With every week that passes, the NFL seems to get more confusing. Three division leaders lost today, including the Titans falling victim to the Texans. We also saw Colt McCoy and the Cardinals get the better of the Seahawks and the Falcons shut out at home for the first time since 1988. Here is the good, the bad, and the ugly from Week 11.
The Good
Jonathan Taylor makes case as NFL’s RB1 – He might just be in his second year in the league, but Taylor might already be the NFL’s best running back. He was instrumental in their upset over the Bills this weekend, rushing for 185 yards on his 32 carries. He also had five total touchdowns, setting a franchise record in the process. Taylor has now tied LaDainian Tomlinson’s record of eight consecutive games with 100 scrimmage yards and a touchdown. He has also accounted for an astonishing 1,941 rushing yards in his last 17 games.
Eagles keep on rolling – The Eagles had a slow start under Nick Sirianni, but look to have found their feet. Their move towards a more run-heavy offense has been a gamechanger and has seen Jalen Hurts improve significantly. Their win over New Orleans this weekend deserves special credit. Coming into the game, the Saints owned the NFL’s best run defense but Philadelphia made things look easy. They ran for 242 yards in this game at an average of 4.8 yards per carry. This is a team who are heading in the right direction just when it matters most.
Ravens win without Lamar – It wasn’t always pretty, but the Ravens got the job done this weekend. The defense is still giving up far too many explosive plays, but they did manage to hold Chicago to just 13 points. Tyler Huntley also proved himself to be an able deputy in Lamar Jackson’s absence. This included leading the team to a game winning drive in the dying seconds of the fourth quarter. Baltimore remains the division leaders in the AFC North and with the Titans losing, they now own the AFC’s No. 1 seed.
The Bad
Crisis deepens in Seattle – It feels like we are witnessing the beginning of the end of the Pete Carroll era in Seattle. Russell Wilson is clearly still struggling after his finger surgery. The team now sit at 3-7, adrift at the bottom of the NFC West. There is little cause for optimism on either side of the ball. The offense was a mess once again, although they did at least manage to score this time. As for the defense, they were carved up by a Cardinals team missing Kyler Murray and DeAndre Hopkins. Seahawks fans can’t even look forward to this year’s draft, with their projected No. 5 overall pick in the hands of the Jets as part of the Jamal Adams trade.
Questions remain with Mayfield – The big question for the Browns ahead of the offseason is the decision on Baker Mayfield. He is set to play on his fifth year option in 2022 and Cleveland will need to make the decision on whether or not to offer him a new deal. Based on what we have seen over the last two games I wouldn’t be surprised if they chose not to. Fresh off the worst game of his career last weekend against New England, many were expecting him to put things right against a dire Lions defense. He underwhelmed again, completing just over 50% of his passes for 176 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. The Browns only just scraped past the worst team in the NFL at home.
Packers defense crumbles – Green Bay’s defense has been carrying the team for most of this season. They held Patrick Mahomes, Kyler Murray and Russell Wilson to a combined 34 points and looked to be hitting their stride. Things unravelled this weekend, with their bevy of injuries proving too much to overcome. Their secondary was the biggest problem. Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen feasted, combining for 16 catches for 251 yards and three scores. The Packers gave up an astonishing 0.64 EPA per dropback, the worst in the NFL this weekend.
The Ugly
Tennessee lose to Houston – The Titans entered the weekend as the No. 1 seed in the AFC and despite a number of injuries, a win against the Texans felt like the obvious outcome. In the end they were plagued by turnovers and fell to a 22-13 defeat. Ryan Tannehill threw four interceptions for the first time in his career, whilst Chester Rodgers muffed a punt. The Titans also lost A.J. Brown midway through the contest, leaving them with Rodgers and Nick Westbrook-Ikhine as their leading receivers ahead of Week 12.
Atlanta’s offensive woes continue – The panic will be well and truly setting in for Atlanta right now. Fans will have thought that things couldn’t get worse than their 43-3 loss to Dallas last week, but they did. The Falcons were shut out by New England, marking their first scoreless home game since 1988. It is also the first time since 1987 that they have failed to score a touchdown in back-to-back games. They desperately need a bounce back win against Jacksonville next weekend.
Week 11 MVP
Jonathan Taylor, Indianapolis Colts – The Colts offense ran through Taylor this weekend. He racked up 204 scrimmage yards and five touchdowns on his 35 touches. He had six explosive runs and 79.4% of his rushing yards came after contact.
Rookie of the week
Micah Parsons, Dallas Cowboys – The Cowboys may have lost, but Parsons was once again exceptional. He played off the edge against the Chiefs and wrought havoc throughout the game. He finished with seven pressures, including a strip sack of Mahomes. This was the most of any edge rusher this week.
Stat of the week
23 – The number of games decided on the final play so far this season. This is the most through 11 weeks in the Super Bowl era.
