NFL Week 11 Preview: A rematch of Super Bowl 52

11/14/2019

Tom Brady, Carson Wentz — ESNY Graphic, Getty Images

Previewing the slate of games that’ll make up Week 11 in the NFL with analysis and predictions as well as recapping Week 10.

This past week’s slate of games in the NFL was one for the books. There was the battle at MetLife Stadium, a sensational performance from Dalvin Cook on Sunday Night Football, and an NFC West battle for the ages on Monday Night Football. Thankfully, we’re here to recap it all as well as preview the upcoming week.

As always, we’ll be providing predictions for the upcoming set of matchups as well as looking back at how our predictions did this past week.

That being said, let’s begin.

Week 10 Final Scores // Prediction Results

LA Chargers 24 at Oakland Raiders 26 // Correct
Detroit Lions 13 at Chicago Bears 20 // Correct
Baltimore Ravens 49 at Cincinnati Bengals 13 // Correct
Buffalo Bulls 16 at Cleveland Browns 19 // Incorrect
Atlanta Falcons 26 at NO Saints 9 // Incorrect
NY Giants 27 at NY Jets 34 // Incorrect
Arizona Cardinals 27 at TB Buccaneers 30 // Correct
KC Chiefs 32 at Tennessee Titans 35 // Incorrect
Miami Dolphins 16 at Indianapolis Colts 12 // Incorrect
Carolina Panthers 16 at GB Packers 24 // Correct
LA Rams 12 at Pittsburgh Steelers 17 // Incorrect
Minnesota Vikings 28 at Dallas Cowboys 24 // Incorrect
Seattle Seahawks 27 at SF 49ers 24 // Incorrect
Week 10 Results: 5-8
Overall Results: 95-53

Recap: What we saw during Week 10

We saw the Raiders build a case for why they should be a playoff team this year. With a 26-24 win over a division rival-Chargers team, who gave the Packers just their second loss, Oakland is inching its way towards January football. Their defense picked off Chargers quarterback Phillip Rivers three times while Raiders quarterback Derek Carr threw for 218 yards and one touchdown.

Did turning the TV’s off in Halas Hall work for the Chicago Bears? It may have, considering they won their first game since Sept. 29. Led by quarterback Mitch Trubisky’s three touchdown passes, the Bears took down the division rival-Lions by a score of 20-13. The Bears are now 4-5, sitting in third place in the NFC North.

Lamar Jackson for MVP? That’s not a joke, nor an overexaggerated statement. Once again, the second-year quarterback out of Louisville showed just how exciting he can be on the field. In a 49-13 victory over the winless Bengals, Jackson completed 15 of his 17 throws for 223 yards and three touchdowns. On the ground, he racked up 65 yards on seven carries with one touchdown.

The battle of New York occurred for the first time since 2015, and for the second consecutive time, the Jets ousted the Giants. It was a battle between two young quarterbacks in Daniel Jones and Sam Darnold. Jones, the Giants rookie, threw for 308 yards and four touchdowns. Darnold, the Jets’ second-year pro, threw for 230 yards and one touchdown. Darnold also ran one in to begin the scoring in the first quarter. The Jets improved to 2-7 with a 34-17 win.

We saw veteran quarterback Ryan Tannehill achieve his third win as the Titans’ starting quarterback. He’s now 3-1 since taking over for the benched Marcus Mariota. In the 35-32 win over the Patrick Mahomes-led Chiefs (which ended with a blocked field goal to solidify the Tennessee victory), Tannehill threw for 181 yards and two touchdowns. Titans running back Derrick Henry rushed for 188 yards on 23 carries for a pair of scores.

Wait a minute…are the Steelers becoming a playoff team? This ballclub, who started out 0-3, has won five of their last six matchups. They’re currently 5-4 and are just 2.0 games back in the AFC North. In their most recent 17-12 win over the Rams, quarterback Mason Rudolph threw for 242 yards and one touchdown. As for Los Angeles, the turnover bug made its way to quarterback Jared Goff, who threw two picks and lost a fumble. The fumble was returned 43 yards for a score by Pittsburgh safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. Los Angeles is now 5-4 in a tough NFC West division.

Dalvin Cook should receive MVP considerations, there’s no doubt about it. The young Vikings running back has been sensational this year and continued his phenomenal campaign in a 28-24 win over the Cowboys on Sunday night. Cook rushed for 97 yards on 26 carries for one touchdown as well as caught seven balls for 86 yards. He racked up 183 total yards from scrimmage. The Vikings are now 7-3 and just a game behind the Packers for the NFC North lead.

