Week 11 Takeaways for the 2024 NFL Season
What happened this week? Oh, not much. The last unbeaten team lost, Green Bay became the second team in two weeks to win by blocking a field goal, and we had our longest play of the year on a 98-yard Nick Westbrook-Ikhine TD catch (for the Titans of all teams). WR Nico Collins returned for the Texans, so they got back to winning. Saints TE/everything Taysom Hill had 158 yards rushing and 3 TDs, along with 50 receiving yards and 18 passing yards. Finally, we got a scorigami game! Detroit’s 52-6 crushing of Jacksonville was an NFL-first result. Ok fine; a lot happened, and it’s in my week 11 takeaways for the 2024 NFL season!
TNF: Late Takeover Lifts Eagles over Commanders in NFC East Bout
With first place in the NFC East on the line, I expected more urgency for the offenses. Each team had a major weapon returning from injury; the Eagles welcomed LT Jordan Mailata back, while the Commanders reintegrated RB Brian Robinson (16/63/1). Looking at the trends though, Philly has only scored once in any first quarter this season, so their sluggish start makes sense. Whenever the Eagles did gain any momentum, K Jake Elliott stifled it. Elliott missed two field goals, and he has not made a single kick from 50+ yards this year. He’s normally one of the league’s best, so this stretch of struggles is perplexing.
Washington jumped out to a 7-0 lead, but they didn’t score again in the first half. This game was a rather poor showing from rookie sensation QB Jayden Daniels (22/32, 191 yards, TD, INT; 7/18 rushing). For the second week in a row, he found little success as a runner against a quality opponent. Without the threat of the ground game, he had trouble as a passer as well. RB Austin Ekeler (8 catches, 89 yards) was his top receiver, and even had had issues: a drop and a KR fumble (not lost). WR Terry McLaurin (1/10) was invisible, and only TE Zach Ertz (6/47/1, 2-point conversion) showed up among the traditional pass catchers.
The Commanders led 10-6 heading into the 4th quarter, at which point the Eagles exploded. QB Jalen Hurts (18/28, 221 yards; 10/39/1 rushing) scored on a classic tush push to take a 12-10 lead, but Elliott missed the PAT. Washington responded with a good drive, but they got stuffed on 2nd and 1 and 3rd and one at the Philly 25. Rather than kicking a go-ahead FG, they went on 4th and 2 but failed. A short while later, RB Saquon Barkley (26/146/2; 2/52 receiving) scored 2 TDs within 20 seconds of game time (sandwiched around a Daniels INT) to put the game away and hand the Eagles their 6th win in a row.
The final score (26-18) looked close because of a late desperation TD, but Philadelphia pretty much dominated where it mattered. Daniels looked like a true rookie QB for the first time this year, and I worry that Washington’s ceiling is not as high as some in the media think. The Commanders are a likely playoff team, so they’re well ahead of schedule in their rebuild. Let’s just wait before declaring them true contenders. The “true contenders” label described the Eagles. Philly is on a tear, as the offense is getting in shape behind Barkley, while the young defense is quickly developing. If Elliott can rebound, this is a very complete squad.
Steelers Best Ravens in Another Rough-and-Tumble AFC North Battle
In traditional fashion, our first Ravens-Steelers game of the season was a defensive slugfest. This looked more like an early 2000s edition of this rivalry than the more recent iterations of these teams. Baltimore fumbled on their very first possession, with RB Derrick Henry (13/65/1) losing a rare fumble. Pittsburgh converted the turnover into a field goal, which would become a trend. As in week 1, the Steelers never reached the end zone and instead settled for 6 Chris Boswell. Coach Mike Tomlin may be ready to name him MVB (most valuable Boswell), but he knows that isn’t a sustainable way to win games in this league.
That Boswell was so consistent highlighted a recurring problem on the opposite sideline: future Hall of Fame kicker Justin Tucker does not look right. We mentioned this just last week, but he missed two more field goals against the Steelers. Neither was a chip shot, but both would’ve helped his team immensely. Points came at a premium, with neither offense firing on all cylinders. Russell Wilson (23/36, 206 yards, INT) was the better QB in this one, but that was almost by default. Counterpart Lamar Jackson (16/33, 207 yards, TD, INT; 4/46 rushing) played poorly, and these numbers were aided by a desperation drive.
