NFL Schedule: Who plays on Monday night Week 11?
By Brad Weiss
The NFL will head to Mexico City for Monday Night Football in Week 11. The game will be a good one, as it will feature two potential playoff teams.
Week 11 of the 2016 NFL season will finish up on Monday night, in a matchup of two teams that should be headed to the playoffs. The Oakland Raiders and Houston Texans will do battle in Mexico City, and it most certainly should be a good one. The Raiders boast one of the better quarterbacks in the league, while the Texans are in first place in the AFC South.
Oakland quarterback Derek Carr has played at an elite level this season, leading the Raiders to their best record in nearly 15 years. Carr and his Raiders are currently 7-2 on the season, and are on pace to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2002. He has an incredibly talented offensive line, and arguably the best wide receiver duo in football. Carr also has some ties to the Houston organization, as his brother, David, was the first overall selection by the franchise back in 2002.
Houston spent a lot of money in the offseason to pry quarterback Brock Osweiler away from the Denver Broncos, and he has not paid for the investment just yet. He looks like a player who started only seven games in his career before the contract and has really struggled at times. Still, his Texans are in first place and have a ton of talent on both sides of the ball.
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Oakland is one of the better teams in the league this season and head coach Jack Del Rio has really changed the culture around the organization. Not only do they have a bunch of talent on offense, Khalil Mack is one of the better defensive players in football. If Oakland’s secondary plays up to their ability, this could be a long day for Osweiler and company.
It is still very early to decide if the big contract was a waste for Osweiler, but the returns have not been good early. In order for the Texans to hang in on Monday night, they will have to feed the ball to Lamar Miller early and often. Houston has a solid defensive unit, and if they can control the ball, this one could go down to the wire.