Welcome to Part II of my Monday Morning Quarterback Post for Week 11. This post will cover the late slate on Sunday plus the Monday Night matchup. We got a couple of good games left to cover, and of course a few stinkers as well. Damn you NFL parity!

If you have read my posts before you know I am no fan of the Philadelphia Eagles. I hate them with passion. But this week I can identify with one Eagles fan. Her name is Mary Kate Mink. Mary was at the Eagles game on Sunday and after the refs called a bullshit roughing the passer call on the Eagles the Fox cameras caught her saying what everyone was thinking. You can't hear her, but you don't have to be much of a lip reader to figure it out:

https://twitter.com/i/status/1462573559965003781

Mary was at the game with her family and her kids phones started to blow up. They told mom she was caught on TV and quickly becoming an internet sensation. Of course Mary didn't know because she is a true fan: she shuts her damn phone off for the game.

Congrats Mary, you are officially the Chops316 MMQB NFL Fan of the Week. Thank you for making me proud to be from Pennsylvania.

Anyway on to the rest of the games. The Broncos and the Rams had a bye this week. Just remember I am a Dallas Cowboys fan and I'm extremely biased. Feel free to agree or disagree about anything mentioned here. All comments are welcome.

Sunday Night Shootout

_{The Steelers couldn't catch Justin Herbert
Source}

Chargers 41 Steelers 37

I was expecting a good game on Sunday night. I wasn’t expecting one of the craziest 4th quarters I’d ever seen. The Chargers and Steelers combined for 41 points in the 4th quarter alone! It was a race to the finish and after choking away the lead the Chargers managed to come back to win at home.

It figured the Steelers defense would struggle since T.J. Watt, Joe Haden and Minkah Fitzpatrick were all out with injuries. And struggle they did as Pittsburgh, who hadn’t let an opponent score more than 27 points this season, surrendered 41 points.

I’ll jump straight to the crazy 4th quarter. The Chargers entered the final period with a 27-10 lead as they had been dominating the Steelers on both sides of the ball for most of the game. Pittsburgh had the ball first and kicked a field goal to cut the deficit to 27-13. The Chargers took possession and for the first time in the game had a drive that ended with zero points. They attempted to punt and the Steelers blocked the kick. The ball rolled back out of bounds to the Chargers 3-yardline, where the Steelers took over. It took four plays, but Pittsburgh cashed in the turnover with a TD. The score was now 27-20 with 11 and half minutes left. Suddenly we had a game.

The Chargers took the kickoff and moved quickly down the field. They finished the drive with a TD to increase their lead to 34-20. Still nine minutes left in the game, but time was running out for the Steelers. Two TDs seemed like a safe lead. Hehe.

The Steelers offense suddenly looked rejuvenated and drove down the field for another TD of their own. The Chargers lead was cut in half, 34-27, with five minutes left to play. Los Angeles got the ball back and could have run out the clock with a few first downs. Instead they only held the ball for a few seconds before Justin Herbert was picked off by Cameron Sutton, who returned the ball to the Chargers 11-yard line.

With an extremely short field, the Steelers only needed a few seconds of their own to score their third TD of the quarter and tie the game at 34-34.

With four minutes left Los Angeles had plenty of time to retake the lead. But the Chargers offense that had been so dominant suddenly went cold. The Chargers faced a 4th and 1 on their own 34-yard line with three and half minutes left. L.A. boldly decided to go for it and were stuffed at the line of scrimmage. The Steelers took over, but couldn’t get a 1st down. Still they kicked a field goal to take a 37-34 lead. It was their first lead since they kicked the game’s opening field goal to go ahead 3-0.

The scoring was so fast and furious Los Angeles still had three minutes left to retaliate. They took a minute off the clock with a few passes that moved the ball near midfield. Then Herbert found a wide open Mike Williams:

https://twitter.com/i/status/1462640587698368514

The Chargers went ahead 41-37, but the Steelers still had two minutes left for a final comeback attempt. It didn’t go well. An incomplete pass, two sacks and a penalty left Pittsburgh facing a 4th and 32. Ouch. The Steelers failed to convert as the Chargers took possession and ran out the clock.

Whoo what a finish! It was a record breaking day for Justin Herbert as he became the first NFL quarterback to throw for over 350 yards and rush for 90 yards in a single game. Herbert (30/41, 382 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT) was nearly unstoppable. His only hiccup was that 4th quarter interception. Austin Ekeler also had a huge game on the ground (11 rushes, 50 yards, 2 TDs) and in the air (6 receptions, 65 yards, 2 TDs). He was the first player to have multiple TDs on the ground and in the air since 2011.

