Welcome to Part I of AFC North Supremacy Week. The best looking and playing division in the league is set to steal the aesthetic show in a relatively down uniform slate. Bengals-Ravens is up first in the best Thursday Night Football game of the season. The Ravens are named after Edgar Allan Poe - who died in Baltimore and wrote many classic works, including The Raven.* While Poe is said to have been an excellent athlete - running, jumping, boxing, and swimming - we have no way of knowing if he would have been a football fan. But I think his macabre self would have appreciated the Ravens blackout uniforms.

Ladies and gentlemen, the Life of Poe Bowl!

*I tend to roll my eyes when teams give colors names: Liberty White, Battle Red, etc. But there’s a line in The Raven where Poe uses the phrase “Night’s Plutonian shore.” And I’m all the way in on the Ravens exclusively referring to black and purple as Night Black and Plutonian Purple. Shore Gold while we’re at it.

A quick note on methodology.

As always, I’m analyzing every NFL uniform matchup and picking a winner against the spread based on who dresses best. And just because a team is ranked higher in the Uniform Wardrobe Power Rankings doesn’t mean it will automatically win the uniform matchup. It’s what you wear in the instant matchup that counts.

Looking back at Week 10.

7-6-1 on the week. 72-73-5 on the year. Let’s find out how things are on the other side of .500.

Thursday Night Football Uniform Matchup and Best Uniform Matchup of Week 11.

Another week. Another virtual tie for best uniform matchup. The AFC North is the best division (aesthetically or otherwise) in football, and Week 11 is the ultimate showcase of that fact. Purple pants for Baltimore would’ve had Bengals-Ravens on its own at the top, but I have it neck-and-neck with Steelers-Browns.* This week is really a win for the division collectively, but someone has to earn best matchup of the week. So we defer to our old friend: the Uniform Wardrobe Power Rankings. The Bengals (3rd) and Ravens (9th) combine for a 12; the Steeler (7th) and Browns (6th) combine for a 13. As close as you can get in a tiebreaker, but Bengals-Ravens it is. In an era where too many teams go for the blackout look, the Ravens actually pull it off from a logical perspective - both in color palette and team name. While I’d prefer to see a pants stripe instead of the B, the effect isn’t as glaring when paired with other black elements. The Bengals can do no wrong in icy white - whether it’s an orange helmet or White Bengal variety. For this matchup, I prefer the orange helmet. It gives a pop of color and plays perfectly off the all-black Ravens and their purple accents.

It’s not too often we get the game of the week on Thursday Night Football. Al Michaels paid his penance with Panthers-Bears, and his consolation has arrived in the form of Bengals-Ravens. Back in Week 2, Baltimore took care of business in a 27-24 win where they always seemed a step ahead - albeit against a banged up Joe Burrow. While Burrow is now looking and feeling fully healthy, Tee Higgins is set to miss his second game in a row. But Tyler Boyd stepped up last week, and I think he does it again here. Both defenses are solid, but each side is dealing with some injuries. I think the final score is in the same neighborhood of the original matchup - both in total and closeness. Which is good for our purposes as over bettors and good-football-game watchers.

*More detail to come in the Sunday issue, but the yellow/orange pants combo earns a slight ding from me. While still an excellent uniform matchup, I’m not as sky high on it as others.

The Pick: Over 46

Club SDR - Week 11 Player Props.

Another 2-1 week. 18-12 on the year. No complaints. Just keep stacking those winning series.

Kyler Murray - Over 231.5 Passing Yards

What a return for Kyler. Game winning drive that featured the best scramble you’ll see all year and a moonshot to Trey McBride. Hard to not be happy for the guy. And I think he keeps the good times rolling against a Texans defense that is giving up 304 passing yards per game to opposing quarterbacks (Bottom 5 in the NFL).

CJ Stroud - Over 254.5 Passing Yards

Lucky Stroud and the Young Texans continue to be the best story of the season. What started as a feel-good story about a scrappy team and an offensive rookie of the year contender has transformed into an I-can’t-believe-this-is-happening story about a dangerous group looking to crash the playoff party with the first rookie MVP since Jim Brown in 1957.* As noted above, I expect Kyler and the Cardinals to move the ball on Houston’s defense. So it’s only natural that CJ will respond in kind. He’s averaging 292 passing yards per game and has cleared the number in five of nine. I like him to make it six of ten.

*Brown is the only player in NFL history to win MVP as a rookie.

Christian Watson - Over 36.5 Receiving Yards

This boils down to a get-right spot for one of the most disappointing fantasy players of 2023. The Chargers are giving up the third most receiving yards to opposing wide receivers in the NFL. If Watson can’t make something happen here, I’m not sure he ever will during the Jordan Love era.

The Gridiron Uniform Database.

The uniform graphics you see here are courtesy of The Gridiron Uniform Database. If you’ve never paid their site a visit, stop what you’re doing right now and check it out. Best site on the Internet and an invaluable resource to uniform nerds and casuals alike.

Coming Attractions.

Keep an eye out for the Week 11 full slate breakdown to drop Sunday morning. Because we live in a world without an NFL uniform scheduling czar, we’re at the mercy of the teams deciding and announcing their uniform combos each week. Where it’s not 100% clear before posting, I’ll make a best guess and update after the fact for posterity.

Be sure to subscribe and share this newsletter far and wide. And always remember: Look Good. Feel Good. Pay Good.