NFL Week 11 breakdown: Chiefs win SNF thriller. NFC playoff race is wide open.
NFL Week 11 is (almost) complete. Here are some of the biggest developments from Sunday's action:
- Travis Kelce and Patrick Mahomes could not be stopped in crunch time by the Chargers.
- The Bills ended a chaotic week with a bounce back win against the Browns.
- The Patriots continue to own the Jets. This one was particularly brutal for New York.
- The NFC is so wide open that the Lions think they have a shot at the playoffs.
Biggest moments of NFL Week 11
- Cordarrelle Patterson became the NFL’s all-time leader after returning his ninth career kickoff return for a touchdown in Sunday’s win over the Bears.
- One week after missing a game due to a concussion, Rams QB Matthew Stafford left Sunday's loss against the Saints and was evaluated for a concussion.
- Bills QB Josh Allen threw the funniest touchdown of the season while falling down.
- Bears QB Justin Fields threw a dart right into the back of an offensive lineman's head.
- Not NFL, but pro football-related: The Toronto Argonauts defeated the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the 109th Grey Cup. Remember Chad Kelly, nephew of Hall of Famer Jim Kelly? He played a starring role in the Argos' win.
Key storylines from NFL Week 11
- Winners and losers: While the Cowboys had the look of a Super Bowl contender on Sunday, the Jets need a reboot at the quarterback position.
- 32 things we learned: Sunday showed how important special teams can be and that games can easily turn when role players are on the field
- NFC is wide open: If there's anything that the Cowboys' big win over the Vikings showed, it's that there is no clear-cut favorite in the NFC, Tyler Dragon writes.
- Jalen Hurts comes up big: The Philadelphia Eagles were staring down the brink of their second straight loss. That's when Jalen Hurts delivered, Safid Deen writes.
- Jets say so much with so few words: The Jets didn't have much to say after they were stunned with a late punt return touchdown in another loss to the Patriots.
- Lions are in thick of NFC playoff hunt. Yes, for real: After winning their third straight game Sunday, the Lions are starting to look like legitimate playoff contenders, Dave Birkett writes.
- Packers must make big changes: Firing defensive coordinator Joe Barry right now isn't the right move, but this offseason is the time to fix the Packers' defensive woes at the top, Tom Silverstein writes.
- Coaches on the hot seat: The regular season is barely half over and two coaches have been dismissed. Who could be joining them?
NFL Week 11 results
- Chiefs 30, Chargers 27: Kansas City now owns a commanding lead in the AFC West.
- Bengals 37, Steelers 30: Joe Burrow delivered a clutch 93-yard scoring drive to put away the Steelers and remain in the thick of the AFC North race.
- Cowboys 40, Vikings 3: A week after a disappointing loss in Green Bay, the Cowboys absolutely were dominant in Minneapolis.
- Raiders 22, Broncos 16 (OT): Davante Adams burned the Broncos in overtime to give Las Vegas a sweep of its AFC West rival.
- Lions 31, Giants 18: The Lions will go into their annual Thanksgiving Day game coming off the most impressive win of the Dan Campbell era in Detroit.
- Ravens 13, Panthers 3: Three Panthers turnovers in the final eight-plus minutes of play pushed the Ravens to victory.
- Bills 31, Browns 23: The Bills managed to overcome a sluggish start after a week of weather-related chaos to pull even with the Dolphins atop the AFC East.
- Saints 27, Rams 20: You know things are going rough for the defending champions when Andy Dalton has one of his best games against you.
- Commanders 23, Texans 10: Taylor Heinicke continues to lead the surging Commanders to victories.
- Patriots 10, Jets 3: In a game with plenty of punts, it was the last one that went for the first punt return touchdown of the 2022 NFL season.
- Eagles 17, Colts 16: Jalen Hurts showed once again why he is in the conversation for NFL MVP honors.
- Falcons 27, Bears 24: Justin Fields continues to impress, but it hasn't helped the Bears get into the win column.
- Titans 27, Packers 17 (Thursday): Any hopes the Packers had of making a late-season surge to qualify for the playoffs likely evaporated against the AFC South-leading Titans.
The week ahead in the NFL
Monday: Week 11 wraps up with the Arizona Cardinals and San Francisco 49ers playing in Mexico City (8:15 p.m. ET, ESPN). These two teams meet in Mexico City for the first time since 2005, which was the first regular-season NFL game played outside the U.S.
Tuesday: Paste BN Sports' Nate Davis offers his power rankings for all 32 NFL teams after Week 11.
Thursday: Week 12 kicks off a heaping helping of Thanksgiving Day footballπ¦: Detroit Lions hosting the Buffalo Bills (12:30 p.m. ET, CBS); Dallas Cowboys hosting the New York Giants (4:30 p.m. ET, FOX); Minnesota Vikings hosting the New England Patriots (8:20 p.m. ET, NBC). Before the games, make sure to check out our expert predictions for every Week 12 game.
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