Week 11 Panel Picks
Due to existential circumstances, this edition of the panel picks is out a few days late but that won’t stop a marquee slate of meaningful and intriguing games from being played this Sunday.
Eagles vs Commanders on Thursday night was the opening act and Philly took the stage to prove to the world that they belonged in the small pool of Super Bowl contenders by beating Washington 26-18 and extending their win streak to six games. Elsewhere in Pennsylvania this week, the Ravens are visiting the Steelers for a critical rivalry game that will determine who goes into week 12 as first place in the AFC North. In the Midway, the Bears host the Packers in the NFC’s poster rivalry for a chance to remain relevancy in a bloody playoff picture and later tonight, the Chargers will look to prove they are a contender and that the Bengals are a pretender in a crucial primetime game on NBC.
But the reason why we are tuned in to week 11’s stacked slate is because of a game that needs no introduction. Three years ago, Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes dueled in a Divisional Round game so epic that it changed the course of NFL history forever. The Chiefs’ miraculous 42-36 victory went down as one of the greatest games ever played and since then, no matter how many times Buffalo beats Kansas City in the regular season, the mighty Mahomes has always found a way to break the hearts of Buffalo fans when it counts. With the Bills looking to become the first team to knock off the highly detested Chiefs, all eyes will be on Highmark stadium at 4:25.
Shifting towards the panel, we had another solid week but the main objective is no longer having a good team record—it’s about catching up to George and the dominant season he’s putting together.
Here are the picks for this week.
Primetime Games
Early Window
Late Window
Most alike picks: Ben picked eight of the games differently from Rahul and Theo.
Least alike picks: Four different combos (three involving Theo) had all but two results in common.
Most upsets picked: Josh picked a season-high eight upsets. As a whole, four panelists picked at least five upsets.
Fewest upsets picked: Despite being one of the panel’s most daring pickers last season, Jackson once again plays it safe with just two upsets.
Most picks with majority: Ray, George, Jackson, and Theo were all in the majority 13 out of 14 times.
Most picks against majority: Josh and Ben each swayed form the majority four times.
What Stands Out?
Chiefs vs Bills is gearing up to be absolute cinema. As if their past matchups haven’t been evidence enough, the panel is dead split on this marquee game with four backing Chiefs Kingdom and four backing Bills Mafia. Last season in week 14, the Chiefs edged the Bills in the panel vote 4-3 and went on to lose the game in dramatic fashion in the final minute.
Tailing the Bills vs Chiefs are two other ties—Broncos vs Falcons and Patriots vs Rams—making this the first week that there were three 4-4 votes. We should have some down-to-the-wire finishes on our hands this Sunday.
The Lions pick over the Jaguars appears to be one of the most obvious picks in panel history. It swept across the board and received a record-high four locks. The -14 point spread is the new highest of the season, surpassing Denver’s 13-point advantage over Carolina.
Chargers vs Bengals should be one of the most interesting games of the week. On paper, the Chargers should grind a glitzy Cincinnati team into dust, but the panel is buying into the Joe Burrow hype and the fact that this is a must-win game for Cincy and has given them a 6-2 advantage in the vote.
After a rough start to the year, the AFC North finally appears to be trending upward. I already mentioned the Bills who have drawn the vote against the only undefeated team in the NFL, the Dolphins and Jets are both favored 6-2 over AFC foes. Even the Patriots, who still don’t have two receivers that I could name off the top of my head, have been given some faith against the Rams.
Playoff Picture
Let’s pretend our majority pick in each matchup won this weekend. Here are the projected playoff matchups on Wild Card Weekend.
AFC
(1) Kansas City Chiefs vs BYE | The 2020 Steelers were the last team to start undefeated through their first 10 games.
(2) Buffalo Bills vs (7) Denver Broncos | Denver beat Buffalo 24-22 in week 10 of last season.
(3) Baltimore Ravens vs (6) Los Angeles Chargers | The last time the Harbaugh brothers faced off was Super Bowl XLVII.
(4) Houston Texans vs (5) Pittsburgh Steelers | Houston defeated Pittsburgh 30-6 in week four last year.
NFC
(1) Detroit Lions vs BYE | The Lions have never finished the season as the one seed in their franchise’s history.
(2) Philadelphia Eagles vs (7) Washington Commanders | Philadelphia defeated Washington 26-18 last night.
(3) Arizona Cardinals vs (6) Green Bay Packers | The last time these teams faced off in the playoffs was in 2015 when Arizona beat Green Bay 26-20 in OT.
(4) Atlanta Falcons vs (5) Minnesota Vikings | This would be the third straight year the the 5th seed has a better record than the 4th seed.
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