Nothing drastic happened in week 11 of the NFL season: The Dallas Cowboys, New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks kept winning rather convincingly, the Cleveland Browns added another loss to their awful record, and the Detroit Lions, taking advantage of the collapsing Green Bay Packers, remain fourth quarter wizards, keeping the pace with the Minnesota Vikings on top of the NFC North.
New Orleans Saints (4-6) 20 Carolina Panthers (4-6) 23: The Panthers lost Luke Kuechly but remain in the picture for the postseason through winning the division. The Panthers led 23-3 before letting the Saints back in the game.
Pittsburgh Steelers (5-5) 24 Cleveland Browns (0-11) 9: Business as usual in Cleveland. Le’Veon Bell ran for 146 yards and a touchdown, Ryan Harris scored one off a fumble return, and the rest was kicking work.
Baltimore Ravens (5-5) 17 Dallas Cowboys (9-1) 27: The Cowboys started slow with four punts on their initial drives, but were unstoppable the rest of the way, outscoring the Ravens 27-10 after the first quarter. Dak Prescott threw 3 touchdown passes, two to Dez Bryant, while Ezekiel Elliott broke the franchise record for yards by a rookie running back.
Jacksonville Jaguars (2-8) 19 Detroit Lions (6-4) 26: The Lions continue to share the lead of the division thanks to some more fourth quarter dominance, their speciality this season. Eric Ebron ran for a touchdown to put them in the lead before a Matt Prater field goal sealed the deal.
Tennessee Titans (5-6) 17 Indianapolis Colts (5-5) 24: The Colts jumped on the Titans to take a 21-0 lead, and despite doing close to nothing in the second half, it was enough. Andrew Luck threw a couple of touchdown passes, just like Marcus Mariota.
Buffalo Bills (5-5) 16 Cincinnati Bengals (3-6-1) 12: The Bengals continue to crash, losing A.J. Green with a muscle tear in his leg. The Bills held the Bengals to 0 points in the second half, scoring a couple of field goals during it to win the game.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-5) 19 Kansas City Chiefs (7-3) 17: A huge upset, as the mistake-prone Bucs managed to stop the five-game winning streak the Chiefs were on. Jameis Winston overcame an early mistake by throwing the game clinching touchdown pass in the fourth quarter, while Roberto Aguayo hit four of his four field goal attempts, silencing the critics, and keeping the team’s playoff hopes intact.
Chicago Bears (2-8) 16 New York Giants (7-3) 22: Early in the second quarter the Bears took an unlikely 16-6 lead, but the moment the Giants defense settled in, the rest of the things fell into place. Eli Manning threw two touchdown passes in the third, enough to take the lead and coast to victory, their fifth in a row.
Arizona Cardinals (4-5-1) 24 Minnesota Vikings (6-4) 30: The Vikings stop their losing streak to maintain a co-lead of the NFC North. Despite only 217 yards of offense, an interception return for a touchdown by Xavier Rhodes and a huge kickoff return by Cordarrelle Patterson made the difference.
Miami Dolphins (6-4) 14 Los Angeles Rams (4-6) 10: Jared Goff was unremarkable in his debut, but if it wasn’t for the Dolphins waking up in the second half with two Ryan Tannehill touchdown passes in the final four minutes, Goff would have gotten a win to his name on his debut.
New England Patriots (8-2) 30 San Francisco 49ers (1-9) 17: An easy game for the Pats, with Tom Brady throwing four touchdown passes while the defense sacked Colin Kaepernick five times. LeGarrette Blount also ran for 124 yards, and no one noticed Rob Gronkowski wasn’t playing.
Philadelphia Eagles (5-5) 15 Seattle Seahawks (7-2-1) 26: Carson Wentz threw two touchdown passes but also two interceptions, and the Seahawks defense held the Eagles scoreless for 41 minutes, enabling them to slowly build a lead that wouldn’t fall apart.
Green Bay Packers (4-6) 24 Washington Redskins (6-3-1) 42: The fall of the Packers continues, with Aaron Rodgers trying to do everything (3 touchdown passes, leading the team in rushing) but everyone else around him falls apart. Robert Kelley ran for 3 touchdowns and Kirk Cousins threw for 3, as the Redskins still dream of winning the NFC East, although a wildcard spot will do.
