The Sunday Review: Week 11 - a Special Monday Edition

Apologies that this column is 24hrs later than it usually is arriving in front of your eyes, but family commitments and this thing called the World Cup meant my Sunday evening and Monday morning were pretty hectic. Ah well, it allows me to talk about the Monday Night Football game in Mexico City last night, as opposed to previewing it. Week 11 had a somewhat lacklustre slate of games, but a number of significant storylines held within it. Before we head into the wonderful Thanksgiving Week, let’s take one last look at the Week that was, starting with the aforementioned MNF in Mexico.

Niners Look Legit As Injured Cards Crumble

AP Photo/Fernando Llano

I just absolutely love international NFL games. I’m sure it’s difficult for the players, with the potential for jet-lag, or playing at altitude, but growing the game internationally and sharing it with the world can never be a bad thing. Unfortunately for me, a long-time Jimmy G denier, the bad thing last night was that the 49ers are starting to look serious. The addition of Christian McCaffrey has made a significant difference, and the return of Elijah Mitchell is helping noticeably too. Garoppolo was undeniably good last night, though the Cardinals didn’t put up much resistance in the 2nd half. George Kittle and Brandon Aiyuk caught a pair of Touchdowns apiece, and the Niners took control of the NFC West. Kyle Shanahan’s crew are now 4-0 in the division, and improving as the Rams and Cardinals appear to be falling by the wayside. The Seahawks are still in the mix, but you have to feel like they’re more likely to fall away, though I will be hoping and praying they don’t. Bad tackling from Arizona helped San Francisco all night, who are famed for their ability to gain yards after the catch, but were the beneficiaries of some shambolic play to pad their scoring. Nobody is going to want to play the Niners in the postseason, and if we end up with a Vikings vs 49ers NFC Championship game… that might just be my worst nightmare.

The Arizona Cardinals are running away with the “most unlucky team of the season” award. They’ve been ravaged and hamstrung with injuries and suspension, with DHop missing the first 6 games, Hollywood Brown missing almost two months, James Conner missing a handful of games, and now Kyler Murray going down too. And that’s only on the offensive side of the ball… Hard Knocks In-Season may now be destined to another playoff-less season, barring a miraculous turnaround in fortunes and success rates. That said, there were business decisions being made by Cardinal defenders late in the 2nd half yesterday, and Arizona feels like a team devoid of much hope right now. They face the Chargers next week, trying to get to 5-7 before their Week 13 bye, and then finish the season with the Patriots,  Broncos, Buccaneers, Falcons and 49ers again. There’s a handful of stellar defenses in there, and even with the presumptive return of Kyler Murray, it’s going to be difficult for Arizona to make a run unless they’re able to win out from here. It would be a great story… but even the most positive Arizonan would have to admit it’s sadly a long shot at this point. We’ve not seen them 100% together as a team at any point this season. Tough breaks.

Cowboys Humiliate Vikings

Well, well, well… how the turn tables! The Minnesota Vikings came up against a fearsome Dallas Cowboys defense, didn’t have every single imaginable bounce go their way, and guess what? They lost! Tony Pollard and Dak Prescott put on a CLINIC, taking the Vikings apart to the tune of 40 points, which Micah Parsons and Dallas’ ferocious pass rush limited Minnesota to just one Field Goal. I do think this tells us more about Dallas than Minnesota. I’ve been loud and proud in telling everyone in my life that Kirk Cousins and the Vikings are not serious SuperBowl contenders, and this performance only reassured me I won’t be embarrassed come February. I do, however, think it’s fair to say that this victory – in particular, the manner of it – vaults the Cowboys right to the top of the NFC contenders. If I had to – right now – I’d bank on a Cowboys vs Eagles NFC Championship game. That would be absolutely electric. With how both teams have easily handled Minnesota this season, you can’t convince me that they’re serious. Justin Jefferson is special. Dalvin Cook is great. Adam Thielen has been great throughout his career. TJ Hockenson was a good pickup… and yet they remain hamstrung by their Quarterback. It’s simple to say “the game wasn’t at 1pm” so Kirk lost, but there was nothing good about the Vikings on Sunday. They have the lowest combined point differential of any 8-2 team in NFL history (-2pts overall)… Not a serious contender.

