NFL picks 2016, Week 11: Experts see losses for the Vikings and Packers

After last week delivered some of the NFL’s most compelling and exciting matchups, Week 11 was always going to struggle to compare. So when you take a look at a schedule in which the most important games are potential blowouts, just remember: Week 10 was awesome.

This week’s biggest showdowns include a Seahawks-Eagles tilt and a Texans-Raiders matchup in Mexico City that could send the NFL’s weakest divisional leader crashing back down to earth. Despite Philadelphia’s recent resurgence in a clutch victory over Atlanta, not one of SB Nation’s NFL writers is picking the Eagles over a Seattle team that just beat New England on its home field.

Houston is getting a similar lack of faith, although that has as much to do with its own record as the dynamic Oakland team standing in its way. The Texans are 6-3 this season and own a 1.5-game lead over the Titans in the AFC South, but a closer look reveals a team feasting on lower-level competition and struggling against good teams. Despite their record, the Texans have a -27 point differential thanks to blowout losses to New England, Minnesota, and Denver. As a result, the verdict against Brock Osweiler is a unanimous vote of no confidence.

The experts also predict the AFC North will get a lot more complicated this week. The Steelers are an easy pick to beat the Browns, a team whose only advantage on Sunday is the size of its losing streak (10 to four). That win, coupled with the majority pick for a Cowboys win over the Ravens, would pair Pittsburgh and Baltimore at the top of the division with identical 5-5 records. The Ravens would hold the tiebreaker because of their home win over the Steelers in Week 9, but these teams will meet again in Pittsburgh this December in a game that could determine the division’s sole postseason participant.

Speaking of losing streaks, expect Green Bay’s to continue. The Packers have lost three straight, and a fourth seems likely in this week’s trip to the nation’s capital. Washington quarterback Kirk Cousins is next in a line of passers who have feasted on the Pack’s taped-together secondary. If he plays up to his potential, he could have an enormous day.

But Green Bay isn’t the only NFC North team predicted to continue its spiral to the bottom of the conference. Minnesota has lost four straight and will face a dangerous Arizona team on Sunday. Our panel is leaning toward the Cardinals to keep the Vikings winless since early October.

Reminder: We allow our panelists to change up to two picks on Friday as a means of accounting for injuries, etc. An * indicates a pick that has been changed.

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Seahawks beat Pats Sunday on controversial no-call