Week 11

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (27) vs. NEW YORK JETS (14)

I miss the days when the Patriots used to beat up the Jets every season. It always made me feel warm and fuzzy on the inside. Things are returning back to normal in the AFC East and right now, New England looks like the best team in the league.

Were they perfect against New York on Thursday night? Absolutely not. Their defense once again gave up another touchdown on the opening drive, Stefon Diggs had a bad drop on third down that could have given the Patriots a bigger boost and Andy Borregales missed a 45 yard field goal to end the first half. However, this offense was still efficient in the most important moments  and the defense never let things get out of hand. Drake Maye threw for 281 more yards in his first home primetime game, Stefon Diggs totaled 105 of them on nine catches and TreyVeon Henderson scored three touchdowns! Things somewhat stalled out for a majority of the second half but to nobody’s surprise, Justin Fields could not lift his team to victory.

To his credit, he was incredibly mobile on Thursday night with 67 rushing yards on 11 touches and it was him that gave the Jets their only lead in the game. However, he only threw for 116 passing yards, got sacked twice and lost a bad fumble in the fourth quarter that essentially put the icing on the cake. There is a reason why head coach Aaron Glenn decided to bench Fields for Tyrod Taylor in their next game and it is because the former has too low of a ceiling. New York played scrappy, which is what you can expect from a division rival on a prime time stage, but the effort was just not enough. New England just had a vastly superior football team and they did what they needed to do to win.

The Patriots get their eighth straight victory to stay atop the AFC East at 9-2 and will take the road to see if they can keep their win streak alive against the Cincinnati Bengals. Meanwhile, the Jets continue to flutter in limbo as they fall to 2-8 and will stay on the road for a more grueling matchup against the Baltimore Ravens.

MIAMI DOLPHINS (16) vs. WASHINGTON COMMANDERS (13)

The first NFL game hosted in Spain was certainly one to remember. Some will say this was an incredibly sloppy performance from both sides and it is understandable, but everything turned out exactly the way I thought it would. Miami’s defense has been somewhat better in the last few weeks than it had ever been to start the season, while Washington head coach Dan Quinn assumed defensive play calling duties. I knew this was going to be an intense defensive slugfest and it is exactly what we got.

Both offenses only scored one touchdown on Sunday but there were several drives where either one of them could have added more points on the board. The Dolphins went one for five in the red zone, while the Commanders were a good zero for three. There were multiple chances where these teams were right there on the one yard line, yet neither defense budged. With all that happened or didn’t happen in this particular case, the bottom line for this game is simple: Washington just made too many mistakes, including on the special teams.

Towards the end of the fourth quarter, Mike Sainristil muffed the punt and the Dolphins recovered the football at the 42 yard line, before Frankie Luvu made an incredible play at the one yard line that gave the Commanders a chance to win the game at the end of regulation! Unfortunately, there was a reason why kicker Matt Gay got released on Monday. He missed two long-distance field goals, including one in the final seconds of the fourth quarter, that would have ended a five-game losing streak for the Commanders. However, with overtime on the horizon, there was a chance for redemption.

Then on the first play of the extra period, Marcus Mariota threw a back breaking interception to Jack Jones to give the Dolphins tremendous field position. All De’Von Achane had to do was get enough yards to set up an easy 29 yard field goal attempt and Riley Patterson took care of the rest by knocking the ball through the uprights. 

I personally feel that Madrid got themselves one heck of a game on Sunday. Obviously, neither of these teams are going to make the playoffs because they each have giant flaws, but everyone in attendance got the close fight we all expected. Miami just made a few more plays in the end and while there were several goal-line plays they would have loved back, they never turned it over and made the most out of their opportunity when they had the chance. 

The Dolphins win their second game in a row to enter the bye week 4-7, while the Commanders lose their sixth straight contest to fall to 3-8. 

PITTSBURGH STEELERS (34) vs. CINCINNATI BENGALS (12)

Through the first 44 minutes, the second Icy Hot Bowl was definitely sloppier than the first meeting between the Steelers and Bengals on Thursday Night Football a month ago. Surprisingly enough, the defenses were the biggest reasons why it was a close game near the final 30 seconds of the third quarter. After both teams scored a touchdown on the opening possessions, their offenses stalled out on the next nine combined possessions, yet Pittsburgh led by four points. It easily could have been three if Cincinnati decided not to go for two after their lone touchdown of the afternoon.

