And the gap grows! I’m not one to brag but I picked BOTH the Panthers and the Buccaneers to win last week. Upset specials that delivered! Look, place your bets on my picks because the G-Man doesn’t have much. Even our Senior Executive Producer JSB believes this to be true. So here it is, your Week 11 NFL Cold Hard Locks

Season record:

Matty D – 34-18

G-Man – 30-22

The battle continues in the Thunderdome…

NFL Week 11 Cold Hard Locks

 Bills over Jets – 16 to 13

Divisional game with two very good defenses and two very inconsistent quarterbacks, this game is bound to be close. But remember that the Jets lose every other week, so I had to pick the Bills.

G-Man – Buffalo

EJ Manuel played horribly last week, he bounces back and the Buffalo Bills circle the Jets (and their metaphorical wagons).

Bears over Ravens – 27 to 23

Without Ray Rice producing even a little, the Ravens are a struggling offense. And the Bears, even without Jay Cutler, have a potent and diverse offense. They have the leagues’ best starting wideout pair in Marshall and Jeffrey plus an all-purpose stud in Matt Forte. Have to go Bears here, even thought it’ll be close.

G-Man – Chicago

A must win game for both teams, but Baltimore is struggling to establish a running game which, in turn, is affecting Flacco. This is good news for a Bears Defense that is banged up, most recently losing CB Charles Tillman. Ultimately, playing in the not-so-friendly confines of Soldier Field will be the difference in this game.

Browns over Bengals – 10 to 9

Ah yes, my upset of the week. I believe in these Browns. They have a tenacious and vastly underrated defense and a manageable offense. I see them battling for a playoff spot and it starts here as they knock off the mighty Bengals. Andy Dalton’s struggles continue as A.J. Green gets the “Joe Haden” treatment.

G-Man – Cincinnati

I’d love to say the Browns can pull out a second win over Cincy, but that’ll be very tough to do against Andy Dalton. No doubt he wants this game to go nowhere near overtime. He’ll bounce back and the Bengals will easily cover this six point spread.

Eagles over Redskins – 31 to 21

At some point the Eagles have the break the streak of home loses. Look, the Redskins run the ball well and the Eagles stop the run well. Case closed. It’s up to Nick Foles to show just how good he can be.

G-Man – Philadelphia

Shady moves to 4th all-time on the Eagles rushing yard list with 10 yards and the Eagles finally win at home.

Lions over Steelers – 27 to 24

This is exactly the game you expect the Lions to lose. This is their MO coming off a big win and controlling their own destiny. But there is something different about this bunch and it starts with the maturing Matthew Stafford. Big Ben will keep it close by sheer will, by Stafford and his dynamic weapons will get the Lions in position for the game winner late.

G-Man – Detroit

ESPN’s insiders have this line at EVEN, probably because it is at Heinz Field at the Lions have lost their last 9 in Western PA. Well the Steelers are 2-2 at home this year and Detroit playing extremely well. Even though the Pittsburgh passing D has been great this season (201 ypg), they haven’t gone up against Megatron yet. Not to mention the combined 946 rushing/receiving yards from Reggie Bush.

 

Falcons over Buccaneers – 20 to 17

The Falcons cannot be this bad right? The Buccaneers got a win last week which is great, but Matty Ryan is tired of all the negative juice. He will have  a 4 TD game to spank the lowly Buccaneers.

G-Man – Atlanta

Tampa Bay finally won a game by getting past a team that could (and may) win an Emmy for Best Drama in the Miami Dolphins. Atlanta has yet to win a game on the road but they’ve already beaten the Bucs when their leading rusher, Doug Martin, was healthy.

Cardinals over Jaguars – 24 to 6

This Cardinals team can flat out play defense. If Carson Palmer can be more of a game manager and focus on getting Fitzgerald the football, I see Arizona battling for a wild card spot until the bitter end. Plus Andre Ellington is a upcoming star at running back.

G-Man – Arizona

The Jaguars FINALLY won last week. Their first win deserves the all caps while Tampa Bay’s didn’t because everyone, except me, expected the Bucs to beat the Dolphins last Monday. The Cardinals have the third best rushing defense in the NFL and the Jaguars have no rushing game (31st in the NFL) or a rushing defense (32nd in the NFL). It’s tough to win with nothing on the ground.

 

Texans over Raiders – 34 to 20

I still love the gunslinger Case Keenum. And this Texans defense is too proud and too good to lose 8 straight games. Look for Ben Tate to lead the way on the ground and win one for the returning Gary Kubiak.

G-Man – Houston

The Raiders have 0 wins on the road and Gary Kubiak is back on the sidelines for Houston. QB Terrelle Pryor, the team’s leading passer AND rusher, is listed as questionable for this week because of a sprained ligament in his right knee. While playing hurt last week, the Raiders gained a season low 213 yards. If he plays or doesn’t, it’ll be tough for Oakland to put together any offense down in Houston.

 

Chargers over Dolphins – 28 to 17

The disarray that is the Dolphins is the good fortune of the Chargers, who desperately need this win for a playoff hope. Rivers throws for 4 TDs as the Chargers thrash the Dolphins.

G-Man – San Diego

I already touched upon the turmoil in Miami. For San Diego, this is a must win game if they want any chance at the second Wild Card in the AFC. They still play KC twice, they have to go to Denver, and they host the Bengals. The Chargers need to win any and all winnable matchups, especially this one.

Saints over 49ers – 35 to 24

Please read the below comment (plus Kaepernick is overrated).

G-Man – Saints

Easy Breesy in the Superdome.

Giants over Packers – 23 to 20

I really don’t know here. The Packers are really not that good without Rodgers but the Giants are also awful. But Tolzien of maybe Matt Flynn are not as good as Eli Manning plus Andre Brown will have success.

G-Man – Green Bay

Tough to call this one. Both teams have so many injuries and question marks on who’s going to play on Sunday. I’m going with Green Bay mainly because I really despise the Giants.

 

Seahawks over Vikings – 31 to 10

This game has blowout written all over it. If Percy Harvin plays, then it is even more of a lock. Peterson will find no room, the Legion of Boom has a pick-6, and Beast Mode runs wild.

G-Man – Seahawks

The Russell and Flow of this team in Seattle is way too much for Minnesota to handle.

 

 

Chiefs over Broncos  – 27 to 24

If Manning plays the whole game, Broncos win. But he doesn’t last to the second half and the Chiefs grind out a victory with a healthy dose of Jamaal Charles. Kansas City is legit.

G-Man – Denver

If this game was in KC, I feel it’d be a lot closer.

 

Patriots over Panthers – 27 to 24

Tough game to predict. I love the Panthers and Cam Newton. Think that team has a really bright future. But this is Tom freakin’ Brady on Monday Night. This is his statement game and he will deliver finding Gronk and Dobson all night. Plus the Patriots D plays bend-don’t-break as they slip by the Panthers in the second best game of the weekend.

G-Man – New England

These two teams are coming head on into one another. Carolina with their five straight wins and the Patriots after lighting up the Steelers two weeks ago. I’ve been going back and forth with this one, more so than the KC/Denver game. You’d think I’d go with Carolina after they’ve proven me wrong each week, but Tom Brady blows up on Monday Night Football.

A lot of competing picks this week between Matty D and the G-Man!