NFL 2023 Week 11 Picks

 Hello readers! Another week of exciting National Football League action is coming upon us yet again. With eight more weeks left in the regular season, there is much football left to be played. For this post, I will talk about the playoff picture for Week 11, Week 11 preview and picks and the Early and Late TV Broadcast Pairings. Let's get to work!

NFL Playoff Picture: Week 11

There's still a lot of unanswered questions yet but it is Week 11. The contenders are starting to shape up. The pretenders are quietly starting to whimper away. Let's start with the AFC.

Seeding

1st seed: Kansas City Chiefs (7-2)

2nd seed: Baltimore Ravens (7-3)

3rd seed: Jacksonville Jaguars (6-3)

4th seed: Miami Dolphins (6-3)

5th seed: Pittsburgh Steelers (6-3)

6th seed: Cleveland Browns (6-3)

7th seed: Houston Texans (5-4)

Super Wild Card Weekend Matchups

Houston @ Baltimore

Cleveland @ Jacksonville

Pittsburgh @ Miami

In the Hunt

Cincinnati (5-4), Indianapolis (5-5), Buffalo (5-5), Las Vegas (5-5), LA Chargers (4-5), NY Jets (4-5), Denver (4-5), Tennessee (3-6), New England (2-8)

Pittsburgh is ahead of Cleveland based on head-to-head record. Despite the losses for Buffalo, they could still be in line for the AFC East title but they will need some help from Pittsburgh to do it. Let's look at the NFC.

Seeding

1st seed: Philadelphia Eagles (8-1)

2nd seed: Detroit Lions (7-2)

3rd seed: San Francisco 49ers (6-3)

4th seed: New Orleans Saints (5-5)

5th seed: Seattle Seahawks (6-3)

6th seed: Dallas Cowboys (6-3)

7th seed: Minnesota Vikings (6-4)

Super Wild Card Weekend Matchups

Minnesota @ Detroit

Dallas @ San Francisco

Seattle @ New Orleans

In the Hunt

Tampa Bay (4-5), Washington (4-6), Atlanta (4-6), Green Bay (3-6), LA Rams (3-6), Chicago (3-7), NY Giants (2-8), Arizona (2-8), Carolina (1-8)

The Seahawks are ahead of the Cowboys based on conference record (Dallas has a 3-3 record, Seattle has 5-1 record). Seems that the worst teams in the AFC could be right there in the NFC playoff hunt. At least the AFC seems like the better conference but that the NFC has the best teams in the Eagles, Lions and 49ers. 

Week 11 Preview

The Eleventh week of the National Football League's regular season will start in Baltimore, Maryland and finishes in Kansas City, Missouri. The week will have a 14-game slate where 28 teams will play. The Atlanta Falcons, Indianapolis Colts, New England Patriots and New Orleans Saints are on a bye this week. Week 11 will feature a Thursday night game, eight early games, three late games, a Sunday night game and a Monday night game. FOX will have the single, regional game while CBS will carry the double-header this week. Let's get to the picks!

Week 11 Picks

Note: All game times are in US Eastern. TW is me and CV is Cardinal Viking, my former roommate.

Cincinnati (5-4) @ Baltimore (7-3) (Amazon; 8:15 pm): TW: Ravens; CV: Ravens

The Bengals lost to the Texans and the Ravens lost to the Browns last week. The week starts off with a big AFC North matchup as a rematch of the AFC Wild Card matchup last January. Cincy had been having a hot winning streak up until last week. They just fell a bit short against Houston. The Ravens really let themselves go last week against little brother Cleveland. They had a lead in that game with nine minutes left and I guess let the foot off the gas. They will need to really get back to putting the hurt and getting revenge for last January. I'll take the Ravens. 

Chicago (3-7) @ Detroit (7-2) (FOX; 1:00 pm): TW: Lions; CV: Lions

The Bears beat the Panthers and the Lions beat the Chargers last week. Chicago has had a rough season of it. Both sides of the ball have been very awful. Despite that, they have a 3-6 record so they have some wins at least. Justin Fields could comeback in this game. Detroit has been playing off their feet this season. Last week was a sign that they can be a playoff contender and possibly a contender for the Super Bowl. I think its a bit of a mismatch, I'll take the Lions. 

Arizona (2-8) @ Houston (5-4) (CBS; 1:00 pm): TW: Texans; CV: Texans

The Cardinals beat the Falcons and the Texans beat the Bengals last week. Arizona got a huge win against the Falcons in a close contest. Kyler Murray finally debuted in 2023 last week and provided a spark. He will need to do a bit more this week. Houston has been a surprise team but also has had a bit of a stumble before their wins over Tampa and Cincinnati. A bit of confidence has to give them an advantage in this game. I like the Texans in the matchup as they have an offense to match. 

