Art by Leah Bae
As the 2021-22 NFL season moves into Week 11, the playoff race continues to intensify. Last week resulted in another wave of upsets, as four first-place teams went down, serving as yet another reminder that the popular term “any given Sunday” is relevant to the NFL. Any team can beat any team.
A tie between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Detroit Lions, who somehow tied before getting their first win, headlined Week 10. The Green Bay Packers defeated the Seattle Seahawks by a score of 17-0, shutting out Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson for the first time in his career.
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes silenced his critics, passing over 400 yards and five touchdowns in a blowout win over their division rival, the Las Vegas Raiders. The New England Patriots, who have been creeping up the standings, destroyed the Cleveland Browns 45-7, getting themselves in a solid position for the wildcard playoff race.
Week 11 will have some intriguing games, one of which is the incoming face-off between the Dallas Cowboys and the Kansas City Chiefs. The Packers will take on the Vikings in a divisional matchup that is always fierce. In games between teams in the AFC playoff hunt, the Bengals will play the Raiders and the Steelers will clash with the Chargers.
The PGM Pick leaderboard tightened up this past week after Creative Director Ali Levens and staff writer Joe Doonan both went 7-7 in their picks, gaining two games over Sports Editor Alec Matulka and Digital Editor Karl Winter, who both went 5-9. The top of the leaderboard remains unchanged, with Karl in first, but now Alec and Ali are tied for second, with Joe trailing by one game and staff writer Austin LeDe’ behind Joe.
New England Patriots (6-4) vs Atlanta Falcons (4-5) (Thursday, Nov. 18 at 5:20 p.m., PST)
Joe: Patriots
Austin: Patriots
Alec: Patriots
Ali: Patriots
Karl: Patriots
“Mac Jones looks like the real deal after that 45-7 win against a solid Browns team and the Pats defense will be too much for Matt Ryan to handle.” — Austin
“The Patriots defense is, unfortunately, pretty legit. Mac Jones may, much to my dismay, be actually a good player. And Bill Belichick, I guess, is kind of a good coach. And that means the New England Patriots are a good football […] I just can’t bear to say it.” — Alec
New Orleans Saints (5-4) at Philadelphia Eagles (4-6) (Sunday, Nov. 21 at 10 a.m., PST)
Joe: Saints
Austin: Eagles
Alec: Saints
Ali: Saints
Karl: Saints
“The Eagles have actually looked like a solid team at some points this season and I just think the Saints are limited on offense without Jameis Winston and maybe Alvin Kamara.” — Austin
“I do not like the Eagles. They are winning too much. Stop it, Philly.” — Ali
Miami Dolphins (2-7) at New York Jets (2-7) (Sunday, Nov. 21 at 10 a.m., PST)
Joe: Dolphins
Austin: Jets
Alec: Dolphins
Ali: Dolphins
Karl: Dolphins
“Battle of the trash cans here but I think ‘the GOAT’ Mike White is due for another big performance.” — Austin
“This is the dumpster fire game of the week, but one defense has conceded 175 points in their last four games and the other held the Ravens to 10 last week. Tua Tagovailoa will be starting for Miami and lead them to victory over Mike White and the Jets.” — Karl
Washington Football Team (3-6) at Carolina Panthers (5-5) (Sunday, Nov. 21 at 10 a.m., PST)
Joe: Panthers
Austin: Panthers
Alec: Panthers
Ali: Panthers
Karl: Panthers
“Cam Newton is back! You love to see it. Taylor Heinicke only plays good against the Bucs and the Panthers have a really solid defense.” — Austin
“I never enjoy picking Carolina but Cam Newton’s return has inspired me.” — Karl
Indianapolis Colts (5-5) at Buffalo Bills (6-3) (Sunday, Nov. 21 at 10 a.m., PST)
Joe: Bills
Austin: Bills
Alec: Bills
Ali: Bills
Karl: Bills
“I refuse to believe the Bills are not legitimate Super Bowl contenders. They could lose the next five games and I wouldn’t care.” — Alec
“Buffalo certainly got back on track last week after a clunker against Jacksonville. Indy is not a bad team but this is a high-powered Bills attack that looks to defend home field and work toward home field in the playoffs.” — Karl
Detroit Lions (0-8-1) at Cleveland Browns (5-5) (Sunday, Nov. 21 at 10 a.m., PST)
Joe: Browns
Austin: Browns
Alec: Browns
Ali: Browns
Karl: Browns
“The only reason the Browns will win this is because their rushing attack is elite. Otherwise, not much is going for them right now, so they’re lucky to be playing the Lions.” — Joe
