Week 11 of the NFL season is upon us, and that means it's time for another round of bold predictions. As always, this week's edition of fearless prognostications includes a macho helping of audaciousness and abandon as we head into Sunday and Monday's contests. Warning: these predictions are not for the faint of heart.
The entire NFC North loses
Football's oldest division is tired. Minnesota's hot start has cooled considerably; Aaron Rodgers is struggling to guide his once-established Packers regime to another winning season; the Lions only show up with two minutes left on the clock; and the Bears were through with Jay Cutler about a year ago.
The NFC North's slowdown will be on display this week as all four teams fall, further muddying the playoff prospects of a quartet that looks more 2010 NFC West than modern-day AFC West. Landon Collins and the Big Apple secondary corral more passes from Cutler than his wide receivers and mercilessly hand Chicago its eighth loss. The leading Lions fly too close to the sun and fall at the legs of Chris Ivory, landing back at .500. Christine Michael makes no difference as Cousins and Crowder fleece an overmatched Packers secondary; the city of Green Bay commences hibernation in expectation of a football-less winter. Locked in a tight one with Arizona, the Vikings send out Kai Forbath to win it at the Gjallarhorn; somewhere, Blair Walsh smirks wide left as Minnesota surrenders its fifth straight defeat.
-- Jeremy Bergman
Jeff Triplette will not eject a player in Santa Clara
Owner of the itchiest trigger finger in the league, lead official Jeff Triplette is responsible for six ejections this season -- more than half of the NFL's total for the 2016 season. His crew has called an astonishing 15.33 penalties per game, easily a career high. Much like Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon in the World Series, Triplette enjoys leaving his fingerprints all over each game in which he participates. This week, however, a kinder, gentler Triplette has reached an epiphany, instilling a modicum of tolerance for the aggressive actions of grown men chasing an inflated pig's bladder. Triplette has seen the light! He will resist the urge to over-police the Patriots-49ers matchup on Sunday.
-- Chris Wesseling
Titans will defeat Andrew Luck for the first time in the quarterback's career
You can not wrap me in your definition of "bold," world. Is taking a 5-5 team to beat a 4-5 team that #Bold? Meh (insert shrug emoji). Consider this: Andrew Luck has NEVER lost to the Tennessee Titans. Never. 8-0 for his career. Tennessee has lost ten straight games to Indianapolis, dating back to 2011 when Curtis Painter helmed the Colts during a nightmare season. Is it then bold enough to say a 0-8 franchise (or 0-10 if you'd prefer to take Luck out of the equation) will win on the road against a team coming off a bye that is desperate to stay in the playoff hunt? Darn skippy it is. Behind Marcus Mariota's scintillating play and an underrated defensive front, the Titans storm through Indy, smash the Horseshoe's Luck, and finally get the attention they deserve as a playoff contender.
-- Kevin Patra
Arizona intercepts Sam Bradford three times
Minnesota was the toast of the town over the first five weeks of the season, somehow overcoming the loss of Teddy Bridgewater and later Adrian Peterson to start 5-0 and appear to roll toward an NFC North title. Then, it all fell apart. Four straight losses later, the Vikings are floundering in the worst of ways. Their offense lost both starting tackles and devolved into one of the worst lines in the league, and at best struggles to score points. Minnesota relies heavily on its defense to keep it in games, before the offense (or departed kicker Blair Walsh) finds a way to disappoint.
This week, the defense won't be able to carry the load, because it'll spend much of the afternoon on the field. In a matchup of two teams battling similar struggles, Arizona uses the juice gained from last week's win over the lowly Niners to wreak havoc against the Vikings' offense, harassing Bradford all afternoon and forcing him to commit multiple mistakes as the boos rain down from the U.S. Bank Stadium seats. The architectural marvel that is the Vikings' home will be no match for a Cardinals defense that becomes the latest unit to stonewall Minnesota's putrid rushing attack. The unit will intercept Bradford not once, not twice, but three times as Arizona notches its second straight victory to stay alive in the NFC West. Sorry, Vikings.
-- Nick Shook
