In week 11 of this NFL season, I had one of my best weeks ever nailing 11 of 14 games! Can I do it again? We will know when week 12 is in the books. In the meantime, some very meaningful games took place last weekend with major impacts.
The Kansas City Chiefs my friends will NOT be undefeated in 2024. The Buffalo Bills made sure of that as quarterback Josh Allen made a strong push to become this season’s Most Valuable Player. 30-21 was the final in that one. In a very crucial AFC North matchup, the Pittsburgh Steelers continued their dominance over the Baltimore Ravens, beating them 18-16, their eighth victory in the last nine meetings between these two rivals.
Mike Tomlin’s latest accomplishment creates fuel for the possibility he could be named Coach of the Year. The Steelers were helped by two missed field goals off the foot from the usually reliable Justin Tucker and the inability for Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry to get any offense going.
The Detroit Lions look like an unstoppable machine, a monster of sorts as they destroyed the Jacksonville Jaguars 52-6. So much for Kirk Cousins becoming a hero in Atlanta as the Denver Bronco beat up on the Falcons causing Cousins to take a seat and rookie Michael Penix to get a few snaps. The Los Angeles Chargers are quietly becoming one of the most dangerous teams in the AFC with a win over Cincinnati.
The most pathetic team in the NFL this season must be the Dallas Cowboys as they get smoked at home by the Houston Texans 34-10 and everyone who is anyone is laying the blame on owner Jerry Jones. He is easily the worst owner in the league. He’s done nothing to show he wants to improve his team and when things go south, he just keeps sticking to the same game plan. I’ll bet he didn’t think his team would have a record of 3-7 after the first 10 games.
Now for week 12 of the NFL.
Pittsburgh at Cleveland: The Steelers and their five-game winning streak make the short trip across state lines for their one and only Thursday Night Football appearance of the season. Fresh of beating the Baltimore Ravens, the Steelers don’t want to get caught in a trap game as did the Ravens when they last faced the Browns. With just two wins on the season Pittsburgh doesn’t want to be victim #3. Cleveland has some players listed as questionable for this game namely Myles Garrett. For the Steelers Alex Highsmith will most likely not play but not to worry Steelers fans because Nick Herbig filled in quite nicely last weekend. Other than that Pittsburgh is healthy and wanting to score some touchdowns after a six-field goal day the week before. Steelers 34 / Browns 12
Minnesota at Chicago: Has Caleb Williams turned the corner? A new offensive coordinator pushed him in the right direction, and he did have a solid game despite losing in week 11. The Vikings are just one game behind the powerful Lions and the Bears can put a damper on their fine season with a victory. Bears 23 / Vikings 21
Detroit at Indianapolis: The Lions are wiping teams out left and right and it doesn’t matter where they play. It won’t matter here either. Lions 31 / Colts 17
New England at Miami: Since Tua Tagovailoa returned to the starting lineup the Dolphins have won twice. They still could qualify for a wild card spot if they keep winning. This victory will get them one step closer. Dolphins 30 / Patriots 17
Tampa Bay at New York Giants: The Giants have benched Daniel Jones and this after handing him a huge contract before the season began. Now he’s been demoted to third string and this team must decide whether to tank for a higher draft choice or keep trying to find victories. Despite a 4-6 record the Bucs are just one loss down in the standings from first place Atlanta. Tampa is simply a better team. Buccaneers 37 / Giants 12
Dallas at Washington: At this point in the season despite teams having poorer records, the Cowboys are the league’s laughingstock. The Commanders are for real and should get off their two-game snide. Commanders 28 / Cowboys 13
Kansas City at Carolina: Now that the Chiefs have lost their first game, they can resume what they do best…winning. Especially playing the Panthers. Unless Kansas City doesn’t want to play or rests every single starter, no way do they lose here. Chiefs 48 / Panthers 9
Tennessee at Houston: The Titans are battling for draft spots at this point with only two victories and the Texans are trying to hold off Indianapolis. With C.J. Stroud struggling a bit, this is a game where he will pad his stats. Texans 34 / Titans 10
Denver at Las Vegas: Five NFL teams have just two victories. The Raiders are one of those. Denver is still in the running for a playoff spot and Bo Nix is improving rapidly in his first season as a pro. Broncos 27 / Raiders 17
San Francisco at Green Bay: Chances are the Packers will not catch Detroit for first place in the NFC North, so they just need to focus on earning a wild card spot. San Francisco is in danger of watching the Arizona Cardinals win their division. I just can’t see the Niners winning this one. Packers 23 / 49ers 17
Arizona at Seattle: The NFC West division is tight. Arizona is on top at 6-4, then the Rams, Seahawks, and 49ers are all on the Cards tail with 5-5 records. A very crucial game for Arizona where they can widen the gap. It won’t happen. Not in Seattle. Seahawks 30 / Cardinals 27
Philadelphia at Los Angeles Rams: Like the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Eagles have the same record of 8-2 but many don’t trust the record. There are naysayers saying the Steelers record is not a reflection of how good they are, and that Pittsburgh is behind teams like the Chiefs, Bills, and Ravens as the best team in the AFC. The same is being said about Philadelphia. That sentiment can be changed with a victory in Los Angeles. Pittsburgh changed some thinking last week upending Baltimore, but Philly won’t be singing that same song after this game. Rams 28 / Eagles 24
Baltimore at Los Angeles Chargers: Baltimore had the number one offense heading into Pittsburgh last week and they didn’t just get shut down, they choked. Big time. The Chargers can help the Steelers by knocking off the Ravens and pushing them further down in the standings especially if Pittsburgh wins their game in Cleveland which they should. Baltimore is in trouble especially with more difficult games ahead. Chargers 20 / Ravens 17
The following teams will be at home this week due to their bye: Atlanta, Buffalo, Cincinnati, New Orleans New York Jets, Jacksonville.
Running Pick Record from Week to Week
Week 1: 12/15
Week 2: 8/16
Week 3: 8/16
Week 4: 11/16
Week 5: 7/14
Week 6: 9/14
Week 7: 9/15
Week 8: 11/16
Week 9: 10/15
Week 10: 5/14
Week 11: 11/14
