Week 11 Six-Pack: Six Parting Thoughts From The Best Sunday Of The Year

After a couple slower, undramatic weeks in the NFL, the football gods graced us with an all-time slate, which included eight divisional matchups and two of the more intriguing non-divisional matchups of the year with Bucs/Bills and Lions/Eagles. In total, nine of the 13 games on Sunday were decided by one score, six games were within a field goal, and all six of those came down to that field goal as time expired. That's NFL football.

There's a lot to take from this week. But let's narrow it down to six.

No. 1: The Eagles Are The Best, And Most Boring, Team In the NFL

I wanted Philadelphia to lose on Sunday night for a myriad of reasons. One of those reasons was I so desperately wanted to rip apart their refusal to have their offense run through Saquon Barkley like it did a season ago on their way to a Super Bowl victory. That letting their WR1's comments on social media and in the locker room seemingly dictate their play calling is ridiculous. I wanted Detroit to win because I root for them and don't think the Bears deserve to be leading the NFC North. Just to name a few.

But the biggest reason I was rooting against the Eagles is because they're boring, and the fact they keep winning the way they are is infuriating to me. The offense is atrocious given the level of talent on that side of the ball. They've scored less than 20 points in four of the last six weeks, and in their last two outings they've scored a cumulative 26. In the blistering wind last night, they didn't give Saquon a carry until their 8th play from scrimmage. They appear to have the same play sheet as my intramural flag football team, with their receivers running either a 2, 4, or 9 route on every play. There's just no creativity.

Yet they're 8-2, all because of their defense. This unit is LETHAL. They lost a good chunk of their starting roster from the Super Bowl unit, yet are playing at similar levels as that unit who was best in the NFL. They got pressure on what seemed to be every drop back Jordan Love and Jared Goff took in the last two weeks, against two of the better offensive lines in football. Both QBs never were able to settle in, and were off their back foot and on the ground on nearly every pass. They held both teams to a collective 1-8 on 4th downs, including 0-5 for Detroit on Sunday.

Philly and Denver have shown that you in fact can continue to win games with subpar offense and outstanding defense. And it's no coincidence that the two best defenses in football are atop their respective conferences. But like Denver, I don't like watching Philly play. At least Denver has the excuse that their WR2 is Troy Franklin. Good defense is fun to watch if your offense stinks. But the fact that Philly's does is really what annoys me. The Super Bowl champs have had one of the toughest schedules in football and are the one seed in the NFC. They're currently the team to beat and the top dog in the sport. But that doesn't mean I have to like watching them.

No. 2: I No Longer Think The Chiefs Will Win The AFC West

Speaking of Denver, they shocked me yet again on Sunday. The line for this game was insane, and every part of me wanted to take the Chiefs, cause it's the Chiefs, and they don't lose must-win games.

But there's something about this Denver team that made me stay away. Eight of their 11 games this season have been decided by four or less points, and they're 6-2 in those contests, winning the last six. They're the fourth quarter killers, and despite Bo Nix and the offense often sleep walking through the first 45 minutes, you never feel confident you have them where you want them. Their defense, as mentioned, is incredible and keeps them in the game during the offensive droughts, and their offense continues to make plays down the stretch in game-deciding moments. And did so again Sunday.

I came into this year being a Chiefs stan. I heard all the noise about Denver and LA and how this was the year the Chiefs would be dethroned. I heard the comments about the Super Bowl, and how teams were finally given the blueprint for how to beat them.

But I've been the Chiefs, in fact a way better version of them, and have heard everything under the Sun from pundits wanting the be the first to predict the downfall of greatness. And as someone who consistently saw my team make these pundits look like fools, I expected the same result from a team who was supposed to be in the same realm as the Patriots of old.

That's obviously not the case. This isn't a team that's littered with injuries, at least not anymore. Other than Pacheco, who I don't think is head and shoulders better than their backup, they're pretty damn healthy. This is just a team that can't come up with the big play. Yesterday, tied up with four minutes to go, the whole world thought Mahomes and the offense would methodically move downfield and kick the game winning FG as they’ve done a million times before. It doesn't matter that they've struggled to move the ball all game; in crunch time, they figure it out.

Instead, they lost 11 yards on two incompletions and a sack. Bo Nix, as he's done all year, was the Mahomes in this scenario, and did exactly what we expected Pat to do. And with it, the Chiefs hopes to win the division for the 10th straight season were collapsed.

Sarcasm or not, I really thought the Chiefs were similar to the Patriots. So when people were quick to jump off, I stayed on, and hitched my wagon to the nine-time division and three-time Super Bowl champs. I didn't think it'd be possible for KC to be 0-5 in one score games, because we've seen the coach and QB outexecute opponents down the stretch for a decade.

But this isn't the same Chiefs team, and for the life of me I can’t figure out why. I said after their 0-2 start they'd still win the division. I thought if they won yesterday they'd still win the division. I no longer think that's possible. I do think they'll make the playoffs, but I'm not stomping my foot in saying so. They need to beat the Colts this week.

No. 3: Josh Allen Is The Best QB Maybe Ever

Plays like this may forever haunt the career accomplishments Josh Allen hopes to achieve in this league,

but it's hard to recall another QB that I've ever watched possess the ability to take over a game the way Josh did yesterday, and has done many times over. I mean look at this stat line.

317 yards passing, 40 yards rushing, 3 passing TDs, 3 rushing TDs, 2 INTs, and 44 points scored.

The Bills are not a great team. They struggle to stop the run, and don't have receivers that can consistently get open. They typically rely on their pass defense and rushing attack to limit and put up points.

But yesterday the Bucs stifled James Cook, limiting the second best RB this season to just 48 yards and 3.0 YPC. They benched Keon Coleman for missing a team meeting, so were even lighter than the already light corps they typically have. Their defense was again unable to stop the run, as Tampa ran for over 200 yards and put up 32 points.

