2023 season, Week 11 review

[racepug]

BAL swept division rivals CIN with a 34 - 20 win at home last Thursday that may have been a different story had Joe Burrow not torn a tendon in his throwing wrist. That injury knocked Joe Burrow out of the game and it has also ended his season, likely ending any chance that the Bengals had of "three-peating" as A.F.C. North champions (and very possibly torpedoing any chance they had of making it to the playoffs, too).

DET beat division rivals CHI at home by overcoming a 12-point deficit with under 3 minutes to play. The win gives the Lions an 8 - 2 record, their best start after 10 games since 1962. 'Da Bears' suffered a crushing loss, made all the worse by the fact that they became the very first team in league history to force 3 (or more) turnovers AND possess the ball for 40 minutes (or more) in a game and STILL LOSE.

The Texans beat the team that holds their first round pick in the 2024 draft (the Cardinals). Not surprising, really, since HOU has performed better than expected this season while the Cardinals (for the most part). . .haven't.

Los Gigantes de Nueva York got their 2nd win of the season over their division rivals WAS which means that three of the Commanders' losses this season have come against two of the worst teams in the league (the aforementioned 2 against Los Gigantes and a [really] bad home loss to CHI) which can't look good on H.C. Ron Rivera's "résumé."

In another "first place in the division" vs. "last place in the division" match-up (DET vs. CHI being the other) JAX bounced back from its heavy loss to N.F.C. West-leading SFO the week before by easily handling the visiting TEN Titans (who appear to be in serious decline).

CLE, w/o QB Deshaun Watson (another A.F.C. North starting QB out for the season, in his case with a damaged shoulder), beat division rivals PIT at home with a last-second FG to remain in the hunt for a division title.

The Raiders put up a decent fight over in the Sunshine State but ultimately fell to the A.F.C. East-leading MIA Dolphins (the first time all season that MIA scored 20 or fewer points and won).

The Packers just got by against the Chargers, helped by in no small part by a dropped pass by Chargers rookie WR Quentin Johnston in the waning moments that had "Touchdown!" written all over it (until it didn't).

The 49ers got the expected win over visiting T.B. that included the first perfect QB rating (158.3) by a 49ers QB since 1989.

BUF avenged their Week 1 Monday night loss to the NYJ with a win so resounding that the Jets have named a new starter at QB for their game this upcoming Friday at home against division rivals MIA.

The Rams came back from 0 - 13 and 7 - 16 deficits to beat the Seahawks down in L.A. when Seahawks PK Jason Myers missed a 55 yd. FG as the clock hit 0:00 in the 4th quarter. Given the Seahawks' historical lack of success against the Rams (especially) in California (and Sean McVay's dominance of Pete Carroll) that result really shouldn't have come as any surprise.

The Sunday night game was a good one as DEN, coming in off of 3 straight wins, took on visiting MIN, coming in with a 5-game winning streak. And in an exciting game that came down to the final minute DEN ended MIN's winning streak and extended their own (and got to 0.500 on the season at 5 - 5) as Russell Wilson is looking more comfortable in a Broncos uniform than he ever did last season or earlier this season.

And tonight the PHI 'Iggles' got a measure of revenge for their loss in the S.B. (approximately) 9 months ago by coming back from a 7 - 17 halftime deficit to beat the K.C. Chiefs in Kansas City, 21 - 17. I've had a feeling all season that something simply isn't quite "right" with the Chiefs this season and I heard a couple of things during tonight's broadcast that lend credence to my "feelings": 1) that the Kansas City Chiefs have scored the fewest points of any team in the league in the 2nd half of games this season (and, in fact, they were shut out in the 2nd half tonight), AND 2) that Chiefs receivers lead the league in dropped passes this season. Neither of which point to the Chiefs repeating as S.B. champions but we'll see how the rest of the season plays out.

[Brian wolf]

Chicago always seems to lose a late lead with Fields at QB. Snakebit for sure ... who will get Williams in the draft? Chicago, Arizona, NE, NYG?

According to Clark Judge of TalkOfFameTwo ... Tommy DeVito has more multiple TD passing games as Kenny Pickett ...

Yep, the Bills finally ran the ball and won easily. Not too hard to figure out.

Its Tommy, not Danny DeVito ... despite getting sacked 9 times, DeVito and the Giants score 31 points ...

Dropped passes killed the Chiefs and Chargers. Being a Brian Sipe fan, it was cool seeing his #17 jersey being worn by a rookie QB, leading his team to a last second win over the Steelers.

Dolphins had a big game from CB Ramsey when they needed it.

[RichardBak]

Detroit's been winning the kinds of games they used to lose. But man, the defense....they're not going far in the postseason, not this year. One more good draft and a couple free agents and they're legitimate Super Bowl contenders. Not quite there yet IMO. But Campbell's bunch is fun to watch. Lots of grit and enthusiasm.

Heading into Turkey Day hasn't been this exciting in ages here in Detroit. The Lions are 8-2 for the first time since 1962 (61 years!) and playing GB on Thanksgiving to boot (old school matchup) and 2 days later you have Michigan vs. Ohio State in battle of the unbeatens in Ann Arbor (shades of Bo vs. Woody). Time to dust off the GTO in the garage, slip in a Temptations 8-track, and enjoy the ride.

[Brian wolf]

Losing Gardner-Johnson, Moseley and Houston has hurt their defense for sure but they will be back next year for Detroit. Will Jameson Williams be a factor on offense by playoff time?

[RichardBak]

Well, Williams is running crisper routes and blocking better, so he's getting more playing time. No doubt he could be a big-time threat with that speed. As always, we'll see. But Campbell's on record as saying he's earned more snaps. We're all still waiting on a big breakout game by him. Be nice to see it happen against the Packers on Thursday. But I think it's more likely to be the backfield (London law firm) of Riggs & Montgomery having a big day.

[Brian wolf]

The Lions suffered a tough loss yesterday but it will better help their team and season. This team doesnt need to win this division too easily anyway. The Packers and Vikings arent going to just roll over and the Packers showed they can get some momentum even if they cant make the playoffs. Now the Lions can quit worrying about being considered one of the best teams in football and continue to improve as they seek to get momentum while winning their division.

[rhickok1109]

The Lions suffered a tough loss yesterday but it will better help their team and season. This team doesnt need to win this division too easily anyway. The Packers and Vikings arent going to just roll over and the Packers showed they can get some momentum even if they cant make the playoffs. Now the Lions can quit worrying about being considered one of the best teams in football and continue to improve as they seek to get momentum while winning their division.

The Packers are currently just one notch out of the playoff and just one game behind the Vikings and Seahawks. After the Chiefs next week, they play the Giants (3-8-0), Bucs (4-6-0), Panthers (1-9-0), Vikings (6-5-0), and Bears (3-8-0), they could conceivable finish 9-8-0 or even 10-7-0, which could well get them into the postseason.

[Brian wolf]

Youre right Ralph, especially if the Packers can help their defense--as well as Love--with a better running game. If Jones cant stay healthy, hopefully Dillon and Reed can gain more momentum because the offense is finally meeting initial expectations while winning. I wanted to bet on the Packers yesterday--Detroit wasnt quite ready for a 9-2 start for a season, though fans would love it--but didnt pull the trigger because their offense can get hot on-a-dime. Richard was right also, this defense needs to keep improving while staying healthy, for this season to be special.