AFC Standings
| # | Team | Division | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | SOS | SOV | STK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division leaders | |||||||||||
| 1 | New England Patriots | East | 8 | 2 | 0 | .800 | 2–1 | 6–1 | .435 | .388 | W1 |
| 2 | Oakland Raiders | West | 7 | 2 | 0 | .778 | 2–1 | 5–1 | .495 | .451 | W3 |
| 3 | Houston Texans | South | 6 | 3 | 0 | .667 | 3–0 | 4–2 | .527 | .443 | W2 |
| 4 | Baltimore Ravens | North | 5 | 5 | 0 | .500 | 3–0 | 5–2 | .435 | .231 | L1 |
| Wild Cards | |||||||||||
| 5 | Kansas City Chiefs | West | 7 | 3 | 0 | .700 | 2–0 | 5–2 | .459 | .420 | L1 |
| 6 | Denver Broncos | West | 7 | 3 | 0 | .700 | 1–2 | 4–2 | .495 | .457 | W1 |
| In the Hunt | |||||||||||
| 7 | Miami Dolphins | East | 5 | 4 | 0 | .556 | 2–1 | 5–3 | .441 | .344 | W4 |
| 8 | Pittsburgh Steelers | North | 5 | 5 | 0 | .500 | 2–1 | 4–3 | .520 | .380 | W1 |
| 9 | Indianapolis Colts | South | 5 | 5 | 0 | .500 | 2–2 | 3–4 | .480 | .392 | W2 |
| 10 | Buffalo Bills | East | 5 | 5 | 0 | .500 | 1–3 | 2–4 | .505 | .420 | W1 |
| 11 | Tennessee Titans | South | 5 | 6 | 0 | .455 | 1–3 | 3–5 | .472 | .360 | L1 |
| 12 | San Diego Chargers | West | 4 | 6 | 0 | .400 | 1–3 | 3–5 | .560 | .488 | L1 |
| 13 | Cincinnati Bengals | North | 3 | 6 | 1 | .350 | 1–1 | 3–4 | .555 | .290 | L2 |
| 14 | New York Jets | East | 3 | 7 | 0 | .300 | 1–1 | 3–4 | .470 | .323 | L2 |
| 15 | Jacksonville Jaguars | South | 2 | 8 | 0 | .200 | 1–2 | 1–6 | .520 | .350 | L4 |
| Eliminated from postseason contention | |||||||||||
| 16 | Cleveland Browns | North | 0 | 11 | 0 | .000 | 0–4 | 0–8 | .545 | .000 | L11 |
NFC Standings
| # | Team | Division | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | SOS | SOV | STK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division leaders | |||||||||||
| 1 | Dallas Cowboys | East | 9 | 1 | 0 | .900 | 2–1 | 5–1 | .386 | .352 | W9 |
| 2 | Seattle Seahawks | West | 7 | 2 | 1 | .750 | 1–1–1 | 3–2–1 | .465 | .486 | W3 |
| 3 | Detroit Lions | North | 6 | 4 | 0 | .600 | 1–2 | 4–2 | .455 | .475 | W2 |
| 4 | Atlanta Falcons | South | 6 | 4 | 0 | .600 | 3–1 | 4–3 | .530 | .525 | L1 |
| Wild Cards | |||||||||||
| 5 | New York Giants | East | 7 | 3 | 0 | .700 | 2–1 | 5–3 | .490 | .464 | W5 |
| 6 | Washington Redskins | East | 6 | 3 | 1 | .650 | 2–1 | 4–2 | .500 | .443 | W2 |
| In the Hunt | |||||||||||
| 7 | Minnesota Vikings | North | 6 | 4 | 0 | .600 | 1–2 | 4–4 | .500 | .508 | W1 |
| 8 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | South | 5 | 5 | 0 | .500 | 2–1 | 4–3 | .490 | .400 | W2 |
| 9 | Philadelphia Eagles | East | 5 | 5 | 0 | .500 | 0–3 | 3–5 | .545 | .373 | L1 |
| 10 | Arizona Cardinals | West | 4 | 5 | 1 | .450 | 2–1–1 | 3–3–1 | .445 | .250 | L1 |
| 11 | New Orleans Saints | South | 4 | 6 | 0 | .400 | 1–2 | 3–3 | .551 | .413 | L2 |
| 12 | Carolina Panthers | South | 4 | 6 | 0 | .400 | 1–3 | 4–4 | .485 | .338 | W1 |
| 13 | Green Bay Packers | North | 4 | 6 | 0 | .400 | 2–1 | 3–4 | .540 | .425 | L4 |
| 14 | Los Angeles Rams | West | 4 | 6 | 0 | .400 | 2–1 | 3–4 | .490 | .500 | L1 |
| 15 | Chicago Bears | North | 2 | 8 | 0 | .200 | 2–1 | 2–5 | .556 | .600 | L2 |
| 16 | San Francisco 49ers | West | 1 | 9 | 0 | .100 | 1–3 | 1–7 | .555 | .400 | L9 |