Much has been made of the fact that Jackson struggles against Pittsburgh. That’s because the Steelers are a divisional opponent, so we have a larger sample size as far as they’re concerned. The truth is that Jackson struggles against contenders with good defenses on the regular, most notably the Chiefs in last year’s AFC Championship game. To be fair, this is an exceptional defense. Former Raven Patrick Queen (10 tackles) led the way, though a holding penalty of his did aid Baltimore on one of their only successful drives. Obviously, OLB TJ Watt had a sack, but so did DE Dean Lowry. Those are rare against Jackson.
Clinging to a late 18-10 lead, the Steelers ceded a TD with 1:06 to go. Baltimore’s 2-point attempt was no good though, so the Ravens had to go for an onside kick. At least most people thought so. With 3 timeouts, coach John Harbaugh opted to kick it deep. He’d regret that decision. Pittsburgh ran for a first down (despite a well-designed read option with Justin Fields ending in an early slide) and sealed the game. Make no mistake: the better team won this game. Baltimore can seem explosive at times, but they choke against the best defenses. Pittsburgh is more capable of making a run with their elite stop unit.
Last Undefeated Team Falls as Chiefs Lose in Buffalo
In a fight for AFC supremacy, Buffalo got the best of Kansas City, as they typically do in the regular season (don’t talk to Bills fans about the playoff matchups between these teams). Nobody believed that Chiefs were as good as a typical 9-0 team, but you can never underestimate them either. To their credit, the Bills did not. They picked off a Patrick Mahomes pass on the first drive and converted the takeaway into a TD. K Tyler Bass missed the PAT, and it felt like the momentum of the entire game left the stadium. Each team punted after that, but they responded with back-to-back TD drives just as quickly. Buffalo led 13-7 at that point.
Most of KC’s first-half offense came from 1st-round WR Xavier Worthy (4/61/1), who Buffalo passed on by trading that pick to these very Chiefs in this April’s draft. Buffalo’s own rookie WR (Keon Coleman) missed this game with an injury, as did first-round TE Dalton Kincaid. I jokingly wondered if the Chiefs ignored their weapons to level the playing field. Worthy vanished in the second half, WR DeAndre Hopkins had just 3 catches for 29 yards, and TE Travis Kelce had 2 receptions for 8 yards. Despite that, Mahomes somehow finished with 196 yards and 3 TDs, though he did throw 2 interceptions.
When Kansas City’s offense has struggled this year, the defense has repeatedly stepped up to save the day. The Bills simply possessed too much firepower to let that plan work. QB Josh Allen (27/40, 262 yards, TD, INT; 12/55/1 rushing) put on his superhero cape, leaning heavily on new favorite target Khalil Shakir (8/70) and surprisingly fellow WR Curtis Samuel (5/58/1). Receiver Amari Cooper only had 2 catches, but they earned 55 yards. Conversely, RB James Cook had just 20 yards on 9 carries, but he scored twice. In this back-and-forth affair, Buffalo led 23-21 late and faced a critical choice.
Trying to burn the clock, Allen and co. held onto the ball until 2:27 remained in the 4th quarter. With 4th and 2 coming up at the KC 26, the Bills could’ve attempted a 44-yard FG to stretch the lead to 4, forcing the Chiefs to score a TD. However, letting Mahomes have the ball with a chance to steal a win would’ve been incredibly risky. Instead, Allen ran for a 26-yard TD to ice the game at 30-21. That was a winning play call that projects confidence. Unlike Denver last week, Buffalo played to win, and they did it. Both teams remain in fantastic shape, but this game could have massive seeding implications down the line.
Seahawks, Chargers Snatch Victories from the Jaws of Defeat
The worst kind of loss a team can suffer is one in which they had the game in the bag, only to let it slip away. Conversely, comeback wins are completely invigorating, as two teams learned this week. Both games involved Bosas, but only one went home happy. Seattle and San Francisco played in a surprisingly defensive game. Down 10-6 in the third quarter, Seahawks QB Geno Smith (25/32, 221 yards, INT; 4/29/1 rushing) was sacked by DE Nick Bosa to start another drive. However, Bosa tweaked his injury on the play and left for game. At that point, the Seahawks went to work and scored a TD on a 6-minute drive.
