Five hot teams that could go cold in NFL Week 11

With NFL Week 11 on the horizon, a few of the league’s hotter teams are vulnerable to be brought back down to earth. Who are they?

Is the NFL’s longest winning streak in danger of ending? Which hot team will fall when the NFL heads into Mexico on Monday night? Which hot AFC south team will lose when the Titans and Colts square off? Can the Eagles pull a second straight upset off?

Which five hot teams are in danger of going cold in NFL Week 11?

Dallas Cowboys

Dallas enters Week 11 on an eight-game winning streak. In that time, the Cowboys have scored just a shade under 30 points a game.

They’ll have their hands full maintaining that run this week. The Baltimore Ravens are at or near the top of the NFL in nearly every major defensive category.

Baltimore is also experienced dealing with stars. In Week 9, the Ravens held Le’Veon Bell to only 32 yards on 14 carries in a win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. So, Ezekiel Elliott will have his work cut out for him.

Relying on Dak Prescott will be risky for Dallas, as well. In Week 4 loss to the Oakland Raiders, Baltimore did allow four touchdown passes from David Carr, but it limited the Oakland quarterback to 199 yards passing at 5.7 yards per attempt.

At the very least, this one figures to be a different kind of game for the Cowboys. If nothing else, that will be a serious test for a young team.

Houston Texans

Houston heads to Mexico City for a date with the Oakland Raiders having won two straight and three of its last four. It would be quite surprising if the Texans returned home on such a good note.

Oakland has averaged 27.2 points per game, the fifth-best total in the league.

The Raiders have also proven that they can score against the league’s best defenses. They put up 28 points against the aforementioned Ravens in Baltimore and 30 against the Denver Broncos. Houston’s defense isn’t bad, but isn’t on par with either of those teams.

The Texans will likely need to put up about 30 points to win this game. That’s a mark they have yet to hit in 2016.

While Houston is 6-3, it’s on the opposite end of the spectrum as Oakland in terms of offensive firepower, averaging 17.9 points per game. That’s 29th in the league, ahead of only the Cleveland Browns, Chicago Bears, and Los Angeles Rams — not exactly good company to keep in 2016.

The Raiders also have experience against Brock Osweiler. Then a member of the Broncos, Osweiler did throw for 308 yards in a meeting against Oakland last year. But it took him 35 completions on 51 attempts to get there. Denver was also held to only 12 points in that game.

When we last saw the Raiders in Week 9, they handily defeated the Broncos in prime time. Expect the Texans to meet a similar fate in Week 11.

Miami Dolphins

On paper, the Dolphins should dominate the Rams. In Miami or at a neutral site, it would be hard to even entertain the possibility of an upset here.

But in Los Angeles, some questions do linger.

Are we confident that the Dolphins can win on the road? They have only won a single road game this year. Granted, that is somewhat negated by the fact that Miami is staying in southern California this week. Still, playing in a hostile environment is a challenge.

How will Ryan Tannehill handle a formidable pass rush, led by Aaron Donald? He’s managed his last few games well but has struggled to find consistency throughout his NFL career.

Lastly, what happens if Jared Goff is decent? While Case Keenum is completely known for being thoroughly mediocre, we really don’t know what to expect from the No. 1 pick this week. A wild card like Goff at least makes the outcome of this game less certain.

The Dolphins have the better overall roster. Even so, a few questions linger. That puts Miami in a vulnerable position in Week 11.

Indianapolis Colts

The Colts and Tennessee Titans square off in a meeting between two teams that have won two of their last three games.

Tennessee has averaged 33.7 points per game in its last six contests. Naturally, that has coincided with a hot streak from quarterback Marcus Mariota.

Quite frankly, Indianapolis doesn’t have the defense to contain that. In order to beat the Titans, the Colts are going to have to score a lot.

Certainly that’s not impossible. After all, Indianapolis did beat Tennessee 34-26 in Week 7. But one would have to figure that the Titans will do a little more to key on Jack Doyle. With nine receptions, the tight end was a huge difference maker in that meeting.

Also, the more that Tennessee scores, the more Andrew Luck will have to pass. The more Luck passes, the more the Colts’ offensive line is tested. The Indy line has not passed too many tests over the last two years.

This is a golden opportunity for the Titans to beat Luck for the first time in his career.

Seattle Seahawks

Seattle is always a tough place to play, but the Philadelphia Eagles head into the Pacific Northwest with some momentum.

The Seahawks are 6-2-1. As good as that is, that record could look much different without much imagination.

They defeated the 49ers 37-18 in Week 3 and the New York Jets by a 27-17 margin the following week. Every other game Seattle has played — win, lose, or draw — has been decided by seven points or fewer.

Philadelphia has a strong pass rush. We saw that in Week 10 when the Eagles made Matt Ryan’s life difficult. The Seahawks’ offensive line has improved. Still, the unit leaves a lot to be desired. Against a formidable Philly pass rush, Russell Wilson is going to face pressure.

The Eagles have a strength that goes directly against the weakness of Seattle. That’s a heck of an advantage to have in a game that figures to be close.

Of course, the Seahawks have a tremendous defense. But if Carson Wentz can protect the ball, Seattle will have a hard time on Sunday.