“Remember when we used to say they were the best winless team? Yeah, that’s what I thought.” — Ali
San Francisco 49ers (4-5) at Jacksonville Jaguars (2-7) (Sunday, Nov. 21 at 10 a.m., PST)
Joe: 49ers
Austin: 49ers
Alec: 49ers
Ali: 49ers
Karl: 49ers
“This isn’t a game I’m very excited to watch, so I probably won’t. I’ll go Niners because they’re just better on paper.” — Joe
“The Niners have momentum after that big win on Monday Night Football and the Jags will not be able to stop their run game.” — Austin
Infographic by Ali Levens
Houston Texans (1-8) at Tennessee Titan (8-2) (Sunday, Nov. 21 at 10 a.m., PST)
Joe: Titans
Austin: Titans
Alec: Titans
Ali: Titans
Karl: Titans
“This game will be close, mark my words. The Titans squeak it out though.” — Joe
“Gotta roll with Tennessee here, as they’ve won six in a row and the Texans are terrible, but the Titans continue to face adversity as the injuries are stacking up.” — Karl
Green Bay Packers (8-2) at Minnesota Vikings (4-5) (Sunday, Nov. 21 at 10 a.m., PST)
Joe: Packers
Austin: Packers
Alec: Packers
Ali: Packers
Karl: Packers
“I expect Aaron Rodgers and Devante Adams to link up often after a relatively quiet week and the Vikings will have no answer.” — Joe
“Packers. Not overthinking.” — Karl
Baltimore Ravens (6-3) at Chicago Bears (3-6) (Sunday, Nov. 21 at 10 a.m., PST)
Joe: Ravens
Austin: Ravens
Alec: Ravens
Ali: Ravens
Karl: Ravens
“So you lose to the Dolphins, so what? Doesn’t mean anything. Plenty of other teams have done that this season, like the Patriots and the Texans and the — oh wait, that’s it.” — Alec
“Heart tells me Bears. I absolutely love the way Justin Fields played on Monday Night Football in Week 9 — a game the Bears should have won if not for terrible officiating. I expect Fields to play well again but I also expect Baltimore to bounce back from a loss to Miami with a big effort from their ground game.” — Karl
Cincinnati Bengals (5-4) at Las Vegas Raiders (5-4) (Sunday, Nov. 21 at 1:05 p.m., PST)
Joe: Bengals
Austin: Bengals
Alec: Bengals
Ali: Bengals
Karl: Bengals
“Will the Bengals look like a Super Bowl favorite? Or will they all collectively sleep in late on Sunday and forget they have a game? Both outcomes seem equally likely.” — Alec
“I can’t pick the Raiders games ever. They just do me so wrong every time. Here’s to a game the Bengals should win if they played like they did during the first five games of the season.”— Ali
Arizona Cardinals (8-2) at Seattle Seahawks (3-6) (Sunday, Nov. 21 at 1:25 p.m., PST)
Joe: Cardinals
Austin: Cardinals
Alec: Cardinals
Ali: Cardinals
Karl: Cardinals
“To win football games, you have to score points. Someone needs to tell the Seahawks this.” — Alec
“I’ll have to bank on Kyler Murray coming back, but either way, the Seahawks were shut out last week and don’t look inspiring.” — Karl
Dallas Cowboys (7-2) at Kansas City Chiefs (6-4) (Sunday, Nov. 21 at 1:25 p.m., PST)
Joe: Cowboys
Austin: Chiefs
Alec: Cowboys
Ali: Cowboys
Karl: Cowboys
“I just don’t trust the Chiefs enough yet to take them against a team like Dallas, but I also hate Dallas, so this is a situation where I’m happy or I’m right.” — Joe
“I feel like the Cowboys have been the one constant in an otherwise turbulent, topsy-turvy, 2020-esque NFL season. They’ve been chugging along and picking up some impressive wins, and I think that consistency translates into a win over an admittedly resurgent Chiefs team.” — Alec
Pittsburgh Steelers (5-3-1) at Los Angeles Chargers (5-4) (Sunday, Nov. 21 at 5:20 p.m. PST)
Joe: Chargers
Austin: Chargers
Alec: Chargers
Ali: Chargers
Karl: Chargers
“The Steelers just don’t look like a good team to me but they always manage to win games under Mike Tomlin who has never had a losing season. However, I think the Chargers will win this one after an upset loss to the Vikings last week.” — Austin
“I hate the Steelers. Easy pick.” — Ali
New York Giants (3-6) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-3) (Monday, Nov. 2 at 5:15 p.m., PST)
Joe: Bucs
Austin: Bucs
Alec: Bucs
Ali: Bucs
Karl: Bucs
“The Giants always play Tom Brady tough, so I think they’ll keep this close, but the Bucs are just too good defensively for the Giants to pull it out.” — Joe
“A classic Tom-Brady-Wipes-the-Floor-With-the-Team-He-Lost-Two-Super-Bowls-To matchup.” — Ali
___________________
Follow the Graphic on Twitter: @PeppGraphic
Email Joe Doonan: joe.doonan@pepperdine.edu
