2021 NFL Power Rankings Week 11: Packers take top spot, Cowboys rebound

The Green Bay Packers take over the No. 1 spot and the Dallas Cowboys climb following their rebound win in our 2021 NFL Power Rankings at Week 11

There might not have been as many crazy upsets this week as there was the prior weekend but there were still some shockers. The first was on Thursday Night Football when the Miami Dolphins beat the Baltimore Ravens.

Another surprise was when the Washington Football Team took out the defending champs as they handed the Tampa Bay Buccaneers their second loss in as many weeks.

We also saw the Dallas Cowboys return to form as they climb the charts in our 2021 NFL Power Rankings but the Green Bay Packers took the top spot thanks to a loss from Arizona and their win over Seattle.

With all that being said, let’s dive in to see how things shake out heading into Week 11.

2021 NFL Power Rankings Week 11: Packers take top spot, Cowboys rebound

This season is a mess for the Detroit Lions and Sunday was a great example of this. They were facing the Pittsburgh Steelers without Ben Roethlisberger and they even had a 16-13 lead going into the final quarter. They then allowed Pittsburgh to tie it up and no one could score in the final 11:30.

That led to overtime and after their defense recovered a Diontae Johnson fumble, the Lions had a shot at a win with a 48-yard field goal. However, Ryan Santoso missed badly as the Lions paid the price for moving on from Matt Prater this offseason.

If there was some good to take from this one, it was the fact that Godwin Igwebuike ripped off a 42-yard touchdown as he continued to show why he was converted from a safety to a running back by Detroit.  Another positive is that they won’t be the first team to go 0-16.

However, Detroit is now 0-8-1 and there’s a real likelihood they could go 0-16-1, which would make them the first team to ever have two 16-loss seasons and two winless seasons. Those are not the kind of records any franchise is shooting for.

Entering the season, no one really expected the Houston Texans to be very good. They were coming off a drama-filled offseason where Deshaun Watson and the front office were at odds, then Watson was hit with more than 20 claims of inappropriate behavior.

Houston ended up benching Watson and went with Tyrod Taylor as the starter. He had a solid start as they beat Jacksonville and then he was playing well against Cleveland in Week 2. But then he was unable to come back out in the second half in that game and Davis Mills took over.

Mills started six games, all of which were losses before Taylor made it back. Facing the Dolphins, there was some hope that Taylor could get them their second win of the season but that wasn’t meant to be. Instead, he threw three picks as they lost 17-9 and fell to 1-8 on the season.

With their bye week coming this late, the Texans can try and build toward something in the remaining eight games. They have no chance of even getting close to 500 but they can start to see which players — or even coaches — should be brought back in 2022. Chances are, the answer to that question will be — not many.

The Mike White era could have crashed as quickly as it took off.

Ahead of their Week 10 game against the Buffalo Bills, there was talk that the New York Jets could go with White as the starter while allowing No. 2 overall pick Zach Wilson to sit and watch the former fifth-round pick lead the way.

Then, he was harassed all day by the Buffalo defense and threw four interceptions in a lopsided 45-17 loss. Of course, this is just one week so it’s not as if we can say White’s moment in the sun is over but it also reminds us that we need to see more than one game from a player before anointing them the savior. It was the great Bill Parcells who always said not to rush getting out the anointing oil and he usually knew what he was talking about.

New York had more issues than just White and his turnovers. The ground game wasn’t putting up many yards and on defense, they had no answers for anything Buffalo did. Josh Allen had 366 yards and there were four touchdowns on the ground from four different players.

New York does at least get to play Miami next week and while they shocked the Ravens, this is still a team they could end up beating if they play their best game.

A record of 2-7 is bad enough on its own but the problems for the Jacksonville Jaguars go much deeper than that. Their loss this weekend to the Indianapolis Colts was their 12th consecutive road defeat and they’re now on a nine-game losing streak in their division — and it’s not as if they play in a rough division. The AFC South has just one winning team and yet the Jags still cannot buy a win against these clubs.

On Sunday, they were knocked off by just six points and had a chance to make it two wins in a row following their shocking win a week ago against the Buffalo Bills. However, Trevor Lawrence fumbled the ball away late and allowed the Colts to move to 500 for the first time in 2021.

