NFL - Week Eleven Review

The NFL Playoff bracket is starting to take shape as the 2012 season heads into the final six weeks.
In the AFC, the New England Patriots, Houston Texans, Denver Broncos and Baltimore Ravens each solidified their grip on a playoff spot with wins this past weekend.

The Houston Texans (9-1) survived a scare with a 43-37 overtime win against the visiting Jacksonville Jaguars (1-9) as QB Matt Schaub, the Heftyinfo NFL Player of the Week, connected with WR Andre Johnson for a game winning 48-yard TD pass.

Houston QB Matt Schaub had five TD passes in OT win.

Schaub passed for 527 yards and had five touchdown passes along with two interceptions in the win. Jacksonville QB Chad Henne threw for 354 yards and four touchdowns in the loss.

The NFC race is still more up in the air as only the Atlanta Falcons (9-1) seem a sure thing to make the post-season following their 23-19 win at home against the stubborn Arizona Cardinals, who lost their sixth straight game to drop to a 4-6 record.
The Arizona defense intercepted Falcons' quarterback Matt Ryan five times in the loss. The Cardinals lost because their offense was awful, being held to 178 total yards, including just 41 passing yards and seven first downs for the game.
Atlanta's defense scored a touchdown to go with running back Michael Turner's one-yard plunge and kicker Matt Bryant's three field goals to provide the difference.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers pulled out yet another late game win, beating the host Carolina Panthers, 27-21 in overtime (one of three during Week Eleven) as QB Josh Freeman connected with tight end Dallas Clark for a game winning 15-yard touchdown pass.
The Bucs trailed 21-10 with less than five minutes remaining in regulation before scoring on a field goal and then a 24-yard TD pass from Freeman to wide receiver Vincent Jackson with just twelve seconds to play.
The tandem also hooked up for the two-point conversion to tie it up and force the overtime.
The Dallas Cowboys also needed OT to beat the visiting Cleveland Browns, 23-20 as Dan Bailey nailed a game winning 38-yard field goal to get the 'Pokes back to .500 for the season.
The New Orleans Saints continued their mid-season roll, winning for the fifth time in six games as they smacked the host Oakland Raiders, 38-17.
Saints QB Drew Brees was efficient, passing for 219 yards and three touchdowns to lead the way.
The Green Bay Packers won their fifth straight game, holding off the host Detroit Lions, 24-20 in spite of kicker Mason Crosby's woes. The veteran missed two field goals to help keep the Lions in the game.
Green Bay QB Aaron Rodgers threw two TD passes and M.D. Jennings took an interception back 72 yards for another score to help seal the win.

The New England Patriots crushed the visiting Indianapolis Colts, 59-24 behind 331 yards and three TD passes from Tom Brady (pictured left) and two defensive scores off picks of Colts' QB Andrew Luck. Julian Edelman also returned a punt 68 yards for a score to pace the rout.
The only negative for the Pats was losing tight end Rob Gronkowski for the remainder of the regular season with a broken forearm.


Cincinnati systematically beat back the host Kansas City Chiefs, 28-6 to improve to 5-5 for the season behind solid defense and good balance on offense as the Bengals totaled 409 yards of offense, including 189 rushing yards and 220 passing yards.

The Denver Broncos won for the fifth consecutive time, 30-23 against the visiting San Diego Chargers  behind three TD passes from QB Peyton Manning (pictured right), who overcame an early interception that was taken back for a score by San Diego defensive back Eric Weddle.
The Broncos have a solid lead in the AFC West at 7-3 compared to a 4-6 mark for the fading Chargers, who have dropped five of their last six games.

The New York Jets topped the host St. Louis Rams, 27-13 as QB Mark Sanchez threw a touchdown pass and had no interceptions and Bilal Powell rushed for two more scores to lead the way.
Robert Griffin III led the way for the Washington Redskins with four TD passes on 14-for-15 passing accuracy in a 31-6 rout of the Philadelphia Eagles, who dropped to 3-7 with their sixth consecutive loss.
The Buffalo Bills won a yawner last Thursday night against the visiting Miami Dolphins, 19-14 as each team had kick return for a score.
In the Sunday Night Football match up, the visiting Baltimore Ravens held off the Pittsburgh Steelers, 13-10 in a defensive struggle to solidify their grip of first place in the AFC North. The Ravens are 8-2 while the Steelers dropped to 6-4 and saw their four-game win streak end.
Jacoby Jones took a punt back 63 yards for a touchdown to put the Ravens up for good at 10-7 late in the first quarter. The Steelers were without starting QB Ben Roethlisberger, who has injuries to his right shoulder and ribs.
The San Francisco 49ers buried the visiting Chicago Bears, 32-7 on Monday Night Football as backup quarterback Colin Kaepernick threw for 243 yards and had two touchdown passes to lead the offense.
The 49ers' defense limited Chicago (playing without starting QB Jay Cutler- out with a concussion) to just 143 total yards in offense, including only 58 yards passing from backup QB Jason Campbell, who was also intercepted twice.