NFL Takeaways: Week 11
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The picture is starting to get a little bit more clear, as there are only seven more weeks of NFL football before the postseason.
Some feel great. Some have hope.
Some have none.
Let’s dive into week 11.
Eagles defeat Commanders 26-18
Years ago, when running back discourse became such a big thing, I saw one quote that I, unfortunately, can’t remember who said it.
But it was that running backs don’t matter, unless you have a great one.
You can get by without an elite running back. The Bills don’t have one. Isaiah Pacheco is a good running back for Kansas City, but I wouldn’t call him necessarily “great.”
But when you have one, like the Eagles have with Saquon Barkley, it makes all the difference.
This was a close game. The Commanders had an excellent chance, late in the 4th quarter, to get a lead.
And Saquon Barkley silenced it immediately with back to back scores to put the Eagles up by double digits.
He has been the signing of the offseason, and then some.
Lions defeat Jaguars 52-6
This felt like a job audition for Ben Johnson, the Lions offensive coordinator.
Everyone knows the Jaguars are going to fire Doug Pederson and will need a new coach next year.
Ben Johnson was in his bag on Sunday with some insane play designs.
He was sending signals, for sure.
Rams defeat Patriots 28-22
Drake Maye has something here.
I know they lost, but the Patriots are a bad team.
They just want to see something, and Drake Maye is showing it to them.
Saints defeat Browns 35-14
The Saints went from an absolute wagon, to a complete tire fire, to only two games back in the division and on back to back wins.
Hey, I don’t know either, man.
Colts defeat Jets 28-27
This was, if I remember correctly, the first time Anthony Richardson looked great.
He’s had great moments. He’s had insane plays.
But this game, front to back, he looked great for 60 minutes.
Of course it came against the Jets.
Vikings defeat Titans 23-13
The Vikings keep winning, and that’s all they really need to do, but there’s something off here.
They just don’t look like the same team from earlier in the season.
It might not matter for getting to the playoffs, but it’s something to watch.
Dolphins defeat Raiders 34-19
I still don’t love the Dolphins defense, but that offense with Tua back and that remaining schedule means the Dolphins could very easily be playoff bound.
Who would’ve guessed that a few weeks ago?
Packers defeat Bears 20-19
Coaching, coaching, coaching.
We have seen so many field goal kickers miss kicks this year, and the Bears, after getting into field goal range, decided they weren’t going to try to gain more yards and make it an easier field goal.
Cairo Santos had to kick it lower, the ball got blocked, and the streak continues.
It’s all down to coaching.
Steelers defeat Ravens 18-16
This game was the perfect example of how much football discourse sucks these days.
Justin Tucker missed two very makable kicks. Derrick Henry fumbled for the first time in forever. Isaiah Likely had the ball ripped out of his hands for a fumble. Justice Hill had the ball ripped out of his hands for an interception. The Ravens didn’t give the ball to Derrick Henry once in the 4th quarter despite it being a one score game the entire time.
And yet, all day Monday and today, the conversation surrounding this game was “Why does Lamar Jackson suck so much against the Steelers?”
The way we turn every single discussion into being about the quarterback, even when there is no reason to, is simply exhausting.
I’m beyond sick of it.
Broncos defeat Falcons 38-6
The Broncos defense is insanely good, and the offense has a perfect plan for Bo Nix to play good, smart, efficient football.
It’s working wonders for them. This looks like a playoff team.
Seahawks defeat 49ers 20-17
Nobody really mentioned it, but this was a sneaky “must win” game for the Niners.
They’re now 5-5, the rest of the schedule is extremely difficult, and this loss moved them to 1-3 in the division, where it’ll be hard to get tiebreakers over other opponents to win the West.
It’s not impossible, but it made things significantly harder for them.
Bills defeat Chiefs 30-21
Josh Allen looked great. The Bills looked awesome. They beat the Chiefs.
Blah blah blah you know how this goes they’ll play again in the playoffs and the Chiefs will win because that’s just how it happens.
Chargers defeat Bengals 34-27
This game perfectly summarized the Chargers and the Bengals.
The Bengals played an abysmal first half, and fell behind 24-6.
The Chargers played an abysmal second half, and let the Bengals come back to tie it 27-27.
Then, both offenses had chances under two minutes to get the win, both failed, and then the Chargers finally got the touchdown in the last seconds.
It was the perfect summary.
Texans defeat Cowboys 34-10
The Cowboys aren’t a good football team.
