NFL Week 11 Review – Scores and Key Takeaways

After another eventful week in the NFL, we recap the key takeaways from each game.  

Seattle Seahawks 27 def. Green Bay Packers 24

The Seahawks continue to butter their bread in the running game, amassing 173 rushing yards to the Packers’ 48. Seattle had 35 rushing attempts to the Packers’ 13. What really boggles the mind about this statistic is that the Packers led the game 14-3 in the first quarter. And yes, that lead evaporated pretty quickly, but the Packers didn’t get behind early in the game, and that would be the only excuse for their lack of rushing attempts. Seattle, committed relentlessly to the run, as they have for most of the season. Their ability on the ground allowed them to keep the ball out of Rodgers’ hands for the final four minutes of the game: a superb achievement.

The Packers are talented enough to make the playoffs, and so this loss isn’t quite a death knell, but they have proven themselves to be tactically inept. Blame for this season shouldn’t fall on one set of shoulders. The Packers have been bad for a number of reasons. However, the coaching deserves most of the blame, even if Rodgers puts together a miraculous run over the next six games.

Dallas Cowboys 22 def. Atlanta Falcons 19

That’s curtains on the Falcons season. Injuries decimated this squad, and they have fought valiantly. Doubtless they will be back in the playoff mix in 2019/20. The Falcons were everyone’s dark horse to run the board and make the playoffs two weeks ago. Funnily enough, they just lost to the Cowboys, who two weeks ago, were everyone’s pick to fall apart and miss the playoffs. How quickly things can change in this sport. The Cowboys still have a long way to go in a competitive NFC, but they’re in with a fighting chance, especially with Zeke playing out of his mind right now.

Baltimore Ravens 24 def. Cincinnati Bengals 21

The Lamar Jackson experience is under-way and off to a good start. The kid has flaws, and he was allowed to stay firmly in his comfort zone with plenty of option runs and yards on the ground. But it seems Ravens fans are just looking for some excitement out of the quarterback position. That is what they’ll get in Jackson.

The Bengals’ season continues to get away from them. Andy Dalton played well but had no help from the running game. They just can’t get consistency in any one facet of the offence. Randy Bullock had a chance to tie the game late in the fourth quarter but missed a 52-yard field goal. While still 5-5, it’s hard to see the Bengals making the playoffs.

Detroit Lions 20 def. Carolina Panthers 19

Yeesh. This is not where the Panthers wanted to find themselves. I like the call to go for two, but Cam Newton has to make that wide open throw: not good enough for a franchise quarterback. Kicker Graham Gano isn’t without blame. If he hadn’t missed an extra-point earlier, they wouldn’t have had to attempt a two-point conversion to go up by one.

The Panthers have Seattle next week. That is a must-win game for both teams. Whoever wins will likely secure a wildcard playoff spot. If the Panthers lose they fall to 6-5, still having to play the Saints twice. They must avoid that scenario at all costs.

Indianapolis Colts 38 def. Tennessee Titans 10

What a win for the Colts, who have now won four in a row and are firmly in the AFC playoff race. Their offensive line is clicking right now – allowing no sacks in the last four games. Andrew Luck and his troops came out and scored early against the Titans, who couldn’t settle into the game. The potent Titans defence that wrecked the Patriots just last week was non-existent.

The Titans are not done just yet. They could make things very interesting if they can beat the AFC South leading Texans next week. The Titans will go into next week 2-1 within the division, and after next week the schedule is light. If they can bounce back next week, a playoff appearance is very possible. 

New York Giants 38 def. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 35

Saquon Barkley continues to prove he is one of the most complete running-backs in the NFL. Eli is playing good over the last couple of games. And the Giants are starting to prove they’re not the worst team in football. It’ll be interesting to see if Eli can continue his form all the way through the rest of this season, and how that may complicate the team’s future plans. It still seems a certainty they will draft a QB, but Eli may get to stick around for another season while the protégé sits.

Another week in the Tampa Bay quarterback see-saw. Ryan Fitzpatrick had another one of those days where he throws a handful of picks, and Jameis Winston took over. Winston was good, until he threw a game-losing interception. Tampa fans will be ready for this frustrating quarterback situation to be over.

Houston Texans 23 def. Washington Redskins 21

A horrific leg-injury to Alex Smith put a cloud over an otherwise entertaining game of football. The veteran QB fractured his leg in an eerily similar way to fellow former Redskins great, Joe Theismann. Smith suffered the injury on this day, November 18 (U.S.), the exact same day Theismann was injured 33 years ago. You can’t make this stuff up. Theismann’s career ended on that day. I sincerely hope Smith’s doesn’t.

If any silver-lining can be taken from a horrible day for the Redkins and their fans, backup QB Colt McCoy was solid, and seems capable of limping the team to the playoffs.

The Texans get their seventh win in a row and look to have the AFC South just about wrapped up. They almost botched the game with turnovers and a missed field goal at the end of the game. If they want to make noise come playoff-time, they’ll have to be more clinical.

