Five of today’s dozen National Football League games will be played under domes and of the seven outdoor venues only one has weather conditions that could affect play. In Cleveland, where the Browns host the Philadelphia Eagles, heavy rain is expected.
Of the full 14 game schedule, including the Thursday night contest in Seattle between the Seahawks and Arizona Cardinals, and Monday’s contest between the Los Angeles Rams and Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Florida, we have for the first time in NFL history five games with a matchup between teams with at least a .667 winning average after the tenth week of the regular season.
In other words, there are a number of great contests this week between teams that have real playoff aspirations. We also have a game in New Orleans, where the Saints are trying to hold onto first place in the competitive NFC South Division while hosting the Atlanta Falcons following the injury that sidelined New Orleans’ top quarterback, Drew Brees.
Late in the first half last week, Brees suffered broken ribs and internal damage that is certain to leave him out of action for a minimum of three weeks. In his place, the Saints will start today Taysom Hill, who has been used sparingly during his career as a spot player for Brees to run wildcat plays. This will be his first professional start at quarterback.
The Saints also have one-time top pick in the draft Jameis Winston on the bench.
Both may see action today, and the Saints are up against one of their AFC South Division rivals, the Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons got off to a rocky start this season and fired head coach Dan Quinn five weeks ago after Atlanta suffered their fifth straight loss. Interim Head Coach Raheem Morris, guided the Falcons to a 40-23 victory over the Minnesota Vikings in his first game in his new role. In his four games as the Falcons head man, Morris has led Atlanta to three wins with their only loss a one-point squeaker against the Detroit Lions.
The Falcons also won their final two games before their bye last weekend, and look forward to taking advantage of an injured Saints team to climb back into shouting distance of a playoff berth.
Problem with that plan is that when a team like the Saints, talented on both sides of the ball, lose their starting quarterback there is commonly a big effort to compensate for his loss in the first game the starter is missing. With the Falcons recent success, and the Saints needing to overcome the loss of Brees, we expect a big effort today in the Big Easy by the home team.
As for the public, their three favorite plays for the eleventh week of regular season action begin with the Kansas City Chiefs (-7½) over the Oakland Raiders. Their next two most bet teams are the Green Bay Packers (+1½) over the Indianapolis Colts and Miami Dolphins (-4) over the Denver Broncos.
As for out Week 11 Qoxhi selections, they are now posted on this site and if a Bullet Play develops in the final hour leading up to the day’s first kickoff, that selection will be added to the list of recommendations by 9:45 a.m. Pacific Time.