For weeks, it feels as though the Jaguars are just going through the motions — which is another reason their win against the Bills was so unexpected. Head coach Urban Meyer is on borrowed time as the team clearly has no faith in him, and he apparently lost the locker room before Week 1.

It’s never something fans want to hear but the best thing this team can do is lose out, get some studs to put around Lawrence, and look for a coach who fits this team better.

When the Washington Football Team won their NFC East with a record of 7-9, it became a running joke. But then, they went into their playoff game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and gave the eventual champions all they could handle.

In their 31-23 defeat, Taylor Heinicke balled out with 306 yards through the air, 46 on the ground, and two touchdowns. So far in 2021, he has yet to have a game that looked as impressive as he was that weekend. That is, until he got another shot at Tom Brady and the Bucs.

Washington and Tampa Bay squared off in Week 10 and Heinicke had 256 yards and a touchdown while Tom Brady had 220 yards with two touchdowns and two picks. The 29-19 win was shocking but it was also the first time we saw the Washington defense look the way we expected it to when the season began.

They didn’t record any sacks on Brady but they kept him uncomfortable all day and it could have been more than just two picks from Brady. They also held their own against the run, never allowing any carry to go for more than eight yards.

At 3-6, it’s not as if they’ll suddenly get on a huge run and catch the surging Cowboys who lead the NFC East but this was something positive to build on.

Right now, the Miami Dolphins are on a winning streak. Sure, it’s only two games but when you were 1-7 just two weeks ago, you’ll take any winning streak you can get.

As for the teams they defeated, it’s easy to shrug off their win over the Houston Texans since they’ve been a complete mess this year. However, their Week 10 victory was a surprising one that sent shockwaves through the NFL.

Miami defeated the heavily-favored Baltimore Ravens which helped every team in contention for the No. 1 seed in the AFC as well as the three teams in the AFC North who are trying to catch Baltimore. But that’s not the real shockwave that was created.

Instead, that came when Robert Hunt made the play of the season. Well, almost.

The big offensive lineman caught a screen pass — which was not meant for him — and took it to the house. It wasn’t an easy road either as he broke one tackle and then dove for the end zone, flipping in and extending for the score.

Sadly, the play didn’t count since he was an ineligible receiver but it was easily the most exciting play of the night.

It made its round through every highlight show and the Dolphins even made sure to commemorate the moment with the greatest elevator ever.

Miami still has a long way to go but they were at least able to have some fun on Thursday.

The New York Giants are not a good football team. That might sound harsh, but consider this — their 3-6 record heading into Week 10 is the best record they have had in more than three seasons. Just let that futility sink in.

For whatever reason, they continue to struggle in every facet of the game, and this time, it’s not as if we didn’t see it coming.

New York hired Joe Judge last season as their head coach despite the fact that he was a wide receiver coach for one of the worst wide receiver corps in the NFL. But since that job was in New England, the Giants thought they could be getting their own Bill Belichick.

And after one forgettable season under Judge, they decided to hire Jason Garrett as the offensive coordinator despite seeing him twice per season for the past decade. Had they been paying attention during that time, they would know Garrett only lasted as long as he did in Dallas because he had his play-calling duties stripped from him.

Still, Judge hired arguably the most predictable offensive play-caller in the past 10-years and put him in charge of an offense with limited weapons. The bye week could be a month and they probably still won’t be turning much around. But hey, this is the best they have been in a long time.

Week 10 brings the Chicago Bears a week off and they should be heading into this break celebrating a huge win. That didn’t happen though as they lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers 29-27 on Monday Night Football. That win wasn’t without controversy as there were several questionable calls that went against the Bears — as well as the weird hip check from the official on Cassius Marsh.

While the loss stings, the good news for the Bears is that Justin Fields started to turn things around. After a slow start to the season, he was firing on all cylinders and looked like the player Chicago traded up for in the 2021 NFL Draft.

Having said all that, there are still a lot of issues in The Windy City. Head coach Matt Nagy has continued to struggle with playcalling and it seems as though he’s doing everything he can to make things more difficult on Fields.

