NFL - Week Eleven Recap

 

There will be no perfect season around the NFL for the 52nd consecutive season as the Buffalo Bills (9-2) beat the visiting Kansas City Chiefs, 30-21 on Sunday afternoon, giving Kansas City (9-1) their first loss in the 2024 season. Bills quarterback Josh Allen (pictured left) sealed their fate with a 26-yard scoring run with 2:17 remaining and then Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes threw his second interception of the game and that was it. The Bills led 16-14 at the half thanks to two scoring runs by running back James Cook and then increased the lead when Allen threw a 12-yard scoring pass to wide receiver Curtis Samuel. Mahomes connected with tight end Noah Gray for his third TD pass of the game to cut the deficit to 23-21, but the Bills put the game away after that. 

The Pittsburgh Steelers (8-2) held off the visiting Baltimore Ravens, 18-16 thanks to solid defense (three forced turnovers) and six field goals by kicker Chris Boswell, which included three from 50 yards or beyond. Trailing 18-10, Baltimore QB Lamar Jackson threw a TD pass with 1:11 left to play, but the two-point conversion attempt failed and the Steelers now have a two-game lead in the AFC North as the Ravens slipped to 7-4 this season. 

In Detroit, the Lions (9-1) continue to dominate the league as they devastated the Jacksonville Jaguars, 52-6 behind four TD passes from QB Jared Goff (412 passing yards), two rushing scores by David Montgomery and two more touchdowns by WR Amon-Ra St. Brown, who hauled in 11 receptions for 161 yards in the rout as the Lions piled up 645 yards in total offense along with an incredible 38 first downs while the Jaguars (2-9) were held to 170 yards in offense. 

Last Thursday night in Philadelphia, the red hot Eagles (8-2) won their sixth straight game, 26-18 against the Washington Commanders (7-4) with RB Saquon Barkley dominating with 146 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Eagles QB Jalen Hurts (221 passing yards) also had a touchdown run. Commanders rookie QB Jayden Daniels had a TD pass and one interception in the loss. 

The Green Bay Packers blocked a 46-yard field goal attempt as time expired to beat the host Chicago Bears, 20-19 to improve to 7-3 this season while sending the Bears (4-6) to their fourth consecutive loss. Packers QB Jordan Love (261 passing yards) had a TD pass and run along with one interception in the victory and Josh Jacobs had a seven-yard TD run as well. The Bears had a 19-14 lead entering the fourth quarter thanks to D'Andre Swift's 39-yard scoring run late in the third quarter. 

The Minnesota Vikings (8-2) beat the host Tennessee Titans, 23-13 as QB Sam Darnold had a pair of scoring passes and a TD run to lead the offense while the defense had five sacks. The Titans dropped to 2-8 as QB Will Levis (295 passing yards) threw a 98-yard TD pass to Nick Westbrook-Ikhine to get to within 16-10 with seven minutes left in the third quarter. 

The Denver Broncos (6-5) crushed the visiting Atlanta Falcons, 38-6 with rookie QB Bo Nix throwing four touchdown passes while going for 307 passing yards on 28-of-33 accuracy. The Falcons (6-5) only gained 226 yards in total offense in the loss. 

Seattle improved to 5-5 this season with a dramatic come from behind 20-17 win against the host San Francisco 49ers (5-5) as QB Geno Smith ran 13 yards for the winning score with just 12 seconds remaining in the game. 49ers QB Brock Purdy scored a rushing touchdown and also threw for another score in defeat. 

 

The Sunday night game went to the Los Angeles Chargers (7-3) as they beat the Cincinnati Bengals, 34-27 when running back J.K. Dobbins (pictured right) rambled 29 yards for the winning score with 18 seconds left to go in the game. The Chargers led 24-6 at the half as QB Justin Herbert (297 passing yards) had two TD passes. The Bengals (4-7) battled back with three touchdowns in the second half as QB Joe Burrow (356 passing yards) threw for three scores, including two to WR Ja'Marr Chase. Both teams went for over 400 yards in total offense and the Chargers got it done in crunch time, going 84 yards in four plays in 27 seconds to get it done. 

 

The Los Angeles Rams (5-5) won, 28-22 on the road against the New England Patriots (3-8) as QB Matthew Stafford had four TD passes along with 295 passing yards to lead the way. The Patriots hung around with rookie QB Drake Maye throwing for a pair of touchdowns along with an interception that ended the game for the Pats. The Rams wide receiving duo of Cooper Kupp (six receptions for 106 yards, two TD) and Puka Nacua (seven receptions for 123 yards, one TD) made a huge difference in the final outcome. 

The Miami Dolphins (4-6) won at home, 34-19 against the Las Vegas Raiders (2-8) as QB Tua Tagovailoa had three touchdown passes to lead the way. Raiders QB Gardner Minshew had two scoring passes in the loss, which was their sixth in a row.

The Indianapolis Colts (5-6) improved their chance to get back into the playoff chase with a 28-27 road win against the New York Jets (3-8) as QB Anthony Richardson (272 passing yards) had two scoring runs, including the go ahead score on a four-yard run with just 46 seconds left in the game, and also threw for another score. Jets QB Aaron Rodgers had two scoring passes in the loss. 

The New Orleans Saints (4-7) throttled the visiting Cleveland Browns, 35-14 with QB/RB Taysom Hill going off for 138 rushing yards (on just seven carries) and three touchdowns, including a 75-yard TD run while QB Derek Carr had two TD passes to pace the easy win. The Browns (2-8) had tied the game 14-14 in the third quarter when QB Jameis Winston (395 passing yards) threw his second TD pass of the game, but the Saints scored 21 points in the fourth quarter to get the win. 

On Monday Night Football, running back Joe Mixon scored three touchdowns and rushed for 109 yards as the Houston Texans (7-4) smashed the host Dallas Cowboys, 34-10. Dallas dropped to 3-7 this season as backup QB Cooper Rush had a TD pass along with 354 passing yards and an interception in defeat. Derek Barnett took a fumble back 28 yards for a score that gave Houston a 27-10 lead early in the fourth quarter to erase any doubts to the outcome. 

WEEK ELEVEN RESULTS 

Philadelphia 26, Washington 18 

Detroit 52, Jacksonville 6 

Green Bay 20, Chicago 19 

Indianapolis 28, N.Y. Jets 27 

Minnesota 23, Tennessee 13 

L.A. Rams 28, New England 22 

Pittsburgh 18, Baltimore 16

New Orleans 35, Cleveland 14 

Miami 34, Las Vegas 19

Denver 38, Atlanta 6

Seattle 20, San Francisco 17

Buffalo 30, Kansas City 21

L.A. Chargers 34, Cincinnati 27

Houston 34, Dallas 10