NFL Week 11 Preview: Chiefs’ Azteca cracker and an AFC North clash

Odds and look-ahead for the major Gridiron action

The biggest clash of this NFL weekend is likely to be taking place south of the border, with the only 9-1 sides facing off in Mexico City.

Elsewhere, there’s a potentially season-defining game in the AFC North. As for NFC South hopefuls Carolina Panthers, they’re scrambling to recover after a mauling in Steel City.

Ahead of the action, we look at the big issues and deliver the odds…

Crunch time in AFC North as Bengals head to Baltimore

Last season saw 9-7 Baltimore Ravens agonisingly lose out on a Wild Card spot after defeat to Cincinnati Bengals. This time around, both sides are in the hunt for one – with the Ohio franchise currently occupying one of the AFC’s two spots.

The Ravens have lost their last three, though the overriding theme has been one awful quarter a game costing them. They blew a 17-7 fourth quarter lead to lose to New Orleans Saints, before a 17-0 second-quarter mauling in Charlotte.

Baltimore have won just two of their last five home games, while the Bengals are decent on the road. This is a tough one to call, but Andy Dalton and co. could edge it.

Top two offences face off in Estadio Azteca

It’s one of the world’s most spectacular stadiums, and this weekend the Estadio Azteca hosts a titanic clash between Los Angeles Rams and Kansas City Chiefs.

These two are the highest-scoring sides in the entire NFL, as well as sharing the joint-best records of 9-1. Between them, the pair have chalked up 698 points over the course of 10 games apiece.

But neither are all that strong defensively. In fact, both have worse defensive records than the 2-7 New York Giants. In short, this is likely to be a straight shootout.