For Dallas… You can see why OBJ is supposedly very interested in joining this team right now, if his career aim from here on out is just to jump around to a different SuperBowl contender each season and make a run at another ring. Dak has his critics, but when he’s at his clinical best – as he was yesterday – this offense becomes a juggernaut, especially with Zeke and Pollard doing their “thunder & lightning” routine from the backfield. CeeDee Lamb and OBJ together? Sounds like a great situation for Dak to me. Of course with Cowboys fans it’s always their year… but this time it could actually be that way. A defense like this can carry them a long way, and with Pollard seemingly announcing himself as a premier receiving back in the league… I’d not bet against the Cowboys finding a way to win a playoff game on the road, if they can’t catch the Eagles for the division lead. Mike McCarthy might get another shot at a second SuperBowl ring before Aaron Rodgers…

Mahomes Continues MVP Campaign To Beat Chargers

AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez

Our Sunday Night Main Event was another Herbert vs Mahomes duel in the AFC West. NBC made a huge deal out of this being their 5th matchup, but after all was said and done, it was the Grim Reaper standing with 4 wins out of those 5. Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce are inevitable. Kelce’s hat trick of TDs – his second of the year – was superb, scything through the Chargers as he seems to do every time he plays against them. Mahomes meanwhile continues to show that – in reality – he’s the MVP of the league pretty much every season, and if someone else wins it, it’s really just because his level of greatness is so high that we’ve gotten complacent about it. The Chiefs even appear to have discovered a run game, with Isiah Pacheco largely taking over the backfield and averaging over 7 yards per carry. The Chiefs are the best team in the league (sorry Bills and Eagles fans), and it’s hard right now to look past the potential for Mahomes’ 2nd SuperBowl win this coming February.

Justin Herbert has to just hate the fact that he’s been drafted into the same division as Mahomes, doesn’t he? Do we think Herbert wishes he and Tua had swapped places after all? Maybe. It’s just tough, because Herbert week in, week out, makes a ton of great plays, the Chargers look like a potentially great team, and then at the end they lose the game. It feels like this exact dramatic ending happens 5-6 times a year for them. Ekeler is amazing, Keenan Allen looked good – fumble aside – in his return, Josh Palmer looks like he has star qualities too… This Chargers roster is so much better than 5-5. I hope Brandon Staley is allowed to keep building this team, but until they can beat Kansas City and not blow games that they’re leading with 2 minutes to go… then doubts will remain. 

Thursday Night Throwback:

Mike Vrabel’s Tennessee Titans were not interested in Aaron Rodgers’ rallying cry for the Packers, as Derrick Henry was instrumental in all but extinguishing Green Bay’s playoff dreams. Rodgers tried in vain to keep the Packers playoff relevant, hitting Christian Watson for another 2 TDs, to take the rookie’s tally to 5 in his last two games… but it wasn’t enough. 

Derrick Henry did it all. He was even 2/2 in passes! I love it when Vrabel pulls out the gadget plays with their big man. Tennessee are another team that NOBODY wants to face in the cold of January. If you can go into Lambeau on a cold night and WIN!? Then you’re clearly set up for playoff football. Treylon Burks made a couple of big plays, suggesting that his chemistry with Ryan Tannehill has started to sink into this offensive scheme, which is a dangerous thing for opposing defenses who have to sell out to stop the run. This is not the victory retirement tour Rodgers was hoping for. Is this year going to be his final one? Perhaps not, but it seems it will be one to forget.

