Sunday and Monday night offer up some exciting NFL matchups with playoff contenders. Vikings vs. Bears and Chiefs vs. Rams should be two of the most entertaining games this week.
Week 11 in the NFL kicks off with two teams looking to make a push toward the postseason as the Seattle Seahawks host the Green Bay Packers on Thursday Night Football. Packers running back Aaron Jones rushed for 145 yards on 15 carries (9.7 average), including two rushing touchdowns, in Green Bay’s 31-12 victory over Miami in Week 10. Can he keep it up against the Seahawks defense?
Sunday Night Football should be a good one, too as two NFC North foes square off. The Chicago Bears are looking good both on offense and defense and are looking to steal the division crown that belonged to the Minnesota Vikings, their Week 11 opponent, last season. The Bears are currently in first place in the division, but a win would hand temporary reigns of the NFC North over to the Vikings.
Monday Night Football’s Los Angeles Rams vs. Kansas City Chiefs was originally scheduled to be played in Mexico City. But it was moved to LA after it was determined that the field conditions weren’t safe. This is a battle of two of the league’s best teams and teams that currently have only one loss each. This should be a fun one and will impact the power rankings moving forward.
Odds and expert picks
The Rams vs. Chiefs game set the record for the highest over/under in NFL history. It’s set at 63.5 for a game that should see quite a bit of scoring from two of the league’s top three offenses.
If you’re still in a Survivor pool, our safest pick of the week is the New Orleans Saints over the Philadelphia Eagles.
Our experts are mostly siding with the Atlanta Falcons over the Dallas Cowboys and only the coin flip went for the Detroit Lions over the Carolina Panthers.
What to watch for
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (3,150 passing yards, 117.4 passer rating) and Rams quarterback Jared Goff(3,134 passing yards, 113.0 passer rating) rank first and second, respectively, in the NFL in passing yards. It should be entertaining to watch two of only eight quarterbacks in league history with 3,000+ passing yards and a 110+ passer rating in their team’s first 10 games of a season battle it out. Each of the previous six quarterbacks to accomplish that won the NFL MVP award that season. Mahomes and Goff are both in the MVP discussion this year.
The Indianapolis Colts play a division rival for the second week in a row as the Tennessee Titans come to to Lucas Oil Stadium for a game that could have playoff implications. That’s because the Colts are attempting to make an unlikely push toward the postseason after starting the season 1-5. Last week, Marcus Mariota became the third quarterback in league history with at least 200 passing yards, 20 rushing yards and 20 receiving yards in a single game, joining Panthers quarterback Cam Netwon (December 4, 2011) and Bears quarterback Jim McMahon (October 21, 1984) in the record books. Meanwhile, Andrew Luck just became one of three quarterbacks in NFL history to record at least six consecutive games with three or more touchdown passes in a single season, joining Tom Brady (10 consecutive games in 2007) and Peyton Manning (eight in 2004) to accomplish that. Brady and Manning were each named NFL MVP in those respective seasons.
When the Cowboys visit the Falcons on Sunday afternoon, Dallas running back Ezekiel Elliott will be looking to hit an NFL milestone. He has 4,339 scrimmage yards and 31 touchdowns in 34 career games. Playing in his 35th career game on Sunday, Elliott needs 161 scrimmage yards to join Pro Football Hall of Famer Eric Dickerson and Edgerrin James as the only players in NFL history with at least 4,500 scrimmage yards and 30 touchdowns in their first 35 career games.
There are so many players playing at a high level this year and not enough awards to go around. That trend is likely to continue in a high stakes Week 11 in the NFL.
NFL Week 11 schedule
Thursday, November 15
Green Bay Packers at Seattle Seahawks, 8:20 p.m. ET (FOX/NFLN/Amazon)
Sunday, November 18
Dallas Cowboys at Atlanta Falcons, 1:00 p.m. (FOX)
Cincinnati Bengals at Baltimore Ravens, 1 p.m. (CBS)
Carolina Panthers at Detroit Lions, 1 p.m. (FOX)
Houston Texans at Washington, 1 p.m. (CBS)
Tennessee Titans at Indianapolis Colts, 1 p.m. (CBS)
Pittsburgh Steelers at Jacksonville Jaguars, 1 p.m. (CBS)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at New York Giants, 1 p.m. (FOX)
Oakland Raiders at Arizona Cardinals, 4:05 p.m. (CBS)
Denver Broncos at Los Angeles Chargers, 4:05 p.m. (CBS)
Philadelphia Eagles at New Orleans Saints, 4:25 p.m. (FOX)
Minnesota Vikings at Chicago Bears, 8:20 p.m. (NBC)
Monday, November 19
Kansas City Chiefs at Los Angeles Rams, 8:15 p.m. (ESPN)