Dallas (6-3) @ Carolina (1-8) (FOX; 1:00 pm): TW: Cowboys; CV: Cowboys

The Cowboys beat the Giants and the Panthers lost to the Bears last week. Dallas put the hurt on the Giants last week and in Week 1. They dominated them on offense and took advantage of mistakes that the Giants gave them. Carolina is the direct opposite of the Cowboys in that they don't have a very good offense. The Cowboys should handle the Panthers in this game. Don't really have any other reason why. 

LA Chargers (4-5) @ Green Bay (3-6) (FOX; 1:00 pm): TW: Packers; CV: Chargers

The Chargers lost to the Lions and the Packers lost to the Steelers last week. Los Angeles really almost upset the Lions in their own home stadium. Their defense let their offensive brethren down as they gave up 500+ yards. They will need to play better. Green Bay has been a disappointment a bit but the first year of the Jordan Love era has to give the Packers somewhat of a convenience. The defense and ball protection has to be somewhat the reason of their problems. I like the Packers running game matchup in this game as they can win it with them. I'll take the Pack. 

Las Vegas (5-5) @ Miami (6-3) (CBS; 1:00 pm): TW: Dolphins; CV: Dolphins

The Raiders beat the Jets and the Dolphins had a bye last week. Las Vegas is currently 2-0 in the Antonio Pierce era. The offense has put up enough offense to win while their defense does their thing. The defense will be put to the test as they have to face off against one of the best offenses in the NFL. Miami will be rested as they had a bye last week and will need to keep an eye on Maxx Crosby at all times this game. The Dolphins seem like the better team in this game but they cannot take the Raiders lightly. I'll take the Dolphins. 

NY Giants (2-8) @ Washington (4-6) (FOX; 1:00 pm): TW: Commanders; CV: Commanders

The Giants lost to the Cowboys and the Commanders lost to the Seahawks last week. Another chapter to the Giants-Commanders rivalry. The last time these two teams played, it was a 14-7 Giants win. Sam Howell will have to put up better numbers than that last game and I would expect him to have a better game. I have to expect the Commanders defense to do better as well. New York will be thanking their lucky stars that they don't have to face against Dallas again this season. I'll take Washington. 

Pittsburgh (6-3) @ Cleveland (6-3) (CBS; 1:00 pm): TW: Steelers; CV: Steelers

The Steelers beat the Packers and the Browns beat the Ravens last week. The Steelers-Browns rivalry renews with one of the biggest matchups since the 2020 Wild Card game. Pittsburgh comes into this game with winning a couple of tough games with a renewed sense of running the ball with the tandem of Jaylen Warren and Najee Harris. They will need to play well on both pass and run offense as the Browns do have a good defensive line. Cleveland comes into this game with a huge win against Baltimore that has to give them some confidence that even if they're down in the scoreboard, they can still comeback and win. The last time these two teams played, the Browns didn't take care of the ball well. They will need to handle the ball better and not give the Steelers any more of a chance to win. I'll take the Steelers. 

Tennessee (3-6) @ Jacksonville (6-3) (CBS; 1:00 pm): TW: Jaguars; CV: Jaguars

The Titans lost to the Buccaneers and the Jaguars lost to the 49ers last week. An intriguing matchup in the AFC South. Jacksonville holds the lead in the AFC South by a game while the Texans are quietly coming up right behind them. Like that rear view mirror close. They got smacked around by the 49ers last week and didn't really take care of the ball as well as they should've. They should be able to take care of the Titans. Tennessee has had a rough go of it. They didn't do much damage against Tampa. Will Levis will need to play better ball against an angry Jaguars team. I'll take the Jags. 

Tampa Bay (4-5) @ San Francisco (6-3) (FOX; 4:05 pm): TW: 49ers; CV: 49ers

The Buccaneers beat the Titans and the 49ers beat the Jaguars last week. Tampa got back into a winning column last week and handled and kept the Titans from scoring a touchdown. It could be that Will Levis was at quarterback. Baker Mayfield and the Bucs offense will have their hands full as well as their defense. San Francisco got back onto the right track after whooping the Jaguars butts last week. Before that they had a tough time of winning, losing three straight games. The 49ers have been getting their playmakers like Deebo Samuel back who can both run and catch balls. I think it'll be a tough one to give to the Buccaneers so I'll go with the 49ers who just have too much to handle. 

