Week 11 of the NFL season is now in the books, and there were some thrilling match-ups with playoff and divisional implications. Sportswriter Jonathan Chekol gives us his recap of the key games that happened this past week:
Washington Commanders (7-4) fall to the Philadelphia Eagles (8-2) 18-26
Washington and Philadelphia have both enjoyed strong starts to the season so far. After years of misery in D.C., the Commanders seem to have a new belief that they can return to the glory days. Washington seemed to have their answer in the signal caller position — Rookie of the Year candidate Jayden Daniels has had a great first season in the nation’s capital with 338 yards, 10 touchdowns and 3 interceptions thus far.
The Eagles have been quietly going about their business, as not many people have been giving them credit for where they are right now. Philadelphia is led by two MVP candidates in quarterback Jalen Hurts, and running back Saquon Barkley. The Eagles were coming off a divisional game on the road in Dallas where Philadelphia defeated the Cowboys 34-6. In this game Hurts had a solid evening, with 14 passes from 20 attempts and 4 touchdowns, and Barkley having 14 carries for 66 yards.
In Washington’s previous game, the Commanders had lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers at home, despite leading as high as 24-14 in the second half. D.C. failed to take advantage of multiple opportunities to close the game in the second half, and the controversial marker ruling short of the first down on tight end Zach Ertz’s late attempt at the fourth down might have cost Washington the game.
These two teams duked it out looking to make a statement which has implications not only for first place in the division, but also for their conference standing in the National Football Conference (NFC). During the Week 11 game in Philadelphia, the Eagles offense wasn’t in top gear in the first half. Hurts was not himself in the first half as he underthrew wide receiver DeVonta Smith twice, when the passing attempt was nowhere near the open receiver. Philadelphia’s offense peaked in the fourth quarter, with the Eagles scoring 20 straight points. The two-way punch of Hurts and Barkley led the way, with the highlight being Barkley’s 23-yard touchdown run to make it 19-10.
Washington started the game strongly after Brian Robinson Jr., back from a hamstring injury, went off on an 18-yard run to the 1 yard line touchdown, which gave them a 7-0 lead. Like the previous week, Washington once again had chances to earn a different outcome in the game. In the fourth quarter, the Eagles were leading 12-10 and D.C. were in field goal range, but Washington head coach Dan Quinn decided to go for it on fourth down — where Daniels scrambled and was stopped for no gain, which then led to the Barkley 23-yard TD run.
Playing against his former team, Ertz scored a touchdown in the final minute to make it 26-16 and scored again as Washington went for a two-point conversion to cut Philadelphia led to eight. Washington tried an onside kick, but in the end, it was too late for the Commanders as the Eagles managed to recover and win the game. Poor coaching on the Commanders’ side cost them a potential win, while the Eagles managed to capitalize with their two stars on offense.
Pittsburgh Steelers (8-2) steal a win from the Baltimore Ravens (7-4) 18-16
One of the best rivalries in the league is renewed in Pittsburgh as Baltimore faced the Steelers for the first-place spot in the division and their conference standing, the American Football Conference (AFC).
Baltimore is once again under their signal caller and two-time league MVP Lamar Jackson and their newly added weapon on offense in running back Derrick Henry. Despite this, their defense is an issue. The Ravens were ranked 27th by giving up a league worst 253 total points in their first 10 games. Penalties have also been an issue for the Ravens as Baltimore has been penalized a total of 92 times for this season, going into Week 12. Kicker Justin Tucker – widely regarded as the most accurate and clutch kicker in the game – has been a shell of himself this season, kicking a career low 15 out of 19 attempts.
Pittsburgh may not have the talent of past Steelers teams, but are performing above their expectations. The Steelers are currently leading the division and have the capacity to be a dark horse in the AFC this year. After going back and forth for a while on who the signal caller should be between veteran Russell Wilson and fresh-faced Justin Fields, Pittsburgh settled on Wilson. Wilson has been solid, with 737 yards, 6 touchdowns and 1 interception this season. Linebacker T.J. Watt is their weapon defensively, as he has 24 solo tackles, 6.5 sacks and 4 forced fumbles.