Where everything turned was on third and nine at the Pittsburgh 35 with 35 seconds left. The Bengals offense managed to get back into a rhythm and they were in position to actually take the lead with plenty of time left in the fourth quarter! However, Joe Flacco threw an interception right into the hands of Kyle Dugger and the newly acquired safety ran it all the way down the field for a pick six! Despite Cincinnati kicking a field goal on the ensuing possession to make it a one score game, which would not have happened if Ja’Marr Chase didn’t spit at Jalen Ramsey that led to an ejection, the Steelers soon put it out of reach. Kenneth Gainwell increased the Pittsburgh lead to 15 with less than four minutes remaining and James Pierre officially put the game away with a scoop-and-score that turned it into a blowout. 

It’s ironic how we can’t even blame the Bengals defense too much for this loss because for the most part, I thought they did a decent job. Some of it had to do with the fact that Aaron Rodgers didn’t play in the second half due to a slight fracture in his left wrist, but they still kept the team in the game! Unfortunately, right on schedule, the offense screwed up at the worst possible time and it ended up costing them a winnable football game. This is not at all surprising because this is just what this team does and nothing is going to change. Forget that Trey Hendrickson is still injured, Ja’Marr Chase is going to be suspended next week and Joe Burrow is not returning any time soon. This season is somehow not lost, according to them, so we’re supposed to just sit around and wait for the spark to finally get lit.

The Steelers bounce back with a needed win at home to stay in front of the division at 6-4, but with Aaron Rodgers dealing with a slight break in his left wrist, they now have to take the road for what should be an exciting grudge match against the Chicago Bears. Meanwhile, the Bengals lose for the seventh time in their last eight games to fall to 3-7 and will head back home to play the New England Patriots.

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS (35) vs. LOS ANGELES CHARGERS (6)

This was easily the most shocking blowout of the entire 2025 season, but more importantly, it was by far the worst game I have ever seen from a team coached by Jim Harbaugh. Ironically, this was the first time the Chargers and Jaguars played each other since the Wild Card game a few years ago, yet it felt like everything picked up right where they left off.

Jacksonville did not get off to a great start on Sunday afternoon. They failed to convert on fourth down on their first possession and then a couple drives later, Trevor Lawrence threw an interception to Donte Jackson. Yet Los Angeles could only score three points off of those chances. There was not a momentum-swinging play that flipped the script. The Jaguars just simply dominated the Chargers on both ends of the field, especially on the defensive side.

Justin Herbert only threw for 81 yards with no touchdowns scored, an interception and two sacks taken. In the second half alone, he only picked up two first downs and completed one pass for zero yards! The offense went three for twelve on third down, they only mustered up 135 total yards of offense through the whole game and they got shut out after halftime. Jacksonville, on the other hand, dominated the time of possession 38-22. Trevor Lawrence didn’t even need to have a great game because LA’s defense let up 192 yards and four touchdowns on the ground thanks to Bhayshul Tuten and Travis Etienne. This was exactly the victory the Jaguars needed to bounce back and re-establish their position in the playoff race. It was by far the best I have seen their defense look in the last few years and it was outright stunning the way they beat Jim Harbaugh at his own game for 60 straight minutes.

The Jaguars get a huge win at home to stay in the Wild Card hunt at 6-4 and will take the road to see if they can take care of business against the Arizona Cardinals. The Chargers get absolutely punked on the road but will still head into the bye week second in the AFC West with a 7-4 record. 

BUFFALO BILLS (44) vs. TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS (32)

The Bills turned the ball over three times, their defense allowed over 200 yards on the ground and there were nine total lead changes! Yet they still won the game by double digits. It was a back-and-forth showdown for 53 minutes, but just as expected, it was going to come down to which quarterback would be able to show up in the clutch. Unsurprisingly, it happened to be the reigning MVP.

One big reason why Buffalo was able to win was because even with all the miscues, Tampa hardly took advantage of them. Off the two interceptions thrown by Josh Allen, the Bucs offense could only manage three points. To their credit, they did take a third quarter after Mecole Hardman fumbled the ball on a punt return, but once Baker Mayfield threw an interception late in the period, the Bills offense proceeded to score three straight touchdowns. Once Buffalo pulled ahead by 12, a fumble off a strip sack from DaQuan Jones sealed the deal.