The 49ers responded to retake a 17-13 lead with 2:38 remaining, but Smith refused to concede. He drove Seattle 80 yards in 11 plays, throwing several dimes to rising star WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba (10/110) before dashing for a go-ahead TD himself. Smith reached the end zone with only 12 seconds to spare, putting his team ahead just in time. This was yet another late-game collapse by San Francisco, and it completely muddies the NFC West. Three teams are 5-5, while the Cardinals (on bye this week) lead at 6-4. Seattle possibly saved their season with this win, which they stole by scoring 2 TDs after Bosa’s departure.
On Sunday Night Football, the Chargers should not have even been in a position to have to “swipe” a game from the Bengals. The first half and change featured LA domination, with the Chargers taking a 27-6 lead. Cincinnati could do nothing right, going 0/2 in the red zone and hemorrhaging yards and points on defense. For some reason, after LA reached 27 points via field goal, the Bengals woke up. Their next three drives (sandwiched around a punt and a fumble forced by the defense) all went for TDs. I have to credit the defense here, as they inexplicably went 5 straight drives without allowing any points.
Meanwhile, Cincy QB Joe Burrow (28/50, 356 yards, 3 TDs; 2/28 rushing) caught fire. He avoided certain sacks like a magician. WR Ja’Marr Chase (7/75/2) was a major part of the action of course, but the return of WR Tee Higgins (9/148/1) from injury had the greatest impact. RB Chase Brown (22/86; 5/57 receiving) also had a great game. The Bengals managed to tie the contest at 27 against all odds, but a familiar problem arose. On the next two Cincinnati drives, K Evan McPherson hooked FG attempts (48 and 51 yards) wide left. Either one would’ve given the Bengals the lead and likely the win. Maybe there’s a Harbaugh deal at work.
Regardless, McPherson’s misses gave the Bolts new life. QB Justin Herbert (17/36, 297 yards, 2 TDs; 5/65 rushing), who didn’t complete many passes but made them count while also leading his team in rushing, took the 45 seconds remaining on the clock and went to work. He fired two deep bullets to rookie WR Ladd McConkey (6/123) to reach field goal range, but RB JK Dobbins (11/56/2) simply ran for a 29-yard TD to win 34-27. The old Chargers would’ve finished their implosion, but not the Jim Harbaugh Chargers, which is why they’re playoff contenders. Cincinnati helped though, which is why they’ll be sitting home in January.
Anthony Richardson Much Improved in Return to Starting Role
Following a Joe Flacco experiment that didn’t go as well as it did in Cleveland last year, Colts HC Shane Steichen named Anthony Richardson the starting QB for the rest of the season. I was curious to see if his couple of weeks on the bench taught him anything. The last time we saw Richardson, he pulled himself out of a game because he was tired, but I think that was overblown. The real reason to sit him was so that he could finally learn and develop properly. I worried that he didn’t get enough time on the sideline, but at least for one week, I was pleasantly surprised, as Richardson had a career-best outing.
Facing a sometimes good Jets defense on the road, Richardson needed to be at his best to win. As soon as the game started, I could determine that the time off did him much good. Instead of fleeing the pocket at the first sign of trouble, Richardson looked to pass and kept his eyes downfield. As a result, he set a career high with 272 passing yards, and that was the highest total allowed by New York this season. Even better, he did this on 20/30 passing (66.6%), easily besting his previous best completion percentage in a game in which he threw 15+ passes. It wasn’t all smooth sailing though, but that helped us learn even more.
After jumping out to a 13-0 lead, Indianapolis allowed the Jets to go on a 24-3 run, and suddenly the Colts trailed 24-16. That’s when Richardson threw his first (and only) TD pass of the game, but the 2-point conversion was no good, and NYJ added a field goal. Down 5 with 2:41 to go, I was eager to see how Richardson would fare in the face of adversity. He passed with flying colors. In just under 2 minutes, Richardson led the Colts on a 70-yard drive that he capped off with a rushing TD. He had 32 yards and 2 TDs on the ground, so his renewed passing focus didn’t come at the expensive of his elite running skills.
Though the subsequent 2-point conversion failed again, the Colts’ newfound 28-27 lead held as the final score. I couldn’t have scripted a better return for Richardson. We all know he has more upside than Flacco does at this point, but we needed to see him execute the simple plays, and he did that this week. The win moves the Colts to 5-6, good for 8th in the AFC and firmly in the playoff hunt. I must advise proceeding with caution though. One week is too small of a sample size to make sweeping judgments, and this might all evaporate against the stellar Lions in week 12. Still, for one game, it was a great resurgence.