Pittsburgh Steelers 20 def. Jacksonville Jaguars 16

What a finish by Big Ben and the Steelers. Going in, this game had upset Jags win written all over it. Make no mistake, this was an impressive win for the Steelers, even though the Jags now sit at 3-7. The Steelers have a tough schedule to finish the season. We’ll learn how good this team really is over the next month.

The Jags defence must be frustrated. Any mediocre offence would’ve put this game to bed by halftime. When your defence creates three interceptions and a turnover on downs, the offence has to put up more than 16 points. The Blake Bortles experiment must end.

Oakland Raiders 23 def. Arizona Cardinals 21

Jon Gruden was elated after the Raiders first win in five weeks. He has seen criticism from every angle after a terrible season – much of it deserved. QB Derek Carr got into a heated argument with Gruden on the sidelines. The two seemed to move on after, and a win will certainly make that bridge easier to build, but it raises even more questions about Gruden’s coaching. Carr, on the other hand, answered a lot of questions in this game. His accuracy and touch were superb on a number of throws, including two touchdowns.

The Cardinals are in a sorry state offensively. Josh Rosen is turning the ball over too often, due in large part to his leaky offensive line, and receivers who can’t get open. If they can cut down on the turnovers, they would probably be a middle of the league team. Nearly winning this game after committing four turnovers is a testament to that.

Denver Broncos 23 def. Los Angeles Chargers 22

A terrible loss for the Chargers. Not because of the opponent – Denver are a pesky 4-6 team in a tough division. No, it was terrible for the fact it was there to be won, and the Chargers spent all of last season fighting the demons of self-sabotage.

On this day, the self-sabotage lays mostly on the shoulders of Phillip Rivers. He threw a lazy interception, which turned into a touchdown, while his team were up 19-7. If Rivers doesn’t throw that pick, they probably walk away with a field goal, up 22-7. I would back them to hold that lead with only the fourth quarter and change to go.

Despite letting the Broncos back into the game, Rivers and the offence had the ball on 3^rd and 7, with 2:00 mins to go, and a 22-20 lead. Denver are out of timeouts, so the Chargers, in good field position, should give it to RB Melvin Gordon. Best case scenario: the talented Gordon gets lucky and picks up 7+ yards for the first down and they win the game. Worst case scenario: Gordon doesn’t get the first down, and the Chargers run the clock down to 1:20. Then the Broncos have to go 50+ yards with no timeouts and one minute on the clock. But instead, they run a screen pass. Ok, that’s not terrible, just don’t throw an incompletion. What does Rivers do? Throws the ball into the dirt after waiting all of one second for the play to develop. It would’ve been better for him to take a sack. The mind boggles.

New Orleans Saints 48 def. Philadelphia Eagles 7

Not much to say here. The Saints are awesome. Drew Brees gets closer to Mahomes in the MVP race. Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara are hilarious.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bV99aPhYsGE

Chicago Bears 25 def. Minnesota Vikings 20

The better team won this game. The Bears, who have effectively clinched the NFC North, never looked like losing this one. Don’t let the score line fool you, they put their foot on the Vikings’ throat early and never took it off.

Bears QB Mitch Trubisky looked great rolling in and out of the pocket. The skill he offers running the football is second to no other QB in the league right now. The problem is, he nearly threw the game away on some inaccurate and ill-advised throws. He’ll need to find a better balance between taking risks and playing conservatively to lead this team to the promise land – watching some Russell Wilson tape wouldn’t go astray.

Vikings QB Kirk Cousins will be having Mack-themed nightmares for the foreseeable future. Cousins has dropped off in the past couple of weeks. I sung his praises not long ago, and he’s better than a lot of people say, but he’s given the haters some fuel with this performance.

Los Angeles Rams 54 def. Kansas City Chiefs 51

Too much happened in this game to mention, because it was full of big plays, on both sides of the ball. What can you say about a game that ended 54-51? Surely not that it was won with defence. Wrong – that was the key to this match. The Rams and Chiefs could’ve just took turns scoring. But the reason this game was so fun to watch was that by the fourth quarter, you could tell both quarterbacks were on edge after a number of fumbles, sacks and interceptions. Add in the potency of both offences and viewers went into the final few drives of the game feeling like anything could happen.

Shout out to the unlikely hero for the Rams, Samson Ebukam, who got an absurd pick six in the third quarter and then, in the dying moments of the game, pressured and hit Mahomes as he threw deep to gift Marcus Peters the game-winning interception. The Chiefs got the ball back for one final drive after that when McVay got a little too cute (and so did Tyreek Hill on the ensuing punt return), but Mahomes and the Chiefs already looked defeated.

This was the best game of the season, and I can only describe in so many words before it becomes exhaustive. Do yourself a favour and watch the highlights below. I’m sure nobody would object to a rematch in Atlanta. Let’s say 3 February?