We’re Picking Winners For Every Week 11 Game Of The NFL Season

The 2017 NFL season rolls on heading into Week 11 with some potentially great games like the Los Angeles Rams at the Minnesota Vikings and the Philadelphia Eagles at the Dallas Cowboys, but don’t get too excited because there are some stinkers too.

It was sad to see Seahawks star cornerback Richard Sherman tear his Achilles tendon during last week’s Thursday night win over the Cardinals. Sherman said his Achilles was hurting him for a few weeks, so he likely wasn’t that surprised that it happened. However, a lot of people are complaining about Thursday Night Football as if that’s the reason why it happened. Personally, I like Thursday Night Football because it gives me something to watch on a slow TV night. What the NFL should do is consider giving teams a bye week before a Thursday game, so they have time to prepare. The negative would be that the team would have two Sundays off in a row, but so what? Getting proper rest is important for these athletes that are paid well, yet are asked to put a tremendous strain on their bodies.

There was also heartbreaking news for Niners wide receiver Marquis Goodwin and his wife, who lost their baby hours before he had a great game last week. Talk about playing with a heavy heart. Kudos to him for being able to play and I hope that the family can overcome that loss by having many years of happiness together.

On a lighter note, the highlight (or perhaps lowlight) of Brock Osweiler hitting a member of the Broncos staff was hilarious. A blooper that fit one of the worst starting QBs in the NFL.

Make sure you check out our fantasy football related info including who to pick up on the waiver wire, the QBs and TEs worth starting and sorting through what RBs and WRs you need to have in your lineup.

This is the final week for bye weeks, so there are 14 games this week. After this, it’s 16 games per week for the final six weeks of the season.

Last Week’s Results:

10-4 Straight Up (93-53 Season, .637)

9-5 Point Spread (72-73-1 Season, .497)

I’ve been doing this picking games thing for two decades and most years if you hit .600 straight up that’s pretty good while .500 against the spread is solid. Sitting at .637 straight up is encouraging, but I know it’s possible this could be a four-win week too. That’s just how the NFL is.

Note: The point spreads I use come from VegasInsider. All times listed are in the Eastern Time zone.

The following teams have byes this week: Carolina, Indianapolis, NY Jets, San Francisco.

Tennessee (6-3) @ Pittsburgh (7-2) -7 [8:25pm THU]

Big game for both teams even though it looks like the Steelers will easily win their awful division. The Titans have to keep pace with the impressive Jaguars. The Steelers are a bit disappointing even with a 7-2 record because their point differential on the year is +39, which means they are winning a lot of close games. The Rams are also 7-2, yet their differential is +134. Big difference. The reason I point that out because I think the Titans can keep this close and with it being a Thursday game, an older QB like Ben Roethlisberger may not be on his game since he’s been inconsistent this year. In the end, I like the Steelers because of their WRs like Antonio Brown and Juju Smith-Schuster stretching the field. The Titans are lacking in downfield playmakers.

The Pick: Pittsburgh 27-23

Detroit (5-4) -3 @ Chicago (3-6) [1:00pm SUN]

The Lions are clearly the better team with a 2-0 record in the division while the Bears are 0-3. I think Detroit knows they need this game or else they’re not going to be in the playoff race for much longer. The Bears are 31st in passing offense because of an inconsistent rookie QB in Mitchell Trubisky (he has three pass TDs in five games), so you know they are going to run the ball with RB Jordan Howard. I just think the Lions are better all across the board and they’re good enough defensively to slow down Howard.

The Pick: Detroit 20-16

Jacksonville (6-3) -7.5 @ Cleveland (0-9) [1:00pm SUN]

I don’t think the winless Browns are going to be able to score enough on the Jaguars, who rank first in points allowed (14.9 PPG). The Browns are fourth against the run, so it may not be a great game for Jaguars rookie RB Leonard Fournette. This just feels like the kind of game where turnovers are the story with the Jags winning comfortably.

