Sunday, November 19, 2017

Week 11 NFL Picks Against the Spread (Hanson)

Every week, four of our contributors pick between two and five games each and assign a number of units (one to five) to their selection based on their confidence in the pick.

With that said, here are my Week 11 NFL picks against the spread:

New England Patriots -7.5 over Oakland Raiders (3 Units)

Not only do the Raiders rank last in the NFL in sacks (tied, 13), they are the only team yet to intercept an opposing quarterback this season. Unfortunately for the Raiders defense, it won't get any easier this week. Next up is the ageless wonder, Tom Brady, who leads the NFL in passing yards (2,807) with 19 touchdowns and only two interceptions.

On the other hand, the Patriots have corrected a defense that had allowed six consecutive 300-yard passers to begin the season. Since then, however, they have allowed no more than 233 passing yards -- Matt Ryan (233, Week 7), Philip Rivers (212, Week 8) and Brock Osweiler (221, Week 10).

Seattle Seahawks -2 over Atlanta Falcons (4 Units)

The Tyron Smith-less Cowboys allowed the Falcons, especially Adrian Clayborn and his six sacks, to get to Dak Prescott on what seemed like every play. Considering the Seahawks offensive line is a concern, that is a risk in picking the Seahawks here. That said, the Falcons have been inconsistent this season. Compared to their historical success at home, the Seahawks (1-3 ATS) haven't been dominant at home this year, but the Falcons have continued their struggles on the road (1-4 ATS) this year. With the spread dropping to two points, this suggests that the Falcons are a better team on a neutral field and I'm not ready to buy that even without Richard Sherman.

Washington Redskins +9 over New Orleans Saints (3 Units)

After losing their first two games of the season, the Saints are as hot as any team in the league as their active seven-game winning streak is equalled by only the Eagles. The Saints offense, especially their running game, has been nearly unstoppable led by the two-headed monster of Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara. The duo has combined for 208 carries for 1,089 and nine touchdowns. Not to mention the fact that they have a combined 73 catches. I'm not sure that the Saints winning streak will end this week, but I do think that Washington will at least be able to keep this game to single digits so I'll take the points here.

- Note: All of our NFL picks against the spread will be centralized here.

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