Will the Lions roar against the Super Bowl winners? Check out our Week 11 picks

Maybe you trust my picks. Or maybe you just think this piece will entertain you. Either way, thank you. Trust isn’t a small thing these days. We live in the age of suspicion, where everything feels manipulated, edited, or AI-generated. We’re surrounded by doubt. Nobody trusts politicians, the media, or even the apps that swear they protect your privacy. Social media taught us to question everything. If someone posts a happy photo, we assume it’s an ad. If someone shares an opinion, we think they’re paid. If someone stays silent, we say they’re hiding something. Doubt has become the world’s new religion.

And like almost everyone else, I’m part of that world too. I doubt my own predictions. I doubt the phone that counts my steps. I even doubt the tacos I once defended as sacred. I suspect they don’t taste the same - or maybe the chili went “inclusive.” Paranoia has even crept into our taste buds.

The problem is, trust doesn’t come back with an apology or a YouTube tutorial. As Yusuf Shajaha says, “Once you lose the ability to trust the process behind the result, you lose the system itself.” In the U.S., for example, only 16% say they trust their government. Barely 7% believe in traditional media. Consumer confidence in tech companies? Crumbling.

Sports - long my last refuge of innocence - has reemerged as a titan of distrust. Recent betting scandals in the NBA and MLB confirmed that fair play is fading fast. Sportsbooks turned into “official partners,” flooding fans with microbets, prop bets, parlays - names that sound like cartoon robots but have hooked fans into wagering in real time on pitches and every imaginable individual stat. The scoreboard stopped being the main attraction. Why wait for the final whistle to know if you won or lost money when everything can hinge on the next possession or a single swing?

And yet, here we are, trying to predict the outcome of the next 15 NFL games in a season that’s been pure chaos. Just last week, the Raiders and Broncos gave us a Thursday night so bad you’d swear it was a Tuesday. Eleven penalties, only 10 first downs, and a 10-7 score that made you miss the days when watching grass grow felt exciting.

On Monday, the Eagles and the Packers matched the ugliness. Some will call it a defensive gem only purists appreciate. Truth is, it was two Super Bowl hopefuls running offensive plans like bad rehearsal scripts.

Sometimes I think the NFL is a mirror of modern life. Nobody understands the rules, everyone argues about the replays, and the clock never stops when you need it most.

I’m coming off a week with 12 correct picks. Does that make me reliable - or just lucky on Sunday? Either way, I’m still here, trying to decode a league that laughs at logic in a world that’s forgotten how to believe.

Game of the Week

• Lions at Eagles (-1.5)

Philly gets ready to host a Lions team that stopped being a surprise seasons ago. Sunday Night Football brings two of the NFC’s top Super Bowl contenders under the lights. Detroit heads to Lincoln Financial Field with a chance to prove their project is legit - and that the NFC throne is up for grabs.

Since 2022, only the Eagles (46) and Lions (42) have stacked 40-plus regular-season wins in the conference.

The Lions (6-3) come in as slight underdogs, but take away Philly’s home-field edge and this is basically a pick’em. They beat Washington last week behind Jared Goff’s 320 yards and three touchdowns, tying Drew Brees and Dan Marino for third-most 300-yard games in a QB’s first 10 seasons (44).

Jahmyr Gibbs has become the heartbeat of this offense. With 172 total yards and three scores last week, he now leads the NFL with 41 touchdowns since arriving in 2023. His impact echoes Barry Sanders’ early days - no small feat in Detroit.

Amon-Ra St. Brown keeps rewriting consistency. Five more catches and he’ll tie Jarvis Landry for 58 straight games with at least five receptions in his first five seasons. Since debuting in 2021, nobody has hauled in more passes (494).

Philly (7-2) remains a fortress at home with just one loss. Jalen Hurts has 16 passing TDs, five rushing, and only one pick. His efficiency keeps him in the MVP conversation, but cracks are showing. That 10-7 win over Green Bay raised eyebrows about offensive creativity and O-line protection.

Detroit’s defense could swing this. Aidan Hutchinson leads a front that punishes mobile QBs - the exact matchup that gives Hurts headaches.

Sunday night at the Linc will be a credibility test. For the Eagles, it’s about holding the crown. For the Lions, it’s about demanding respect.

Prediction: Lions 23-20 Eagles

Quick picks for Week 11

• Jets at Patriots (-11.5): Jets’ Cinderella run ends in Foxborough. Jets 14-24 Patriots
• Commanders at Dolphins (-2.5): NFL’s first Madrid game looked like a playoff preview when announced. Now? Just filler. Miami’s upset over Buffalo was a blip. Commanders 20-17 Dolphins
• Panthers at Falcons (-3.5): Panthers are puzzling at 5-5 but have won three of last five in Atlanta. Falcons’ talent and home crowd tip the scale. Panthers 21-24 Falcons
• Buccaneers at Bills (-5.5): Buffalo licking wounds after Miami loss. Florida team in upstate NY in November? Slim chance. Buccaneers 27-33 Bills
• Bears at Vikings (-2.5): Comes down to QB trust. Bears 20-17 Vikings
• Chargers at Jaguars: Chargers are 3-1 on the road. Jags blew a sure win vs Texans. Chargers 24-17 Jaguars
• Packers (-8.5) at Giants: Giants are a 1,000-piece puzzle no one can solve. Packers 20-13 Giants
• Bengals at Steelers (-5.5): AFC North classic loses shine without Burrow. Steelers rebound. Bengals 17-24 Steelers
• Texans (-7.5) at Titans: Texans’ momentum is NASA-level. Defense wins this outright. Texans 24-10 Titans
• 49ers (-3) at Cardinals: Niners’ D has struggled - but not as much as Arizona’s. 49ers 24-17 Cardinal
• Seahawks at Rams (-2.5): Rams are Hollywood’s rising star. Seahawks 20-30 Rams
• Ravens (-8.5) at Browns: The Ravens are back, and the Browns aren’t the stumbling block that will stop them. Ravens 30-14 Browns
• Chiefs (-3.5) at Broncos: A game with playoff vibes but still carrying that divisional edge. Chiefs come off a bye, Broncos come off playing ugly. Chiefs 30-24 Broncos
• Cowboys (-3.5) at Raiders: If the Cowboys can’t win in Vegas, their season will join the long list of dreams that die in Sin City. Cowboys 20-13 Raiders

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