The Pick: Jacksonville 26-13

Kansas City (6-3) -10.5 @ NY Giants (1-8) [1:00pm SUN]

My biggest mistake in predictions was thinking the Giants would be a playoff team like they were last year. Obviously, that’s not going to happen. Good luck to them winning even two games. Fire up any Chiefs you have in fantasy football because they should have a big day against a Giants team that has clearly given up.

The Pick: Kansas City 31-13

Baltimore (4-5) -2 @ Green Bay (5-4) [1:00pm SUN]

What did Baltimore do to become road favorites? They’re terrible. I know the Packers have a lot of questions because they might be on their third RB with Jamaal Williams and QB Brett Hundley is a major drop-off from Aaron Rodgers. I just have a hard time backing a Ravens team that ranks last in the NFL is passing (166 yards per game). They’re just so inconsistent. Packers by a field goal.

The Pick: Green Bay 23-20

Tampa Bay (3-6) @ Miami (4-5) -2.5 [1:00pm SUN]

They are two of the more disappointing teams in the NFL this year. The Dolphins have lost three straight while the Bucs are 0-4 on the road. Exciting! Not exactly. It should be a boring game with bad QB play. I feel sorry for the fans in attendance. Give me the Dolphins because they do have some offensive weapons and should score enough against a Bucs team that is awful right now.

The Pick: Miami 27-20

LA Rams (7-2) @ Minnesota (7-2) -2.5 [1:00pm SUN]

Game of the week! It’s Goff vs. Keenum! Who would have predicted that? Certainly not me and I’m the most diehard Rams fan you are ever going to meet. When Keenum was on the Rams the last few years (usually in relief of an injured Sam Bradford like he is this year), he showed signs of flashes of a competent QB. This year he’s playing a lot better, though. I love the way the Vikes spread the ball around to WRs Stefon Diggs, Adam Thielen, and TE Kyle Rudolph. Their offense is very potent now since they are averaging 27.6 points per game during their current five-game win streak.

The Rams are the highest scoring team in the NFL (32.9 points per game) that’s also 4-0 on the road, which tells me they won’t be that rattled in Minnesota. The Vikes are the Rams toughest road test to this point, but when you are racking up wins like the Rams have been, they are going to be confident. I think the key will be if RB Todd Gurley can get going. The Vikes are third against the run and the Rams are fifth at running, so something has got to give. If Gurley can get some space, that sets up the play action for QB Jared Goff leading to some deep strikes. In the battle of Goff vs. Keenum, I really think Goff is the better player that will make some big plays late in this game. After seeing Washington score 30 on the Vikings last week, I think the Rams can top that. This should be a fun game. Make sure you watch. You know I will.

The Pick: LA Rams 33-27

Arizona (4-5) -1.5 @ Houston (3-6) [1:00pm SUN]

The Cardinals are starting Blaine Gabbert at QB because Drew Stanton has a knee sprain. Does it really matter? Not really. These are not playoff teams and Texans QB Tom Savage committing four turnovers last week makes me lean towards picking the Cardinals just because of how bad Savage is.

The Pick: Arizona 24-20

Washington (4-5) @ New Orleans (7-2) -8 [1:00pm SUN]

The Saints are very impressive. They’ve won seven in a row, they rank seventh in fifth in passing yards per game at 260.2 yards and third in rushing per game at 142.2 yards. Defensively they’re doing very well too because they are seventh against the pass while the rush defense is 16th ranked, so there’s not much weakness there. As for Washington, they have no run game and defensively they have a lot of issues. Look for the Saints to use their killer RB duo of Mark Ingram (three rush TDs last week) and Alvin Kamara heavily, which should lead to Washington loosening up on pass defense and QB Drew Brees could end up having a big day too. I love the Saints in this game. They should win big.

