2009 NFL Picks | Week 11 

The Colts and Saints both remained undefeated after Week 11, although it took the Colts a questionable play call by the Patriots and a last-second touchdown, while the Saints escaped with a win over the lowly Rams, holding on for a 28-23 victory.

No, you read it right. The Rams

And it didn’t stop there. The Denver Broncos continued their New York Giants-impression, dropping their third straight game, and setting up Week 11′s match-up with San Diego as the “game to take the division”.

We say it every week, but it’s true: we keep learning more and more about each team, all the while realizing that the teams in the top five, for the most part, remain the same.

Read on for this week’s picks, the big upsets, and whether or not those teams in the top five of the league’s standings will, yet again, keep their spots.

Miami Dolphins @ Carolina Panthers

Both teams are looking very good running the ball and are keeping things well-balanced on offense. The logical mind would go with the veteran quarterback-led team, but it’s difficult to lean that way when it’s Jake Delhomme. Besides, Miami’s run defense is slightly less pathetic than Carolina’s.

Dolphins 24, Panthers 20

Pittsburgh Steelers @ Kansas City Chiefs

The Steelers need a bounce-back opponent, and Kansas City is the perfect gift-wrapped victory, at least on paper. The Steelers may have gotten swept by the Bengals, but only own one other defeat this season. They won’t blow this one.

Steelers 31, Chiefs 16

New Orleans Saints @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Saints are routinely playing weak teams very close, and are good for a loss sometime soon if they don’t correct their awful run defense and start executing better on offense. As hard as it was to see the Saints struggle to put away the Rams, we just can’t see the Buccaneers getting their second win of the season against a 9-0 team.

Saints 38, Buccaneers 24

Atlanta Falcons @ New York Giants

Both teams are dealing with issues in the passing game, although both have a rushing attack that has the potential to dominate any opponent. However, with Michael Turner out for Week 11, we’re going with the team that isn’t listing Jason Snelling as it’s starting back.

Giants 27, Falcons 21

Buffalo Bills @ Jacksonville Jaguars

The Bills just fired their coach, switched from Trent Edwards to Ryan Fitzpatrick, and can’t stop the run to save their life. This is a dream match-up for Maurice Jones-Drew and a surging Jaguars team.

Jaguars 34, Bills 19

Indianapolis Colts @ Baltimore Ravens

The Colts may have some issues running the ball against a tough Ravens run defense, but we all know that the passing game is their bread and butter, anyways. After a ridiculous comeback and last-season win over the Patriots, how can we possibly vote against the Colts this week?

Colts 33, Ravens 30

Seattle Seahawks @ Minnesota Vikings

Seattle is very close to being completely out of the NFC wild card race, and their defense simply doesn’t have enough stability to shutdown both Adrian Peterson and Brett Favre. It might be close, but very few teams are playing as effective and balanced football as Minnesota.

Vikings 37, Seahawks 27

Cleveland Browns @ Detroit Lions

This is likely the only game that we’ll see either Brady Quinn or Matthew Stafford “tear it up”, and running backs on both teams could have productive days, as well. It could very easily be ugly, but we expect a bit of an offensive explosion from both sides.

Browns 27, Lions 20

Washington Redskins @ Dallas Cowboys

The Redskins left all of their energy on the field by upsetting the Broncos, and the Cowboys left all their pride in an embarrassing performance on the road against the Packers. Look for Tony Romo and co. to bounce back in a big way.

Cowboys 31, Redskins 13

San Francisco 49ers @ Green Bay Packers

Everyone is jumping on the Packers bandwagon after one dominant defensive performance, but their offense still isn’t consistent enough to persuade us that they are past their pass protection issues and inability to effectively run the ball. The better coached team will win this one.

49ers 20, Packers 17

Arizona Cardinals @ St. Louis Rams

Kurt Warner comes back to his old stomping grounds and won’t disappoint, as Arizona is firing on all cylinders, while the Rams will experience an extreme hangover after letting one slip away against the Saints last week.

Cardinals 38, Rams 13

New York Jets @  New England Patriots

The Jets stole one from the Patriots earlier this season, but both teams have made major strides in opposite directions. Don’t back on Randy Moss and co. getting shutdown like they did last time.

Patriots 34, Jets 17

Cincinnati Bengals @ Oakland Raiders

The Bengals may escape with a win, with or without Cedric Benson, but it won’t be pretty, and it likely will have very little to do with Carson Palmer. The Raiders play good defense against the pass, and that should keep them in the game, but the Bengals are just to good to sweep the Steelers and then let this one get away.

Bengals 20, Raiders 10

San Diego Chargers @ Denver Broncos

The Broncos have dropped three straight and look nothing like the dominant team they had been trying to sell themselves as in the beginning of the season. There’s a chance they re-emerge as a strong playoff candidate on both sides of the ball, but judging by how solid the Chargers have been playing, they’re about to lose this division.

Chargers 28, Broncos 20

Philadelphia Eagles @ Chicago Bears

Both offenses have struggled to some degree through the past few weeks, but Donovan McNabb has the better offensive line, rushing attack, and arsenal. The Eagles should win relatively easily.

Eagles 24, Bears 14

Tennessee Titans @ Houston Texans

This is a huge Monday night showdown that will either show the world that the Titans aren’t quite dead yet, or that the Houston Texans truly are a wild card team waiting to happen. We refuse to bet against the Titans resurgent defense and Chris Johnson. The guy simply cannot be stopped.

Titans 28, Texans 24