Tom Henigan
We are heading into the home straight of the NFL regular season, and week 11 provided some of the most crucial games so far this year. We had three rivalries add a new chapter, last minute game winning touchdowns, and quarterbacks putting up big numbers left, right and centre.
Some games were bigger than others this week, so let’s address the so-called lesser games, first:
Las Vegas Raiders (2-8) 19-34 Miami Dolphins (4-6)
Cleveland Browns (2-8) 14-35 New Orleans Saints (4-7)
Indianapolis Colts (5-6) 28-27 New York Jets (3-8)
Now, let’s look at the games this weekend that had bigger playoff implications, although don’t count out some of the teams above as a late season win streak could see a few of them sneak into the playoffs.
The Los Angeles Rams had a tough loss in week 10 but bounced back to beat the Patriots 28-22, with Matthew Stafford throwing for four touchdowns. The Rams now sit at 5-5 in an NFC West division that is as close as possible after week 11. The Arizona Cardinals, who lead that division at 6-4, were on a bye but the other two teams in the NFC West, the San Francisco 49ers and the Seattle Seahawks faced each other this week. In an epic match, the Seahawks won 20-17 after quarterback Geno Smith ran in for a touchdown from thirteen yards out with twelve seconds left to win the game, a result which means both the 49ers and Seahawks are now 5-5.
The NFC North continues to excite this season. The Detroit Lions, who sit atop that division at the moment with a 9-1 record, carried on their dominance as they won 52-6 against the Jacksonville Jaguars. After his five-interception game in week 10, Jared Goff might have snuck back into the MVP conversation, throwing for 412 yards, four touchdowns, and no interceptions.
The oldest rivalry in NFL history came down to the wire
The Green Bay Packers faced the Chicago Bears in an all-NFC North matchup. The oldest rivalry in NFL history came down to the wire as a last second blocked field goal meant the Packers came away winners on the road by a score of 20-19. That extends Green Bay’s winning streak over the Bears to eleven, the longest either team has had in their historic rivalry. The win for Jordan Love and his team means that they are now 7-3 whilst the Bears drop to 4-6 after their fourth straight loss.
The Bears face the Vikings next week who are now 8-2 after they beat the Tennessee Titans 23-13. Sam Darnold had a nice bounce back performance after a rough week 10 game. He threw for 246 yards and two touchdowns in the win over the Titans. The NFC North continues to be the best division in the league record wise, with the Packers in third place despite their strong 7-3 record. But the standings in that division could change very quickly as the Lions, Packers, and Vikings all still have to play each other once more this year.
Saquon Barkley had almost 200 total yards as he continues to dominate
Week 11 actually started with an all-NFC East matchup as the top two teams in the division, the Washington Commanders and the Philadelphia Eagles faced off on Thursday Night Football. The Eagles came out as winners at home, moving to 8-2, while the Commanders dropped to 7-4 after losing their second game in a row. Saquon Barkley had almost 200 total yards as he continues to dominate with his new team in Philadelphia this season.
Elsewhere in the NFC East, the Dallas Cowboys lost the battle of Texas, losing 34-10 at home to the Houston Texans. Dallas’ season is well and truly over but the Texans remain first in the AFC South with a 7-4 record.
The NFC South seems to be one of the weaker divisions in the league this year, and the Atlanta Falcons, who currently lead that division, were embarrassed by the Denver Broncos by a score of 38-6. The Falcons are still on top of their division with a 6-5 record but will be wary of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who sit at 4-6, and had a bye in week 11.
As for the Broncos, that win keeps them in a Wild Card spot with a 6-5 record and their quarterback, Bo Nix, has thrown himself into the Offensive Rookie of the Year race after he threw for 307 yards and four touchdowns, with no interceptions and just five incompletions. It was a big bounce back win for Denver after they lost to the Kansas City Chiefs in week 10 after having a potentially game-winning field goal blocked in the dying seconds.
Burrow is putting up MVP numbers but it still looks like he may miss the playoffs
Looking more at the AFC Wild Card race, the Cincinnati Bengals continue to struggle despite Joe Burrow’s sensational performances. The Bengals were down twenty-one points to the Chargers in Los Angeles and mounted a comeback to bring the score to 27-27. But two missed field goals while the game was tied meant that when J.K. Dobbins ran in for a touchdown with eighteen seconds left, it gave the Chargers a lead of 34-27 and an impossible task for Burrow. The Bengals quarterback threw for 356 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions on Sunday Night Football, but it wasn’t enough to stop his team dropping to 4-7. With 3,028 yards (1st), 27 passing touchdowns (1st), and 4 interceptions, Burrow is putting up MVP numbers but it still looks like he may miss the playoffs.
The Chargers, on the other hand, are 7-3 and may have a sneaky chance to challenge the Chiefs for the AFC West title given that they still have to face the back-to-back champions. Justin Herbert is maybe playing the best he’s played his whole career and Jim Harbaugh, the head coach, deserves huge credit for that as this is only his first year coaching the team.
Arguably the two biggest games this weekend came outside of primetime. First, the Pittsburgh Steelers hosted the Baltimore Ravens in a game where the winner would come out as the leader of the AFC North. Despite being the MVP-frontrunner heading into the game, Lamar Jackson continued to struggle against the Steelers as his electric offense stalled in an 18-16 loss on the road. The Steelers defense played at an elite level and Chris Boswell, Pittsburgh’s kicker, helped the offense out, making six out of six field goals, scoring all eighteen of his team’s points. The Steelers now have a one and a half game lead at the top of the division, sitting at 8-2 while the Ravens fell to 7-4 in a loss which dented Lamar Jackson’s hopes of a third career MVP.
This was the eighth matchup between Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes
The biggest game of the week was no doubt in Buffalo. The Bills hosted the Chiefs in a playoff rematch from last season. This was the eighth matchup between Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes, and it did not disappoint. As has been the case in recent regular season history, the Bills got the better of the Chiefs, winning 30-21, with Josh Allen potentially taking the lead in the MVP race after a twenty-six-yard fourth down touchdown run secured his team the victory. That handed the Chiefs their first loss of the season and put the Bills into the race for the number one seed as they now sit at 9-2, with the Chiefs at 9-1 but Allen’s team now holding the tiebreaker over the back-back champions.
As the regular season heads into its final stretch, there are still so many questions to be answered.
Who will win MVP?
Will the Bills catch the Chiefs and take the AFC number one seed?
Will the Steelers hold off the Ravens to win the AFC North?
Can the Lions continue their dominance or will Philadelphia sneak in to take the NFC number one seed?
These are just some of the questions that will be answered as the regular season enters its dramatic final seven weeks.
Tom Henigan
Featured image courtesy of Paolo Aldrighetti via Unsplash. Image use license found here (Unsplash). No changes were made to this image.
In article image 1 courtesy of @packers via Instagram. No changes were made to this image.
In article image 2 courtesy of @buffalobills via Instagram. No changes were made to this image.
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