Another takeaway from this game was that Josh Allen simply outplayed Baker Mayfield. Both quarterbacks had an equal amount of turnovers, but one showed up in the biggest moments and the other could not respond. Allen scored six total touchdowns on Sunday afternoon, three through the air and three on the ground. On a day where Keon Coleman was a healthy scratch because he was late to a meeting, the reigning MVP still threw for 317 yards and totaled an extra 40 with his legs. His best receiver was Tyrell Shavers and James Cook only averaged three yards per carry on the ground, so this was a valiant performance by the Bills quarterback. 

This was a winnable game for the Buccaneers. For their offense to run for over 200 yards and the offense to have a one point lead in the fourth quarter, this was their chance to seize the moment. Unfortunately, they stalled out at the worst possible time and Mayfield could not get them over the hump. He only threw for 173 yards and this is the pattern we have seen from Tampa over the last few seasons. They can win the division and get out of the first round, but they cannot beat the biggest juggernauts in each conference. They lost to Philadelphia at home, they got punked by Detroit on Monday Night Football, they fell flat to New England and they went into neutral against Buffalo. If the Bucs cannot find a way to beat those teams, just wait until they find out who they get to play next.

The Bills bounce back with a resounding victory to keep their playoff hopes alive at 7-3, but will take the road on a short week as they play the Houston Texans on Thursday Night Football. The Bucs get outplayed once again but are still leading the NFC South at 6-4 and will take the road for a huge showdown against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday Night Football.

CHICAGO BEARS (19) vs. MINNESOTA VIKINGS (17)

Let me pull out my checklist for the Bears real quick. Winnable game against a weak opponent: check. Defense forces multiple takeaways: check. The offense barely does anything until the fourth quarter: check. Opposition hangs around and takes a lead late in the game: check. Last-minute magic gives Chicago the win: check. Yeah, one question. How in the world are they leading the NFC North right now?

It’s easy to blast JJ McCarthy right now and say he is holding the team back from true success with two more interceptions on Sunday afternoon, but the Bears cannot keep getting away with taking these games down to the wire. Seriously, almost all of their wins have followed the exact same script! Caleb Williams doesn’t really play that well, the running game keeps the offense engaged, the defense gives Chicago extra momentum and the special teams makes a splash play here and there as well!

 Just take a look at the final minute of the fourth quarter. The Bears are up 16-10 and have a chance to put the game away once and for all. The offense stalls out with more than a few minutes left, which gives Minnesota one last chance to win the game. Just like week one at Soldier Field, McCarthy drove his team down the field. With ice in his veins, he found Jordan Addison in the corner of the end zone for a go-ahead touchdown with 50 seconds left. Right on cue, Devin Duvernay silences the crowd with a 52 yard kickoff return to the Minnesota 40 yard line. Then D’Andre Swift picks up enough yards to set up the game winning field goal for Cairo Santos. You cannot make this stuff up!

However, the Bears fans don’t care. Honestly, I cannot even blame them. They finally have legitimate hope for the first time in almost a decade, Ben Johnson has clearly built a strong foundation and I don’t want them to fail. All I’m saying is that they have to find a way to put away the bad teams early when they have the chance. If they barely beat teams like the Bengals, Giants and Vikings, what do they think is going to happen when they have to go up against somebody like Philadelphia or Detroit?

The Bears are now in first place in their division at 7-3 and will head back home for a crucial matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Meanwhile, the Vikings lose for the fourth time in their last five games to fall to 4-6 and will take the road to keep their season from falling in the pits as they play the Green Bay Packers.

HOUSTON TEXANS (16) vs. TENNESSEE TITANS (13)

This was surprisingly closer than expected. We all knew the Texans offense was not strong, but to get shut out in the first half against a garbage Titans team and rely on a walkoff field goal to beat them is definitely surprising to say the least. 

Houston got the ball to start the game and was able to take it all the way to the one yard line, but a sack from Cody Barton on fourth down ended the drive with zero points and it sent their offense into neutral through the remaining 30 minutes. But to nobody’s surprise, the Titans did next to nothing in return. The offense only scored six points off of two field goals from Joey Slye before the five-minute mark of the fourth quarter, Cam Ward lost a fumble off a strip sack from Will Anderson, but Tennessee was only down by seven. 

Pinned at his own five yard line, Cam Ward showed the potential and promise he had coming out of the NFL Draft, when everybody had him as the number one prospect. Ward sure as hell reminded us why he was the number one overall pick as he drove his team 95 yards down the field in 11 plays, capping it off with the tying touchdown pass to Van Jefferson. The only catch is that Davis Mills had 1:35 remaining with two timeouts with only a field goal needed to win the game. 

