Anyone else enjoying Thursday Night Football more now that the NBC crew has taken over the broadcasts? Maybe it’s the production value, but these past two weeks have seemed like a better product. Yes, even with that Baltimore-Cleveland game we had to endure. NBC is actually drumming up interest in these games more than CBS has done since these Thursday night games became a thing.

Tonight we get another NFC South showdown between Carolina and New Orleans. This one should be a lot of fun as these two teams put up a lot of points against each other. The last two times these teams have met, they have exchanged 41-38 wins with the Saints getting the more recent victory.

Both of those games were in New Orleans though, so I would temper my expectations. We still might get a shootout, but something in the neighborhood of 35-28. These teams are very familiar with each other so I expect this to be a hard fought game between teams that desperately need a win as both are trying to chase down the Falcons in the division.

I’m interested to see which defense steps up tonight to make a game-changing play. With the offenses presumably having their way for most of the night, this game will hinge on the turnover battle. Drew Brees was uncharacteristically loose with the ball last week against Denver so I wouldn’t be surprised if Brees plays a more clean game tonight.

Both defenses have struggled this season, but the Panthers have been playing better of late. Carolina may not have much of a secondary, but this front-seven can be a difference maker in tough games. I’ve gone back and forth with my pick all day with this game, but I’m going to go with New Orleans (+3.5) to start the week with a bang.

The rest of Week 11 is a bit of a mixed bag with some good games, a couple lopsided matchups, and a bunch of games that could go either way. We don’t have the two marquee matchups like we did last week but I think that we are going to have another good week of football.

We’ll start with a battle in the Northwest between Philadelphia and Seattle. I’m very intrigued by the recent resurgence of the Seattle offense and if this is sustainable. Last season the Seahawks got hot and started scoring at a ridiculous rate. This offense is starting to look like that 2015 team. It all hinges on that offense line though and this matchup with the Philadelphia defense line worries me. I said it yesterday in “Reality of Fantasy” but this is just not a good matchup for the Seahawks.

That’s about the only aspect of the game that I would put in Philly’s favor though. Seattle is the better football team, potentially one of the only elite teams in the league. I don’t see how Philadelphia’s offense moves the ball with consistency against the Legion of Boom.

Russell Wilson’s playmaking ability is a huge difference maker in this game. He’s finally playing at close to 100% after suffering ankle and knee injuries at the beginning of the season. He will need to be in great condition if this game looks anything like the one from two years ago. Wilson had to improvise on the run and convert 20-plus-yard third downs all day in a 24-14 win. Expect that to be a large part of this game’s script on Sunday.

I would say that’s likely the best matchup of the day on Sunday afternoon barring Tennessee-Indianapolis turning into a complete shootout, which is not totally out of the question. Another game that could be entertaining is the Detroit-Jacksonville game, although you might not want to flip in on until the fourth quarter. Both of those teams seem to have a flair for the dramatic.

Sunday night brings in the best of the games that could go either way. Washington hosts Green Bay in a game with two offenses seemingly going in opposite directions. The Packers have had a myriad of issues throughout a rough three-game losing streaking. Washington looked a 0-2 right in the face and rebounded going 5-1-1 since.

Neither defense is really anything special so this will likely be a battle of the offenses. I never thought there would be a day where I would actually lean against Aaron Rodgers in a game that is going to be a quarterback battle. Despite putting up decent numbers this year, Rodgers and this Green Bay offense have dry spells during games that have been killers.

Washington has persevered through various injuries and has been making the best of it. Kirk Cousins looks like he has tapped back into that magic well he discovered last season. Now with Jordan Reed back in the fold, the sky is the limit with this offense. Reed is by far the best and most consistent weapon that Cousins has on this offense.

Now I normally subscribe to the “reverse-momentum” theory in the NFL, which means a team usually pulls a total one-eighty after getting embarrassed the week before. Green Bay has done it before, but that Tennessee loss was pretty pathetic. Plus, I don’t see any way that the Packers slow down the Reed-Cousins connection.

I’m saving the in-depth analysis for next week but I’m also looking forward to the Monday night game between Oakland and Houston in Mexico City. That should be a fantastic way to end what could be a surprisingly compelling week of football.

Now let’s move into my favorite part of the week and that is my game picks. It was an unfortunate week during Week 10 as I went completely cold after a great start. I was 6-3 through the 1:00 PM games and looking at potentially my best week of the year.

Pride, as they say, comes before the fall, and man did that fall hit hard. I lost every single game after that on Sunday, which dropped me to 6-7 on the week. Thankfully the Giants pulled through to salvage Week 10 for me. Obviously we’ll be looking for better results this week, so here goes nothing. Here are my picks for Week 11 (Winners in Bold).

Last Week: 7-7         2016 Season: 78-69

1:00 PM

Pittsburgh (-8) vs. Cleveland

Baltimore vs. Dallas (-7)

Jacksonville (+6.5) vs. Detroit

Tennessee (+3) vs. Indianapolis

Buffalo (+3) vs. Cincinnati

Tampa Bay (+7.5) vs. Kansas City

Chicago vs. NY Giants (-7.5)

Arizona (+2) vs. Minnesota

 

4:05/4:25 PM

Miami (-1.5) vs. Los Angeles

New England (-13) vs. San Francisco

Philadelphia vs. Seattle (-6.5)

 

Sunday Night Football

Green Bay vs. Washington (-3)

 

That’s it for me today folks, enjoy all of the games tonight. I’ll be back tomorrow with “Heat Check,” I decided it’s probably best left as the regular Friday column. Follow me on Twitter @thereal_jmooney and go like the Shooting the Moon page on Facebook.