NFL Week 11 picks, Cardinals face Lions for NFC domination

Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald has never been 8-1 before this year, and he certainly has never been 9-1.  Will that change this week?

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Through thick and thin Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald has been an icon, a leader, and an all-around great guy in Arizona.  Arguably the most respected football player in the league, Fitzgerald and the Cardinals fell just short of winning the Superbowl in 2008 against the Pittsburgh Steelers.  Since their division title in 2009, the Cardinals have been mostly forgotten, without a single playoff appearance in the last 4 seasons.  But now, for the first time in his career, Fitzgerald could be looking at not only his first return trip to the playoffs in half a decade, but a first round bye – and that’s even without QB Carson Palmer getting him the ball.

The Detroit Lions certainly present a major challenge with one of the best offenses and defenses in the league.  But with an effective backup QB and a great defense for the Cardinals as well as an explosive receiving corps, Arizona has as good a chance as any team in the league to win this week.

Here are the picks for Week 11 of the NFL season:

Chicago Bears over Minnesota Vikings – Abandon all hope for just about everything wearing the Dark Blue and Orange still having a job come Monday if they can’t beat the Vikings.  The Bears have too much at stake to lose this game.

San Francisco 49ers over New York Giants – If Jim Harbaugh doesn’t want to take the soon-to-be vacant job at Michigan after this season, maybe Tom Coughlin will. It’s been about 20 years, but he was a pretty good coach at Boston College before his first head coaching gig.

Denver Broncos over St. Louis Rams – Will Jeff Fisher call his old friend Vince Young and name him the starting QB after Shaun Hill gets beaten up against the Broncos?

Washington over Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Times like these a backup QB like Josh McCown wishes he had just stayed on as a backup in Chicago instead of the starter in Tampa Bay. His record may not have been any better with the Bears, but people would certainly be far more eager to see him play.

Cincinnati Bengals over New Orleans Saints – The 49ers exposed the one chink in the Saints armor: faking injuries.  If they can just fall down every time Jimmy Graham touches one of their DBs, they’ve got this game in the bag.

Atlanta Falcons over Carolina Panthers – Much like the Bears, the Falcons simply have too much at stake and too much talent to lose to such an awful team.

Seattle Seahawks over Kansas City Chiefs – Two teams with efficient QBs, dominant running games, dominant defenses and the noisiest stadiums in the NFL collide on Sunday. Who wins? The team with the better QB. In this case, Russell Wilson.

Houston Texans over Cleveland Browns – In the Battle of Brady Backups, Ryan Mallett comes out on top on the road against the Browns.

San Diego Chargers over Oakland Raiders – Nothing cures a cold streak quite like a game against the Raiders.  The Chargers need this one like the Raiders need ANY one.

Philadelphia Eagles over Green Bay Packers – Eagles fans are going to love the Mark Sanchez-Chip Kelly combination for a long time.  But unless they get to the Superbowl in the next year or two, they’re going to wear out their welcome fast.

Detroit Lions over Arizona Cardinals – Have to go with the road upset here.  Lions are surging with Calvin Johnson back while the Cardinals have to go back to Drew Stanton, whose last game saw him struggle mightily against the Broncos defense.

New England Patriots over Indianapolis Colts – Tom Brady is a Colt-killer.  Doesn’t matter if it’s Andrew Luck, Peyton Manning or Johnny Unitas in his prime, nobody can stop Brady when he’s playing as well as he is.

Pittsburgh Steelers over Tennessee Titans – The Longest Name Bowl: Roethlisberger vs. Mettenberger should end fairly quickly as the Steelers wake up after being sent to the Twilight Zone last week and blast the Titans for a big win.