The play of the day was on third and sixteen at the 42 yard line. With the game on the line, Mills fit in a perfect needle to Nico Collins that set the ball up at the Tennessee 41 yard line. Soon afterwards, a few decent runs from Woody Marks set up a 35 yard field goal attempt for Matthew Wright, in place of the injured Ka’imi Fairbairn. The ball was perfectly split right down the middle and Houston managed to pull off the sweep.

It would have been nice to see the Titans pull off a big upset to get their second win of the year but unfortunately, they cannot have any good things anymore. They definitely played with some fight and their players definitely took that loss to heart, yet at the same time, there is a reason why nobody had any faith in this team to do anything this season. Their offense has no talent, the defense has no discipline and there is no leadership to really hold everybody accountable. I bet everybody is missing Mike Vrabel now, huh?

The Texans officially jump back into the playoff fold as they improve to 5-5 and will head back home on a short week for a huge matchup against the Buffalo Bills on Thursday Night Football. Meanwhile, the Titans lose their fifth game in a row to fall to 1-9 and will stay home for another challenging game as they welcome the Seattle Seahawks.

CAROLINA PANTHERS (30) vs. ATLANTA FALCONS (27)

Now this was the Bryce Young we’ve been waiting to see all season long! In a game where Rico Dowdle only totaled 45 yards on 19 carries, the former number one overall pick threw for close to 450 yards with three touchdown passes and zero interceptions, taking sack after sack to lead Carolina to a gutsy overtime victory. The numbers might be phenomenal, but he had to scrap and claw his way to a win.

After the Panthers offense scored a touchdown on a 12-play opening drive, they only totaled 58 more yards on the next three possessions, while the Falcons scored three straight touchdowns to take a 21-10 lead at halftime. Michael Penix Jr. threw just one incompletion on 12 pass attempts, Bijan Robinson already had 93 rushing yards with two touchdowns and Drake London totaled well over 100 yards on just five receptions. Atlanta’s offense was clicking, while the defense amplified the pressure. 

When the third quarter began, Carolina fought back with a couple scoring drives to make it a two point game, while the Falcons predictably fell into quicksand. The offense could not score a touchdown for the rest of the game and only totaled 90 more yards. To make matters worse, Penix suffered a season-ending knee injury late in the third quarter, sending Kirk Cousins onto the field for the entirety of the fourth quarter and overtime. However, it took a while for the Panthers to take advantage of the moment. Just like the first half, their offense went right down the field to score a touchdown, but since then, they failed on a couple of fourth down attempts and only managed a field goal before the two minute warning. 

Down five with 2:43 in regulation, Bryce Young needed a huge drive for the Panthers to take the lead. After a clutch fourth down conversion to Ja’Tavion Sanders, Young found Dowdle on a simple swing route and the running back nearly gave Carolina the lead with more than a minute remaining. However, his foot stepped out of bounds at the 10 yard line, so the Falcons were still in front. But not all hope was lost. On third and goal at the 12, Young escaped to his right and threaded a perfect touchdown pass to Tet McMillan for the lead! Jalen Coker got wide open on the two point conversion and now the Panthers had the lead with 1:08 on the clock! Yet it was still enough time for Kirk Cousins to muster up some last second magic!

If there was one thing the veteran quarterback did right on Sunday, he found Dante Sills and Bijan Robinson for a couple of clutch completions to set up the tying field goal attempt from Zane Gonzalez to send it into overtime. However, I do say this with a catch. The Falcons got the ball to start the extra period and went three-and-out on their initial possession, giving Young another chance to not only take the lead but win the game. Just two plays into the drive, Tommy Tremble caught a short pass on a pivot route and broke past three tacklers for an electrifying 54 yard catch-and-run, setting up the winning field goal for Ryan Fitzgerald; his third of the season!

The Panthers get another big win on the road and keep their season alive at 6-5, with a trip across the country for a huge matchup against the San Francisco 49ers on Monday Night Football. Meanwhile, the Falcons lose their fifth game in a row to fall to 3-7 and will now take the road to play the New Orleans Saints. 

GREEN BAY PACKERS (27) vs. NEW YORK GIANTS (20)

Nobody should be surprised that this was a close game. Jameis Winston was the starting quarterback for New York, the team just fired their head coach and they welcomed a mediocre Packers team that shifts their identity from week to week. This was not going to come down to who would show up in the end, but who would not screw up at the worst possible time.

