Week 11 turned out to be an exhilarating week of football. The biggest shocker was the Detroit Lions going on the road to defeat a New York Giants team that was 7-2 on the season. The play of the weekend was a 103-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. Patterson’s touchdown was his seventh score of 100-plus yards, and it is a remarkable statistic because no one else in league history has scored more than three. Yes, on Sunday the man lived up to his nickname “FLASH”. Another takeaway from the results this weekend is whether you win by 1, by three touchdowns, or escape an upset, they all count in the push for the playoffs. In this article, we discuss the top results from a wild week 11.
1. Remarkable finishes- an incredible finish was in the Patriots’ 10-3 victory over the Jets. I have to agree this was one of the hardest games to watch as a fan of the game. The offenses were abysmal in allowing ten sacks, a combined 7 for 22 on third down, and 17 punts. Ouch! Mac Jones completed 23 of 27 but his offensive line failed to protect him. However, the Jets deserved to lose this game because New York did not record more than 10 yards on six of its seven drives. Yet, when the game looked like it was heading to overtime, it turned out on Its head with Marcus Jones pulling a remarkable walk-off punt return for a touchdown. It was the Patriots’ 14th straight win over the Jets. Another incredible finish was in the Sunday Night Football game between the Chiefs and the Chargers. Los Angeles was desperate to win this game to get closer to Kansas City in the division standings. It was a see-saw battle with seven lead changes in this game. Justin Herbert led a remarkable drive to give the Chargers the lead in under two minutes but it was way too much time left for Patrick Mahomes. It was not surprising to see number 15 lead his team down the field and find his most trusted playmaker, Travis Kelce, to clinch a memorable win. The Chiefs are now nearly a lock to win the AFC West crown and remain the number-one seed in the conference.
2. Thumping Victories-after collapsing in the 4th quarter last week against the Packers, most analysts predicted that the Cowboys would lose on the road in Minnesota in week 11. However, the Cowboys answered the critics with Dak Prescott having his best game of the year by completing 22 of 25 passes for 276 yards and two touchdowns. However, the best player on the field was Tony Pollard with 21 touches, 189 yards, and two touchdowns in a 40-3 mauling of a Vikings team that had a 7-game win streak. The game left us with lingering doubt about whether Kirk Cousins can win the big games and lead this team to the Super Bowl. Another decisive victory was the Titans’ win on Thursday Night Football on the road against the Packers. Ryan Tannehill outplayed Aaron Rodgers, who missed throws to wide-open receivers. The Titans deserve credit for their creative game plan and even used Derrick Henry in the passing game near the goal line to completely fool the Packers. The loss for the Packers means that postseason football is almost mathematically nearly impossible at this point.
3. Squeaking Bye-the teams in contention for the playoffs that led this category for this week are the Ravens and Eagles. The Panthers and Ravens played out an ugly game that will not feature on NFL films any time soon. The Ravens led the game 3-0 at halftime and tied 3-3 entering the fourth quarter. However, Lamar Jackson made a few plays in the final stanza to get a field goal and touchdown to grab the 13-3 victory. The Eagles, on the other hand, were in danger of going from a 9-game win streak to starting a 2-game losing streak against the rejuvenated Colts. The Eagles trailed Indianapolis 13-3 entering the fourth quarter. However, Jaylen Hurtz delivered under duress to put his team on top and capped his performance with a 7-yard rush with under 2 minutes left in the game to win 17-16. A win is a win, right?