Tright here had been two video games on Sunday that allowed followers and analysts to get a great learn on the AFC. Within the early slate, there was the now 8-2 Pittsburgh Steelers v the now 7-4 Baltimore Ravens. Within the late slate, it was the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs in opposition to the Buffalo Payments.
Lamar Jackson has been nice in opposition to most opponents as a passer, however the Steelers have had his quantity. In six earlier profession video games in opposition to Baltimore’s most outstanding divisional opponent, Jackson had accomplished 78 passes on 132 makes an attempt for 870 yards, 4 touchdowns, seven interceptions, and a passer score of 66.8 – by far his lowest in opposition to any opponent. And in opposition to Pittsburgh on Sunday, Jackson accomplished simply 16 of 33 passes for 207 yards, one landing, one interception, and a passer score of … 66.1. Pittsburgh have a knack for forcing Jackson to remain within the pocket, compressing issues with strain, and blanketing his receivers with tight protection.
Issues started lower than optimally for the Ravens on Sunday with a number of surprising debits. Working again Derrick Henry, who can be a reliable Most Priceless Participant candidate this season, fumbled for the primary time in a Ravens uniform, and for the primary time in his final 538 touches. And future Corridor of Fame kicker Justin Tucker continued his current accuracy maladies with two missed discipline targets on consecutive drives within the first half. Tucker has already missed six discipline objective makes an attempt this season after lacking simply 5 in all the 2023 marketing campaign.
These Tucker misses mattered lots, as a result of this was a typical Steelers-Ravens rock combat with the ultimate rating 18-16 in Pittsburgh’s favor. That’s the seventh straight Steelers-Ravens sport wherein neither crew managed greater than 20 factors, and it was Steelers kicker Chris Boswell’s six discipline targets in six makes an attempt that made all of the distinction this time round.
As for the previously 9-0 Chiefs … properly, there’s been a reliable argument all season lengthy that they haven’t performed to a stage worthy of that title. Coming into Week 11, Andy Reid’s crew had the bottom level differential (+58) of any 9-0 crew in professional soccer historical past, they usually’ve underperformed to their report by any metric you care to say.
Patrick Mahomes has appeared like a lesser model of himself via most of 2024, and that story continued when he threw a horrible interception on the second play of the sport – a desperation heave as Buffalo defensive lineman DaQuan Jones was bringing him down.
Payments quarterback Josh Allen responded together with his personal ill-advised interception to Chiefs defensive again Chamarri Conner on a fourth-and-three from the Kansas Metropolis 34-yard line with 7:38 left within the first half.
So, that evened itself out.
The Payments led 16-14 at halftime, which gave them no confidence by any means. The Chiefs got here into this sport with 9 straight wins in video games the place they’ve trailed at any level within the second half, an NFL report.
This time, luck labored within the Payments’ favor. The Chiefs managed one other landing within the second half, however Buffalo began to drag away when Allen hit receiver Curtis Samuel for a 12-yard landing with 12:51 left within the sport.
After which, with 2:17 remaining, head coach Sean McDermott determined to place issues in Allen’s fingers – or, extra particularly, his legs. On a fourth-and-two from the Kansas Metropolis 26-yard line, the Payments eschewed the straightforward discipline objective, and Allen responded with a 26-yard landing run that almost sealed the deal.
Linebacker Terrel Bernard’s interception of Mahomes’ cross with 1:17 left put the boot in.
The 30-21 last ended the Chiefs’ hopes of an undefeated season, and gave the now 9-2 Payments a small measure of revenge in opposition to the crew that has been their major postseason nightmare over the previous couple of years. Hopefully, we’ll see these two behemoths face off within the playoffs as soon as once more.
MVP(s) of the week
David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs, RB, Detroit Lions. The ten-1 Lions have received video games when Jared Goff threw for simply 85 yards (Week 8 v the Titans), and when he threw 5 interceptions (Week 10 v the Houston Texans). However Goff has been lights-out for essentially the most half this season, and he was assisted on Sunday by the Jacksonville Jaguars’ pitiful protection (extra on the turmoil in Jacksonville in a bit). However what makes this Lions crew so harmful is that they will nonetheless get it finished when Goff’s lights are out.
One cause is a protection that has improved drastically now that defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn has the gamers he desires, particularly in protection. One other is the Detroit dashing assault. Within the Lions’ 52-6 thrashing of the Jaguars, David Montgomery gained 75 yards and scored two touchdowns on 15 carries. Jahmyr Gibbs, the lightning to Montgomery’s thunder, gained 69 yards and scored a dashing landing on 11 carries. Gibbs additionally had an enormous 54-yard reception on a easy swing cross.
That two-headed dashing assault isn’t simply nice – it’s historic.
Video of the week
For the reason that Titans chosen him within the second spherical within the 2023 NFL draft, quarterback Will Levis hasn’t precisely appeared like a franchise man. On Sunday, he was dealing with a Minnesota Vikings protection that throws extra disguise and late motion at enemy quarterbacks than every other. So, catastrophe was foreseen. The Titans misplaced the sport, 23-13, however Levis had a few serviceable performs, and one very large one – this 98-yard landing to receiver Nick Westbrook-Ikhine. The Vikings went with a five-man strain, and Westbrook-Ikhine beat his defender for the large play.
Amazingly sufficient, that’s not the longest play in Titans historical past. That honor goes to the aforementioned Henry, who pulled off this 99-yard landing run in opposition to the Jaguars on 6 December 2018.