Their defense has also been on the decline this season. They gave up 38 in a loss to Tampa Bay. 33 in a loss to San Francisco, and 29 this past week. While the offensive issues aren’t helping their case any, the Bears just don’t feel like a team that’s set to get anything figured out in 2021.

Russell Wilson is back but he didn’t look like the Russell Wilson we know. After missing several weeks following finger surgery, the Seattle Seahawks starting quarterback was on the field again as his team took on the Green Bay Packers.

The weather may have been a factor as the west coast team was playing on the frozen tundra in Lambeau Field, and we even saw some snow flurries in this one. Wilson struggled all afternoon with accuracy as he was good on just half of his 40 attempts with 161 yards, no touchdowns, and two interceptions.

A game that was 3-0 in favor of the Packers for the majority of the game really got away from Seattle when Wilson was picked off in the end zone by Kevin King. Another interception came a couple of series later but by then, they were down two scores, and on this field — and in that weather — it was already insurmountable.

Seattle is now 3-6 on the season and it’s not looking as though they’re going to be turning things around. They were hoping they could get hot when Wilson returned but this loss means they’ll likely have to be perfect from here on out in order to get back into the mix. That’s not likely to happen.

Plays on Monday Night Football vs. Los Angeles Rams

This Monday night will be the first meeting between the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams. The league clearly hoped these two could be in a battle for the NFC West since their second meeting is in Week 18 but that hasn’t been the case.

While the Rams have been soaring — outside of their letdown against the Titans, that is — the 49ers have been struggling all season. They enter this contest at 3-5 and even though it’s being played in their backyard, it seems unlikely they will be able to handle the Rams’ high-powered offense and strong defense.

At this point, it’s probably time we ask why it’s just assumed Kyle Shanahan is such a great coach. Sure, he won 13 games in 2019 with Jimmy Garoppolo under center and even made it to the Super Bowl. But outside of that, he has had one losing season after another.

Excuses have been made at every turn but the truth is, outside of the 13-3 campaign, Shanahan is now just 19-37. It’s probably safe to say that’s more accurate than the one season which seems to be an anomaly at this point.

He can eventually prove that theory incorrect but at this point, the record is what it is. And that record is not good (32-40 which is a winning percentage of just 44 percent even with the big 2019 season).

Last week, the Atlanta Falcons improved to 4-4 as they beat the New Orleans Saints in a two-point game. The win over their divisional opponent gave them some confidence as they had reeled off three wins in their past four games.

The problem is, outside of New Orleans, their wins were against the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins. As for when they met good teams, it usually went poorly as the Tampa Bay Bucs ran them out of the building in Week 2 by a score of 48-25.

In Week 10, they were likely longing for such a score as they were beaten in every sense of the word by Dallas. The Cowboys scored 29 points in the second quarter and before long, it was a 43-3 lead for the home team.

Both sides pulled their starters by the fourth quarter and it was basically a preseason game from then on. Atlanta had no answers for Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, or anyone else on the Cowboys offense. On the other side of the ball, there were three picks — two by Matt Ryan and one by Josh Rosen — and they even gave up a touchdown on a blocked punt.

Thankfully, this counts only as one loss but with New England coming to town in Week 11 — after they destroyed the Browns — Atlanta needs to get some things figured out in a hurry.

The Philadelphia Eagles scored a big win this weekend as they knocked off the Denver Broncos on the road by a score of 30-13. In the win, they used three different 10-point spurts to slow down the Broncos and secure the win.

First, they jumped out to a 10-0 lead but the Broncos then tied it up but the Eagles again scored 10 in a row before hitting halftime. After making it 20-13, Denver had to deal with the Eagles again going on a run as they dropped 10 again.

Philadelphia had help from everywhere as they were able to get two touchdown passes from Jalen Hurts, both to DeVonta Smith who has been well worth the investment since taking him with their first pick this offseason. Hurts added 53 yards on the ground while Jordan Howard had 83 and Boston Scott added 81.

Oddly enough, head coach Nick Sirianni said he didn’t want to be a “running team” but the Eagles put up 214 yards on the ground. They also had some points from their defense as Darius Slay picked up a fumble and ran it back 83-yards for a touchdown.

Philly is now 4-2 on the road and 0-4 at home. If they could ever figure out how to win in front of their own fans, they could start to contend again in the NFC East.

