Top Five Stories NFL Week 11

This week we will see some of the most exciting, season defining games of the season.

1. Green Bay Packers@ Minnesota Vikings- I am making the case that this is the biggest regular season game to date. The Packers have fallen behind the Vikings in the standings after dropping three straight while the Vikings continue their Cinderella story into the back half of the season. The Vikings can all but seal up the division with a win here putting themselves two games ahead of the Packers. Green Bay seems to have thought they would waltz over teams like Denver, Carolina and Detroit. They were the favorite in all of those games but their opponents showed up to play harder. This very well could test how real momentum is in this league, one team is on a winning streak, the other a losing streak. It’s hard to pick against Aaron Rodgers but the Vikings are not the same team they were last year, this is a team ready to stop playing second fiddle and finally take the division.
2. Cincinnati Bengals@ Arizona Cardinals- If you are not excited about this game, I have a hard time calling you a football fan. The second best team in the AFC is up against arguably the best team in the NFC. This may be as close to a Super Bowl preview we get this year. The Cardinals have a couple odd losses to the Rams and the injured Steelers while the Bengals are coming off one of the biggest upsets of the season after falling to the Texans at home. Before their loss, the majority would easily favor the Bengals but now that we have seen their human side, this looks to be the Cardinals game to lose. There is not to terribly much riding on this game, but it could prove to be critical if the losing team doesn’t bounce back.
3. Buffalo Bills@ New England Patriots- The Bills have been beaten around by the Patriots for years. After knocking off the Jets and overtaking them in the wildcard race, a win here would go a long way to jet stream them into the playoffs. The Patriots have looked nearly flawless from just about every team they have faced this season, except for the ones who play in Metlife Stadium. You can count on Tom Brady not being flustered by the bright light of a prime time game, he may have played in more big games than anyone else. The Bills don’t have that luxury. They may be a force to be reckoned with after a couple of years playing together but this is still the Patriots league, the Bills just get to play in it.
4. Dallas Cowboys @ Miami Dolphins- This game marks the return of Tony Romo who was playing where he left off after the 2014 campaign, and then he got hurt after nearly two games. All the Cowboys had to do was win a game or two while Romo was hurt to keep pace in the NFC East but they failed to do that. Instead they are three games back, which isn’t an impossible feat to overcome. The real question is will the rest of the division collapse for the Cowboys to make a historic comeback? Probably not but with Romo under center, they have a much better chance than they did a week ago.
5. New York Jets@ Houston Texans- Like many games this week, the Jets are coming off a loss while the Texans are on their way up. With the announcement that Colts quarterback Andre Luck will be missing significant time, now is the perfect time for the Texans to make a run for the top of the division. On the other side, this is the perfect opportunity for the Jets to make up grounds against the Bills who are playing the Patriots. This is nowhere near as big of a game as Green Bay/Minnesota, but this will have lasting effects for the rest of the season.

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