Week 11 in the NFL kicked off with two teams looking to make a push toward the postseason as the Seattle Seahawks hosted the Green Bay Packers on Thursday Night Football. The Seahawks won the game, 27-24 thanks to a solid performance from Russell Wilson in which the quarterback completed 21 of 31 passes for 225 yards and two touchdowns. Aaron Rodgers impressed, too, but he wasn’t able to carry his team to a victory.
Sunday Night Football saw two NFC North foes square off. The Chicago Bears held on to first place in the division with a 25-20 win over the Minnesota Vikings. The Bears defense had 2.0 sacks, two interceptions, and a forced fumble in the victory; they bailed out the offense who didn’t play their best game. Mitchell Trubisky finished with 20 completions on 31 passes for 165 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions.
Monday Night Football’s Los Angeles Rams vs. Kansas City Chiefs was hyped up to be the game of the year and it completely delivered. In a battle of two of the league’s best teams and best offenses, the defenses actually shined greatly. The Rams had a pick six and fumble recovery returned for a touchdown, both by Sam Ebukam, while the Chiefs had a fumble recovery returned for a touchdown by Allen Bailey. The Rams won an incredible battle by a score of 54-51.
And even though the defenses stepped up, offensive players were making big plays, too. Like Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill who became the third player in NFL history with 15 touchdowns of 50+ yards before turning 25-years-old!
Odds and expert picks
The Rams vs. Chiefs game set the record for the highest over/under in NFL history. It’s set at 63.5 for a game that should see quite a bit of scoring from two of the league’s top three offenses.
If you’re still in a Survivor pool, our safest pick of the week was the New Orleans Saints over the Philadelphia Eagles. That pick worked out well as the Saints walked all over the Eagles to the tune of a 48-7 win.
Our experts were mostly siding with the Atlanta Falcons over the Dallas Cowboys and only the coin flip went for the Detroit Lions over the Carolina Panthers. The Cowboys and Lions ended up winning, both in one-score games.
Big moments
The Indianapolis Colts played a division rival for the second week in a row as the Tennessee Titans visited Lucas Oil Stadium for a game that could have playoff implications. Titans defensive coordinator Dean Pees had to be taken to the hospital before the game. The Colts walked all over the Titans in a 38-10 win. The Colts are attempting to make an unlikely push toward the postseason after starting the season 1-5. Last week, Andrew Luck became one of three quarterbacks in NFL history to record at least six consecutive games with three or more touchdown passes in a single season, joining Tom Brady (10 consecutive games in 2007) and Peyton Manning (eight in 2004) to accomplish that. Brady and Manning were each named NFL MVP in those respective seasons. On Sunday against the Titans, Luck went 23 of 29 for 297 yards and three touchdowns. His streak lives on!
In the Cowboys vs. Falcons game in Atlanta, Dallas running back Ezekiel Elliott was looking to hit an NFL milestone, and he did! He had 4,339 scrimmage yards and 31 touchdowns in 34 career games before Sunday. In his 35th career game, Elliott needed 161 scrimmage yards to join Pro Football Hall of Famer Eric Dickerson and Edgerrin James as the only players in NFL history with at least 4,500 scrimmage yards and 30 touchdowns in their first 35 career games. Elliott had 122 rushing yards and a touchdown as well as 79 yards through the air in the Cowboys’ 22-19 loss. He now has 4,540 scrimmage yards and 31 touchdowns in 35 career games.
Washington quarterback Alex Smith’s season is over as he suffered a gruesome leg injury on the 33rd anniversary of Joe Theismann’s similarly gruesome injury. Smith broke his tibia and fibia and will require immediate surgery, according to reports. That’s a big blow to the NFC East’s first place team. The Cowboys’ win over the Falcons means Dallas is just one game behind Washington.
Wide receiver D.J. Moore had a huge day in the Panthers’ loss to the Lions. He had 157 receiving yards and a score. Lions wide receiver Kenny Golladay tried to match his effort with 113 yards and a score of his own.
The Raiders got just their second win of the year. It came against the also two-win Cardinals. Coming into Sunday, Oakland was the only team in the NFL that had not won a game when leading through three quarters. The rest of the NFL was 121-17-2 (.871), according to NFL Research. That changed as the Raiders finally got their second win of the season. No team has less than two wins entering Week 12. At least Arizona got the edge in the draft seed battle!
The Chargers’ kicking woes seemed to be gone coming into this week.
But Michael Badgley missed an extra point in the third quarter to keep the score at 19-7 instead of 20-7 in favor of the Chargers. The Chargers ended up losing by one to the Broncos, 23-22. That extra point really would have come in handy.
