Welp, Week 11 is nearly in the books as another sunday of NFL action came to an end.
This week gave us some outstanding matchups and we got to see stellar performances from some of the NFL’s marquee players. Let’s take a look at some of the biggest storylines.
Falcons vs Saints
Taysom Hill surprisingly played well enough to be considered an NFL quarterback on Sunday. The playmaker once used like parsley in Head Coach Sean Payton’s offense upgraded to salt and pepper this season, but against the Atlanta Flamingos, he was now its main entree. Payton was feeling so good about Hill’s performance that he started trolling Roddy White on Twitter. Hill threw for 233 yards and completed 18 of 23 passes while adding two touchdowns on the ground. He helped the Saints put up 24 points as they took care of business against the waterfowl from Georgia. Hill’s performance was impressive, but I still need to see more from him against a team whose defense doesn’t have an allergic reaction to staying within five yards of a receiver in the passing game. The quarterback for the Cockatoos was terrible on Sunday. Matt Ryan completed just better than 50 percent of his passes, and threw two interceptions. Ryan by himself helped open the door for Hill to blow the game open after a competitive battle in the first half.
Let’s see if Mr. Hill can be the quarterback Payton thinks he is in Drew Brees’ absence.
Titans vs Ravens
This was an intriguing game between two very good teams which both had a lot to lose. It was clear that the intensity was there from the jump because whenever you have John Harbaugh looking like he’s about to put them dukes up with players, you know it’s real. Neither team has the luxury of dropping games in this crowded AFC playoff race. These two are built extremely similar to each other, so watching them feels like I get a buy one get one free deal. The Titans actually won nearly every statistical category in this game and yet they still had to make a late-game comeback when they found themselves down by double digits in the third quarter. Lamar Jackson wasn’t bad on Sunday, he produced 237 total yards and a touchdown. Yet, something still seems off with this Ravens offense, it’s almost like when your spouse tries to cook a dish your grandma always made at Thanksgiving dinner, and while good, you know it just ain’t the same. As for the Titans, quarterback Ryan Tannehill showed once again that he can produce when this team needs him. Tannehill was very good in the play-action game on Sunday and got wide receivers A.J. Brown and Corey Davis involved heavily into the offense. Both receivers averaged over 15 yards per catch on Sunday. As usual, Titans running back Derrick Henry had the final say on the day as he handed Baltimore an L on a 29-yard walk-off touchdown run in overtime.
Chiefs vs Raiders
This was another great game on Sunday. The Raiders were trying to sweep Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs and give them their second loss of 2020. Raiders quarterback Derek Carr was highly effective in this matchup again, throwing for 275 and three touchdowns. However, that half a billion-dollar man, was just better when it counted, again. Despite the Chiefs carving out a last-minute win in Las Vegas, it’s interesting to note how the Raiders have been able to figure this team out like no other this season. If the Raiders didn’t leave close to two minutes left on the clock in regulation for Mahomes, Head Coach Andy Reid and cffensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy to march down the field like an HBCU drum major, then we might be looking at a different story from last night. The Raiders have a legitimate run game and a passing attack that can score with the Chiefs while also having a defense that has proven it can get timely stops throughout the game. This doesn’t mean that if the Raiders run up on the Chiefs in the playoffs that they’ll be victorious, but it does mean that they’ve had the best formula to date for beating this juggernaut.
The Chiefs are still in contention for the one seed in the AFC, and have some crucial games coming up (including traveling to Tom-pa Bay next week). The Raiders should still have a great chance to get into the playoffs with some very winnable games left on their schedule.
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