The Saints set off fireworks in Cincinnati, leaving the Bengals behind in the dust, while the Chiefs and Rams did enough to stay hot, as those two teams prepare to meet in a big showdown in Mexico City next weekend. Buffalo blasted the Jets, while the Chargers stayed hot in Oakland. Division leaders Chicago and Washington also won.
Meanwhile, the Giants finally won again, snapping a six-game losing streak in a well-played game for both sides on Monday Night Football in San Francisco. And the Dallas Cowboys kept their relatively slim playoff hopes alive, and stopped the bleeding, by beating the defending champs in Philly on Sunday evening.
Meanwhile, the Giants finally won again, snapping a six-game losing streak in a well-played game for both sides on Monday Night Football in San Francisco. And the Dallas Cowboys kept their relatively slim playoff hopes alive, and stopped the bleeding, by beating the defending champs in Philly on Sunday evening.
Let's take a closer look at what happened in Week 11:
Washington 16, Tampa Bay 3 - Washington needed the win, and they got it. They did not do anything particularly fancy, did not have an explosion of points, but got enough on offense to make an impressive defensive effort more than stand up. Alex Smith completed 19 of 27 passes for 178 yards and one TD. Tampa Bay's Ryan Fitzpatrick, who looked like one of the hottest QB's at the beginning of the season, had a largely ineffective day, completing 29 of 41 passes for 406 yards, but with two INT's. Tampa Bay just could not get anything going on offense on this day, as they sink farther back in the NFC South, failing to capitalize on Atlanta's surprising loss at Cleveland. As for first place Washington, they benefit by Philly's loss against Dallas, which means that both of those teams are now two games back behind the division leaders in the NFC East. My pick: Accurate
Buffalo 41, N.Y. Jets 10 - What the hell happened to Gang Green this week? These are the kinds of games that they need to win, if they want to even have a remote chance at anything resembling a playoff push. Losing would have been bad, but getting humiliated, and making Buffalo's normally awful offense look like New Orleans or Kansas City or the Rams takes some doing. The Bills offense jumped ahead, scoring 24 points in the first two quarters, while a defensive touchdown added another touchdown. It was 31-0 in favor of Buffalo before the Jets finally tacked on a field goal to get on the scoreboard just before halftime. Matt Barkley completed 15 of 25 passes for 232 yards and two touchdowns, while LeSaun McCoy added 113 yards and two touchdowns on 26 carries on the ground. Josh McCown was not impressive for New York, completing only 50 percent of his passes, going 17 of 34 for a mere 135 yards, and with two INT's. Just a miserable, forgettable performance by the Jets, and an incredible and unexpectedly dominant divisional road win by Buffalo. My pick: Wildly Inaccurate
Kansas City 26, Arizona 14 - Kansas City scored 10 points in each of the first two quarters, taking a 20-7 lead into the locker rooms for halftime. Then, they just seemed to sit on that lead, comfortable to earn the win, which was hardly the most decisive one that they earned this season. The Cardinals lost, but did not get their butts kicked or get embarrassed at Arrowhead. Perhaps KC was already looking ahead to next week's big showdown against the Rams in Mexico City. Patrick Mahomes completed 21 of 28 passes for 249 yards and two touchdowns, with Kareem Hunt adding 71 yards on the ground in 16 carries. Arizona's Josh Rosen completed 22 of 39 passes for 208 yards and one touchdown, although he also threw two INT's. David Johnson added 98 yards and one touchdown on 21 carries for the Cardinals. My pick: Accurate
Indianapolis 29, Jacksonville 26 - The Colts are starting to look hot enough that they might even make a push for the playoffs. They earned their third straight win, although the Jaguars at least put up a fight in this game. Still, this loss was the fifth in a row for the Jaguars, and Jax has gone from first to last place during this horrible losing streak. They fought back to make it a game in the second half, and shut Indy out in that second half, but it was ultimately not enough, as they fell just short. Andrew Luck went 21 of 29 for 285, with three touchdowns and one. In a losing cause for Jax, Blake Bortles completed 26 of 38 passes for 320 yards and two touchdowns, while Leonard Fournette picked up 53 yards and one touchdown on 24 on the ground. Indianapolis now moves to alone in third place in the AFC South, a game behind second place Tennessee and two games behind the division leading Houston Texans, while they at least pull a full game ahead of Jacksonville. My pick: Accurate
New Orleans 51, Cincinnati 14 - The Saints just blew this game wide open with an explosive second quarter, when they scored 28 unanswered points, then followed that up by outscoring Cincy, 10-0, in the third quarter, by which point the score was 45-7, and had clearly been decided already. Cincinnati just did not have the weapons to keep up with the hottest team in the league on this day. Drew Brees had a stellar day, as he completed 22 of 25 passes for 265 yards and three touchdowns. Mark Ingram II added 104 yards on 13 carries for the Saints. In a losing effort, the Bengals Andy Dalton had a sub-par day, completing 12 of 20 for 153 yards, with one touchdown and two INT's. The Saints put some cushion between themselves and their competition in the NFC South, while the Bengals provided the Steelers some cushion for their lead in the AFC North with this embarrassing home loss for them. My pick: Accurate
Cleveland 28, Atlanta 16 - Just when you thought that the Browns season was unraveling, and that they seemed to be returning to their traditional losing ways, they pull off an amazing win like this, and completely surprise everyone! The Falcons had everything going for them, having won three in a row and gotten back into the playoff hunt. This loss will really sting for them. Cleveland's Baker Mayfield had a great day, completing 17 of 20 passes for 216 yards, with three touchdowns. Nick Chubb added 176 yards and one touchdown in 20 carries on the ground for the Browns. Matt Ryan also had a solid day for Atlanta, completing 38 of 52 passes for 330 and two touchdowns, but it just was not enough to pull this one off for the Falcons. My pick: Inaccurate