This was a back-and-forth showdown from start to finish. Winston led a strong opening touchdown drive in just nine plays, but went three-and-out the next two possessions to allow Green Bay to score 13 unanswered points, even allowing Malik Willis to throw a touchdown pass early on. Eventually, the Giants would get back in the end zone with more than a minute remaining in the first half, but because both Lucas Havrisik and Younghoe Koo missed an extra point, the game was tied at the break.

At the start of the third quarter, the Packers offense went right down the field in just six plays for a go-ahead touchdown, but Havrisik missed his second extra point of the afternoon. New York would go on to take a one-point lead with seven minutes left in the fourth quarter, but not only did the defense blow it by letting up a go-ahead touchdown pass to Christian Watson, the offense had two drives where they left points off the board. 

The first was on their first possession of the second half. Only down by six, the Giants decided to go for it on fourth and three at the ten yard line, rather than kick a field goal to trim their deficit to three. Winston ended up getting sacked on the play by Micah Parsons and Isaiah McDuffie, maintaining Green Bay the lead. The next took place in the final seconds of the game. On third and sixth at the 14 yard line with 40 seconds remaining, Winston not only failed to score, he fittingly threw an interception to Evan Williams that put the icing on the cake for the Packers. There was also the strip sack from Micah Parsons, but that was a desperation play with one second left. 

Overall, this was a fun back-and-forth showdown that was certainly frustrating at times for both sides, but the Packers just made a couple more plays in the end and the Giants blew a couple big chances down the stretch. It did not necessarily tell us anything that we hadn’t learned from both teams before because one team is unfortunately slated to be a first-round exit in the playoffs again and another is already looking ahead towards next year. 

The Packers survive on the road to improve to 6-3-1 and will head back home for what should be a competitive matchup against the Minnesota Vikings. Meanwhile, the Giants lose their seventh straight game to fall to 2-9 and will take the road to play the Detroit Lions.

LOS ANGELES RAMS (21) vs. SEATTLE SEAHAWKS (19)

In one of the most anticipated games of the afternoon, two division rivals went head-to-head for the first place spot in the NFC West. While the Rams didn’t play their best game against the Seahawks offensively, they still did enough to win the game and for one huge reason: Sam Darnold.

For the third time in two years, he was absolutely terrible against LA. The last time he played against them was in the Wild Card when he was with the Vikings. Darnold ended up getting sacked nine times and scored as many points before leaving in free agency. This time, he threw four interceptions and two of them resulted in touchdowns! This means that if he did not turn the ball over, the Seahawks would have actually won the game because their defense was doing whatever they could to keep things competitive. 

Was Seattle’s defense perfect on Sunday afternoon? Absolutely not. They didn’t force a takeaway or get a sack, they allowed 91 rushing yards to Kyren Williams on 12 carries and Puka Nacua was able to catch seven passes on eight targets. However, Matthew Stafford only threw for 130 yards. The Rams offense went two for eleven on third down and only picked up 12 first downs. Unfortunately, even on the drives Darnold didn’t turn the ball over, they only settled for field goals in the red zone until the fourth quarter. Yet somehow someway, the Seahawks still had a chance to win the game. They even set up a 61 yard field goal attempt for Jason Myers to pull off the impossible, but the kick fittingly sailed wide right and Los Angeles held on. 

Not only did this game tell us who will win the division, but it told us exactly what to expect from Darnold in the biggest moments. This was the chance for him to shut those critics up and let the league know he was ready to deliver, but he failed. Seattle might still be a formidable playoff contender, yet they do not have a high ceiling. 

The Rams win their fifth game in a row to lead the NFC West at 8-2 and will stay home for another thrilling matchup as they welcome the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday Night Football. The Seahawks find themselves to be the bridesmaids at 7-3 and will stay on the road for a chance to bounce back against the Tennessee Titans. 

SAN FRANCISCO 49ers (41) vs. ARIZONA CARDINALS (22)

Brock Purdy finally made his return to the football field after a long absence with a turf toe injury and all it took was a 99 yard kickoff return from Skyy Moore for this game to become a rout. Purdy looked promising in his return with 200 yards and three touchdown passes, two of them to George Kittle. However, a lot of the attention was on Christian McCaffrey. He totaled 121 yards from scrimmage and also had three scores, once again proving that he is the engine of the 49ers offense. I feel like even if Kyle Shanahan decided to give Mac Jones another shot, the outcome would not have been different, especially because the Cardinals ran over themselves once again.