NY Jets (4-5) @ Buffalo (5-5) (CBS; 4:25 pm): TW: Bills; CV: Jets

The Jets lost to the Raiders and the Bills lost to the Broncos last week. The Jets have been on a roller coaster of a season, this team can beat a great team in the Eagles and lose to the Patriots earlier in the season. Their defense is solid but their offense under Zach Wilson is just not there. Buffalo made some news with the firing of Ken Dorsey as offensive coordinator earlier in this week. The move could've been done a bit earlier in my opinion. The path to the playoffs is a tough one as after this game they will have to play both of the previous Super Bowl participants this season. If they can pull off a win against the rival Jets they have a decent shot to get back into the playoff contention. If they lose then it might get a bit tougher. 

Seattle (6-3) @ LA Rams (3-6) (CBS; 4:25 pm): TW: Seahawks; CV: Seahawks

The Seahawks beat the Commanders and the Rams had a bye last week. A whimper of an NFC West matchup. The last time these two teams met was a 30-13 victory for the Rams. It seems that the two teams have changed since that Week 1 matchup. Seattle possesses a decent defense and an offense that can put up some numbers. They will need to get back to playing better on defense as they will have to face off against Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp. The fate of the Rams will depend on whether or not if Matthew Stafford can play. The health of Stafford has been a factor in why the Rams have been the way that they are. The Rams will need to hope that they can get Stafford back as soon as possible. I am going to make a judgement call in going with the Seahawks. 

Minnesota (6-4) @ Denver (4-5) (NBC; 8:20 pm): TW: Broncos; CV: Vikings

The Vikings beat the Saints and the Broncos beat the Bills last week. Two teams that are currently in some hot streaks. The Vikings once upon a time were at 0-3 and proceed to go 6-1 since that time. They also possess the longest winning streak in the NFL. They have Joshua Dobbs at quarterback. Truth is they could have Charlie Brown at quarterback and they'd probably still win. I feel at some point the winning streak has to end. Denver has as well won a few games, winning three straight games. Their offense has put up enough to get wins while playing some defense that can get some turnovers. The defense has slowly gotten better as they have limited just 16 points/game. Denver still has that advantage of being a mile high so that could be a factor. I think either team could win but I'll take the home team. 

Philadelphia (8-1) @ Kansas City (7-2) (ABC/ESPN; 8:15 pm): TW: Eagles; CV: Chiefs

The Eagles had a bye last week and the Chiefs had a bye last week. A rematch of that one Super Bowl back in February. The two teams seem to not really not changed by all that much. Maybe the Eagles got a bit better. Their offense got a bit more potent with adding Julio Jones to the receiving corp. The defense has been just as good. Kansas City hasn't really changed all that much. Maybe their defense stepped up a bit and got better by getting Frank Clark a deal done sooner rather than later. I think the game last year will come down to if the Chiefs can sustain drives and I think this game will stay the same. I like the Eagles offense and defense in the rematch. I'll take the road Eagles. 

Early & Late Game TV Broadcast Pairings

Note: Games in bold are being shown in my area, check local listings

CBS Early

Pittsburgh @ Cleveland

Ian Eagle, Charles Davis

Las Vegas @ Miami

Kevin Harlan, Trent Green

Tennessee @ Jacksonville

Spero Dedes, Adam Archuleta

Arizona @ Houston

Tom McCarthy, James Lofton, Jay Feely

CBS Late

NY Jets @ Buffalo

Jim Nantz, Tony Romo

Seattle @ LA Rams

Andrew Catalon, Tiki Barber, Matt Ryan

FOX Single

Dallas @ Carolina

Kevin Burkhardt, Greg Olson

LA Chargers @ Green Bay

Kevin Kugler, Mark Sanchez

Chicago @ Detroit

Adam Amin, Mark Schlereth

NY Giants @ Washington

Kenny Albert, Jonathan Vilma

Tampa Bay @ San Francisco (Late)

Joe Davis, Daryl Johnston 

For more information on which game is being shown in your area check out: NFL 2023: Week 11 Maps

Records

Cardinal Viking:

2023: 
Week 1: 10-6

Week 2: 10-6

Week 3: 8-8

Week 4: 13-3
Week 5: 6-8

Week 6: 9-6

Week 7: 4-9

Week 8: 10-6

Week 9: 8-6
Week 10: 6-8

Total: 84-66

2017: 167-89
2018: 156-98-2
2019: 151-104-1
2020: 163-92-1
2021: 167-104-1
2022: 157-112-2

My record: 

2023:
Week 1: 9-7

Week 2: 11-5
Week 3: 11-5

Week 4: 14-2

Week 5: 7-7

Week 6: 8-7

Week 7: 5-8

Week 8: 10-6

Week 9: 9-5
Week 10: 7-7

Total: 91-59

2012: 164-90-2

2013: 162-92-1

2014: 172-83-1

2017: 164-92

2018: 156-98-2
2019: 161-94-1

2020: 167-88-1 

2021: 173-98-1
2022: 166-103-2

See you all after the Monday night game for the Week 11 Recap! Enjoy the games!

-Tom