Stat of the week
Seven. We do have to offer Goff some love right here, as a result of he did one thing in opposition to the Jaguars that was fairly outstanding. In all the historical past {of professional} soccer, there have been seven video games wherein a quarterback has thrown for a minimum of 400 yards and a minimum of 4 landing passes whereas recording the best doable passer score of 158.3. Ken O’Brien of the New York Jets did it in 1986. Nick Foles of the Philadelphia Eagles did it in 2013. Aaron Rodgers of the Inexperienced Bay Packers and Deshaun Watson of the Texans every did it in 2019.
The one different quarterback to perform this feat is Mr Goff, and he’s now finished so twice in his profession. There was his sport in opposition to the Vikings on 27 September 2018, when he accomplished 26 of 33 passes for 465 yards, 5 touchdowns, and no interceptions. And there was Sunday’s sport in opposition to the Jaguars, when he accomplished 24 of 29 passes for 419 yards, 4 touchdowns, and no picks.
Goff isn’t all the time essentially the most constant quarterback, however when he’s on, he’s actually on. So long as that’s the case, and as a lot as we’ve talked concerning the AFC, anyone attempting to cease the Lions’ Tremendous Bowl chase would possibly want greater than slightly little bit of luck.
Elsewhere across the league
The Chicago Bears fired offensive coordinator Shane Waldron after the crew’s 19-3 Week 10 loss to the New England Patriots as a result of all the unit was damaged, and 2024 first general choose Caleb Williams appeared like a shell of the quarterback he was anticipated to be. There have been every kind of causes for that – most on Waldron and a few on Williams – however beneath alternative OC Thomas Brown in opposition to the Packers, Williams appeared much more just like the star he was at USC.
Whereas Waldron had Williams sitting within the pocket for too lengthy in order that he may throw hopelessly into route mixtures that made little sense, Brown neatly designed issues so the rookie would get the ball out extra rapidly, and his first reads had been extra readily open. Brown additionally clearly instructed Williams that if he didn’t like what he noticed downfield, he ought to use his legs. The rookie responded with a sport wherein he accomplished 23 of 31 passes for 231 yards, no touchdowns, no interceptions and a passer score of 74.2. Not world-beating numbers, however there may be now a semblance of a passing sport within the Windy Metropolis.
Sadly, the Bears couldn’t flip that right into a win; they misplaced 20-19 to the Packers partially as a result of Inexperienced Bay defensive lineman Karl Brooks blocked Cairo Santos’ 46-yard discipline objective try as time expired. Bears head coach Matt Eberflus, whose in-game mismanagements have been an issue for some time, would possibly need to learn up on geometry. As an alternative of operating one other play to get extra yardage and a neater strive for Santos, Eberflus selected to bleed the clock right down to the three-second mark. A number of Packers gamers stated that the longer discipline objective pressured Santos to kick the ball at a decrease trajectory, which made it simpler to dam.
Talking of embattled coaches… After Jacksonville’s Week 10 loss to the Vikings, Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson dismissively instructed an area reporter that he wouldn’t clarify backup quarterback Mac Jones’ second interception within the 12-7 loss as a result of “you guys wouldn’t determine it out.” That was the most recent in an extended line of embarrassments within the Jaguars’ season, which started with crew proprietor Shad Khan saying outright that the 2024 Jags had been the best-assembled crew in franchise historical past, and that the expectation was to win now.
That has clearly not occurred for the 2-9 Jags, who’ve been a catastrophe on each side of the ball. This week, Ian Rapoport of the NFL Community reported that the seat beneath Pederson is white-hot, and had been the Jags to be embarrassed by the Lions on Sunday, it may predicate motion for Pederson – ie, proper out the door. And common supervisor Trent Baalke may comply with Pederson earlier than later.
One 52-6 catastrophe later, lets say that Peterson’s seat has now escalated from sizzling to thermonuclear. The one excellent news for the replacements is that the Jags are in place for the primary general choose within the 2025 draft.
The Denver Broncos have cycled via quarterback after quarterback (14, to be precise) since Peyton Manning retired on the finish of the 2015 season. The search has been fruitless, and it contains the 2022 commerce with the Seattle Seahawks for Russell Wilson that turned one of the vital onerous offers in current historical past. The Broncos launched Wilson in March, even though the reduce left the Broncos with $85m in lifeless wage cap sources over the next two league years.
However in Bo Nix, the Broncos and head coach Sean Payton might lastly have their man. Like most rookie quarterbacks, Nix has had his share of tough moments. However he’s turned issues round decisively of late. In Denver’s 38-6 Sunday win over the Atlanta Falcons, he accomplished 28 of 33 passes for 307 yards, 4 touchdowns (every to totally different receivers), no interceptions, and a passer score of 145.0. Nix was 0-4 in his touchdown-to interception ratio after his first two NFL video games; he’s been 14-2 since.
Whereas Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels was as soon as considered the runaway winner of the Offensive Rookie of the 12 months award, Nix has thrown his hat into the ring.
Daniels: 202 completions on 294 makes an attempt for two,338 yards, 10 touchdowns, three interceptions, a passer score of 99.6, and 482 dashing yards and 4 touchdowns on 92 carries
Nix: 234 completions on 357 makes an attempt for two,276 yards, 14 touchdowns, six interceptions, a passer score of 89.3, and 295 dashing yard and 4 touchdowns on 63 carries
Nix didn’t have the incendiary begin to his rookie season that Daniels did, however as they are saying – it’s not the way you begin, it’s the way you end.
