First Place in AFC West at Stake

Week 11 of the NFL season finds a nice little Sunday night game to whet our pro football appetites with.

The 7-2 San Diego Chargers travel to Mile High to face the 7-2 Denver Broncos in a battle for first place in the AFC West.

It's the high-powered offense of San Diego against the powerful defense of Denver and something will have to give because the Chargers lead the league in scoring at 33 points a game and the Broncos are No. 1 in scoring defense at 12.3.

LaDainian Tomlinson has been on a monster-sized roll of late - rushing for over 300 yards and eight touchdowns in the last two games. If Denver hopes to win this game, they must contain Tomlinson and force Philip Rivers to beat them. If L.T. is on his game, he opens up all of San Diego's offense, including Antonio Gates.

The Broncos have struggled mightily on offense with Jake Plummer turning the ball over at least 2-3 times a game and the Bell boys, Mike and Tatum, stuck in the mire on the ground. You can only win with defense for so long until there comes a time when you must score. Denver is facing that this week.

It should be a great game and with another meeting coming December 10, the situation in the AFC West will be far from decided.

There are plenty of excellent games on tap for any football connoisseur, so set back, grab your chips and dip, get your fantasy football sheets out and enjoy the games. There will be no Sunday night game because of the World Series.

Here's the Corners predictions for week 11 in the NFL:

Atlanta at Baltimore
Steve McNair has led three comeback victories for the Ravens, who were 2-7 at this point last season. The Falcons have lost two in a row after a 5-2 start and look lost. Baltimore's defense should do the job even with Ray Ray out. Winner: Ravens.

St. Louis at Carolina
The Rams are facing injuries, a four-game losing streak and Steve Smith. Things aren't looking to pretty, but St. Louis needs this game even more than the Panthers do, so look for the upset. Winner: Rams.

Pittsburgh at Cleveland
Pittsburgh ended a three-game slide last week, but its defense has given up 123 points in its last four games. The Browns have won two of their last three and the victory over Atlanta last week was their first in two years against a team with a winning record. Winner: Steelers.

New England at Green Bay
Two teams heading in different directions lately. The Patriots lost back-to-back games for the first time in 57 games and the Packers have gotten themselves back into the playoff race by winning three of their last four. I just can't see a Bill Belichick team losing three in a row. Winner: Patriots.

Buffalo at Houston
Don't expect much offense in this one. The Bills are 30th in the league with a 15.6-point scoring average and will again play without injured running back Willis McGahee. Houston, coming off a victory over Jacksonville, averages only 16 points a game and hasn't won consecutive games since 2004 - until now. Winner: Houston.

Oakland at Kansas City
Chiefs quarterback Trent Green will start for the first time since suffering a concussion 10 weeks ago, but he may be without injured tight end Tony Gonzalez. It doesn't matter though. Larry Johnson should have a field day with the Raiders defense. Winner: Chiefs.

Minnesota at Miami
The Vikings have committed nine turnovers during this three-game losing streak. Miami, winners of two consecutive games, has the league's No. 2 defense, giving up only 277 yards a game. Winner: Dolphins.

Cincinnati at New Orleans
Cincinnati's suspect defense was exposed last week when the Bengals gave up 42 points in the second half against San Diego. Saints quarterback Drew Brees, who leads the league with 2,604 yards passing, has emerged as an MVP candidate. Winner: Saints.

Chicago at New York Jets
The Jets have won three of their last four, including a road win last week over the Patriots to move into the playoff hunt. The Bears re-established themselves as the team to beat in the NFC after last weeks win over the Giants. Winner: Bears.

Tennessee at Philadelphia
The Eagles defense has given up only one offensive touchdown in three games. The Philly offense ended its mini-slump last week against the Redskins with Brian Westbrook topping 100 yards for the first time this season. Winner: Eagles.

Washington at Tampa Bay
Former Auburn quarterback Jason Campbell will make his NFL debut for the Redskins, who will be without injured running back Clinton Portis. Tampa Bay is averaging only 12.4 points and has scored only 27 during their current three-game losing streak. But the Bucs defense should be able to stop an inexperienced quarterback at home. Winner: Buccaneers.

Detroit at Arizona
Despite its lopsided record, Detroit has lost by more than a touchdown only twice and quarterback Jon Kitna is fifth in the NFL with 2,376 yards passing. Arizona, on an eight-game losing streak, has rushed for a league-low 71.1 yards per game. Winner: Lions.

Seattle at San Francisco
Shawn Alexander and Matt Hasselbeck return to the Seahawks lineup. Bad news for the 49ers. Winner: Seahawks.

Indianapolis at Dallas
The Colts had a scare last week with Buffalo and should be ready for this game. Indy lives by the close game - seven of its victories have been by seven points or fewer, including two one-point victories. Tony Romo makes his first start in Dallas. Winner: Colts.

San Diego at Denver (Sunday night)
The Chargers are probably the better team right now, but it's just so damn hard to win in Mile High. Winner: Broncos.

New York Giants at Jacksonville (Monday night)
Tiki Barber, the NFL's leading rusher with 971 yards, will play despite a sprained thumb, but the Giants have seven other injured starters who probably won't. The injury bug has bitten New York harder than anyone. Winner: Jaguars.

The Corner Lowdown
Last week: 9-7
Overall: 86-42


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