NFL Week 11 schedule
Thursday, November 15
Green Bay Packers 24, Seattle Seahawks 27
Sunday, November 18
Dallas Cowboys 22, Atlanta Falcons 19
Tennessee Titans 10, Indianapolis Colts 38
Cincinnati Bengals 21, Baltimore Ravens 24
Carolina Panthers 19, Detroit Lions 20
Houston Texans 23, Washington 21
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 35, New York Giants 38
Pittsburgh Steelers 20, Jacksonville Jaguars 16
Oakland Raiders 23, Arizona Cardinals 21
Denver Broncos 23, Los Angeles Chargers 22
Philadelphia Eagles 7, New Orleans Saints 48
Minnesota Vikings 20, Chicago Bears 25
Monday, November 19
Kansas City Chiefs 51, Los Angeles Rams 54
What does your reaction to Andrew Luck as a receiver say about you?
Photo by Bobby Ellis/Getty ImagesAndrew Luck almost caught a touchdown pass last Sunday in the first quarter of the Colts’ 38-10 beatdown of the Titans. He was thiiiiiiiiiiis close. It happened again this week, against the Dolphins.
Seems like a fun thing, right? That’s what I thought, but somehow this turned out to be one of those things, like everything else, that people had a lot of opinions about online.
Read Article >All 14 incredible touchdowns from the Chiefs vs. Rams, ranked
The Chiefs and Rams put on a dang show on Monday Night Football, combining for 105 points and 14 touchdowns in an instant classic. The game set records as being the highest-scoring game in Monday Night Football history, while football fans around the country got to see why these teams are being hyped as having Super Bowl potential.
There were so many amazing touchdowns it’s easy to get lost in everything that happened, but whether you missed the game, or just want to re-live the best moments, we’re here for you.
Read Article >Which team has the best shot at the No. 1 pick in the 2019 NFL Draft?
Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty ImagesThe Oakland Raiders’ win over the Arizona Cardinals had zero impact on the NFL standings or the playoff picture, but it could prove to be one of the most important results of the 2019 offseason. With the last-second win, the Raiders improved to 2-8 and dropped the Cardinals to the same record.
Now, with six weeks left to play, there are three teams — the Raiders, Cardinals, and 49ers — tied for the rights to the No. 1 pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.
Read Article >Why the Chiefs have a very slight edge over the Rams
Photo by David Eulitt/Getty ImagesWhat a treat we have tonight. It couldn’t be any better. We have a monster matchup on Monday Night Football in Los Angeles between the 9-1 Rams and the 9-1 Kansas City Chiefs. Both high powered offenses colliding in the Coliseum. Is this a preview of the Super Bowl? And who has the edge and where?
Both of these offenses are about as explosive as it gets in the NFL. The best part of this offensive matchup is both teams go about their production in vastly different ways. The Rams are in 11 personnel (one running back, one tight end and three wide receivers) more than 95 percent of the time.
Read Article >Jalen Ramsey deserves better than what the Jaguars are this year
Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY SportsThe Jaguars failed to end their five-game losing streak on Sunday, but don’t put that on Jalen Ramsey. Even though he got beat by Antonio Brown late in the game, Ramsey reminded the world why he’s one of the best defensive players in the league.
Ramsey had two interceptions as he dominated his third matchup against Roethlisberger in the Jaguars’ 20-16 last second loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Read Article >How the Seahawks saved their season and the Packers potentially lost theirs
Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty ImagesThe Seahawks continued the trend of home teams winning on Thursday Night Football as they beat the Packers, 27-24, in Seattle. It was an exciting game to kick off Week 11 in the NFL, but Aaron Rodgers was unable to lead a game-winning drive as the Packers punted away the ball while trailing by three with 4:20 on the clock and never saw the ball again on offense. Russell Wilson and the Seahawks squeaked out a win and evened their record to 5-5.
Here’s a by-the-numbers look to catch you up on all the action and explain how the Seahawks came away with the victory.
Read Article >How Mike McCarthy’s coaching mistakes robbed the Packers of a win over the Seahawks
Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty ImagesIf you’ve ever wondered why the Green Bay Packers have only managed one trip to the Super Bowl since drafting Aaron Rodgers, the reason is looking more obvious by the week: head coach Mike McCarthy.
The Packers’ 27-24 loss to the Seattle Seahawks was a nearly perfect microcosm of the Rodgers-McCarthy era in Green Bay. It saw Rodgers put together a masterful performance that — like many times before — wasn’t enough for a win.
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