The Ravens were coming off a long week after their last game against the Cincinnati Bengals at home on Thursday Night Football. In this game, Baltimore came back from a 14-point deficit, their largest comeback in three years. Baltimore was down by as large a deficit as 21-7 in the third quarter, but the Ravens offense came alive and capitalized on various errors from the Bengals to win 35-34.
Meanwhile, Pittsburgh had a comeback of their own where the Steelers erased a 10-point deficit to defeat Washington in D.C. A 32-yard pass from Wilson to trade-deadline pickup wide receiver Mike Wiliams, with less than 2 minutes left in the fourth quarter, gave Pittsburgh the 28-27 victory.
Both teams were battle-tested and ready for their Week 11 divisional showdown. In a physical and defensive battle, which is notoriously associated with this rivalry, the Steelers managed to win this game, 18-16, through stifling Jackson and the Ravens offense to 16 total points. It all started early in the first quarter with Derrick Henry fumbling the football on the second carry of the game, which gave the Steelers the ball in scoring range, resulting in Steelers kicker Chris Boswell kicking the field goal to give the Steelers the lead early on. This would be a theme in this game, as all Steelers offensive positions in this game resulted in Boswell field goals.
For Baltimore, the struggles of Lamar Jackson against the Steelers continue, as he is now 1-4 against Pittsburgh. The team finished with a season low 16 points, and mistakes killed their gameplan, with them having 12 penalties and 3 turnovers. Tucker’s struggles also continued, as he missed a pair of field goals that went wide left on back-to-back drives. The defense was the only bright spot for Baltimore as the Ravens held the Steelers to field goals in all their offensive positions.
Despite all this, the Ravens still had a chance. Jackson connected with Wide Receiver Zay Flowers for a 16-yard score with 1:06 to put the Ravens within two, but the two point-conversion attempt failed as the Ravens had a baffling call on a designed run for Jackson to the left that was well read by the Steelers defense. Failed offensive possessions, penalties and missed field goals cost the Ravens the game, while Pittsburgh capitalized on these errors through field goals and great defense.
Buffalo Bills (9-2) end the Kansas City Chiefs (9-1) undefeated bid, 30-21
A potential AFC Playoff matchup took place in Buffalo, as the undefeated and defending back-to-back Super Bowl champions Chiefs faced off once again with the Bills. The two teams have had some classics in recent years, with the Chiefs winning the last 3 encounters in the playoffs. These two teams are headlined by two dynamic quarterbacks, in the Chiefs’ three-time Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes, and the Bills’ Josh Allen.
The Chiefs were coming off a hard fought 16-14 win in a divisional battle at home with the Denver Broncos where Kansas City trailed 14-10 at the half, but a blocked 35-yard field goal attempt by Broncos kicker Will Lutz as time expired helped KC to survive a scare from Denver. The Bills went into this game fresh off a 30-20 win over the Indianapolis Colts in Indiana, where the Buffalo defense forced 4 turnovers from Colts quarterback Joe Flacco, and featured a touchdown run from Allen that led to the victory for Buffalo.
This game was like all those recent encounters between the two teams. It was back and forth until late in the game, and with 2:17 left on the clock and on fourth down, Josh Allen went on a stunning 26-yard run — in which he bounced off two Chiefs defenders to get into the end zone, taking the lead 30-21.
Mahomes came on the field, and most thought he was going to do what people expect from a quarterback of his caliber, which is to rally his team back. This didn’t happen, as Bills linebacker Terrel Bernard intercepted Mahomes’ pass, which clinched the game for the Bills and ended the Chiefs’ undefeated season. The Chiefs ran out of gas, and the Bills managed to relish the moment of dethroning the champions.