Kirk Cousins and the Minnesota Vikings refuse to go away. They haven’t had the season they expected but they keep coming out and giving it their all, and on Sunday, this led to them scoring a road win over the Los Angeles Chargers.

Cousins was 25-of-37 with 294 yards and two touchdowns as he outdueled the younger and more explosive Justin Herbert — 20-of-34 for 195 yards with a touchdown and a pick. Dalvin Cook also went off with 94 yards and a touchdown on the ground and Justin Jefferson pulled in nine passes for 143 yards.

Defensively, the Vikings had a couple of sacks with Eric Kendricks recording one of them. He wasn’t done there, however, as he had a team-high eight tackles and made an athletic interception as well. Kendricks found himself in a mismatch as he was on Keenan Allen but that didn’t stop him from getting in front of the wideout and taking the ball away for his team.

This win for the Vikings stopped a two-game losing streak as they lost to the Dallas Cowboys and Baltimore Ravens by a combined seven points the past two weeks.

Close losses have been their theme this season so it had to feel good to get a win this time. They’re still alive but they have to start stacking wins and that might be hard with the Packers coming to town next week.

Cam Newton is back and he had a fun return to the field for the Carolina Panthers. In fact, his very first two touches led to touchdowns as he ran in a two-yard touchdown to put the first seven points on the board in the first quarter. Later in that opening period, Newton again came in on a goal-line play and this time, he hit Robby Anderson from two yards out for a touchdown.

From there, the Panthers just kept putting up points. Zane Gonzalez hit three field goals in a row to put his former team behind 23-0 before the Cardinals finally put some points on the board. Chuba Hubbard ran in another touchdown and Gonzalez hit one more field goal in the second half as the Panthers made it look easy with a 34-10 win over the Cardinals.

Carolina, who started out 3-0, now has two wins in the past three weeks which has improved their record to 5-5 on the season. They still have a chance to make a run and perhaps bringing back Newton was the spark they needed.

He finished this one with just 14 yards on the ground and eight passing as P.J. Walker did the heavy lifting, but the longer he’s there, the better the chances are he takes over and that could be a huge plus for them down the stretch.

After scoring a huge win in Week 9, the Cleveland Browns fell on their faces in Week 10. On the road against the New England Patriots — who they had not beaten in Foxborough since 1992 ‚— Cleveland was run out of the stadium.

They took an early 7-0 lead and looked as though they were ready for this game. Then, the bottom fell out as they never even came close to scoring again whereas the Patriots poured on 45.

Baker Mayfield was off all day as he had 11 completions on 21 passes with just 73 yards. He finished with one touchdown and one interception but it easily could have been three picks had the defenders not eaten popcorn before the game.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, Mayfield was also injured during the game as a hit from Matt Judon sent him to the blue tent. Case Keenum finished the game out but it was already over by then.

The lone bright spots for the Browns included Myles Garrett and Malik McDowell sacking Mac Jones and D’Ernest Johnson racking up 99 yards on 19 carries in relief of Nick Chubb who was out due to COVID.

Cleveland has a game against the Detroit Lions next week and that could be one of their last chances at an “easy win.” After that one, things get incredibly tough for them.

The Indianapolis Colts keep hanging around this season and it’s hard to tell if they’re a good team or not. They’re 5-5 after a win over the Jacksonville Jaguars but they barely got the win over their two-win divisional opponents. They also had another so-so game from Carson Wentz.

Formerly the No. 2 overall pick out of North Dakota State, Wentz was traded by the Eagles to Indy this offseason and he has had some good games, some bad games, and some like the one he had Sunday.

Wentz ended up with just 180 yards passing and while he had no turnovers, he also had no touchdowns in the win. Instead, their offense was carried by Jonathan Taylor who is in line to win the NFL rushing title now that Derrick Henry is out with an injury.

On defense, they had a few sacks which were enough to slow Trevor Lawrence down and they forced a fumble from the No. 1 pick late in the game as he was trying to move the Jags downfield to attempt to steal the win.

Having said all that, the Colts have yet to win against a team that boasts a winning record. They get another couple of chances with the Bills and Bucs coming up next. Wins there could keep them alive but a couple of losses could be devastating.

