Week 11 has wrapped up. Here are the matchups and how each one ended. Let’s begin.
Titans at Packers
The Tennessee Titans handed the Packers their seventh loss this year by a score of 27-17. Since dropping their first two games, the AFC South-leading Titans (7-3) have won seven of eight. The Titans continued their surge by posting season highs in points and yards (408). Green Bay (4-7) has lost six of seven. Rodgers went 24 of 39 for 227 yards with two touchdown passes to rookie Christian Watson, a 14-yarder to close the first quarter and an 8-yarder in the third quarter. Here’s my opinion. Clearly, the Packers’ aren’t going to be competitive this year so shut Rodgers down and let Jordan Love drive the tank for the remainder of the year. As it sits right now, the Packers would have a top-10 selection.
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Bears at Falcons
The Falcons outlasted the Bears thanks to a game-winning field goal from kicker, Younghoe Koo. Final score 24-27. For the bears, the biggest storyline involves quarterback Justin Fields. Fields completed 14 of 21 passes for 153 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Fields ran for 85 yards with a touchdown despite suffering a left shoulder injury on the Bears’ final possession. He was awaiting results of X-rays on the shoulder after the game and said “I’m hurting a little bit.” Atlanta running back Cordarrelle Patterson, who played for the Bears for two years before signing with the Falcons in 2021, set the NFL record with his ninth career kickoff return for a touchdown. His 103-yard return in the second quarter broke a tie with Joshua Cribbs and Leon Washington for the mark.
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Panthers at Ravens
Baker Mayfield sold the game away with late turnovers against the Ravens. Marcus Peters forced a fumble in the fourth quarter — the first of three Carolina turnovers in the final 8:14 — and Jackson took advantage of the short field, scoring on a 1-yard run that helped Baltimore hold off the Panthers 13-3 on Sunday. Baltimore improved its turnover margin to plus-9 on the season, and the Ravens (7-3) now have at least one takeaway in 12 straight games.Final score, 3-13, Ravens. I’ll be the first to say that I believe the Ravens are pretenders. Baltimore has found themselves with their backs against the ropes multiple times this season. Some of the games where they found themselves down include a few games where they couldn’t climb back and eventually fell short. I just don’t have faith in this team like I’ve had in the past.
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Browns at Bills
Resilience was the key word for this matchup, in more ways than one. When severe winter weather forced the Browns-Bills game to be relocated to Detroit, it took all of “BillsMafia” to help out. Some of the die-hard fanbase even had to help players get to the airport via snowmobile. The Bills (7-3) avoided blowing a third straight halftime lead by scoring on all five of their possessions in the second half and doing a better job protecting the ball. The Browns, who have lost six of seven games, missed many opportunities to get back on track with quarterback Deshaun Watson nearing the end of his 11-game NFL suspension. Brissett finished 28 of 41 for 324 yards — two shy of his career high — and a season-high three touchdowns. He threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Amari Cooper on the opening drive, a 7-yard touchdown scoring pass to Cooper with 4:11 left that pulled the Browns within 12 points and a 2-yard touchdown pass to Donovan Peoples Jones in the final minute. This game was definitely a turn-around game for the Super Bowl hopeful Buffalo Bills. For the Cleveland Browns, it’s simply one more week off the checklist until they return Deshaun Watson to the field.
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Commanders at Texans
While in the grand scheme of things, this game isn’t super important. However, for quarterback Taylor Heinecke it was the biggest game of his career. Heinecke was officially named the starter moving forward for the Commanders. He deserves it. Not only is it a feel-good story; he truly deserves a spot in this league as a starter. Heinicke threw for 191 yards to improve to 4-1 as a starter, Kendall Fuller returned an interception for a touchdown, and the Commanders rolled to a 23-10 win over the dysfunctional Houston Texans on Sunday. Davis Mills threw two interceptions and Houston mustered a season-low 148 yards of offense as the Texans (1-8-1) lost their fifth straight and remained the NFL’s only one-win team. Trust me the Texans are completely fine with losing as one of the best quarterback drafts of all time is on the horizon for next year.
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Eagles at Colts
Clearly, new interim head coach Jeff Saturday is doing something effective in Indy. Although Sunday’s game resulted in a one-point loss, the schemes that Saturday are running seem to have injected new life into the Colts. Indianapolis (4-6-1) never trailed until Hurts’ final run; as interim coach Jeff Saturday fell to 1-1 since replacing the fired Frank Reich. When the Eagles lined up with less than 90 seconds to play and four receivers spread across the field, Hurts read the defense and sprinted straight to the end zone before Indy’s defense could react. The scramble lifted the Eagles to an eventual one-point victory over the Colts.
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Jets at Patriots
Zach Wilson played horrendous against the suffocating Patriots defense. New York sacked Jones six times, but managed only 103 yards on offense and six first downs. Zach Wilson was just 9 of 22 for 77 yards, and Mann punted 10 times. In the second half, the Jets had just 2 yards on seven possessions. The defense played amazing. When asked if he [Zach Wilson] let his team down, he simply stated “No.” The NFL went 10 weeks and hundreds of kicks without a player returning a punt for a touchdown. Marcus Jones made the first of the season one to remember. The New England rookie returned a punt 84 yards for a touchdown with 5 seconds remaining and the Patriots outlasted the stunned New York Jets 10-3 on Sunday. What a way to start your career!