Huge win for the Chargers, who needed it to try and keep pace with the Chiefs. Los Angeles improved to 6-4, second place in the AFC West. They travel to Denver next week.

Tough loss for Pittsburgh, who made an epic comeback to take the lead late and let it slip away with a blown coverage. Ben Roethlisberger (28/44, 273 yards, 3 TDs) had his best game of the season. The Steelers needed it as Najee Harris (12 rushes, 29 yards, 1 TD) led a ground attack that totaled only 55 yards.

Pittsburgh fell to 5-4-1, third place in the AFC North. They need to move past this game quickly as they have a tough divisional game in Cincinnati next week.

It Was Time To Take The Cheese

_{Justin Jefferson flew past the Packers D
Source}

Vikings 34 Packers 31

It’s been an odd season for the Vikings so far. They have been competitive in all their games, they seem to barely win or barely lose. One step forward, one step back. It must be frustrating for all the denizens of Minnesota. Yet in Week 11 the Vikings took a big step forward by outlasting their top divisional rival.

The two teams traded scores all afternoon. The Packers defense had been spectacular recently, but Kirk Cousins lit them up. Of course on the other side Aaron Rodgers was doing the same thing to the Vikings defense. Minnesota’s offense got off to a bit quicker start and the Vikings led 16-10 at halftime.

More body blows were exchanged in the 3rd quarter as both teams added another TD, the Vikings led 23-17 going into the 4th quarter. Then it became another game where the defenses disappeared at the end.

The Packers had the ball first and embarked on a long, clock chewing drive. Green Bay covered 94 yards in 12 plays for a TD drive that ate up seven minutes. The result was a 24-23 lead for the Packers.

The Vikings needed to score, but at the same time didn’t want to leave much time for standard Aaron Rodgers late game heroics. They were moderately successful as they put together a 13 play TD drive in 5 and half minutes. Minnesota successfully converted a two-point attempt to retake the lead 31-24.

The Vikings had the lead, but Aaron Rodgers had two minutes to work with. Turns out he only needed 10 seconds:

https://twitter.com/i/status/1462523549797818380

Rodgers 75 yard TD pass to Marquez Valdes-Scantling tied the game 31-31. Yet the super quick score gave Minnesota plenty of time to finish Green Bay off. The Vikings used a mix of runs and passes to eat up the last two minutes of the game and drive down to the Packers 11-yard line. Greg Joseph punched the ball through the uprights as the finals seconds ticked off.

Massive win for the Vikings who are desperately trying to stay in playoff contention. Kirk Cousins (24/35, 341 yards, 3 TDs) torched the Packers secondary, something Patrick Mahomes and Kyler Murray were unable to do. He did it with the help of Justin Jefferson (8 receptions, 169 yards, 2 TDs), who the Packers never figured out how to cover. Dalvin Cook (22 rushes, 86 yards, 1 TD) anchored the ground game.

Defensively the Vikings did little to slow down Aaron Rodgers, but they aren’t alone there. The Vikings evened up their record at 5-5, second place in the NFC North. They travel to San Francisco next week to take on the suddenly hot 49ers.

It’s a rough loss when your quarterback has a fantastic day and you still manage to lose. Aaron Rodgers (23/33, 385 yards, 4 TDs) was spectacular, yet the Packers started a little slow compared to Minnesota and the clock caught up to them in the end. A.J. Dillon (11 rushes, 53 yards) led a ground attack that totaled 95 yards on 19 carries.

The Packers defense had been stout since their Week 1 meltdown against the Saints, but this week they fell apart again. Green Bay fell to 8-3, first place in the NFC North. They have another big showdown coming next week when they host the Rams.

Homecoming

_{Taylor Heinicke enjoyed his return to North Carolina
Source}

No-Names 27 Panthers 21

It was a homecoming weekend in North Carolina. Cam Newton was making his first start in over two years for the Panthers, the fans were glad to have him back after suffering through Sam Darnold this year. Ironically Newton’s return came against his former head coach Ron Rivera, who was fired two years ago before taking the same job in Washington.

Those were the two names the media focused on before this game. They forgot it was also a homecoming for No-Names quarterback Taylor Heinicke, who backed up Newton in 2018. And wouldn’t you know it, it was the forgotten man who stole the show.

