Week ten was by far the worst so far for me in picking games, as I got only 6 correct and 10 wrong. The overall record for the year now stands at a still respectable 93-53, and here are my choices for week eleven:
New York Jets at Denver – this week’s featured Thursday night game. The Jets have to follow up a crushing division loss to New England with a short week, cross country road trip to a tough location to play in. I can’t imagine Denver beating the Jets, however, using an offense in which Tim Tebow completes only 2 passes, as the Broncos did last week. The Jets will struggle, but they’ll win a low-scoring defensive battle.
Buffalo at Miami – these 2 teams are going in opposite directions, as the Fish have won 2 in a row while Buffalo has lost 2 in a row and not played well in either. Miami’s wins, however, have been against teams the Bills have beaten easily also. The Bills will regroup and win a game they have to win to keep their season from completely collapsing.
Cincinnati at Baltimore – the Ravens may be the most disappointing team in the league right now. They’ve beaten the Steelers twice, then lost to Seattle last week. I think they’ll use the rage from the Seattle upset to take down the young Bengals at home in a defensive struggle.
Jacksonville at Cleveland – a game that should turn out to be another typical field goal fest, which every Browns’ game seems to turn out to be. I’ll go with the Jaguars, who have a better defense and running game.
Carolina at Detroit – the Lions need to win this game to turn their momentum back around, but they could get caught looking ahead to the big Thanksgiving matchup with Green Bay. Detroit’s defense will contain Cam Newton enough to pull out a win that winds up a closer game than it should be.
Tampa Bay at Green Bay – the Pack is a juggernaut at this point, especially at home. They’ll beat the Bucs handily.
Oakland at Minnesota – Carson Palmer is starting to find his way with the Raider offense, and they need to keep winning to stay in the NFC West race. A close win for Oakland on the road.
Dallas at Washington – the Cowboys are rolling, while the Redskins are the worst offensive team in the NFL at this point. Dallas will win, but because it’s a division rivalry game, it will be fairly close.
Arizona at San Francisco – the Niners pretty much already have the NFC West title wrapped up, but they don’t appear to be the type of team to rest on their laurels. San Francisco wins at home.
Seattle at St.Louis – Seattle is an enigma, beating teams they have no business beating and looking horrible in their losses. The Rams are dangerous at home, and I’ll pick them to win here.
Tennessee at Atlanta – the Titans have had their moments this year, but this won’t be one of them. The Falcons will be highly motivated after a tough division loss to the Saints last week, and will win easily.
San Diego at Chicago – the Bears are peaking at the right time, while the Chargers are the AFC’s biggest underachievers. Chicago’s defense keys an easy win at home.
Philadelphia at New York Giants – the Eagles are the NFC’s version of San Diego, underachieving and certainly far from a “Dream Team”. Mike Vick has broken ribs and even if he plays, his effectiveness has to be limited. I’ll pick the Giants to win at home.
Kansas City at New England – the Patriots just don’t lose to teams they should beat. They’ll methodically dismantle the Chiefs and win easily.
Louise
November 17, 2011 at 5:07 pm
Would be nice to see the Bills get back on track but with the injuries on the offensive line mounting, it will be a major task to do this.