From one extreme to another. That’s the only way to describe what went on for the Denver Broncos over the past two weeks. In Week 9, they were on the road and they took a commanding 30-0 lead over the Dallas Cowboys before taking their foot off the gas. The score wound up 30-16 but it was never even that close (and that’s not exactly close).

This week, they were again facing an NFC East team as they were at home with the Philadelphia Eagles. Unlike Dallas the week before, the Eagles came in with a losing record. However, the result was nearly the exact opposite as the Broncos lost 30-13.

Philly took an early 10-0 lead and then scored another 10 in a row after the Broncos tied it. Teddy Bridgewater and company kept fighting back and after making it 20-13, the Eagles again scored 10 unanswered to get to the final score.

It was a frustrating loss for Denver who had just improved to 5-4 the week prior and is now back at 500. It also ended a two-game winning streak as they had been running through the NFC East with a win over Washington the week prior to their big victory in Dallas.

Denver is now headed to their bye week which gives them some extra time to prepare for the Chargers who they will face in Week 12.

Week 8 and Week 9 were rough for the Cincinnati Bengals. They had moved into first place not only in the AFC North but the entire conference as a whole with a record of 5-4. They were starting to make believers out of everyone but then the bottom dropped out.

First was their 34-31 loss to the New York Jets — yes, the same Jets who were struggling to find any offensive rhythm. And yes, the same Jets who were starting Mike White for the first time in his career.

Rather than score a win over an inferior opponent, the Bengals found themselves suffering a loss which started the legend of Mike White. They had a chance to prove that was just a fluke as they were then facing the Cleveland Browns in Week 9, just after all the offseason drama that led to the Browns releasing Odell Beckham, Jr.

Cincinnati moved the ball right down the field but then Joe Burrow was picked off by Denzel Ward who went 99-yards to the house. They never really rebounded from there and lost 41-16.

Now, they have a whole week to stew over those two losses as they enter their bye in Week 10. Their next opponent is the Las Vegas Raiders and if the Bengals can’t score a road win over them, the doubters will really come out.

When the New Orleans Saints lost Jameis Winston to a torn ACL, it appeared they were going to be just fine. Trevor Siemian came in and led them to a win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. But then, things started to get difficult.

They lost 27-25 to the Atlanta Falcons in Week 9 and now suffered another two-point loss as the Tennessee Titans held on for a 23-21 win. Siemian ended up with 298 yards and two touchdowns but was just 19-of-34 on his passing attempts.

He’s been fine, but you have to wonder why he’s been the guy the past two weeks. When Siemian took over against Tampa Bay, Taysom Hill was out with a concussion. However, Hill has been back the past two weeks and is still playing his “gadget” role where he gets a couple of runs and a couple of passes every game.

It’s odd since Sean Payton seemed dead set on Hill being the guy this season. He was given a comically inflated contract that is pretty much just there to be voided but he also gave him the first shot with the first team. Now that Winston is out, it would only seem to make sense that he gets a chance and his ability to move the ball with his legs could be what sparks this team.

Derek Carr and the Las Vegas Raiders have continued to have one issue after another this season. Actually, for Carr, it’s been going on for a while.

We all know about some of the off-field issues that took center stage for the franchise this year involving Henry Ruggs, Damon Arnette, and Jon Gruden. Heck, Gruden even decided to sue to everybody for losing his job this year.

But for Carr, it was highlighted during this game how bad the defense he’s had working with him has been. The veteran quarterback has had to put up some crazy numbers just to get any wins. And that became even more difficult for him on Sunday Night Football against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Carr was sharp with his passes all night but got almost no help, especially since the team is without a deep threat following the loss of Ruggs. They hoped DeSean Jackson could help in that regard, and he almost did.

Trailing by 10, Carr hit Jackson on a rather risky pass, but he still threaded the needle and completed it for 38-yards but then Jackson coughed it up which led to the Chiefs scoring again to go up 13.

Not long ago, the Raiders looked to be a top team and the Chiefs were falling apart. This game showed us that this has changed.

Did anyone want to win in this game? The Pittsburgh Steelers were without Ben Roethlisberger who tested positive for COVID-19 and that meant Mason Rudolph would get the nod. Rudolph is at least a capable player and they were hosting the winless Detroit Lions, so it should have been easy, right?

