Week 11 NFL Predictions

The Dallas Cowboys are still rocking and the Cleveland Browns still reeling after week 10 of NFL action. Dallas downed Pittsburgh to extend their winning streak to eight while Cleveland fell to Baltimore to remain winless. There were a few mild upsets and games ranged from a low-scoring 15-point affair to a 72-point shootout. Week 11 is upon us this Thursday, November 17th with teams still jockeying for playoff positions. Check out our weekly predictions below to see how each club will fare in week 11 of the campaign.

Thursday, November 17th

New Orleans Saints at Carolina Panthers

The Saints were unable to gain any ground in their NFC South Division last weekend as they succumbed to the Denver Broncos by a heartbreaking score of 25-23 at home at the Superdome. They’re still tied for second in the division with Tampa at 4-5 on the season and are 1.5 games back of the Atlanta Falcons. New Orleans has done well against division rivals lately though as they edged past Carolina 41-38 earlier this season. Saints’ quarterback Drew Brees had a fine outing in that contest as he tossed four touchdown passes and gained 465 yards in the air. He’ll be facing a Panthers team which concedes 25.1 points against per game on average this season and sits in the basement of the division at 3-6. The Panthers were downed 20-17 at home by Kansas City in week 10.
Prediction: The Saints win by six points, 27-21.

Sunday, November 20th

Pittsburgh Steelers at Cleveland Browns


This game may be coming at the perfect time for the Steelers since they lost their fourth straight contest last week when Dallas upended them 35-30 at home at Heinz Field. Pittsburgh is now 4-5 on the season and is hanging onto second place in the AFC North. The Browns are at the bottom of the same division after suffering their 10th straight loss in 2016/17 when they lost 28-7 on the road in Baltimore last week. Cleveland remains the only winless team in the league this season and head coach Hue Jackson must be wondering if the nightmare will ever end. In their last two outings, Cleveland has allowed Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco and his Dallas counterpart Dak Prescott to complete 51 of their 68 passes for a total of 543 yards and half a dozen touchdowns passes. They’ll be facing Ben Roethlisberger this week and he gained 408 yards against Dallas last week by going 37 for 46 in passing along with three touchdown tosses.

Prediction: Pittsburgh finally gets back on track with a 10-point win, 35-25.

Baltimore Ravens at Dallas Cowboys


The Ravens are coming off of a 28-7 home win over Cleveland last Thursday while the Cowboys got past Pittsburgh 35-30 on the road. Dallas still leads the NFC East at 8-1 while Baltimore sits atop the AFC North at 5-4. The Cowboys came from behind to take down the Steelers last week and the team is enjoying its longest winning string since back in 1977. Rookie running back Ezekiel Elliott continued his fine play last week by running in three touchdowns and 209 yards. He’s been a key player all season long as well as fellow rookie Dak Prescott, who’s been filling in for the injured Tony Romo. Baltimore’s 21-point triumph over the Browns was their second consecutive win. Quarterback Joe Flacco gained 296 in the air by going 30 for 41 and had a trio of touchdown passes. He’ll be facing a Cowboys’ secondary which concedes an average of 246 yards against per game in the air this year, which is ranked 15th in the league.

Prediction: Dallas wins by 10 points, 27-17.

Jacksonville Jaguars at Detroit Lions


The Lions took week 10 off with a bye after besting Minnesota 22-16 in overtime on the road in their previous outing. Before that, they were 20-13 losers to Houston. The Lions enter the weekend at 5-4 and are now tied with the Vikings for the division lead in the NFC North. Quarterback Matthew Stafford had a pair of touchdown passes and 219 yards in the air against Minnesota. They’ll be facing a Jacksonville side which lost 24-21 at home to the Texans last week. The Jaguars have now dropped four decisions in a row and are in the basement of the AFC South at 2-7. Quarterback Blake Bortles threw a pair of touchdown passes against Houston to go along with an interception. He’s now been picked off 11 times this season, which is the second-most in the league.

Prediction: Detroit wins by nine points, 30-21.

Tennessee Titans at Indianapolis Colts

Tennessee enters the game with a 5-5 record and sits in second place in the AFC South after their surprising 47-25 beat down of the Green Bay Packers at home last Sunday. Tennessee has been on a pretty good roll lately considering were 1-3 after four games. The team’s fortunes have turned around largely due to the fine play of quarterback Marcus Mariota, who recorded four touchdown passes against Green Bay last week. Mariota will be up against a Colts’ secondary which concedes 287.9 yards in the air on average this year, which ranks as the second-most in the league. The Colts enjoyed a bye last week and their 4-5 record is good for third in the AFC South Division. Historically, the Colts have the edge though as they’ve won 10 straight at home against Tennessee.

Prediction: Indianapolis wins a close encounter by four points, 32-28.

Buffalo Bills at Cincinnati Bengals


Buffalo probably looked forward to their bye last week since they entered it with three straight losses in the rearview mirror. Their last outing was a 31-25 defeat at the hands of Seattle in week 9. Buffalo enters the weekend with a 4-5 record in AFC East, which puts them in third place and three games back of division leaders New England. The Buffalo defence has been struggling in the losing streak as they’ve allowed 100 points against in those three losses. On the year, they allow an average of 22.6 points against per game. They’ll be facing a Cincinnati team which is struggling offensively though as they’ve scored just 187 points in their nine games so far. Cincinnati is 3-5-1 on the season and in third place in the AFC North. They lost a 21-20 heartbreaker in New York to the Giants on Monday night.

