to overcome the Jaguars who get their starting QB back this week.

Jags 24 Colts 17

DAL Cowboys vs DET Lions

For the sake of my sanity, I need to see the Cowboys just stomp a middle of the pack team. Winning this game and being 6-4 is not good enough. The Cowboys have the talent on their team to head to a Super Bowl and they have looked nothing like that team. Part of that is on coaching, but part of it is also on player execution. Outside of Dak Prescott and Amari Cooper, this Cowboys team has looked nothing like the team that won a thriller against Seattle in the playoffs last year. Elliot doesn’t look like himself, and the best LB trio in the NFL doesn’t look like the best LB trio in the NFL. It’s driving me insane. They have the perfect game to start realizing their potential as they draw a Lions team that is without their starting QB. About the Lions for a second. Let’s appreciate Matt Stafford. He’s always been underappreciated but this year has painted his status as a franchise QB in big black letters. They look downright awful without him. Patricia hasn’t figured out his defense and the running game is nowhere to be found. Stafford gives the Lions a fighting chance every game to win. Tip of the cap to you Mr. Stafford. Anyway, back to the Boys, if this isn’t a stomp, you can pen the Boys to lose in the Wildcard round. Same Boys, same story every year I guess.

Cowboys 27 Lions 13

ATL Falcons vs CAR Panthers

Well well well. The Falcons team that I expected in the preseason just decided to show up for one game of the season. Now they’re a wonderful 2-7. Great. Just what I wanted to see from a talented team. I have many problems with the Falcons, but I’m not going to deep dive into that. The main focus here is if they can upset the Panthers here. Well, it all starts with the question, can you stop Run CMC? Oh. You’re telling me not a single team has stopped Run CMC this year? Oh. Well. The upset against the Saints was nice Atlanta. Panthers pick up another win here because last week was probably a mirage and the Falcons inconsistencies show up again this week. Ugh. This Falcons team is too good for that.

Falcons 16 Panthers 24

HOU Texans vs BAL Ravens

Make no mistake. This is the biggest and best game of the morning. Deshaun Watson vs Lamar Jackson is must watch tv. But I’m not going to talk about that matchup. What I’m really intrigued by is the No. 1 rushing attack of Baltimore vs the No. 3 running defense of the Texans. Essentially, if the Texans defense holds true to their identity of stopping the run, the Ravens will need to throw quite a bit to win this game. Big test for Lamar Jackson and Co. They’re up for the task and they’ll probably score 30+ points. However, Deshaun Watson and Co. may be scoring 30+ points here as well. So how are you supposed to pick a game that’s most likely a thriller? Well, I’m picking the team with the QB who I think makes more plays. And that’s the Texans. If you ask me, the Ravens pass-rush won’t provide enough pressure Texans leaving Watson to make plays that shouldn’t be happening. That’s probably what happens in the 4th quarter here. Then again, who am I to predict the future?

Texans 35 Ravens 33

ARI Cardinals vs SF 49ers

This Cardinals team has costed me so many prediction Ws. I’ve picked this team too often to win. In fact, they won as often as I thought they would, they would be 5-4-1. That’s not bad. That’s also just how good this Cardinals offense has been playing. Kyler Murray makes some rookie mistakes in the game, but for about 90% of the game, he looks like a 10-year veteran of his offense. That’s no hyperbole either and it’s a true fact. He’s been playing in this game offense for nearly 10 years. It’s no wonder he looks so comfortable and owns the rookie record for most pass attempts without a pick. Meanwhile, Jimmy G has been struggling just a tiny bit throwing 4 INT in his last 5 games. That’s not bad, but I also think it shows his limitations as a starter right now with not even two full seasons of starts under his belt. Jimmy G will grow, but so far, he hasn’t shown the ability to ball without his playmakers. And Kittle is out again. Shocker pick from me here. I don’t think the 49ers offense will operate well enough to beat Kliff Kingsbury and Kyler Murary. Upset W for a Cardinals team that is 8-1 against the 49ers in their last 9 games.

Cardinals 28 49ers 24

NE Patriots vs PHI Eagles

The fact this matchup is being billed as a rematch of the Super Bowl from two years ago is downright laughable. These two teams are in two completely different spots. And by that, I mean the Patriots are a dominant winning team with an elite level defense. The Eagles do not have the same defense they had then, and their offense sputters at least 2-3 times a game. Now, I’m not saying the Eagles can’t win this game. They can. But MVP candidate Carson Wentz has to show up. Not the Carson Wentz we have seen this year. It may be disastrous in Philly if Wentz and Co. can’t figure this operation out.

Patriots 27 Eagles 17

CIN Bengals vs OAK Raiders

I’m keeping this one short. At this point, I think the Bengals just need to see what they have in their rookie QB, and if not, start scouting out who they want as their QB of the future (Joe Burrow anyone?). What does this mean exactly? That a surging Oakland Raiders team may jump onto the No. 6 seed with a win here. What a nice turnaround for Jon Gruden and Co. so far. His vision is becoming reality only just one year from starting his rebuild. Can’t wait to see how it plays out over the next couple years.

Bengals 10 Raiders 27

CHI Bears vs LA Rams

I might sound bias here, but why in the world did the NFL decide to keep this the Sunday night game and not flex Texans vs Ravens here. That’s a primetime matchup worth having. The Bears and the Rams? Not so much at the moment. Anyway, as for the analysis of this matchup, you have to dig real hard to find who you’d want to pick. Again, for the Bears, it’s another matchup of two incompetent offenses playing each other. And when two incompetent offenses play against each other, I always go with the better defense. In this case, believe it or not, it’s been the Rams. The Rams have done a good job in keeping their opponent down in points but their offense just can never catch up. Luckily for the Rams, they face Trubisky, a guy who may or may not be playing QB for the Bears next year.

Bears 13 Rams 17

KC Chiefs vs LA Chargers

I am excited for this matchup. I think y’all have no idea how ready I am to watch this Chiefs-Chargers matchup. That’s not sarcasm either. I’m ready to watch this game because I firmly believe the Chargers come storming out the gates and upset the Chiefs. The Chiefs have the same problem they did last year. They can rack up the scoreboard, but their defense is allowing the opponent to rack up the scoreboard as well. While the Chargers certainly haven’t been world beaters, they’ve shown the potential to come out and beat a quality opponent this season. Also, does anyone remember their last matchup? I do. The Chargers got a touchdown to put the game into OT, but instead made a gutsy call to go for 2, and beat the Chiefs IN KANSAS CITY. Now, this game is in Mexico City which has a high elevation. The Chargers went to Colorado to practice for the high elevation. KC did not. The better prepared team wins.

Chiefs 28 Chargers 31