Some fans and pundits will come to Jacoby Brissett’s defense by completing an NFL-record 47 passes. Yet it was on 57 attempts! Let’s be real here, this game was not close. Forget that Chad Ryland missed a field goal near the end of the first quarter or that the Cardinals turned the ball over three times. How about the fact that Arizona got flagged 17 times for 130 yards? One of them was a personal foul on Calais Campbell that allowed the 49ers to kick a field goal at the end of the first half and another negated a 60 yard touchdown run that would have made it a one-score game to start the third quarter. The worst part about it was that 11 of those penalties were on the offense. The Cardinals did just about everything to lose that game so it’s unfortunate that nobody will remember Michael Wilson or Trey McBride catching 10+ passes for 110+ yards. San Francisco just had a stronger and more disciplined football team and in a game where Arizona needed to be perfect, they got in their own damn way… again!

The 49ers once again bounce back with a win to stay in the playoff race at 7-4 and will head home for a crucial matchup against the Carolina Panthers on Monday Night Football. Meanwhile, the Cardinals get blown out once again to fall to 3-7 and will also go back home to take on the Jacksonville Jaguars.

BALTIMORE RAVENS (23) vs. CLEVELAND BROWNS (16)

Contrary to what you might see from the final score, this was not a close game. For the second time this year, Myles Garrett had a historic performance with four sacks, yet it got wasted by offensive ineptitude. The only touchdown Cleveland scored was off a pick six from Devin Bush that was thanks to a drop by Keaton Mitchell. The Browns offense went two for fourteen on third down, they only had 10 first downs and totaled just 187 yards. Dillon Gabriel suffered a concussion to end the first half and while it was nice to see Shadeur Sanders make his NFL debut, he completed just four out of sixteen passes for 47 yards with an interception. He technically had a chance to win the game towards the end but it was not surprising to see Cleveland fail to convert on fourth down.

The Ravens offense was not at all impressive either, yet they relied on the running game to save the day. Derrick Henry had 103 rushing yards and before the two minute warning, Mark Andrews faked the quarterback sneak and found a wide open running lane down the right sideline for a go-ahead 35 yard touchdown run. It’s not even fun anymore to keep pointing this out because the Browns go through enough of this anguish already. Way to get off the hook, Baltimore.

The Ravens win their fourth game in a row to even the record at 5-5 and will head back home to hopefully have a better performance against the New York Jets. Meanwhile, the Browns implode once again to fall to 2-8 and will take the road to play the Las Vegas Raiders.

DENVER BRONCOS (22) vs. KANSAS CITY CHIEFS (19)

If you didn’t think the Rams versus the Seahawks was the game of the week, then maybe this one between the Chiefs and Broncos could change your mind! At Mile High, not one player cost their team a chance to win the game. Instead, we got the back-and-forth showdown we all wanted. Both defenses stepped up to the plate, each team committed 10 penalties while the offenses struggled mightily in the red zone. Heck, it took until the second half just for both of them to score a touchdown. However, not only did Kansas City commit the only turnover of the game, but Denver just simply made a few more plays down the stretch.

Bo Nix was not fantastic, but he was a hell of a lot better than he had been over the last two weeks. Against the Chiefs, he threw for 295 yards and once again played his best in the fourth quarter. In his fourth game winning drive of the season, Nix launched a 32 yard dart down the field to Troy Franklin, setting up the go-ahead field goal for Wil Lutz to give the Broncos yet another victory. This is why you can not let this team hang around if you are the opposition because if you do, then you might as well start thinking about what to say in front of the media after the game.

Kansas City’s offense had positive moments, but the bottom line was that they couldn’t close the deal again! It’s ironic because last year, the Chiefs always found a way to win in the end. This time, they have lost in five one-score games! Patrick Mahomes was okay, but he did throw a bad interception to Ja’Quan McMillian to start the third quarter, which allowed the Broncos offense to go down the field and take the lead with a touchdown. After taking their first lead with 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter, Kansas City went three-and-out on their final two possessions, setting up two field goals from Lutz to tie the game and eventually win it at the end. This team can throw every excuse at the book but it is not anything that Denver hasn’t dealt with this year. You want to bring up that Isiah Pacheco was hurt? Big deal, so was Patrick Surtain II. Both teams had an even amount of penalties and unsuccessful drives. At the end of the day, however, the Broncos found a way and the Chiefs could not.

