NFL Picks, Week 11: Playoff seeding watch for NFC with Seahawks on bye

It’s the Sunday before Thanksgiving and the Seattle Seahawks are enjoying their bye week, resting up for a second half stretch that has a high probability of the Hawks making the postseason. However, even with the team not taking to the field this weekend, there are certainly a host of games across the NFC with playoff seeding implications, so here’s a review of those games.

San Francisco 49ers at Arizona Cardinals – Over/Under 43.5 – 5:15 PM Pacific on Monday Night Football on ESPN

The divisional matchup between the Cards and Niners will have the biggest impact on playoff seeding for the Seahawks in Week 11, as a win by the 49ers would move San Francisco into first place in the division, dumping Seattle into a Wild Card spot. There’s obviously plenty of season left, including the matchup between the Hawks and Niners in Week 15, but it’s never too early to have a nice cushion. Add in that the Seahawks hold the head to head tiebreaker over Arizona after having swept the small-beaked Cards, and rooting for the Cardinals to come away with the upset is definitely in order.

With that in mind, San Francisco has appeared to be a far superior team so far in 2022, and it seems hard to imagine the Cardinals coming away with the victory. In what is likely a low scoring game that doesn’t reach the over played in the altitude of Mexico City, expect the Cardinals to cover, but for the 49ers to come away with the victory.

Los Angeles Rams at New Orleans Saints – Over/Under 39 – 10:00 AM Pacific on FOX

Both of these teams have been bad, and both have dealt with injuries at quarterback and wide receiver. It likely doesn’t really matter which team wins and which team loses because odds are neither team makes the playoffs, but New Orleans holds the head to head tiebreaker over the Seahawks while the Rams still have both of their losses to Seattle coming in the future. Take the Saints to cover and to hit the over against a Los Angeles team that will be without its biggest offensive weapon in Cooper Kupp in the coming weeks.

Detroit Lions at New York Giants – Over/Under 45 – 10:00 AM Pacific on FOX

The Lions are on a baby two game winning streak, and with the Jacksonville Jaguars, Carolina Panthers, Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers left on the schedule, could be an upset or two away from putting their name into the conversation for the seventh seed in the NFC. They started so poorly that’s unlikely to happen, but knocking off the Giants could help Seattle later in the year by giving New York a third loss on the season. That probably won’t happen, so take the under and New York to cover the three point spread.

Dallas Cowboys at Minnesota Vikings – Over/Under 48 – 1:25 PM Pacific on CBS

Nobody likes the Cowboys, so nobody should ever be rooting for them, and this game is no different. The Vikings hold a commanding five game lead over the second place Green Bay Packers in the NFC North, and are all but assured a playoff spot with eight games left in the regular season. Meanwhile, Dallas is likely to be in contention for one of the three Wild Card spots in the NFC, so any losses they can take are a boon for the Seahawks. Expect this to be a high-scoring affair, so take the over and the Vikings to cover by upsetting Dallas.

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