Chicago 34, Detroit 22 - The Bears are really rolling! Mitchell Trubisky had a very solid day, finally managing to beat a division rival for the first time in his young career, and helping his team tremendously by completing 23 of 30 passes for 355 yards and three touchdowns. In a losing effort for Detroit, Matthew Stafford completed 25 of 42 passes for 274 yards, with two touchdowns and two INT's. But the Lions are clearly beginning to fade this season, while the Bears stay hot and in first place in the NFC North. My pick: Accurate
Tennessee 34, New England 10 - New England does not lose often, but when they lose, they really seem to get their butts kicked hard. The Titans continued to play well, particularly on defense, containing the Pats offense to a pedestrian 10 total points, and harassing Tom Brady all day. Ultimately, Tennessee snapped New England's six-game winning streak. In the process, they continue to keep on the heels of the division leading Texans. Tom Brady had an awful game, completing 21 of 41 passes for 254 yards. Marcus Mariota played solidly for the Titans, completing 16 of 24 passes for 228 yards and two touchdowns. Derrick Henry had a decent day on the ground for the Titans, picking up 58 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries. My pick: Inccurate
L.A. Chargers 20, Oakland 6 - The Chargers continue to roll, while the Raiders season continues to simply get worse and worse. Oakland is competing with my Giants for worst team in the league status, and neither team has managed a second win on the season. Philip Rivers looked solid again and provided veteran leadership, completing 18 of 26 for 223 yards, with two touchdowns and one interception. Derek Carr struggled again, completing 24 of 37 for 243 yards. My pick: Accurate
Green Bay 31, Miami 12 - The Dolphins could have seriously cut into the Patriots lead in the standings, but Lambeau Field is a tough place to play, especially when the weather starts turning. And so it was that the Packers, who still have not lost at home, held serve again, ultimately blowing out the Fins. Aaron Rodgers had another solid day, completing 19 of 28 passes for 199 yards and two touchdowns. Green Bay running back Aaron Jones added a dangerous element on the ground, picking up 145 yards and two touchdowns on just 15 carried. Miami's Brock Osweiler completed 23 of 37 passes for 213 yards, with one INT. The win keeps Gren Bay relevant in the NFC race, while it hurts Miami's chances and positioning in the AFC playoff race. My pick: Accurate
L.A. Rams 36, Seattle 31 - The Rams managed to win both of their games against the Seahawks this season, although they really had to hang on in each contest. Still, this surely puts the finishing touch on the division race. A wain for Seattle would have closed the margin to 2 1/2 games, and although unlikely, it would have kept the Seahawks hopes for an NFC West title alive. But now, they are 4 1/2 games behind, with the Rams needing only two more wins to officially clinch, while Seattle has almost no margin for error, and would likely have to win out for even the most remote chance. Bottom line, the Rams did what they needed to do to put the final nail in Seattle's coffin, at least for the divisional race. The loss also hurt the Seahawks in their hopes for a wildcard spot. The Rams keep rolling, and with the best record still in the NFC, they now will look forward to a big showdown against the team with the best record in the AFC, and tied with the Rams for best in the NFL, in the Kansas City Chiefs. My pick: Accurate
Sunday Night Football
Dallas 27, Philadelphia 20 - Give credit where credit is due: the Cowboys were backed against a wall, but they came out swinging in this one. The defense that was supposed to be the elite unit in this game belonged to Philadelphia, but the Big D defense outshined the Eagles on this evening. Dak Prescott had a solid day, completing 26 of 36 for 270 yards and one touchdown. Ezekiel Elliott picked up 151 yards and one touchdown on 19 carries. He also picked up 36 additional yards, and another touchdown receiving. Carson Wentz had a decent day, completing 32 of 44 passes for 360 yards, with two touchdowns and one INT. With the win, the Cowboys keep their season alive, at least for now, and they draw even with Philadelphia in the NFC East race, although both teams now trail Washington by two games. My pick: Inaccurate
Monday Night Football
N.Y. Giants 27, San Francisco 23 - This was a pretty damn good game! Okay, granted, this was not exactly a throwback to the glory days in the history of the rivalry between these two franchises. In fact, this was not so much a clash of two teams hoping to establish themselves as the best team in the NFC, or in the league, but two franchises trying to avoid the dubious distinction of being the worst, admittedly. Still, when you see two teams fighting like that in a great game, it can be enjoyable, and it was indeed reminiscent of some of the old battles. At least, there were shades of the past. Here they were, the Giants and the 49ers on Monday Night Football, late in the season. The Giants fell behind by 10 points in the third quarter, down 20-10 on the road in a season where they started 1-7. But Eli Manning led his team back, quickly leading his team on a four play, 53-yard drive that ended with Manning finding Odell Beckham for a 20-yard touchdown pass. The Giants managed to tie the game up later in the fourth quarter with a field goal. But in the fourth quarter, San Francisco managed a field goal of their own, and were up, 23-20, as time was running short. That was when Eli manning looked like shades of his former self during the salad days, leading his team to a fourth quarter comeback, orchestrating a nine play, 75 yard drives that culminated with a 3-yard touchdown pass to Sterling Shepard. The 49ers still had life, and indeed, came close to getting in position to win on a miracle comeback drive themselves. But there would be no new "Catch" on this day, at least. Time expired, and the Giants managed to secure only their second win on the year. Again, these teams might not be what they once were, but they played a truly great and memorable game, and the effort can be commended on both sides. My pick: Inaccurate
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