The Broncos win their eighth straight game to head into the bye week with the division lead at 9-2 while the Chiefs come up short on the road once again to drop to 5-5, heading back home for a must win matchup against the Indianapolis Colts.

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES (16) vs. DETROIT LIONS (9)

Unfortunately, what we saw from the Detroit Lions on Sunday Night Football is exactly why we have cautious faith in their chances of winning a Lombardi Trophy. For as fantastic of a head coach Dan Campbell has been for this team, the one vice is whenever his fourth down decisions backfire continuously, they never recover. The Lions had five of those attempts on Sunday Night and could not convert on all five in different ways. Three of them were just bad throws from Jared Goff, another one was thanks to a drop and the last was on a fake punt! However, the final score was only 16-9! 

Once again, the Eagles offense was just boring and hard to watch. Jalen Hurts completed 50% of his passes for 135 yards with no touchdown passes. AJ Brown caught seven passes… but for only 49 yards, while DeVonta Smith had just one reception. Off the five fourth down stops the defense made, Philly could only manage six points off of two field goals. To their credit, they did score a touchdown towards the end of the first half, but it just felt like they were doing everything they could to give the Lions the win! Yet the fourth down attempts were not the only reason why Detroit lost.

This was by far the worst game for Jared Goff this season. He completed just 14 out of 37 passes and in the second half alone, he went seven for 25! He only had one strong touchdown drive midway through the second quarter, but thanks to a taunting penalty by Jameson Williams and an ensuing missed extra point by Jake Bates, the Lions never held a lead! The only promising player for Detroit’s offense that game was Jahmyr Gibbs with over 100 receiving yards, which is exactly what Philadelphia was willing to risk. The Lions went three for thirteen on third down, they only had 13 first downs the entire game and all Hurts had to do was just not screw up on his part. Both defenses came to play but the Eagles sure as hell reminded us why they were the ones hoisting the Lombardi Trophy last year.

The Eagles win their fourth game in a row and still hold the number one seed in the NFC at 8-2, but will take the road for a huge challenge against the Dallas Cowboys. The Lions get discombobulated on the road to finish the week 6-4 and will head back home with a chance to bounce back against the New York Giants.

DALLAS COWBOYS (33) vs. LAS VEGAS RAIDERS (16)

These last two weeks have been emotional for the Dallas Cowboys. The late Marshawn Kneeland passed away two days after a Monday night game against the Arizona Cardinals but on the sidelines at Allegiant Stadium, everybody representing the star made sure to pay homage and respect to him and his family. Seeing Brian Schottenheimer choke up in his post-game speech to the team in the locker room told you how much winning this game meant to everybody in that organization, which is absolutely incredible to see. 

The Cowboys got off to a somewhat rocky start early on. CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens didn’t play on the opening drive due to a coach’s decision, Dak Prescott lost a fumble off a strip sack from Maxx Crosby and the Raiders held a 6-3 lead early on! However, both receivers inevitably returned to the field and from that point on, the Cowboys did not make this a close fight. 

Prescott had a promising afternoon with close to 270 passing yards, four touchdown passes and no interceptions. Javonte Williams had 93 rushing yards but the best skill player on the field was George Pickens, who totaled 144 yards on just five receptions! I personally felt Dallas could have scored a lot more points if it were not for a bad drop late from CeeDee Lamb in the fourth quarter, but the good news was that the defense had one of their best performances of the year.

You could say it was against Geno Smith but to hold Ashton Jeanty to seven yards on six carries is absolutely impressive. Several defensive players returned to the field for the Cowboys including DeMarvion Overshown, Malik Hooker, Shavon Revel Jr. and recently acquired defensive tackle Quinnen Williams. Smith ended up throwing his 13th interception of the season, got sacked four times, went three for twelve on third down and it took until the fourth quarter just for him to throw a touchdown pass. Once Dallas bottled up Jeanty in the end zone for a safety, there was no chance a comeback was taking place. Monday night was Dallas’ night and it felt right to see them win this game as convincingly as they did.

The Cowboys get a huge win on the road to improve to 4-5-1 and will head back home for a big challenge against the Philadelphia Eagles. Meanwhile, the Raiders lose their fourth straight game to fall to 2-8 and will stay home to see if they have some fight left as they welcome the Cleveland Browns.