And finally, the 49ers have officially lost a game. There are no longer any undefeated teams in the NFL, as the Seahawks defeated the Niners 27-24 in overtime. Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson completed 24 of his 34 passes for 232 yards and one touchdown as well as gained 53 yards on six carries. Seahawks kicker Jason Myers converted the game-winning field goal in overtime after Niners kicker Chase McLaughlin missed a potential game-winning kick way wide to the left. San Francisco is now 8-1 on the year, with Seattle improving to 8-2.

Preview: What to watch for during Week 11 in the NFL

Houston Texans (6-3) at Baltimore Ravens (7-2) – Sunday, Nov. 17, 1:00 p.m. ET

This is 100% a game to watch for, being that it’ll be a battle between two young and talented quarterbacks who are both on the rise. Deshaun Watson and the Texans are 6-3 and will need a big win as they’re just 1.0 game ahead of the Colts in the AFC South. Watson has thrown for 2,432 yards, 18 touchdowns, and zero interceptions thus far on the year, and will look to build upon his fantastic play thus far.

Lamar Jackson and the Ravens, on the other hand, are 7-2, atop the AFC North by just 2.0 games. Jackson has also thrown zero interceptions on the year, having achieved 2,036 yards and 15 touchdowns through the air. He’s additionally gained 702 yards on the ground with six touchdowns.

This game could foreshadow a potential playoff matchup in the AFC. If things stay the way they currently are with these two teams, the Texans and Ravens will win their respective divisions and could end up facing one another in January.

Jacksonville Jaguars (4-5) at Indianapolis Colts (5-4) – Sunday, Nov. 17, 1:00 p.m. ET

This is a huge matchup when you consider the AFC South standings. Despite sitting in last place at 4-5, the Jaguars are just 1.0 game behind the second place-Colts, who are 5-4. Needless to say, this will be a big win for either team en route to surpassing the Houston Texans for the division lead.

It’ll also be the return of Jaguars quarterback Nick Foles. The Super Bowl 52 MVP went down with a broken clavicle during a Week 1 loss to the Chiefs. Gardner Minshew took over as the starting quarterback in Foles’ absence. Now that he’s back, this team will be looking to win games down the stretch in hopes to clinch a playoff spot. Remember, they’re not far back in the division right now.

Colts quarterback Jacoby Brissett is also set to return for Indianapolis. He suffered a knee injury in the loss to the Steelers two weeks ago and missed the team’s entire loss to the Dolphins this past Sunday.

New England Patriots (8-1) at Philadelphia Eagles (5-4) – Sunday, Nov. 17, 4:25 p.m. ET

The Patriots are coming out of their BYE week having suffered their first loss earlier this month to the Ravens. New England was 8-0 prior to that. This Sunday will mark 21 days since they last experienced that victory feeling. Therefore, they’ll be hungry for a win, and what better team to defeat than the organization who beat them in Super Bowl 52?

New England and the Eagles will be playing against one another for the first time since these two teams met in February of 2018. It’s clear Bill Belichick, Tom Brady, and co. have a grudge against this ballclub and will come out with a chip on their shoulders.

For the Eagles, they’ll need a big win in order to stay neck-and-neck with the Cowboys in the NFC East division. At the moment, they’re 5-4, the same exact record Dallas is sporting after losing to the Vikings this past week. Therefore, every game the Eagles play will be crucial down the stretch, including this matchup against one of the AFC’s best.

Chicago Bears (4-5) at Los Angeles Rams (5-4) – Sunday, Nov. 17, 8:20 p.m. ET

Heading into this season, I wouldn’t have guessed at all that both the Bears and Rams would be in third place in their respective divisions heading into Week 11. But, it’s the NFL, and this league comes with surprises each and every year.

The Bears (4-5) will take on the Rams (5-4) at the Coliseum on “Sunday Night Football.” Both teams will need a huge win to prevent falling even farther down the latter in each of their respective divisions.

A Bears win will propel them to .500 and prove that they can still be competitive in a division that includes Minnesota and Green Bay. It would also be the team’s second consecutive win after losing four straight.

The Rams, on the other hand, have a lot on their hands down the stretch, especially with the Seahawks and 49ers ahead of them. A win in this game against Chicago would put them at 6-4 and in a decent spot moving forward. Momentum is everything late in the season, and that’s something they’ll need if they want to make a playoff run.