It didn’t start that way. Carolina received the opening kickoff and Cam Newton led a drive that culminated in a TD pass to D.J. Moore. Early 7-0 lead for the Panthers. The game slowed down after that as neither team scored for the rest of the quarter.

Things picked up in the 2nd quarter. Heinicke found his groove and led Washington on a game tying TD drive. After exchanging punts, Newton returned fire with a 24 yard TD run to put Carolina back into the lead. The Washington got their ground game going as they marched down the field and Heinicke finished it off with another TD pass. 14-14 at the break.

The 3rd quarter mirrored the 1st. The No-Names received the opening kickoff and scored a TD. After that both offenses cooled off as Washington held a 21-14 lead at the end of three quarters. Cam Newton righted the ship to start the 4th quarter with another TD pass to tie the game at 21-21.

At that point the No-Names defense took over. They forced a turnover on downs in back-to-back drives as their own offense was able to kick two field goals. The No-Names were able to bleed the clock and walk away with an upset victory for the second week in a row.

Carolina had the league’s #1 pass defense coming into this game, so Washington went with a run-heavy game plan. Antonio Gibson (19 rushes, 95 yards) led a committee that gained 190 yards on 40 carries. That kind of support let Taylor Heinicke (16/22, 206 yards, 3 TDs) pick his spots, which he did especially well in the red zone. Good balanced offensive plan of attack.

The Washington defense stepped up in the 4th quarter, stifling two attempted drives by the Panthers to come back. All around good game for the No-Names, who improved to 4-6. Washington occupies third place in the NFC East and will host the Seahawks next Monday night.

Carolina needed this game to keep pace in the playoff race, but the offense and defense failed at the end. Cam Newton (21/27, 189 yards, 2 TDs) showed some of the best quarterback play the Panthers have seen this year. He also chipped in with 46 yards and a TD on the ground. Christian McCaffrey (10 rushes, 59 yards) was the leading ground gainer and you have to wonder why he didn’t get more carries.

Of course McCaffrey (7 receptions, 60 yards, 1 TD) was also a threat in the air. The Panther defense had a game to forget. They got bullied on the ground and let Heinicke take them apart in the red zone. The panther fell to 5-6, third place in the NFC South. They need to start winning now to save their season. They travel to Miami next week.

Around The League

_{Jordan Howard was one of several Eagles that trampled the Saints
Source}

Eagles 40 Saints 29

This game was a test for Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni. He has turned Philly’s season around by committing to the run game. Yet this week the Eagles hosted the New Orleans Saints. The Saints entered this game with the NFL’s #1 run defense, allowing only a paltry 72.9 yards per game. Would Sirianni stick to his guns or revert back to the chuck and duck offense that put the Eagles in a hole?

Kudos to Nick Sirianni for sticking to his guns. The Eagles came out running and never stopped. Until they hit the endzone that is. Philadelphia trampled New Orleans, piling up 242 rushing yards in the process. Add a couple of takeaways that were converted into TDs and the Eagles slapped a forty burger on one of the best defenses in the league.

Both teams punted with their first possession. Then Philly intercepted a Trevor Siemian pass and set up shop on the Saints 39-yard line. 7 plays later they cashed in the turnover for a TD. After another New Orleans punt the Eagles stayed hot on the ground and scored another TD to take a 14-0 lead after one quarter.

The Saints got off to an ugly start. Their first four possession ended in three punts and an interception. They caught a break early in the 2nd quarter as Miles Sanders fumbled the ball deep in Eagles territory. Starting on Philly’s 6-yard line, it took four plays to get on the board with a TD. Nothing else went right before halftime.

The Eagles added two field goals as the Saints offense stayed cold. With a minute left in the half, the Saints got the ball deep in their own territory. Down 20-7, they tried to make something happen before the break. Well they did, but it wasn’t what they were looking for. Siemian threw another pick, which Darius Slay returned 51 yards for a pick-six. Philly had a large 27-7 lead at the half.

The Eagles added two field goals, one set up by a Saints fumble, in the 3rd quarter to increase their lead to 33-7. The game was turning into a rout when Trevor Siemian finally came alive in the 4th quarter. New Orleans scored a TD (missed extra point) and a field goal on back-to-back drives to cut their deficit to 33-22.

The Eagles got their shit back together after that, putting together a 74 yard drive capped off with a 24 yard TD run by Jalen Hurts. The Saints squeezed in one final TD before time expired, but it was too late as the Eagles walked off with a 40-29 victory.

