This week brought some very good, very bad, and very ugly. There was some close calls for some of the NFL’s best teams, a blowout of epic proportions, lack of accountability taken by a player who plays for the most famous city in the world, and another unbelievable Patrick Mahomes drive.
Mahomes MVP Tour Rides Along with Game Winning Drive in LA
For the second time this season, the Kansas City Chiefs squeaked out a three point win over the Los Angeles Chargers, but this one had a little bit more of the dramatic. After Justin Herbert led a potential game winning drive to connect with Josh Palmer on a touchdown with only 1:46 left in the game, Patrick Mahomes returned with a drive of his own.
As we learned last year in the divisional playoff round against the Buffalo Bills, Mahomes doesn’t even need the traditional two minute drill. This time it only took 1 minute and 15 seconds to respond with a touchdown drive of his own, connecting with Travis Kelce for the pair’s third touchdown of the game. The 75 yard drive only took six plays.
Herbert would throw an interception two plays later to give the Chiefs a 30-27 win.
Mahomes finished the game with 329 yards passing, three touchdowns, and zero interceptions. He now leads the league in passing yards at 3,265, passing touchdowns at 28, and has only seven picks on the season. If Kansas City continues to keep winning, it will be coming off the talented arm of Mahomes and if that’s the case it would hard to imagine anyone else challenging him for MVP, all respect to Jaylen Hurts, Tyreek Hill, and Josh Allen. Mahomes is just playing at another level right now.
Cowboys Chew Vikings Up and Spit Them Out
It’s a reminder of how much can change in a week in the NFL. One week ago, the Minnesota Vikings were on top of the world after their most impressive comeback yet after defeating the Buffalo Bills on the road to improve to 8-1 on the season. This week with momentum building in the Twin Cities, the Vikings were handed their biggest home loss in nearly sixty years by the Dallas Cowboys, losing 40-3.
From the opening whistle, the Dallas Cowboys were able to move the ball down the field. Dak Prescott was extremely efficient throwing the ball, connecting on 22 of 25 passes, while the Cowboys running game was paced with the “lightning and thunder” split of Tony Pollard and Ezekiel Elliott. Pollard, the more versatile back, finished with two receiving touchdowns and 189 all purpose yards, while Elliott provided 42 rushing yards of his own and 2 rushing touchdowns. When asking the question who caught the ball, the better question would be who didn’t? 10 different players caught passes for Dallas. The Dallas offense produced 458 yards of total offense on the day.
As dominant as the Cowboys were on offense, they may have been even more impressive on defense. The Cowboys held the Vikings to only 183 yards of total offense on the day and sacked Kirk Cousins seven different times. The Vikings were held to 1-11 on 3rd down conversions. Outside of well thrown ball by Cousins to T.J. Hockenson in the end zone early in the game, Minnesota didn’t really have any opportunity to score.
It’s only one game, but will certainly be one that brings the Vikings back down to Earth after their great start to the season. It’s unfair to believe the Minnesota team on Sunday that showed up is truly a representation of who they are, but its a major reminder that the season is long and there is plenty of room to improve for this now 8-2 football team.
The bigger story is just how well Dallas responded after a frustrating loss to an inferior Green Bay team the week prior. It’s hard to imagine the Cowboys responding any better to the loss than the way they gobsmacked Minnesota on the road.
Now it will be interesting to see if the Vikings respond in a similar way when they welcome another good defense with New England coming to town on Thanksgiving Day.
Titans Put Packers in “Win Out or Bust” Position
In opposite fashion of how Dallas responded to their Lambeau field loss, the Green Bay Packers only took four days to lose all of the positivity, momentum, and hope for a regular season run. The Packers struggles on both sides of the football returned in a 27-17 home loss to the Tennessee Titans, all but ending any hopes of a postseason berth this season.
Despite the concern of Derrick Henry’s running ability, Ryan Tannehill was the unstoppable force in this game. Tannehill connected on 22 of 27 passes for 333 yards and two touchdowns. Anytime it seemed like momentum was starting to turn to Green Bay it seemed like Tannehill would complete a big third down throw to take it back. Tannehill helped the Titans gain 408 yards of total offense.
Defensively, the Titans gave the Packers fits, but many of Green Bay’s struggles still seem to revolve around an offense that doesn’t use their best player, Aaron Jones, as much as they should. Jones didn’t find yardage easy in the game, but the Packers have shown the most success when they just stick with him. Instead it turned into the once unstoppable Aaron Rodgers Show, which now appears to be in-fact stoppable. Rodgers was unsuccessful in exactly what Tannehill was successful, missing players in open space on third downs.
Tennessee has once again snuck right into a comfortable playoff position and are playing tough, disciplined football. Mike Vrabel doesn’t get enough credit for what he accomplishes with a roster that doesn’t have the star power as some others in the league.
Green Bay goes right back to searching for answers. At this point, if they don’t find those answers when they travel to Philadelphia to play the top team in the NFC, it may be about time to give Jordan Love some reps. With seven losses, the Packers will likely have to win their remaining six games to have any hopes of returning to the playoffs.