Wrong. Pittsburgh and Detroit played in a low-scoring game that was tied at the half at 10. The Lions then took a 16-13 lead into the final quarter before the Steelers tied it up at 16 with 11:31 left in the final quarter. And that proved to be the final score.

Neither team could move the ball after that as there were five consecutive punts to end the fourth quarter. Then in overtime, the Steelers twice fumbled the game away. The first was after their defense forced a punt when Diontae Johnson coughed it up following a 39-yard game that could have led to a win. The second was on their next possession when rookie tight end Pat Freiermuth fumbled at the Detroit 39 when they again could have gone for the win.

Detroit wasn’t much better as they missed a 48-yarder that could have won it for them. As bad as it was for the Lions to miss out on their first win of the season, the Steelers messed up a shot at getting into first place in the AFC North. That was a gift for Baltimore.

There might not be a more difficult team in the NFL to figure out than the Los Angeles Chargers. It feels like one week they seem to be the best team in the AFC and then the next, they’re struggling to move the ball whatsoever.

This weekend was another example of them struggling as they couldn’t get back into the game against the Minnesota Vikings. Justin Herbert had just 195 yards with a touchdown and a pick — even though the Vikings aren’t exactly a tough defense.

After a hot start where they were 4-1, the Chargers are now 1-3 in their past four games. They suffered losses to the Baltimore Ravens and New England Patriots — as well as Dallas earlier in the season — which means they’re not losing to bottom feeders. But still, if a team wants to be taken seriously, they need to score a few of these wins against playoff-caliber teams.

As it stands now, they’re 5-4 and probably not ready to make a deep run. That’s not the worst thing though since they do have a second-year quarterback in Herbert and a rookie coach in Brandon Staley. Eventually, they can be the top team in the AFC but it might have been too early to try and put them there in 2021.

It wasn’t that long ago when we thought the Kansas City Chiefs might be done. They were 3-4 and were struggling in every facet of the game — but mostly when it came to turning the ball over. Patrick Mahomes, who usually never threw interceptions, was throwing them at an alarming pace which had the vultures circling.

Then, they got things figured out. Kansas City won against the New York Giants and Green Bay Packers which put them above 500 but there were still reasons to doubt. They won against New York by just three despite the Giants being a bad team and their six-point win against the Packers was nice, but they were facing Jordan Love and not Aaron Rodgers.

Still, the wins counted but they still needed to show they could do it against good teams. They had that opportunity on Sunday as they went into Las Vegas to play against the Raiders — who were trying to secure their spot as the lone first-place team in the AFC West.

That didn’t happen as the Chiefs were able to put the Raiders away. They were sharp in this one and finally resembled the team we have seen dominating the AFC the past couple of seasons.

Having said all that, they do now have a huge game in Week 11 against the Dallas Cowboys. A win there will really prove they’re back. A loss, however, could start the questions once again.

Mac Jones had himself a day.

The New England Patriots quarterback was in the media for the wrong reasons leading into this weekend as he was being lambasted for rolling the ankle of Brian Burns in a win over Carolina. There were those calling him dirty and saying other defensive ends would be coming for him.

In Week 10, he was sacked twice but it had very little impact on the game as Jones was 19-of-23 with 198 yards and three picks. He also had no turnovers as he led his Patriots to a 45-7 win against the Cleveland Browns.

Rhamondre Stevenson also got in on the fun as the Patriots running back ran for 100 yards and two touchdowns and even Brian Hoyer came in and threw a touchdown in garbage time.

New England was written off following a 1-3 start but they have now won four in a row — and it could have been six if not for a CeeDee Lamb touchdown against Dallas in Week 6.

Looking ahead, they don’t have too tough of a schedule outside of their two games against Buffalo and a date with Indianapolis. This team is 6-4 and could make a run to the postseason. None of us saw this coming after the first month of the season.

In Week 9, the Buffalo Bills managed just six points as they lost 9-6 to the Jacksonville Jaguars. It was the biggest upset of the weekend and there’s no way the Bills didn’t walk away from that one feeling embarrassed. There’s no denying they’re the better team and they simply failed to show up — perhaps due to looking past their opponent.

