The NFL Roundup - Week 11

​Written by John Edward Betancourt

(Justin Edmonds/Getty Images)

Six games. That's all remains in the NFL regular season, which means it is crunch time for so many teams. Already, we've seen one team make a major decision with their roster to see if a shake up can give them the spark they so desperately need because every franchise out there knows what's at stake; there are only a handful of games and a handful of chances left to lock up a spot in the playoffs which means from here on out the games and the stories that come with them are about to get all the more interesting and here are the ones we will be keeping an eye on this weekend.

What can we expect from Jared Goff's first career start?
At long last, the number one overall pick from this year's draft is finally getting his first start and while it would be easy to declare him the savior of the ailing Los Angeles offense, that would be a prudent move since we have no clue as to what to expect from the kid. In reality, his first start will likely be a shaky venture. He will have to deal with the nerves of being under center on national television and he will be faced with the pressure of not screwing everything up. But if the kid settles in and finds a rhythm, we might be in for quite a show since Goff has a far superior arm to Keenum and well...at this point if he happens to throw even one touchdown, he's already a massive upgrade over #17. Either way, it should be fun to see what he brings to the field and hopefully he is the answer on offense the Rams have been searching for.

Philadelphia at Seattle may be the game of the week.
Sometimes the best football games come from matchups where both teams play soft on defense and hard on offense, because that usually means we're privy to an epic shootout and Philadelphia and Seattle are two teams that meet that criteria...and they also happen to play at CenturyLink Field this weekend; and considering the fact that both of them were able to score at will last week, to the point where they took their respective games down to the wire...I'm calling it now...this will most likely be the game to watch this week. Expect it to be raining touchdowns in Seattle this weekend and as to who will win this game, well, considering how much potential there is for scoring...my guess is it will all come down to turnovers and the team that secures the ball, is the one that walks away from this shootout with their heads held high.

How badly will the Raiders beat the Texans this weekend?
When it comes to playing on the road, the Houston Texans are simply awful. Their record outside of NRG Stadium is 1-3 and the only reason they have one W in the mix is because they played against the Jacksonville Jaguars. That's quite a problem because this weekend, they head to Mexico to face one of the finest teams in the AFC in the Raiders and truthfully, it's not a matter as to whether or not the Raiders will win this game, because they will, it's more about how big of a beatdown they are going to hand the Texans. This is one of the toughest defenses free agent bust Brock Osweiler has faced all season and considering how Oakland likes to feast on quarterbacks...this is going to be one ugly, ugly game for Houston. 

Can the Packers right the ship this weekend?
It's been a disaster of a season for the Green Bay Packers at every level of the game. They consistently collapse on offense, they're terrible on defense and it's clear that the team is shell shocked from going from one of the NFL's elite teams...to a mediocre one. But regardless of the issues at hand, it's clear there's a desire to do better, which begs the question, can the team finally get on track this weekend against the Redskins? The answer is yes, but they're going to have to try new things. This is no longer a team that can drop long bombs and stuff the run. They're going to have to learn to settle for inches at a time, and that means dinking and dunking on offense and finding ways to slow the damage on defense in order to find consistency. If they can do that, there's a fair chance they can snag a win in Washington, and if not...well then it's chaos as usual.

Can the Dolphins continue their win streak?
A few weeks ago, every football fan outside of the city of Miami, straight up forgot about the Dolphins. They embarrassed themselves on Thursday Night Football, they looked rough on every side of the ball, then something magical happened. One win became two and here we are now, with the team enjoying a four game win streak and they're still basking in the glory over their hard fought win over the Chargers. So, can this team keep it going? Absolutely. After all, they're going up against the Los Angeles Rams and a pure rookie in Jared Goff and this seasoned and now cohesive defense will be looking to pressure Goff and shut Todd Gurley down to set up an offensive fiesta for Ryan Tannehill and the gang. This will be one to watch simply because if Miami can step up to the strong Los Angeles defense..and win, then they are putting together something special and could make a solid run at the playoffs.

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