Quick Hits

  • So the Falcons somehow won their 5th game of the season, as Justin Fields played an entire half with a dislocated shoulder. Bears fans won’t be too upset with this loss, as it keeps them near the top of the Draft Board this offseason, and continues to show that Fields IS the guy for this franchise moving forward.
  • Jeff Saturday’s scrappy Colts nearly beat the Eagles. Jalen Hurts’ rescue act at the end of the game got Philly back in the win column, but this is two uninspired performances back to back now, so the Eagles have a few kinks to work out before they face Green Bay on Sunday night.
  • I read on Twitter that the Jets averaged 2.77 INCHES per play in the 2nd Half against the Patriots. Putrid isn’t a strong enough word to describe that level of offensive output. It’s actually offensive how bad the Jets are at offense. Sure, the Pats D is for real, but come on… Anyway, the ONLY thing you need to watch to understand this game is Marcus Jones’ game-winning punt return with just 5 seconds left on the clock. Somehow… the Patriots are 6-4, and all 4 teams in the AFC East are at least two games above .500. Wild.
  • The Ravens and Panthers played out a snoozefest that was 3-3 heading into the 4th quarter. This told us that Baltimore is not yet the finished article, and are going to need to clean up their offensive output significantly if they’re going to make a Playoff run in the AFC. Lamar Jackson needs his skill players to get (and then stay) healthy.
  • The Giants are who we thought they were: not the real deal. Their fans applauding Golladay making a catch was objectively hilarious though. The Lions however… have won 3 in a row! The Dan Campbell revolution lives!!! Delighted for the city and Detroit and their fans. Any chance of a big Thanksgiving upset against Buffalo?
  • Speaking of the Bills, they arrived in Detroit 5 days early for Thanksgiving and decided to beat the Browns there whilst they were at it. Cleveland is very clearly now heading for a trial by fire of Deshaun Watson to end this season, and looking ahead to 2023 for their return to the playoffs.
  • The Rams are an absolute trainwreck, and if Jameis Winston was starting instead of Andy Dalton the Saints would be a lot more fun. Chris Olave is going to be great in this league for a long time to come. Sean McVay might be regretting turning down the TV money…
  • “The Samaje Perine Game” might live long in the memory of Bengals fans, as their backup RB took centre stage and took over. The Steelers couldn’t keep him out of the endzone and, despite Najee Harris looking more like himself, couldn’t find enough offense to keep up with Joe Burrow. Kenny Pickett is gonna take some time to develop, but George Pickens looks like another star receiver in the Steel City. Bengals keep pressure on the Ravens in the AFC North.
  • Taylor Heinicke is a good Quarterback, and the Washington Commanders, whisper it, are seriously in Playoff Contention in the NFC. The Commanders might even be better than the Giants if we’re completely honest… The Texans? Awful. Maybe the worst NFL team we’ve seen in a long time.
  • Davante Adams honestly deserves so much better than being on this Raiders team. After Sunday, it’s exceptionally clear that the AFC West is a division of two halves, and Las Vegas & Denver are MILES behind the Chiefs and Chargers. Russell Wilson’s first year as a Bronco could not have been more of a nightmare. Will Nathaniel Hackett survive this? Hard to say. 

Bonus Thanksgiving Predictions!: (Season Record: 7-5)

USA Today Sports

Keeping this short and sweet for a variety of reasons, but Thanksgiving Football is one of the best things in sport. It’s always one of my favourite weeks of the entire season, as we get 3 bonus stand-alone games, plus therefore a slightly easier to digest Sunday slate with a reduced number of games. That said, with Patriots vs Vikings as the prime time game on Thursday… I might be taking a well-earned post-Dinner nap rather than watching Mac Jones & Kirk Cousins fight over who can be more of an average white guy in front of the world. Thankfully, we have a couple of early games in Lions vs Bills and Cowboys vs Giants that should hopefully keep us entertained ahead of the night game. Let’s go with the Bills, Cowboys & Patriots to win.

Week 12 Preview

Week 12 Sunday begins with Tua and the Dolphins looking to chase receiving records against the hapless Texans, plus the Bengals and Titans clashing in what should be a really good game. In the afternoon window, the Chargers and Cardinals face each other in a game that might have 75 points scored because of how injured both defenses seem to be, alongside the Saints vs 49ers, and last year’s Champs – the Rams – against this year’s presumptive Champs – the Chiefs. The Sunday Night game is Eagles vs Packers, as Philly look to pour more misery onto Aaron Rodgers and Matt LaFleur, before we get the Steelers travelling to the Colts on Monday night. It’s actually a pretty good set of games, and we have Thanksgiving before we even get to it! As always, thanks for taking the time to read this article. I’m @CallumJDSquires on Twitter & Instagram. Come say hey. Hope you all have a great week. Cheers.

Callum Squires

NFL/CFB ANALYST

CALLUM IS FROM LONDON, BUT PLAYED COLLEGE SOCCER AT TRINITY UNIVERSITY IN SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS. CALLUM IS A LONG-SUFFERING DOLPHINS FAN WHO BELIEVES THE TUA HYPE. NOW BACK STATESIDE, HIT HIM UP ON TWITTER @CALLUMJDSQUIRES!

5/5