Talk about committing to the run. The Eagles ran the ball 50 times, throwing only 24 passes. I doubt they planned to rush quite that much, but it was successful from the beginning so they stayed the course. Miles Sanders (16 rushes, 94 yards), Jalen Hurts (18 rushes, 69 yards, 3 TDs) and Jordan Howard (10 rushes, 63 yards) all found little resistance in the Saints defense. Hurts’ three rushing TDs was a new record for a Philadelphia quarterback. Pretty amazing since famed running QB’s Randall Cunningham, Donovan McNabb and Michael Vick have all spent considerable time under center for the Eagles.

Hurts (13/24, 147 yards) stayed conservative with his passes since the Eagles were bulldozing the Saints on the ground. The defense faltered some in the 4th quarter, but their two turnovers helped build the big lead that let Philly weather the storm. Impressive win for the Eagles, who improved to 5-6. They sit in second place in the NFC East and are slowly creeping into the playoff picture. They’ll head up the Jersey turnpike to face the Giants next week.

The Saints briefly took control of the NFC South, but three consecutive losses has them spiraling out of the playoff picture. Their defense was destroyed. Trevor Siamien (22/40, 214 yards, 3 TDs, 2 INTs) reminded us why Denver cut him. He put some number in the 4th quarter, but it was too little, too late. Before that he was hot garbage. Mark Ingram (16 rushes, 88 yards) had a strong day on the ground. The Saints fell to 5-5, second place in the NFC South. They need to recover fast since they host the Bills on Thanksgiving night.

Bengals 32 Raiders 13

The Bengals had a bye last week and they needed it after dropping two straight contests, one of them to the Jets. Eww. In Week 11 the Bengals got something else they needed. A game with the Raiders as they are in the middle of their annual second half of the season slide.

This game was a defensive battle for three quarters. Cincinnati moved the ball some, but their drives kept stalling out. They scored a TD in the second quarter, otherwise they settled for a bunch of field goals. The Raiders offense was worse. They got a gift early on as a Cincy fumble gave them possession on the Bengals 9-yard line, but they could only gain one yard and had to kick a field goal. They kicked another one in the second quarter. Entering the final period the Bengals led 16-6.

Like a lot of other games this week, the real action didn’t start until the 4th quarter. The Raiders had the ball first and Derek Carr finally got right. He completed three straight passes to cover 75 yards and score the Raiders first TD of the game. The Bengals lead was cut to 16-13.

That was the high water mark for Las Vegas. The Bengals responded with a TD of their own to go ahead 22-13 after they missed the extra point. That miss didn’t matter because suddenly the Raiders found themselves in a giving mood. Carr threw an interception that gave Cincy the ball on the Las Vegas 27-yard line. Joe Mixon only needed two carries to cross the goal line and the Bengals went ahead 29-13.

The Raiders next possession ended when Derek Carr was strip sacked and the Bengals got the ball on the Las Vegas 31-yard line. With the game well in hand the Bengals bled some clock and kicked another field goal. The Raiders had one last possession, but went nowhere as time expired.

It’s no secret how to best attack the Raiders defense: run at them. That’s what the Bengals did and Joe Mixon (30 rushes, 123 yards, 2 TDs) had a great game. Cincy really needed that because Joe Burrow (20/29, 148 yards, 1 TD) and the passing game never found a good rhythm.

Aside from Mixon, the star on offense was kicker Evan McPherson. He connected on all four of his field goal attempts, three of them from over 50 yards. The Cincy defense was stiff, Las Vegas only made one third down conversion the entire game. Best all-around performance by Cincy in a month. The Bengals improved to 6-4, second place in the AFC North. They host the Steelers next week in a pivotal division game.

The Raiders do this to us every season. They start out well, knocking off some teams they weren’t supposed to beat. Then when everyone starts to proclaim Las Vegas is a contender they tank. This was the Raiders third consecutive loss.

Can’t blame this on the defense. They held the Bengals down most of the game. Cincy didn’t pull away until some turnovers set them up with some short fields. Derek Carr (19/27, 215 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, 1 fumble) didn’t do much except when he threw the ball to Darren Waller (7 receptions, 116 yards). His 4th quarter turnovers sealed the win for the Bengals.

Of course Carr was stressing under pressure because he gets little help from the ground game. The Las Vegas running back committee gained 72 yards on 18 carries. Just another bad November showing for the Raiders who fell to 5-5, tied for third place in the AFC West. Quick turnaround for Vegas as they head to Dallas on Thanksgiving day. I’ll be happy to see them! I hope.