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Rams at Saints
Dalton passed for three touchdowns in a impressive win for the veteran quarterback and company. Los Angeles QB Matthew Stafford left the field to be evaluated for a concussion in the second half and New Orleans defeated the reeling Rams 27-20 on Sunday. While good things indeed happened for a Saints offense looking to bounce back from its worst games this season during the previous two weeks, the defending champion Rams (3-7) were dealt another bad break en route to their fourth straight loss.
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Lions at Giants
Every now and then the Detroit Lions manage an impressive victory when least expected. That is exactly what occurred on Sunday as they defeated the Giants, 31-18. Jamaal Williams ran for a career-high three touchdowns and the Lions stunned the New York Giants 31-18 Sunday, posting consecutive roads wins and their first three-game winning streak since November 2017. The Lions (4-6) now already have one more victory than they did last season, when they went 3-13-1. This was the first game into the Daboll era where the Giants looked confused. Defensive end Aidan Hutchinson, the No. 2 overall pick in the draft in April, intercepted a pass and recovered a fumble to help set up 14 points. Jared Goff and the Lions’ offense didn’t have a turnover for the second straight game. Jones threw 27 passes on 44 attempts for 341 yards. Things are looking up in the Motor City.
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Raiders at Broncos
Davante Adams channeled some of his Green Bay magic to lift the Raiders over the Broncos in overtime, 22-16. Carr hit a wide-open Davante Adams with a 35-yard touchdown pass on the third play of overtime, powering the Las Vegas Raiders to a 22-16 win over the Denver Broncos on Sunday. “I’ve always loved those moments. That’s what I dreamed of as a kid,” Carr said after leading to the Raiders (3-7) to their first win in seven one-score games this season. The Broncos (3-7) found another way to lose a close one, dropping their sixth one-score game when Wilson left too much time on the clock at the end of regulation. I think it’s time for change in Denver, whatever they wanted to do this year isn’t working.
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Cowboys at Vikings
It was pure domination on the Cowboys part as they destroyed the Vikings 40-3. Tony Pollard had two touchdown catches with a career-high 189 yards from scrimmage, and the Cowboys sacked Kirk Cousins a career-most seven times Sunday in a 40-3 victory over the Vikings. “We kind of found our formula, just running the ball, pounding the defense, dominating on all phases of the game,” Pollard said. Micah Parsons and Dorance Armstrong had two sacks apiece in the fifth-largest loss ever for the Vikings — and the biggest road win in Cowboys history.
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Bengals @ Steelers
The defending AFC champions can hurt opponents in all kinds of ways no matter who’s in the lineup. Joe Burrow laid the proof bare in a 37-30 victory over Pittsburgh on Sunday. No Ja’Marr and Mixon? No problem. The Bengals (6-4) have won four of five following a 2-3 start, topping 30 points in all four wins, the last two despite Chase sitting out while recovering from a hip injury. Burrow threw 24 passes on 39 attempts for 355 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions. Dejà vu hit the Steelers hard. Pittsburgh (3-7) saw its chance of repeating its Week 1 upset it pulled off in Cincinnati in September vanish in the second half as a 20-17 lead slipped away. Rookie Kenny Pickett passed for 265 yards and a touchdown and Najee Harris ran for 90 yards and two scores, but the NFL’s second-lowest scoring offense sputtered after halftime.
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Chiefs at Chargers
In their rematch the Chargers were trying to succeed in getting a victory over the Chiefs. However, that didn’t happen as Kansas City got the close three-point victory. Mahomes connected with Kelce for three touchdowns — including the go-ahead score with 31 seconds remaining — as the Kansas City Chiefs rallied past the Los Angeles Chargers 30-27 on Sunday night to stay atop the AFC. It was the 11th time in the regular-season that Mahomes had a game-winning drive in the fourth quarter. Herbert and the Chargers had one final chance, but Nick Bolton intercepted a deflected pass to seal it for the Chiefs (8-2), who swept the season series from Los Angeles (5-5) and took a three-game lead in the AFC West. It is the third straight year the Chargers have had a late lead at home against the Chiefs and were unable to finish. It’s always difficult to overcome a team that seems to be your personal kryptonite.
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49ers at Cardinals
Jimmy G is the man in Mexico! As the final minute ticked off the clock, San Francisco quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo turned toward the crowd at Estadio Azteca, lifted his hands over his head and started clapping. It was clear that the Mexico City crowd loved the 49ers. Garoppolo threw four touchdown passes, including two each to Brandon Aiyuk and George Kittle, and the 49ers won their third straight game by blowing past the Arizona Cardinals 38-10 on Monday night in Mexico City. “The whole atmosphere tonight, I haven’t played in anything like it,” Garoppolo said. “It was electric, the fans were nuts, they were cheering throughout the whole game. It seemed like a soccer game at some points, just the passion they brought. It was really cool. I’d love to do it again.” The Cardinals (4-7) played their second straight game without Pro Bowl quarterback Kyler Murray, who has been battling a sore hamstring. Backup Colt McCoy had a 3-1 record in spot starts over the past two seasons — including a win over the Rams last week — but couldn’t recreate the same magic in Mexico. McCoy finished 24 of 34 passing for 218 yards and an interception. The 49ers hit him hard multiple times, connecting for three sacks.