Pats Defense/Special Teams Provides Sweep of Jets
In one of the more improbable games of the season, a touchdown wasn’t scored between the New York Jets and New England Patriots for an entire game until the Pats punt returner Marcus Jones returned an 84 yard punt to the end zone in the final five seconds of the game for a 10-3 win.
This was a game that produced 400 yards of total offense between both teams (103 for New York, 297 for New England). It may be possible that the game featured the two NFL teams with the greatest imbalance of very good defense to horrid offense. Without a doubt, the Jets and Patriots have two of the stronger defensive units in the game, but their offenses were abysmal and led by two struggling second year quarterbacks, Zach Wilson and Mac Jones.
Jones was able to move the ball downfield a little more efficiently, racking up 246 yards.
Wilson on the other hand, continues to look like a giant misfire for a second overall pick. A player who was selected to turn the franchise around now appears to be the one holding it back after throwing for only 77 yards and completing just 9 of 22 passes. The Jets offense in the second half produced TWO YARDS. How is that even real?!
Most people that love football, enjoy watching elite defenses, but that becomes less so when the offenses are so putrid. Watching this game enter the final minutes had a feeling like a 3-3 tie would be inevitable. Fortunately, Marcus Jones put everyone out of their misery.
Questions After Week 11
Is Zach Wilson’s denial of Jets offense letting the defense down a big deal?
Definitely. To everyone’s surprise, this New York Jets team has proven to be a young, talented, and well-rounded squad with one giant issue: Wilson. The second year quarterback is ranked in the bottom fourth of nearly every major statistical quarterback category and is coming off a very winnable game in which he was the most obvious problem.
When asked if he thought the offense let down a defense that had only allowed one field goal Wilson quickly responded “No”. Head Coach Robert Saleh called that same Jets offense ‘dogshit’.
Yes, Wilson is only a second year player in the NFL, but he’s also been playing quarterback his entire life, a position that holds a sense of leadership with it. To come out and say so matter of factly that the offense didn’t let down a defensive group that at this point shows up almost each and every week shows a lack in that exact type of leadership and a major lapse in identifying accountability. The loss of superb rookie running back Breece Hall has no doubt hurt the Jets offense, but Wilson was drafted to be “the guy”. So are you the guy or not the guy? “The guy” wouldn’t downplay his horrible play, take ownership of his struggles, and at least give the feeling that he knows he needs to be better and will work towards doing just that.
The Vikings finally had a signature win last weekend in Buffalo, but followed up one of the worst home losses in franchise history. What is this team?
This was the only way the Vikings could have followed up their big win in Buffalo. Getting blown out 40-3 at home right when the fanbase is about to be completely bought in to this team’s success is just so Minnesota Vikings. At this point, this Vikings team will likely never convince the media, fans of other teams, or maybe even their own fans that they are truly one of the best teams in the NFL until they are kneeling for a win in the Super Bowl.
Where will this team go from here? Quite honestly, probably more of what we saw in the first half the season, one possession games where the Vikings look very average for a majority of the game, but get big plays in big spots to earn victories. Considering the only current winning teams that remain on their schedule are all home games against the Patriots, Jets, Giants, it’s hard to imagine another loss anywhere close to the margin of this Cowboys game. There’s also the likelihood of the Vikings getting burned maybe once or twice more if they continue to play with fire late in games.
The Vikings have had the winning combination of playing well enough to keep games in striking distance while also benefitting from some luck and being extremely opportunistic when they need it most. Defensively, there’s no denying Minnesota has some major issues and this isn’t new news. The defense has struggled all year, but have been bailed out with timely turnovers.
Although the Dallas loss is an eye opener, it’s not necessarily a depiction of what the Vikings truly are. This was an example of how bad things can get for a team when everything that can go wrong does go wrong and the opportunities they usually take advantage of are either not there or are not taken advantage of. Give Dallas credit though, they responded to a disappointing loss in Green Bay with a dominant road victory, something that is a trait of a good team.
It’s been ugly, but the Vikings have put themselves in a great position. How the team responds to this embarrassing loss will be very telling and will either devalue or validate the mental toughness they’ve been credited for this entire season. It will come quick with a Thanksgiving primetime game against the New England Patriots.
“Everybody Loves to Hate-read Power Rankings so Go Ahead and Hate-read” Power Rankings
- Kansas City Chiefs (8-2)
- Philadelphia Eagles (9-1)
- Buffalo Bills (7-3)
- Baltimore Ravens (7-3)
- Miami Dolphins (7-3)
- Dallas Cowboys (7-3)
- Minnesota Vikings (8-2)
- San Francisco 49ers (6-4)
- Cincinnati Bengals (6-4)
- Tennessee Titans (7-3)
- Seattle Seahawks (6-4)
- New York Giants (7-3)
- Washington Commanders (6-5)
- New England Patriots (6-4)
- New York Jets (6-4)
- Los Angeles Chargers (5-5)
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-5)
- Atlanta Falcons (5-6)
- Detroit Lions (4-6)
- Arizona Cardinals (4-7)
- Green Bay Packers (4-7)
- New Orleans Saints (4-7)
- Indianapolis Colts (4-6-1)
- Cleveland Browns (3-7)
- Pittsburgh Steelers (3-7)
- Las Vegas Raiders (3-7)
- Denver Broncos (3-7)
- Los Angeles Rams (3-8)
- Carolina Panthers (3-8)
- Jacksonville Jaguars (3-7)
- Chicago Bears (3-8)
- Houston Texans (1-8-1)
Week 12 Game Watchability Rankings
16. Broncos vs Panthers: Why would anyone waste time on their Sunday after Thanksgiving to watch either of these teams, and that includes Denver and Carolina fans?
