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Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow. Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK

Week 11 NFL underdog report: Bengals punch up in the AFC North

By Bruce Ewing | Last updated 11/14/23

The Week 11 NFL schedule features a critical matchup between two division rivals and a healthy Cardinals team looking for a second straight win. These games offer the greatest upset potential. (For the latest odds, go to oddschecker.)

Arizona Cardinals at Houston Texans (-5.5)

With two straight wins and a 5-4 record, the Houston Texans have become the feel-good story of the NFL. But Cardinals QB Kyler Murray feels pretty good after missing 15 games with an ACL injury and he looked even better with 282 total yards and a rushing touchdown against the Falcons in his return.

While a bit rusty throwing the ball, Murray played well enough to get the win against an Atlanta defense giving up the eight-fewest (308.8) yards per game in the NFL. He finished as the team’s second-leading rusher behind running back James Conner, who had 73 yards after missing the last four games with a knee injury of his own.

As good as Conner and Murray looked against Atlanta, they pale in comparison to tight end Trey McBride. The former second-round pick had eight catches for 131 yards and is averaging 82.6 yards per game since taking over in Week 7 for the injured Zach Ertz.

Trey McBride had a MASSIVE game on Sunday for the Arizona Cardinals.

Watch ALL of McBride's 9 targets of his 8 catch, 131 receiving yard performance for the Cards! pic.twitter.com/Gsw6UUKi5D
— PHNX Cardinals (@PHNX_Cardinals) November 13, 2023

Houston’s tight ends have been less productive, but no wide receiver duo has been hotter than the Texans’ Noah Brown and Tank Dell. With 325 yards in his last two games, Brown has been a revelation while Dell is right behind him with a team-high 57 targets.

But is Houston’s run sustainable? Leaning so heavily on rookie players like Dell and quarterback C.J. Stroud is a risky proposition. Beating the Cardinals on Sunday would give the Texans’ their third straight win. Houston hasn’t won three straight games since Deshaun Watson led the team to nine straight wins and a playoff berth in 2018.

Sometimes old habits die hard and against a healthy, motivated Cardinals team, their win streak could end at two games.

Cincinnati Bengals at Baltimore Ravens (-3.5)

Both teams suffered heart-breaking upset losses on walk-off field goals last week. Cleveland’s Dustin Hopkins ended the Ravens’ day with a 41-yard kick while Texans’ backup Matt Ammendola nailed a 38-yarder as time expired to push the Bengals down to 5-4.

Both teams saw their four-game win streaks end in Week 10. Fortunately for Baltimore, the Ravens remain atop the AFC North with a 7-3 record while the Bengals sit at the bottom of the division. In other words, Cincinnati needs this game more than the Ravens do.

The Bengals are 1-4 in the AFC, and falling to 1-5 ( 0-3 in the AFC North) is something the team wants to avoid. Baltimore beat Cincinnati 27-24 in Week 2, but Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow clearly struggled to overcome a calf injury that cost him nearly the entire preseason and has looked much more like himself recently.

Defensively, only the Browns have a better defense than the Ravens, but Baltimore hasn’t exactly faced a slew of quality quarterbacks. Burrow is no Dorian Thompson-Robinson. Don’t think he won’t find a way to get a much needed road win against the Ravens.

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