Prediction: Cincinnati wins by seven points, 24-17.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Kansas City Chiefs


Kansas City leads the AFC West with their 7-2 record following a come-from-behind 20-17 win on the road over the Carolina Panthers last week. However, Oakland is tied with them at 7-2 and Denver is right behind at 7-3. The Kansas defence was top notch again and the Chiefs have now won five straight. They held Carolina to 341 yards and fought back from a 17-0 deficit. Tampa ended their two-game losing streak with a 36-10 mauling of the Chicago Bears at home, for their first home triumph of the campaign. Tampa is tied for second in the NFC South with New Orleans at 4-5. Quarterback Jameis Winston tossed a pair of touchdown passes and had 312 yards in the air as he eight of the 15 third-down chances the Buccaneers had.

Prediction: Kansas wins by 11 points, 27-16.

Chicago Bears at New York Giants


The New York Giants edged past Cincinnati 21-20 on Monday Night Football at home in East Rutherford, New Jersey for their third straight victory. The second-place Giants are just 2.5 games behind the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC East with a 6-3 record. The defence was hot against the Bengals as it held them to just 271 yards. They’ll be facing a low-scoring Chicago squad which scored just an average of 15.7 points per outing this year, which is the league’s second-lowest mark. The Giants have gone 3-0 ATS in their past three contests with Chicago.
Prediction: The Giants win by 14 points, 27-13.

Arizona Cardinals at Minnesota Vikings


Arizona still hangs onto its playoff hopes after downing the San Francisco 49ers 23-20 at home last week. Chandler Catanzaro booted a last-second 34-yard field goal to win the contest and end a two-game winless skid. Arizona is now within a pair of games of division-leading Seattle in the NFC West at 4-4-1. The Vikings have lost four in a row after coming out o the wrong end of a 26-20 decision in Washington last week. They enter the game at 5-4 on the season, good enough for a first-place tie with Detroit in the NFC North. Minnesota’s running game is hurting them as the team’s best rushing game this season resulted in just 104 yards. It’s the only time they’ve broken the 100-yard barrier in 2016/17 and it came back in week 4.

Prediction: Minnesota breaks their losing streak with a narrow three-point win, 17-14.

Miami Dolphins vs Los Angeles Rams


Miami has won four straight games now after a fine 31-24 victory out on the west coast against the San Diego Chargers last Sunday. The Dolphins are another team which has successfully turned things around after going 1-4 in their first five outings. They’re now 5-4 and in second place in the AFC East. Quarterback Ryan Tannehill has been a key player of late and had a pair of touchdown passes in San Diego. He’ll be facing a Rams’ team which conceded only 296 yards in their 9-6 road win over the New York Jets last week. Los Angeles is 4-5 on the season and occupies third spot in the NFC West. They’re 1-3 in home games this year while Miami is 1-3 away from home.

Prediction: Los Angeles wins a three-point nail biter 20-17.

New England Patriots at San Francisco 49ers

San Francisco’s season continues to be a disaster as the team lost its eighth consecutive contest last week as the Arizona Cardinals squeaked past them 23-20 out in the Phoenix desert. San Francisco is now 1-8 for the campaign and in the cellar of the AFC West. Quarterback Colin Kaepernick had a fine outing last week though with two touchdown passes and 265 yards in the air. Meanwhile, the New England Patriots lost for just the second time this season when they were humbled 31-24 at home by the Seattle Seahawks. They’re still leading the AFC East though at 7-2 and will be looking to take advantage of the struggling 49ers on the west coast this Sunday.

Prediction: New England rebounds with a 21-point win, 35-14.

Philadelphia Eagles at Seattle Seahawks

The Philadelphia Eagles snapped out of their funk with a big 24-15 home victory over the Atlanta Falcons last week after losing the previous four games. Ryan Mathews led the way with a pair of touchdowns and ran for 108 yards. The Eagles are still three games back of Dallas in the NFC East as they sit in last place in the division at 5-4. They’ll be facing a tough Seattle Seahawks squad which beat New England 31-24 on the road last week. Seattle is still unbeaten away from home this season and their 6-2-1 record leads the NFC West by a pair of games over the Arizona Cardinals. Quarterback Russell Wilson has been playing well of late with five touchdown passes and 630 yards in the air in his last two contests.

Prediction: Seattle wins by nine points, 28-19.

Green Bay Packers at Washington Redskins


The Green Bay Packers are struggling and have now lost three straight outings after being hammered 47-25 in Tennessee last Sunday. The Packers’ defence was brutal and conceded a touchdown to the Titans in each of their opponents’ first four drives. The defence needs to tighten up in Washington or quarterback Aaron Rodgers will need to be spectacular. He went 31 for 51 in passing last week for a pair of touchdowns and 371 yards. However, he was also picked off twice. Green Bay is now 4-5 on the year and third in the NFC North. Green Bay is 2-0 both ATS and straight up over Washington in their last two encounters including a 35-18 victory in last season’s wild card game. The Redskins beat Minnesota 26-20 at home last week and are now 5-3-1 on the year and in third place in the NFC East.

Prediction: Washington wins a close three-point game, 27-24.

Monday, November 21st

Houston Texans at Oakland Raiders

Both the Houston Texans and Oakland Raiders are on winning runs as Texas has won their last two outings and Oakland has three straight victories. Houston beat Jacksonville 24-21 down in Florida last week while the Raiders had a bye. The Texans lead the AFC South at 6-3 while Oakland is tied with Kansas City for top spot in the AFC West at 7-2. Houston quarterback Brock Osweiler needs to be more consistent as he’s been picked off nine times in nine games this season, which is the sixth-most in the league. Oakland quarterback Derek Carr has 17 touchdown passes on the campaign and has been intercepted just three times. 

Prediction: Oakland wins by 10 points, 31-21.