And the Steelers and Browns will face each other in Cleveland on Sunday while the Ravens and Bengals will go at it in Baltimore on Thursday night. The Ravens defense has been getting stung late in games in recent weeks, but still ranks among the top in the NFL in defense. Meanwhile, the Bengals have been battling injuries to their wide receivers, including Tee Higgins, who will not play against Baltimore.
This game should be another great battle (Baltimore won, 27-24 in Week Two in Cincy) with the Ravens pounding the football with their vaunted running attack while the Bengals will look to air it out with quarterback Joe Burrow and company looking to get back into the thick of the divisional race. The call here is for the Ravens to pull out a close win and maintain their slim lead in the division.
On Sunday, the Steelers will be looking to take advantage of the Browns not having starting QB Deshaun Watson (shoulder injury) for the remainder of the season. Pittsburgh won a close one at home back in Week Two, 26-22 and will need the defense to step it up and pressure Browns QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson and stifle the running game as well. The Browns defense has been stellar all season long and helped the team rally back from a 14-point deficit in Baltimore a week ago. This game should be a knock down affair that will be decided by a late field goal.
The resurgent Las Vegas Raiders (5-5) will be seeking their third straight win in Miami, but the Dolphins (6-3) are coming off the bye week and lost in Germany (to Kansas City) two weeks ago in what was their worst offensive performance this season. Look for QB Tua Tagovailoa to get receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle involved early and often to keep the Raiders at bay. Miami should get the win, but the Raiders are buying into interim head coach Antonio Pierce's tactics and could keep it interesting.
The Sunday night game in Denver between the Broncos (4-5) and Minnesota Vikings (6-4 and winners of vie in a row) could be an exciting match. The Broncos defense has been playing lights out football since giving up 70 points against the Miami Dolphins in late September. The Vikings are rolling, even with QB Kirk Cousins (Achilles injury) done for the season as Joshua Dobbs has stepped right in and kept the offense humming along. Denver's defense forced four turnovers against Buffalo last week in a road victory and this game could go either way and a turnover just might be the deciding factor.
On Monday night in Kansas City, the game of the week will take place between the Chiefs (7-2) and the Philadelphia Eagles (8-1) in a rematch of last season's Super Bowl. The Eagles have won three consecutive games and have the league's best record. The Chiefs lost to Denver three weeks ago, but rebounded with a 21-14 win over Miami in Germany and come off their bye week with expectations to win this game.
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes has been solid, but he has thrown eight interceptions in the first nine games and the Philly defense (14 interceptions) would like to add to that total, but the pass rush has to do their part (30 sacks) to keep Mahomes from getting too comfortable. Meanwhile, the Kansas City defense has been looking good in 2023, getting 31 sacks so far and has picked off six passes. Look for a close game with K.C. finding a way to get it done.
The rest of the action around the NFL in Week Eleven is featured in the capsule style format and the Heftyinfo picks follow up.
Chicago Bears (3-7) at Detroit Lions (7-2) - The Bears get QB Justin Fields back this week, but the Lions are just too good to lose this one, especially at home.
Los Angeles Chargers (4-5) at Green Bay Packers (3-6) - As long as the Chargers O-line gives QB Justin Herbert time to throw the ball, the Chargers should win this game.
New York Giants (2-8) at Washington Commanders (4-6) - The Giants beat the Commanders four weeks ago, but they are playing with a third string QB now. The Commanders gave the Seattle Seahawks all they could handle on the road last week and their offense is much better than the Giants meager attack.
Dallas Cowboys (6-3) at Carolina Panthers (1-8) - Cowboys roll !
Tennessee Titans (3-6) at Jacksonville Jaguars (6-3) - Jags got spanked at home last week and should be ready to take it out on the Titans. But the Titans always find a way to hang around with this team, so expect a close one.
Arizona Cardinals (2-8) at Houston Texans (5-4) - The Texans are playing good football and they believe in themselves, especially with rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud playing at an elite level. Arizona has QB Kyler Murray back and should hang around in this one.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-5) at San Francisco 49ers (6-3) - The 49ers cast out any doubts about how good they are with last week's rout of the Jaguars. They should be able to handle Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers, who have been up and down this season.
New York Jets (4-5) at Buffalo Bills (5-5) - Two teams heading downhill coming into this game. The Bills offense is much better, but QB Josh Allen has got to cut down on the turnovers. The Jets defense will keep them in this game and they did beat Buffalo in the season opener, so watch out.
Seattle Seahawks (6-3) at Los Angeles Rams (3-6) - The Rams always make life difficult for the Seahawks and should have starting QB Matthew Stafford back for this tilt in L.A. If they want to win this game, the Seahawks defense must step up and limit the Rams offense, which has been bad in the last five games, averaging just 16 points per game while losing four of those games.
The Heftyinfo picks for Week Eleven . . . . . . . . . . (Home teams are listed in bold; Lock of the Week is listed in BOLD CAPS)
Baltimore over Cincinnati
Pittsburgh over Cleveland
Detroit over Chicago
L.A. Chargers over Green Bay
Miami over Las Vegas
Washington over N.Y. Giants
DALLAS over Carolina
Jacksonville over Tennessee
Houston over Arizona
San Francisco over Tampa Bay
Buffalo over N.Y. Jets
Seattle over L.A. Rams
Denver over Minnesota
Kansas City over Philadelphia
Last Week's Record - 9-5
SEASON RECORD - 97-53
Lock of the Week Record - 10-0
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