That didn’t happen in Week 10. Buffalo made sure not to lose to another inferior opponent. They dropped 45 on the New York Jets in a 45-17 win and that included them scoring 21 in the third quarter alone. Josh Allen, who struggled mightily against the Jags, threw for 366 yards with two touchdowns and was aided by a running back committee that went for four touchdowns.

What was most impressive though, was their defense. They surrendered 14 points when the game was already decided as they shut the Jets down for the majority of the night. They even cooled off all the Mike White hype as they picked off the New York quarterback four times in the game with Levi Wallace, Jordan Poyer, Taron Johnson, and Tre’Davious White all getting in on the fun.

Buffalo’s win was huge as well since the Patriots knocked off Cleveland and are suddenly just a half-game behind the Bills. A division that looked to be squarely in their hands is suddenly being very contested and they cannot afford any more mishaps like they had in Week 9.

The Baltimore Ravens suffered their worst loss of the season this week as they were defeated 22-10 by the Miami Dolphins. It’s not often one of the favorites in a conference gets beaten by a two-win team but that’s what happened as Baltimore fell to 6-3 and opened the door for the rest of the teams in the AFC North.

Of course, those who never believed in Baltimore are coming out in droves pointing to this loss as proof that they’re not true contenders. That’s just not accurate though as the Ravens are for real and this was likely just a case of them being off their game ‚— while Miami was playing to the top of their potential.

Losses such as this happen often in the NFL — look at Jacksonville beating Buffalo for example — but the good teams learn from it. Baltimore is one of the good ones so their coaching staff will have the team prepared for their coming showdown with the Chicago Bears — especially given they have a few extra days to prepare for them.

Following that game, they have a stretch of three games in the AFC North including two against Cleveland with a Steelers matchup sandwiched in-between. That stretch will be huge for them as they look to build a big lead in their division.

Last week had some crazy upsets. The Denver Broncos blew out the Dallas Cowboys and the Jacksonville Jaguars knocked off the Buffalo Bills 9-6. This week, things started to come back to normal but there were still some shockers — including the Tampa Bay Buccaneers losing to the Washington Football Team.

In a rematch of their playoff game last year, Tom Brady threw a couple of interceptions and managed to lead his team to just 19 points. Defensively, the Bucs didn’t have many answers as Taylor Heinicke went for 256 yards and a touchdown on 26-of-32 passing and Antonio Gibson went for 64 yards and two touchdowns.

Tampa Bay seemed to be on defense all day and some of the stats confirm as much. Devin White had 18 tackles, LaVonte David had 14, and Antoine Winfield had 11.

Now at 6-3, the Bucs have lost their past two games but they do have a few matchups that could get them back on track. They play the New York Giants, Indianapolis Colts, and Atlanta Falcons over the course of the next three weeks. If they can reel off three wins there, we’ll be talking about them going on to defend their title. If not, we might start asking what’s going on with this team.

Colt McCoy led the Arizona Cardinals to a win last week with Kyler Murray out but the Arizona Cardinals reserve couldn’t make it two in a row as he was knocked out of the game in a 34-10 defeat. McCoy finished 11-of-20 for 107 yards before giving way to Chris Streveler who is a former Grey Cup winner in the CFL for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

Streveler was 6-of-9 but had just 36 yards. In short, the Cardinals could really use Kyler Murray and DeAndre Hopkins back. It’s too early to know if the duo will be back next week but once they’re on the field again, this team is going to look like contenders.

As frustrating as their loss in Week 10 was for them, the truth is, this can easily happen whenever you have to start your backup quarterback. If we are being honest, the Cardinals would gladly take a 500 record while waiting on Murray since it would keep them in the running for not only a playoff spot but still for their division lead the No. 1 seed.

Next week, the Cardinals play on the road at the 3-6 Seattle Seahawks before going into the bye week. It seems likely they should have Murray back following that week at the latest — and they will still be just fine.

What a difference a week makes. The Dallas Cowboys were embarrassed in front of their own home crowd in Week 9 as the Denver Broncos won 30-16 — although it was never that close of a contest. This week, they took out all their frustrations from that loss on the poor Atlanta Falcons.

