With 11 of Week 10’s 14 games on the schedule won by the road teams, home field advantage doesn’t seem as advantageous as it literally implies this NFL season.
With that being said, let’s take a look at five teams in Week 11 that have been deemed underdogs by the bookmakers, but are more than capable of pulling an upset or at least cover the spread against their respective hosts.
And for a thorough breakdown of each of next week’s games on tap, check out our complete Week 11 picks and predictions feature to round out your football betting and reading needs.
[sc:Football ]Top 5 NFL Week 11 Sleepers Predictions
Tennessee Titans (+3) at Jacksonville Jaguars (Thu, Nov. 19, 8:25 PM ET)
[sc:NFL240banner ]Why the Titans will win: With the race for the AFC South crown still open for all four teams in the division, the Titans are eager to draw even in the standings with their Floridian rivals with a win this Thursday night. They’re also the second-best team in the league behind Denver in terms of adjusted sack ratio, so you know they’ll get after Jacksonville’s Blake Bortles fast and often.
Why the Titans will lose: Tennessee, whose offense scorches earth one week and drops to sub-zero levels a week or three after, simply doesn’t have a consistent offense capable of putting up decent points. The Jags also have a lot more weapons – particularly with wideouts Allen Robinson and Allen Hurns – who can hurt a Titans team that’s banged up in the secondary.
Writer’s Prediction: Marcus Mariota delivers with one of his rare offensive outbursts for the Titans (+3), 28-17.
Indianapolis Colts (+6) at Atlanta Falcons (Sun, Nov. 22, 1:00 PM ET)
Why the Colts will win: Atlanta just embarrassingly lost to the Blaine Gabbert-led 49ers in Week 9 before the team’s bye, so what could Indy – who will be helmed by 40-year-old Matt Hasselbeck this coming Sunday – possibly be capable of doing against them? We can’t really deck the veteran backup QB either, as he went a perfect 2-0 starting in place of the (again) injured Andrew Luck this season, completing over 60 percent of his passes for three TDs and no picks.
Why the Colts will lose: While the Falcons have indeed been struggling since their blazing 5-0 start, their offense is actually pretty potent at home by averaging nearly 30 points per contest this season (fourth-best in the league). Also, the defense has relatively stepped up of late. Atlanta has only allowed an average of 15.7 points per game over its last three bouts.
Writer’s Prediction: Hasselbeck continues to wow fans and pundits alike with another stellar outing. Colts (+6) win big, 33-19.
St. Louis Rams (+2.5) at Baltimore Ravens (Sun, Nov. 22, 1:00 PM ET)
Why the Rams will win: The 2-7 Ravens are mostly competitive when Joe Flacco gets it going. With that said, the Rams have the perfect foil for them with their own superb pass-rushing unit – one that’s headlined by the dynamic duo of Robert Quinn and Aaron Donald (11 sacks combined this season). And collectively, the Rams’ D has only allowed eight passing TDs this season (third-fewest in the NFL).
Why the Rams will lose: St. Louis has had enough of its QB in Nick Foles (he didn’t have one game this season where he hit the 200-yard passing mark), and his backup, Case Keenum, doesn’t seem like he’s so much better. Also, opposing teams have started to figure out how to contain Todd Gurley. The standout rookie feature back was held to just 45 rushing yards on 12 carries in the loss to the Bears on Sunday.
Writer’s Prediction: The Rams (+2.5) get back to .500 with a solid 22-16 win over Baltimore.
San Francisco 49ers (+12) at Seattle Seahawks (Sun, Nov. 22, 4:25 PM ET)
Why the 49ers will win: It seems that the transition from Colin Kaepernick to Blaine Gabbert worked out for the Niners after all judging from their gritty win over the Falcons two Sundays ago. Even better news for Gabbert and the team is that Carlos Hyde and Anquan Boldin both seem set to return to the turf after sitting out that last game with injuries. San Fran’s run D also looked impressive in holding Atlanta to just 17 measly rushing yards in the win.
Why the 49ers will lose: Bottom line: the Seahawks have owned the 49ers for the past three seasons now, as they have only lost once to their heated division rivals in their last seven meetings. Furthermore, if we’re simply talking about their games played in CenturyLink field, Seattle has won six of those last seven home games over the Niners as well – with the last SF win dating back to 2011, which happened to be a 19-17 thriller, all the more.
Writer’s Prediction: The Niners (+12) continue to shock the football world by narrowly edging out the Seahawks, 21-19.
Buffalo Bills (+7.5) at New England Patriots (Mon, Nov. 23, 8:30 PM ET)
Why the Bills will win: With their offensive starters finally healthy, the Bills have now strung two-straight wins and are finally looking like the postseason contenders that we thought they were in the offseason. They even have the league’s second-best rushing attack right now at 142.3 yards per game. And while New England has only lost once in Foxborough for the past 20 games, it’s Buffalo who can brag about being the team that dealt the Pats that lone defeat (17-9 in December of last year).
Why the Bills will lose: Again, the Patriots are 19-1 in Gillette Stadium since November of 2013. They have also won seven of their last eight bouts against their AFC East rivals, and all ten of their games as well where they were favored to win by the oddsmakers. And needless to say with regards to their blemish-free record this season, the Patriots are currently second in the NFL in points per game and fourth overall in points allowed, leaving no doubt as for why they are still the heavy favorites to repeat as Super Bowl champs.
Writer’s Prediction: New England remains undefeated, but the Bills hang tough throughout the contest to cover (+7.5) with the 27-23 decision.
Create a betting account now to cash in on any or all of these sleepers in Week 11 of the NFL’s exciting 2015 season.
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