A reshuffle at the head of the AFC? Season over for the Jets and Cowboys? Struggles for kickers? NFL Week 11 Takeaways

Between the reigning Super Bowl champions losing their first game of the season and the former contenders continuing their disappointing seasons, Week 11 was filled with talking points.

The “Trump dance” also took center stage, with many of the league’s prominent players imitating the dance made popular by President-elect Donald Trump to celebrate moments during their games.

Here are the key takeaways from last week in the National Football League.

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A reshuffle at the head of the AFC?

The AFC’s path to the Super Bowl appeared to run through Kansas City after the Chiefs opened the season on a nine-game winning streak.

However, things could change after the Chiefs’ first loss of the season to conference rivals the Buffalo Bills on Sunday.

The Bills now sit just one game behind the Chiefs who still hold the No. 1 seed in the AFC, but due to the 30-21 victory, they hold the tiebreaker between the two teams.

Perhaps more than the result, this should allow Buffalo to become the most complete team in the conference.

Led by an MVP-caliber quarterback in Josh Allen, the Bills offense has everything it needs to succeed, even in the often frigid temperatures of upstate New York.

Between the Bills’ bevy of playmaking receivers, talented group of tight ends and running backs capable of making defenders miss, Allen can choose the matchup he favors as he lines up to take the snap.

Even when these things are covered and his offensive line has been beaten by defenders, Allen’s running ability can be a great pressure release valve, as he showed on the final touchdown in the victory against Kansas City, breaking several tackles and rumbling into the end zone for the game-sealing score.

Allen is also aided by an ascending defense that, under the tutelage of head coach Sean McDermott, has grown as the season has progressed, intercepting Patrick Mahomes twice and limiting the entire Chiefs to just 259 yards passing. total attack.

It was a momentous victory for Buffalo to defeat the AFC’s No. 1 seed, but as the team enters its bye week, the team emphasizes that this isn’t the end of the season.

“It’s not the finish line, it’s the next game,” McDermott said, with left tackle Dion Dawkins calling it “just a win.”

“It feels good to win, especially against a great team. Every time we play the Chiefs, we already know what kind of moment it’s going to be and get a win, which is beautiful, but it’s not the Super Bowl,” he told reporters.

“The respect is there, and it’s high, but it’s a good thing going into the bye week. This puts everyone in good faith, in a good mood and with good smiles.

The results from week 11 mean things are now extremely tight at the top of the AFC with seven weeks remaining in the season.

The Chiefs hold a one-game lead over the Bills, who themselves have a one-game lead over the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Houston Texans, Los Angeles Chargers and Baltimore Ravens all have seven wins.

Season over for the Jets and Cowboys?

The 2024 season has been unforgettable for the New York Jets and Dallas Cowboys.

The Jets lost their eighth game of the season on Sunday, falling by one point at home to the Indianapolis Colts after a late fourth-quarter touchdown run — led by recently reinstalled starting quarterback Anthony Richardson — gave victory at Indy.

The Cowboys, meanwhile, lost their fifth straight game and seventh of the season on Monday, soundly beaten 34-10 at home by the Houston Texans.

For two teams with high expectations entering 2024, their Week 11 results could signal the end of any playoff hopes they might have had and foreshadow a big offseason of changes in New Jersey and Texas.

The Jets were supposed to be transformed into Super Bowl contenders with the addition of Aaron Rodgers last year, but his season-ending Achilles injury on the fourth snap of his debut ended any hopes last year.

This season hasn’t been much better, however, with the firing of head coach Robert Saleh and the acquisition of Rodgers’ longtime friend and Green Bay Packers teammate Davante Adams, who didn’t helped a stuttering Jets offense.

What the Jets will do next season at quarterback remains a question as Rodgers turns 41 in December.

For the Cowboys, the regular season was very disappointing after the success of previous years.

Under head coach Mike McCarthy, Dallas had dominated the regular season, but fell short in the playoffs.

With pressure mounting on McCarthy to bring playoff success to Arlington, it has been a disaster on all fronts for “America’s Team,” with serious injuries to key players — including quarterback Dak Prescott and star linebacker Micah Parsons – who ruined the campaign.

The results were also disappointing, with the Cowboys yet to win a home game all season, losing four by more than 24 points.

Like the Jets, the offseason appears to be full of upheaval in Dallas, but McCarthy says his team is still fighting for every outcome.

“We suffered seven defeats. We have to go. Leaning against the wall. We have to fight, scratch and claw,” he said after the loss to the Texans. “We have to do everything we can to win the next game. That’s where I think. That’s what I’m going to coach and that’s what’s expected.

“We have to win. We deserve to win. You know, we deserve the opportunity to win. And it’s about putting the best people on the market. So right now we are young. So these guys, our young guys, are getting a lot of experience. We have to do whatever it takes to win.

Kickers in trouble?

The sight of Justin Tucker soaring through a basket and celebrating has become commonplace in recent years.

After all, Tucker is the most accurate kicker in NFL history.

But 2024 has been a somewhat strange season for the 34-year-old, as he has been unusually temperamental in his efforts.

And that continued in the Baltimore Ravens’ Week 11 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, in which Tucker missed two field goals of 47 and 50 yards respectively. The kicker’s struggles were highlighted by the success of his Pittsburgh counterpart, with Pittsburgh’s Chris Boswell making all six of his field goals – he missed just one kick all year.

For arguably the greatest kicker of all time, Sunday’s performance continued a down year in terms of high standards as he has now missed six field goals and one extra point so far – for reference, that’s the second most misses he’s had in one. season throughout his 13-year NFL career.

Tucker, who has a career-low 71.4 field goal percentage through Week 11, called his performance against the Steelers “frustrating” but remains confident he can fix his problems.

“I’m still confident that I’m going to go out there and make every kick,” Tucker said. “Part of how we stay confident is to keep working and trusting the process. It may sound like a broken record, but part of what brings us success is simply trusting the process and then taking it one step at a time.

But Tucker is by far not the only kicker to struggle this season.

Younghoe Koo – the Atlanta Falcons’ usually reliable kicker who is a former Pro Bowl player – missed seven shots, while Greg Zuerlein, who made the second-most field goals last season, missed seven. missed six.

Errant kicks have been a consistent theme of this season so far, a surprising trend for a facet of the game that has improved so much in recent years.

Twenty years ago, during the 2004 season, three starting kickers had a field goal percentage of around 90%. Now, 13 NFL kickers have reached that mark.

They’re also not helped by some inspired special teams, with two games in recent weeks sealed by last-second field goal blocks.

It may just be an incident, but kickers botching their attempts have now become a more common sight.

Complete Week 11 Results

Away at Home (winners in bold)

THURSDAY

Washington Commanders 18-26 Philadelphia Eagles

Sunday

Green Bay Packers 20-19 Chicago Bears

Jacksonville Jaguars 6-52 Detroit Lions

Las Vegas Raiders 19-34 Miami Dolphins

Los Angeles Rams 28-22 New England Patriots

Cleveland Browns 14-35 New Orleans Saints

Baltimore Ravens 16-18 Pittsburgh Steelers

Minnesota Vikings 23-13 Tennessee Titans

Indianapolis Colts 28-27 New York Jets

Atlanta Falcons 6-38 Denver Broncos

Seattle Seahawks 20-17 San Francisco 49ers

Kansas City Chiefs 21-30 Buffalo Bills

Cincinnati Bengals 27-34 Los Angeles Chargers

Monday

Houston Texans 34-10 Dallas Cowboys

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