THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL GAME
BUFFALO BILLS 9 MIAMI DOLPHINS 22
Don't look now, but the Miami Dolphins are looking like a serious playoff contender. The Buffalo Bills on the other hand, are looking like the same team that we've seen for the last few seasons; start the season fast and fizzle down the stretch.
SUNDAY FOOTBALL GAMES
HOUSTON TEXANS 23 CLEVELAND BROWNS 7
Is J.J. Watt for real? The Texans defensive star caught a touchdown pass on Sunday and it wasn't an easy, wide open touchdown either. Lost in all of the Watt hysteria was Houston quarterback, Ryan Mallett, getting his first career start and victory. Although the Browns are still in good shape at 6-4, it's still got to be a little troubling that in 2 of Cleveland's losses, they've only scored a total of 13 points against the Jaguars and Texans, two teams allowing a combined 48.6 points per game.
SEATTLE SEAHAWKS 20 KANSAS CITY CHIEFS 27
After an 0-2 start, the Chiefs have really turned their season around. Including Sunday's win over the Seattle, Kansas City has won 7 of their last 8 and are now tied with Denver for first place in the AFC West. Meanwhile, following a 3 game winning streak, it looked like the Seahawks had gotten back on track. However, with their loss on Sunday to the Chiefs, Seattle has fallen to 6-4 and are in real danger of missing the playoffs.
CINCINNATI BENGALS 27 NEW ORLEANS SAINTS 10
Bengals quarterback, Andy Dalton, certainly bounced back from last week's horrible performance. Against the Saints, Dalton only had 6 incompletions and threw 3 touchdown passes. New Orleans has to be wondering what is going on. The Saints used to be unbeatable at home and now they've lost 2 games in a row at the Superdome. The good news for New Orleans is even with a 4-6 record, they're still tied atop the NFC South. I have a quick message to the 4 teams in the NFL's worst division. Just because it's called the NFC South, doesn't mean your record has to be "south" of .500, OK?
DENVER BRONCOS 7 ST. LOUIS RAMS 22
The most confusing loss of Week 11 was the Broncos falling to the Rams. However, St. Louis has defeated some formidable opponents this season. In Week 7, the Rams beat the Seahawks, in Week 9, they defeated the 49ers and on Sunday, they dominated the Broncos. Those 3 teams are a combined 19-11. Besides losing the game, Denver lost 3 key offensive weapons too. Tight end, Julius Thomas, wide receiver, Emmanual Sanders, and running back, Montee Ball, all left Sunday's game with injuries. For Ball, this is the second time this season he has sustained an injury that will keep him out for a period of time. As great as Peyton Manning is, not even he can win games by himself.
DETROIT LIONS 6 ARIZONA CARDINALS 14
When Cardinals quarterback, Carson Palmer, went down last week with a season ending knee injury, many believed Arizona's chances of winning a Super Bowl went down with him. With back-up quarterback, Drew Stanton, at the helm, Arizona jumped out to a quick 14-0 lead against Detroit. The Lions came into the game with the #1 ranked defense in the NFL, but it was the Cardinals defense that shined on Sunday, holding the Detroit offense to just 262 total yards. If the Arizona defense can continue to play like they did versus Detroit and the offense can limit their mistakes, the Cardinals could be hoisting the Lombardi Trophy at season's end.
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES 20 GREEN BAY PACKERS 53
Is there any team hotter than the Green Bay Packers? For the first time in their storied history, the Packers scored over 50 points in 2 straight home games. Green Bay quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, is playing the best football of his career, as the 10 year veteran threw 3 more touchdowns against the Eagles. Even though it's just one game, Philadelphia suddenly looks extremely vulnerable. After next week's game against the Tennessee Titans, the Eagles play the Cowboys twice, with the Seahawks sandwiched in between. Those 3 games will define the Eagles 2014 season.
NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS 42 INDIANAPOLIS COLTS 20
If the Packers aren't the hottest team in the NFL right now, the New England Patriots are. Following their humiliating defeat to the Chiefs in Week 4, the Patriots have won 6 straight games by an average score of 41-21. Against the Colts on Sunday night, New England found yet another weapon on offense in running back, Jonas Gray. The undrafted player out of Notre Dame, carried the football 38 times for 199 yards and 4 touchdowns Sunday night. As impressive as the Patriots have looked over the last 6 games, we've all seen this before. New England will look unstoppable during the regular season, winning 13 or 14 games, and then come playoff time, all of that magic seems to go out the window. Remember, as dominate as New England has been over the years, the Patriots haven't won a Super Bowl since 2004.
MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL GAME
PITTSBURGH STEELERS 27 TENNESSEE TITANS 24
Can anyone figure out the Pittsburgh Steelers? Coming into Monday night's tilt against Tennessee, Pittsburgh had defeated the likes of the Indianapolis Colts and Baltimore Ravens, but also lost to the lowly Tampa Bay Buccaneers and NY Jets. Since the Steelers have shown a history of playing down to their opponent's level, it was not surprising at all to see the 2-7 Titans have a 24-13 lead entering the 4th quarter. What was surprising was the manner in which Pittsburgh responded over the final 15 minutes of the game. With quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger, continuously under pressure from the Titans defense, the Steelers turned to running back, Le'Veon Bell, to get the job done Monday night. Bell ran for 204 yards on 33 carries plus a touchdown as Pittsburgh scored the game's final 14 points to escape with a 27-24 victory. As unpredictable as the Steelers have been this season, they still find themselves at 7-4 going into their bye week and right in the thick of the AFC North race.
Well, that completes my Week 11 update. It's been a wild and crazy ride so far and with 6 weeks still to go and more than half of the teams in the NFL with winning records, it's only going to get better!! Until next week....
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