Dak Prescott was razor-sharp with 296 yards passing on 24-of-31 attempts. He also had two touchdown passes to CeeDee Lamb and ran one in as well. With more than 11 minutes left to play, he headed to the sidelines to relax and get ready for the Chiefs next week.

Prescott wasn’t the only one who was on fire either. Defensively, it seemed as though everyone was getting in on the fun as Dorance Armstrong and Micah Parsons each had a sack while Trevon Diggs, Anthony Brown, and Jourdan Lewis all had interceptions.

Armstrong also had a blocked punt and Nahshon Wright jumped on it for a touchdown. That was a far cry from last week when he touched a blocked punt beyond the line of scrimmage which gave the ball back to the Broncos.

Now at 7-2, the Cowboys have reasserted themselves as one of the top teams in the entire NFC. They’re for real and it appears Week 9 was the anomaly.

Plays on Monday Night Football vs. San Francisco 49ers

This ended up being an eventful weekend for the Los Angeles Rams who ended up luring Odell Beckham, Jr. to their team — not long after trading for Von Miller. They were clearly gearing up for a run at the Lombardi Trophy, but then there was a speed bump hit on Saturday.

Wide receiver Robert Woods suffered a torn ACL which is a huge hit for their offense. Woods is a player who not only excels as a pass-catcher (45 receptions for 556 yards and four touchdowns thus far) but he’s also a huge weapon in the run game as a blocker.

Los Angeles would have loved to put OBJ on the same field as Woods and Cooper Kupp — who is putting together one of the best campaigns ever — but that won’t happen now. The good news is, they do at least have a replacement for Woods with Beckham, and they might be able to keep him happy with the extra targets that are sure to come his way.

The question is whether or not we will see him now in Week 10 as they take on the San Francisco 49ers on Monday Night Football. There’s some hope for L.A. that this could happen and even if he’s simply a decoy in his debut, he could end up helping their offense stay on track.

In their second game without Derrick Henry, the Tennessee Titans continued to show they have what it takes to win as a team without their biggest star. Last week, they did so by knocking off the Los Angeles Rams in a huge prime-time game — that proved to be a statement win. In Week 10, they were again facing a solid team as they hosted the 5-3 New Orleans Saints.

Tennessee ended up handing the Saints their fourth loss while moving to 8-2 on the season. But it wasn’t easy as they had to hold off a surging New Orleans team late.

After going ahead 20-6, the Saints got back in it. They scored a touchdown with 1:16 to play as Trevor Siemian hit Marquez Callaway for a 15-yard touchdown but they were unable to score on the two-point conversion. That led to the Titans being able to sit on the ball — following an inside kick recovery — and walking away with a 23-21 win.

They’re now 8-2 and the next best team in their division is the Indianapolis Colts who are 5-5. But the Titans aren’t just winning due to their position in a bad division. They’re also beating good teams and outside of their Week 1 loss to Arizona and a shocking defeat by the Jets, they have been the best team in the AFC this season.

It was a 3-0 game for much of the day but then the Green Bay Packers put the Seattle Seahawks away as they scored two touchdowns in the final quarter to move to 8-2 on the season. What was most impressive is the fact that they completely shut out the Seahawks, spoiling Russell Wilson’s return to the field.

So far in 2021, that’s been what’s stood out for the Packers — their defense. Dillon Graff of Lombardi Avenue dove into the way they have been playing under Joe Barry and he’s been more than impressed with how they have limited big plays, which in turn limits scoring.

"“This season, Green Bay has allowed just 22 passing plays of 20 yards or more, which ranks seventh best in the NFL. This can be attributed to the fact Green Bay often plays two-high safeties, forcing teams to nickel and dime their way down the field. Of course, this is an easier feat to accomplish when you are getting strong safety play from Adrian Amos and Darnell Savage. Most importantly, the Packers are keeping points off the board. Joe Barry’s defense has allowed less than 23 points in seven of the team’s nine games, including six straight, which is the longest such streak in the NFL this season.” — Graff, Lombardi Ave"

Couple this defense with Aaron Rodgers quarterbacking them and you have the No. 1 team in the NFL.

They have beaten good teams to build an impressive resume and if they get home-field advantage in the postseason, they’ll be very tough to beat.