NFL Week 11: You're unbelievable
There were several outrageous (in good and bad ways) stats to come out of Sunday.
In some ways, this weekend’s college football action set the tone for NFL Sunday. On Saturday, the top four teams all won (predictable outcomes), but they all got a scare from lesser competition (unpredictable).
The NFL was in a similarly contradictory mode one day later.
Predictable: The Jets lost to the Patriots (for the 14th straight time) …
Unpredictable … on a walk-off punt return touchdown.
Oh Jets.
Predictable: The Cowboys beat the Vikings (Dallas was the favorite) …
Unpredictable: … by 37 points.
Predictable: The Broncos fell in overtime (for the third time this season) …
Unpredictable: … because their highly ranked secondary completely lost Davante Adams.
How?
Predictable: The Chiefs scored late to top the Chargers in a one-possession game …
OK, there was nothing unpredictable about that one. The Chiefs can still find ways to surprise me, though. For instance, did you know that Patrick Mahomes has never lost a divisional road game? I know Kansas City has won six straight AFC West titles (soon to be seven), but I was taken aback to discover that little factoid.
As it happens, that wasn’t the only incredible stat that I came across this weekend. Here are five others, both positive and negative, including yet another impressive feat courtesy of the Chiefs.
The Chiefs have been unbeatable (literally) in November and December
Going back to 2015, KC has often played its best ball in the second half of the season. That year, the Chiefs started 1-5, then rattled off 10 straight wins to close out the regular season and get into the playoffs.
However, this is some straight-up witchcraft:
While I don’t quite understand the TikTok generation’s obsession with horoscopes, I have heard of the mysteriousness of Scorpio season. But I can’t even chalk this streak up to that phenomenon. This would be like Scorpio + Sagittarius, with a touch of Capricorn season.
The last time the Chiefs lost in either month was on Nov. 10, 2019, when they fell to those pesky Titans by three points (and later beat them in the AFC Championship Game). Last season, the Chargers came the closest of any opponent to ending that streak.
In a Thursday Night Football showdown in LA last December, Mahomes found Travis Kelce with just over a minute remaining to tie the game and send it to overtime. The Chiefs won the coin toss, received the ball, and five plays later, Mahomes hit Kelce for another TD, this time the game-winner.
In similar fashion this Sunday night in LA, Mahomes connected with Kelce — for touchdown No. 3 — with 31 seconds left for the go-ahead score. That was the fifth time in the last six Chiefs-Chargers matchups that the final margin was six points or fewer. Of those five games, KC has won four of them.
The Chiefs can keep their November magic alive next week with a win over the defending Super Bowl champs, a task that is far less daunting than it might have sounded before the season began.
The 8-2 Vikings have allowed more points than they’ve scored
It was only a matter of time before the Vikings, winners of seven straight one-score contests, lost again. The bill always comes due, and boy did it in Week 11. The Cowboys boat raced the Vikings in a humbling 40-3 home loss for Minnesota. The Vikes made a little dubious history in the process:
I don’t think the Vikings are on fraud alert just yet, nor am I talking about the Cowboys making a Super Bowl run (I am also very much not Jerry Jones). To me, this was just One of Those Games. The Cowboys were dialed in early — Micah Parsons’ strip sack on the first drive was merely a preview of what was to come — and dominated in the trenches.
Parsons and the Dallas pass rush totaled seven sacks against a banged-up Minnesota offensive line (Christian Darrisaw and Ezra Cleveland both left with injuries). On the other side of the ball, the Dallas offensive line paved the way for 151 rushing yards and kept Dak Prescott, who completed 88 percent of his passes, upright all afternoon.
Not only did Kirk Cousins’ touchdown streak end, but Tony Pollard outgained the entire Vikings offense all by himself: 189 yards (80 rushing, 109 receiving) to 183 yards.
As the Bills proved last season, it doesn’t matter if you consistently blow your opponents out when you can’t finish a close game. The Vikings have shown that they can do the latter, and that’s a good skill to have come playoff time. They’ve also shown they can respond well to a butt-kicking; they went on their seven-game win streak after a 17-point loss to the Eagles in Week 2. Now Minnesota’s mission is to shake off this defeat and not let it snowball like things did on the football field Sunday.
The Detroit Lions are in second place in the NFC North
I’m not surprised that the Lions beat the seven-win Giants, who like the Vikings were not quite as good as their record indicated. I am a little surprised, though, by the lack of drama in Detroit’s win. Not once in the second half did I ever feel like the Lions were in danger of Lions-ing it up. They had this game in the bag practically the entire way.
And now, for the first time since 2017, the Lions have won three straight games. That year, they finished second in the NFC North, the last time the Lions didn’t end the season in fourth place.
And wouldn’t you know, the Lions are currently in second place in the division.
Maybe Peyton Manning’s curse-breaker worked?
I’m not about to start picturing the Lions in the playoffs this year, but after a rough five-game slide earlier in the season, their rebuild is back on track. And maybe even ahead of schedule.
The Jets and Texans averaged *inches* on offense for a half
On Friday, I correctly picked both the Patriots and Commanders to win. I was also right when I predicted that the Pats would try to make Zach Wilson beat them, while the Commanders would rely on their run game and defense to take care of the Texans.
I did not, however, expect both the Jets’ and Texans’ offenses to be so inept that we could measure their paltry progress with a ruler — and only part of a rule, at that.
This season, the Texans have usually played their opponents tough in the first half, only to fade down the stretch. That’s not what happened against Washington on Sunday, when Houston’s only points came in the second half and when the first half looked like this:
The Commanders, particularly their defense, made sure they wouldn’t suffer a letdown after they upset the previously undefeated Eagles last Monday. The pass rush, still without Chase Young, sacked Davis Mills five times and picked him off twice, taking one of the interceptions back for a touchdown. They also shut down rookie running back Dameon Pierce, who was a nonfactor with just 8 rushing yards (and one suplex).
Once the Commanders took a comfortable 23-3 lead in the third quarter and let their foot off the gas a bit, the Texans were able to put one decent drive together so that, by the end of the game, they averaged a whopping 2.7 yards per play. Hey, it’s better than literal inches like in the first half!
Somehow, the Jets were worse in the second half than the Texans were in the first half:
To be fair, New England’s defense is a menace and on a windy day in Foxborough, neither offense could do much of anything.
However, the Jets can’t be this incompetent offensively if they have any hope of making the playoffs. Rookie receiver Garrett Wilson knows that, as does coach Robert Saleh.
Zach Wilson may not … even though he’s a huge part of the problem:
The Jets punted more times (10) than Wilson had completions — he was 9 of 22 passes for 77 yards — and finished with 103 yards with an average of 2.1 yards per play.
I don’t think the Jets will bench Wilson right now; in their previous outing, he posted a career-high passer rating in their upset over the Bills. But if he keeps wasting valiant efforts from the defense (something he won’t admit), then it could be a matter of time before the Jets turn back to Joe Flacco, who has thrown for more TDs than Zach Wilson this year and almost as many as Russell Wilson, too.
Speaking of …
The Broncos should try scoring 18+ points
The Broncos, who average 14.7 points per game, have the worst scoring offense in the NFL. Hence, the 3-7 record.
But if they averaged just a few more points, their record would be a lot better. Like, best record in the AFC kind of better:
And since we were just talking about wasting great defensive performances, I should note that Denver’s defense has given up the third-fewest points in the league, allowing 17.1 per game.
I’m reaching the point where I could perhaps be convinced that Russell Wilson is intentionally sabotaging the Broncos. I’m not there yet, but a close loss to the Panthers next week might get me there.