Cardinals 23 Seahawks 13

The Seahawks were fighting for their season, which is rapidly spinning down the toilet. The Cardinals, still without Kyler Murray and DeAndre Hopkins, were starting Colt McCoy again at quarterback. So obviously the Cards kicked the Hawks butts in Seattle.

Arizona wasn’t amazing on offense, but they converted 8/15 3rd and 4th down plays to keep drives moving and put up some points. Seattle on the other hand struggled to stay on the field, converting only 2/11 3rd and 4th down plays. The difference was evident in the time of possession, where the Cardinals held a two to one advantage.

Colt McCoy (35/44, 328 yards, 2 TDs) threw a lot of passes and made a lot of completions. That is embarrassing for any defense. Newly acquired tight end Zach Ertz (8 receptions, 88 yards, 2 TDs) was the main beneficiary. A.J. Green (4 receptions, 78 yards) also made some nice plays.

Arizona ran the ball a lot (32 rushes), but didn’t have a lot to show for it (95 yards). Still head coach Kliff Kingsbury realized the running game took pressure off of McCoy, even if it didn’t make a lot of hay. Too many coaches forget that. Of course all of that running helped with the time of possession as well. The Cardinals ended up running 30 more plays on offense than Seattle. That is a massive difference and the sign of a well-executed game plan.

The Cardinals improved to 9-2, first place in the NFC West and the NFC. They have a bye next week and Kyler Murray is expected to return after that. Murray has missed three straight games and Arizona was able to survive the rough patch by winning two of them.

It is becoming the end of an era in Seattle. I can’t imagine that Russell Wilson and head coach Pete Carroll will both return next season. Hell maybe both of them won’t return. The Seattle offense is based solely on Wilson (14/26, 207 yards) and he still doesn’t look right after thumb surgery. His numbers would have looked a lot worse without the outstanding play of Tyler Lockett (4 receptions, 115 yards).

The running back committee (19 rushes, 86 yards) didn’t do a lot. It didn’t help that Chris Carson is injured once again. That guy can’t stay healthy. The defense was tore up by Colt McCoy. No more needs to be said about them. The Seahawks fell to 3-7, last place in the NFC West. They play the No-Names in Washington next Monday night.

Buccaneers 30 Giants 10

Oh man, what a terrible game to end the week. The Bucs didn’t even look like they were making much of an effort. If they would have put the foot on the gas they could have really blown out that Giants. They were smart not to do that, why waste bullets on a corpse?

Tom Brady (30/46, 307 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT) picked the Giants apart like a practice drill. His interception came from a tipped pass, one of the very few decent plays the Giants made on defense. Brady was rarely under pressure, he just dropped back and stood there as he decided who he was going to throw the ball to.

The Bucs had eight (8!) different players run the ball at least once. I think head coach Bruce Arians was just messing around, throwing any old plays out there because he knew New York couldn’t do anything about it. Super easy win for Tampa Bay, they hardly broke a sweat. The Bucs improved to 7-3, first place in the NFC South. They will be well rested for their game in Indianapolis next week.

Congrats Giants, you have hit rock bottom. The only reason the Giants got one TD was because Brady’s tipped pass gave them the ball on Tampa Bay’s 5-yard line. It was a gift. Daniel Jones (23/38, 167 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs) was lousy and threw this brutal interception:

https://twitter.com/i/status/1462983323190546436

Hard to get much worse than that. Saquon Barkley (6 rushes, 25 yards) finally returned to the lineup and got six handoffs. That led all running backs for the Giants. Terrible.

This showing was so bad for the Giants they fired offensive coordinator Jason Garrett on Tuesday. Garrett was a lousy head coach in Dallas, but I feel bad for him anyway. He didn’t have a lot to work with in New York. Hmm, last year the Giants stunk and they fired the offensive line coach mid-season. This year they stink again and fire the offensive coordinator mid-season. How long will it take for them to figure out the problem really is general manager Dave Gettleman? His roster stinks.

The Giants fell to 3-7, last place in the NFC East. They host the Eagles next week. I wonder who is going to get fired after that game. If I owned the Giants I’d get rid of everybody.

That's it for Week 11. Quick turnaround this week as we get a triple-header on Thanksgiving. Hmm, all six of the teams playing on Thursday lost in Week 11. Well half of them will get off the shneid. Unless we get another dreaded tie! Oh no, not that!

If you are celebrating this week I hope you and your family have a great Thanksgiving. If you aren't celebrating just enjoy the football games. Dallas is playing, it doesn't get better than that!

Thanks for reading. Feel free to leave a comment below.