With only six more weeks of regular-season action, we get closer and closer to teams securing playoff berths and seeding as they push towards the playoffs — which continues to give us intriguing NFL takeaways.
In their first meeting since Super Bowl LII, the New England Patriots exacted their revenge on the Philadelphia Eagles — which saw Julian Edelman throw another touchdown in his impressive career.
The Los Angeles Rams sorta got back on track against the Chicago Bears with their win on Sunday Night Football, but still managed to prove that either team has not looked like their 2018-dominant selves, and that’s pretty disappointing.
We had one of the biggest brawls on Thursday Night Football between the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers that saw an extremely inexcusable exchange between Mason Rudolph and Myles Garrett — which ended with Garrett viciously hitting Rudolph in the head with a helmet. No excuses.
Week 11 proved it was full of ups and downs across the league with a number of teams making statements in a crucial part of the season. With little room for error, teams know that a major loss or big-time win could define the rest of their season.
Also, it’s time to pay Dak Prescott what he deserves.
Without any further ado, these are the top 5 NFL takeaways from the week that was.
Five NFL Week 11 Takeaways
5. The Chiefs Survive
It’s no secret that Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes hasn’t looked as elite as he did a season ago. While still putting up impressive numbers, his fall back down to Earth has allowed teams to stay within striking distance of beating them. In the final game of the International Series in Mexico City, the Chiefs let the Los Angeles Chargers hang around.
It’s also no secret that the Chargers appear to be falling out of possible contention with every passing week. They’re usually a strong second-half team, but it looks like their magic has run out. While Philip Rivers did his best in their attempted comeback, a bad red zone interception sealed their fate.
4. Just Keep Winning, Baby
If you haven’t put stock into the Oakland Raiders at this point, then you might want to start investing in their feel-good season. The Raiders keep finding new ways to win each week and because of that, the AFC West has become a two-team race with the Raiders just one — ONE — game back of the Chiefs — with a humongous game between the two still to come.
You can feel bad for the Cincinnati Bengals if you’d like. But at 0-10, there isn’t much to learn from this team, anymore. They’ll have lingering questions regarding Zac Taylor, Andy Dalton, and A.J. Green next season, but at least they’re in good shape to secure the number one draft pick in 2020.
3. A Golden Response
If the games between the Arizona Cardinals and San Francisco 49ers continue to be this entertaining, then sign us up for more of it! A strong rivalry is brewing between the two teams and it took until the waning seconds for Jimmy Garoppolo to hit Jeffrey Wilson in stride to find the game-winner.
This was a response the 49ers had to have come off their crushing overtime defeat against the Seattle Seahawks. How this team responded with a gutsy win over a divisional rival could be huge for them moving forward — especially since their next five games are against premier opponents with winning records. The road isn’t easy, but if they’re for real, we’ll find out soon enough.
2. 1-99
We learned a pretty crazy stat on Sunday that when teams have a halftime deficit of at least 20 points, then their record is 0-99. Not one team has posted a win with their back against the walls — until the Minnesota Vikings broke through. They become the first team to complete the comeback after the Denver Broncos jumped out a 20-0 halftime lead.
This was an interesting game that looked like the Broncos might have something with Brandon Allen, but for the Broncos to watch their lead evaporate to nothing has to be a sickening feeling for this organization and their fans. Allen had a chance to win it late, but his inexperience showed in the red zone.
1. Lamar Jackson for MVP
Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson is nothing short of a stud putting up MVP performances week in and week out. Jackson had beaten Tom Brady and Russell Wilson and has now added Deshaun Watson to his list of victims. Or, more specifically, the Houston Texans.
Jackson is playing his best football in year two under Jim Harbaugh and he’s proving to the world that he’s more than just a runner. The Ravens boast one of the most complete teams in the NFL and have looked like juggernauts in the AFC. With their win over New England, they still control their own destiny in securing the number one seed.
Should they get it, M&T Bank Stadium might be one of the toughest places to play come playoff time. With Jackson’s ability to beat you with his arm and legs, the potential MVP-to-be can start to tilt the balance of power in the AFC — not just for this season, but for seasons to come.
Here’s to Week 12 giving us, even more, crazier NFL takeaways as the playoff picture begins to take shape.