15. Steelers vs Colts: Pittsburgh and Indianapolis aren’t playing for anything other than draft position now, but both teams have been playing better football since T.J. Watt returned from injury for the Steelers and Jeff Saturday took over as coach in Indy.
14. Bears vs Jets: The Bears seem to have a quarterback with nothing else around him currently. The Jets seem to have a pretty good team, but have major questions with their young quarterback. Two teams with entirely opposite circumstances. Justin Fields has been one of the league’s most exciting players the past couple weeks, but Chicago has little to show for it. Zach Wilson is going to have to start making some plays or New York’s postseason hopes will be disappearing quickly.
13. Texans vs Dolphins: This game will likely not be very competitive, but few offenses have been more exciting to watch than Miami. Seems like another game in which Tua, Waddle, and Hill terrorize an opponent’s defense.
12. Ravens vs Jaguars: Baltimore keeps flying under the radar of the AFC. One of the best records in the conference, but nobody is talking about them in the same light as Kansas City, Buffalo, or even Miami. The Ravens have a chance at the AFC top seed, but they can’t afford to slip up against Jacksonville.
11. Raiders vs Seahawks: Las Vegas finally had a bright moment with an overtime win and season sweep of the division rival Denver Broncos. The season has still be a major disappointment, but now it falls on Josh McDaniels to prove he belongs in a head coaching position. Seattle returns from their bye week having had to wait two weeks to erase the thought of their loss to Tampa Bay. Will the Seahawks’ hold the top spot in the NFC West or will it slip through their fingers in the second half of the season?
10. Rams vs Chiefs: Far from it now, but at the beginning of the season this would’ve been a common Super Bowl prediction. Kansas City might be there, but Los Angeles won’t be even sniffing it. In a game like this you watch because Patrick Mahomes is playing, as if that wasn’t ever the case.
9. Saints vs 49ers: You can feel the 49ers momentum building. When Jimmy Garoppolo plays as well as he did on Monday Night Football, it’s hard to imagine what teams will be able to stop this Niners offense. New Orleans might be in for a hurting if San Francisco continues this incline.
8. Chargers vs Cardinals: Two teams that can play really well, but can also be extremely reckless. The Cardinals are in a really tough position as far as playoff outlook goes, but the Chargers have an outside chance. After playing Kansas City so close, Los Angeles will need to bring that same effort to Arizona. A loss would be devastating.
7. Buccaneers vs Browns: Deshaun Watson is scheduled to return to the football field for the Browns in another week. At this point, Watson won’t be able to bring Cleveland back into the playoff picture, but they can try to build some momentum before he arrives by playing spoiler against Tampa Bay. The Bucs will be coming off the bye after earning a tough win against Seattle in Germany the week prior. A road game against the Browns should be a tough challenge.
6. Bills vs Lions: Due to the unusual circumstances of the snowstorm in Buffalo, the Bills will return to Detroit for the second week in a row on a short week. Detroit is starting to play like the improved team most people expected them to be entering this season and are on a three game winning streak. This will be a good test for a Buffalo team that still looks like they are shaking off some midseason struggles.
5. Packers vs Eagles: Thanks to their fourth quarter comeback victory in Indianapolis, Philadelphia is still in the driver’s seat of the NFC. They will face a Green Bay team whose season is all but over. A loss in Philadelphia will likely put a bow on the Packers season.
4. Falcons vs Commanders: Suddenly the Commanders are must watch football as they have slowly chipped away at the NFC standings by winning five of six games. Although the NFC South is currently the minor leagues compared to the NFC East division, Atlanta still finds themselves within a game of the division lead. A big postseason ramification game for both teams.
3. Patriots vs Vikings: The good for Minnesota? They have an opportunity to quickly get that taste of that 40-3 loss to Dallas out of their mouths on a short week. The bad? New England’s defense is another one of the league’s best and are an above average running team. These two playoff hopefuls will be the Thanksgiving primetime game.
2. Bengals vs Titans: Two of those tier II AFC teams that have a good chance at making the playoffs, but no one is talking about. Both Cincinnati and Tennessee are starting to play well. This will be a great measuring stick for both teams, maybe even a potential playoff game preview.
1. Giants vs Cowboys: The NFC East is a traffic jam of winning teams right now, especially with Washington’s current winning ways. Not only is New York and Dallas trying to pull ahead of the others in the NFC standings, an NFC top seed is still a realistic goal. The best game of Thanksgiving Day and the entire week.