So how in the world did they win? Because they have the best QB in football. After an all-time bonehead play to start the game, Josh went nuclear. He was throwing lasers to WRs you've never heard of for TDs after scrambling around in the pocket for a half an hour. He was dropping in touch passes over linebackers to James Cook out of the backfield for more touchdowns. He was bulldozing defenders and carrying them five yards with the help of his Buffalo stampede into the endzone on the ground.

He won the game himself, accounting for six TDs and 86% of his team's total yards. And it's not the first time we've seen these types of games from him. I don't think any QB can do what he can do. I mean only Otto Graham ever has.

Josh will likely not win enough Super Bowls in his career to become the greatest QB of all time. But performances like Sunday remind us that he may be the best to ever do it.

No. 4: I'm Scared That Sam Darnold May Be Phil Connors

For those unfamiliar, please watch the movie.

For those familiar, I bet you just nodded in agreement.

Sam Darnold has played incredible football for 90% of the last two seasons. He led the Vikings to a 14-2 record last season, throwing for over 4,000 yards, 35 TDs, and averaging 26.4 PPG. So far this season, Sam's led the Seahawks to a 7-2 record, and has been top five in yards, yards per game, completion percentage, TDs, and QBR; just about every QB stat there is.

But in week 18 of last year, the wild card round, and this Sunday, by far the three biggest games and moments of the last two seasons for Darnold and his respective teams, he's come up short. Way short.

The Vikings scored just 9 points in the final two games of last season, and Darnold accounted for 1 TD and 2 turnovers in those games combined. Sunday, he threw 4 INTs to the Rams, and failed to get the offense into the end zone until the two minute warning in the fourth quarter in what was a two-point loss.

Every fan in Seattle is praying that this isn't the same movie as last year. That their quarterback isn't stuck reliving the same day over and over again whenever big games come up. That this day won't reset and start again when the Seahawks play a true win or go home game in the coming months.

I don't have the confidence to tell them it's not true. I don't have any basis to tell them it's not what it looks like. As far as I can tell, it's exactly what it looks like. And it looks scary.

Two things that would give me some level of hope if I'm Seattle are that 1) the Rams were the culprit of two of Sam's three poor performances, so it could just be a bad matchup, and 2) the Seahawks were still a missed field goal at the buzzer from winning this game. Two of the three Rams TD drives were on short fields after Darnold INTs. Outside of that, the defense held them at bay. This defense is good enough to weather any storm, and if Darnold could limit himself to just 3 INTs in their next meeting, the Hawks have a chance.

No. 5: I Still Can't Convince Myself That The Bears Are Good

I know, they're 7-3 and atop the best division in football. I know, they've won seven of their last eight games. I know, Ben Johnson has changed the culture, and games they have habitually lost they now seem allergic to losing.

But are you convinced? This is a team that's won three of its seven games on last second field goals (two makes and one block), and five of seven on comeback scores under the two minute warning. Their win this weekend against Minnesota marked their sole victory over a team with 4+ wins, which I may remind you is below .500. They have a bottom 10 defense in every statistical category. Is that enough?

Being 7-3 is nothing to apologize for. And trust me, beating bad teams with whom your schedule is made up of is not your fault. But they aren't beating bad teams convincingly, and that to me is the bad sign. The only convincing win they've had this year was against Dallas in week 3. Outside of that, it's been a dog fight every week.

If the scoreboard at the end of games where you play bad teams is consistently close, doesn't that make you close to equal to those bad teams? Am I crazy?

I'll give credit where it's due that winning close games consistently is hard. Odds are the ball takes a bad bounce, you get a bad break from the officials, and those games are flipped. That does say something about the makeup of this team.

But I need to see more. I need to see one convincing win. Chicago is coming into a gauntlet of games over the last seven weeks where we'll find out some answers to these questions. I'm not expecting 20-point blowouts against the Eagles or Packers.

But in order for me to think this Bears team is real, show me something on Sunday against Mason Rudolph and the Steelers. I'll be in the building. Show me you're legit. If not, I think this will be a long December in Chicago.

No. 6: I'm Excited To Watch The Ravens Play Against Good Teams

This was the classic, off-the-wall AFC North game I predicted it would be. Baltimore muffing a punt inside the five yard line. Screen passes turning into pick six's. Back to back interceptions in the third quarter. This game was ugly, entertaining, and despicable to watch all at the same time.

Baltimore pulled away because Cleveland’s offense is as unstable as the Winter Warlock’s walk before meeting Kris Kringle.

If possible, they may have been worse with Shedeur than Gabriel, but we're pulling at straws there. Cleveland's defense is great, but when your offense moves the ball a cumulative 4 yards in the second half before the final drive, there's only so long you can hold one of the more explosive offenses in football in check. It took a trick play on 4th and 1 to do it, so they couldn't have been much better. It's sad knowing Myles Garrett may never play a meaningful football game ever again.

Baltimore's now won four in a row and sits just one game back of Pittsburgh in the division. Their defense, which was historically bad to start the year, looks to be fixed, as they haven't allowed a 20 point game since the first week in October. Their offense is still not finishing drives in the red zone since Lamar's return, but is consistently getting there.

I'm still not sure how dangerous this team is, because they haven't played a true contender since Lamar came back. Their defense has looked great against below average offenses, so I want to see how they fare against QBs not named JJ McCarthy, Tua, and Dillon Gabriel.

The Ravens are and should be scary, but how scary is still unknown. They won't have any tests for the next few weeks, playing the Jets, Bengals twice, and Pittsburgh. Right now I have that Patriots game circled, and looking at the schedule for that week I wouldn't be surprised if that matchup gets flexed to primetime. Bring it on.