The Pick: New Orleans 41-23

Buffalo (5-4) @ LA Chargers (3-6) -4 [4:05pm SUN]

There are QB issues on both sides. The Bills are starting fifth-round rookie Nathan Peterman instead of Tyrod Taylor even though they are a 5-4 team. Taylor had an awful game last week with just 56 passing yards in a home game to the Saints, but I don’t know if Peterman is the answer. Meanwhile, Chargers QB Philip Rivers is in concussion protocol and may not play. Since the Chargers have that good pass rush led by Melvin Ingram and Joey Bosa, I’m going to pick them to have a good day against an unknown rookie QB.

The Pick: LA Chargers 27-17

New England (7-2) -6.5 vs. Oakland (4-5) [4:25 pm SUN] (Game is in Mexico City)

The Patriots are on a hot streak with five straight weeks. I can remember when they were 2-2 and people were worried if this was the year they took a step. Nope. The Pats have gotten better defensively while Tom Brady is making another case of himself as the league MVP even at 40 years of age. The man is amazing. The Raiders need a win like this if they have hopes of making the playoffs. The issue is their offense is way too inconsistent and I think they’re going to struggle to put up point. Give me the Pats to win comfortably in Mexico City.

The Pick: New England 38-24

Cincinnati (3-6) @ Denver (3-6) -2.5 [4:25pm SUN]

The once great defense of the Broncos has given up 92 points in the last two weeks and they’ve lost five straight games. It’s hard to have any confidence picking the Broncos, so I’ll go with the Bengals just because they have a slightly better QB in Andy Dalton. At least Dalton doesn’t nail people in the head like Broncos Brock Osweiler did last week. This should be a bad game.

The Pick: Cincinnati 24-23

Philadelphia (8-1) -3.5 @ Dallas (5-4) [8:30pm SUN]

If RB Ezekiel Elliott was playing for the Cowboys I would have definitely picked them in this game even though the Eagles are ranked first against the run. The reason for that is because the Cowboys offense looks complete with him out there. When it’s Alfred Morris running the ball, nobody on the other side is worried about him. I am impressed by QB Dak Prescott, though. He makes plays with his legs and does a good job of rushing when needed.

The main reason why I’m going with the Eagles is that the Cowboys are missing key players in LB Sean Lee and LT Tyron Smith. If you saw the Cowboys loss to the Falcons, a big reason for it was because Smith wasn’t there and Falcons DE Adrian Clayborn got six sacks. The Eagles saw that they know they are going to attack the Cowboys from that side of the line and they will have success. I wouldn’t be shocked if the Cowboys won because it’s a big divisional game, but the Eagles are better thanks to the great play of QB Carson Wentz and they’re not missing three top players like the Cowboys.

The Pick: Philadelphia 33-24

Atlanta (5-4) @ Seattle (6-3) -3 [8:30pm MON]

The Falcons will be without RB Devonta Freeman, who is going to miss this game with a concussion. They should be okay because RB Tevin Coleman is very capable even in a tough matchup at Seattle. I think the Seahawks pass defense is going to be vulnerable without CB Richard Sherman out there, but at least they have star S Earl Thomas likely to play. Despite the issues they have, Seahawks QB Russell Wilson always seems to find a way to make plays to lead his team to victories. Whether scrambling leading to a crazy pass or running to get a first down, Wilson is playing as well as any QB out there and I think he’ll have a successful day here too. I expect a high scoring game here.

The Pick: Seattle 31-27

My Fave Five Bets Of The Week

It was another 3-2 week thanks to getting the Rams and Panthers right while the Saints and Bills went over. I lost the Titans by 4.5 (they won by four) and Atlanta/Dallas was not the shootout I expected it to be.

Last week: 3-2 (Season 25-24-1)

Here are my five favorite bets for this week.

@ New Orleans -8 Washington
New England -6.5 vs. Oakland (in Mexico City)
LA Rams @ Minnesota OVER 46
@ LA Chargers –4 Buffalo
Kansas City -10.5 @ NY Giants

That last one was tough because it’s a big road favorite, but it’s mostly because of how bad I think the Giants are.

That’s all for this week. I’ll be back for more next week. Enjoy the games.