The playoff picture seemed to be shaping up more clearly, but after a wild week 11, things have just been shuffled around again, much as we’ve seen throughout the year 2020. Multiple division leaders have the lead of their division based off of tiebreakers or are maybe a game ahead of the second and even third place team. This 2020 season has been one of the most competitive and intriguing seasons in recent NFL history. Multiple crucial matchups in week 11 added to the intrigue of the 2020 NFL season.

Cowboys stun Vikings in 31-28 road victory

This season has been one to forget for Cowboys fans after getting off to a 2-7 start due to several crucial injuries across the roster. However, Sunday’s victory against the Vikings may have injected some sense of hope in the veins of Cowboys fans, as they defeated a red-hot Vikings team despite all of the injuries.

Ezekiel Elliott finally looked like himself for the first time in the 2020 season, as he accomplished his first 100+ yard game of the season, gaining 103 yards on 21 rushes. Elliott also had a 6 yard receiving touchdown in the first quarter, but had no rushing touchdowns. Elliott wasn’t the only Cowboys running back that had a solid game though, as Tony Pollard had 60 yards rushing on only 5 carries, including a 42 yard touchdown in the 4th quarter that gave the Cowboys a 24-21 lead. Despite the Vikings coming back and scoring on their next possession to take a 28-24 lead, the Cowboys were able to pull out the win by driving down the field and scoring the game winning touchdown on a goal line pass from Andy Dalton to Dalton Schultz with just under two minutes remaining. The Cowboys defense stopped the Vikings offense on the ensuing possession to seal the 31-28 victory. This improved the Cowboys record to 3-7, putting them only 0.5 games behind the Philadelphia Eagles in the dismal NFC East division(largely due to the injuries to both the Cowboys and Eagles).

Wide receivers for both teams showed off in a big way in this matchup, as rookie sensations lined up on both sides of the ball. Justin Jefferson, who leads all rookie receivers in yardage on the season, had 3 receptions for 86 yards and a touchdown for the Vikings, supplying his fantasy owners with yet another solid stat line. Cowboys rookie receiver CeeDee Lamb didn’t put up a huge stat line, but his impact was still evident on a spectacular touchdown grab in the second quarter. Lamb leaned and twisted to make the catch in the endzone with TCU alum Jeff Gladney covering him quite well, showing again why he is going to be a superstar in the NFL for a long time. While that catch by Lamb was spectacular, a one-handed touchdown catch by Adam Thielen of the Vikings was the most spectacular play. He made the catch back in the corner of the endzone on a pass that Kirk Cousins had seemingly overthrown. However, Thielen was able to extend his body and make the incredible catch in the 3rd quarter. Thielen had another touchdown on the day and racked up 123 yards receiving on 8 receptions.

With a fairly favorable schedule looming ahead for the Cowboys combined with the evident increase in performance in this win and the previous game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Cowboys still have a good shot to make the playoffs by virtue of winning the division. “We never thought we were out of it,” Elliott said. “Our division’s been struggling this year. We’re right where we need to be with what’s been going on with the division. We’ve got to build on this success, so we can’t come out on a short week and take a step back against a division opponent. We’ve got to make sure we build on the success and keep getting better.” (Archer, 2020)

Titans outlast Ravens in OT victory

The Tennessee Titans continue to prove that their run to the AFC Championship last season was no fluke, as they came from behind to defeat the Baltimore Ravens in overtime on Sunday, winning 30-24. Derrick Henry once again showcased his elite level of play as the NFL’s top running back, rushing for 133 yards on 28 carries, including the game-winning 29 yard touchdown in overtime. Henry, who leads the NFL in rushing yardage, was fairly lackluster in the first half, but as we’ve seen so many times this year, he finds a whole different gear to shift into as late game situations present themselves. This crucial touchdown in overtime was yet another demonstration of Henry activating that gear that makes him essentially unstoppable.

The lack of production early on wasn’t just an issue for Henry though, as the Titans only put up 10 points in the first half. However, Henry’s uptick came when the entire offense finally got into a groove, as wide receivers AJ Brown and Corey Davis had a major impact on the game as it reached it’s later stages, as Davis had 113 yards receiving and Brown had 62 yards and a touchdown that gave the Titans a 24-21 lead in the fourth quarter. “As the game wore on into the fourth quarter, we were wearing on them offensively. It was tough sledding early,” Titans coach Mike Vrabel said. (Davenport, 2020)

The win ties the Titans with the Indianapolis Colts for the division lead in the AFC South, with both teams sitting pretty at 7-3. The Colts hold the tiebreaker due to their win over the Titans in week 10, but these teams will match up again in week 12, with the winner taking the division lead. Henry may struggle to be productive against this Colts rush defense that is allowing under 100 yards a game by virtue of key players like DeForest Buckner, Justin Houston, and Darius Leonard. However, if Henry can have a quite normal game by his standards, than I would expect the Titans to escape Indianapolis with a crucial win.

Rams roll in 27-24 win over Buccaneers

The Los Angeles Rams may be on their way to a second Super Bowl appearance in three years after a statement win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in which quarterback Jared Goff drove his team down the field late to set up a late field goal for Matt Gay that won the game for the Rams, improving their record to 7-3 and giving them the division lead in the NFC South. After earning a huge win over the division rival Seattle Seahawks in week 10, many still doubted the legitimacy of this Rams team. However, after holding Tom Brady to only 216 yards and getting two interceptions, other teams know to be scared of this defense.

With the spectacular yet unexpected passing output by Goff and the Rams, teams know that this Rams offense can hurt them in a variety of ways, as their running game has been potent most of the season. However, it was ineffective against this stout Buccaneers rush defense, but Goff and receivers Robert Woods and Cooper Kupp were up to the challenge of having to carry the offense by virtue of utilizing the passing game. Kupp and Woods combined for 275 yards on 23 receptions as Goff had 376 yards passing. Woods also had a touchdown; Van Jefferson and Cam Akers were responsible for the other touchdowns, both of which were receptions from Goff passes.

This win against a tough opponent is nice for the Rams, but it only gets tougher from here, as the Rams still have two matchups against the Arizona Cardinals and another matchup with the Seattle Seahawks looming ahead, both of which are formidable opponents in the NFC West division. But, with a 7-3 record and an additional wild card spot in this season’s playoffs, I would say that the Rams have a great chance of making it to the playoffs.

Burrow suffers major knee injury in Bengals loss

Rookie quarterback Joe Burrow has proven his talent at the college level and was having a solid rookie season despite being on a terrible team known for it’s terrible offensive line. On Sunday, that came to haunt Burrow, as Burrow was smothered on a dropback in the third quarter by Washington linemen Jonathan Allen and Montez Sweat, leaving hi  clutching his left leg in immense amounts of pain. Burrow was assisted by medical personnel on the field while teammates kneeled in prayer before being carted off of the field, still obviously in pain.

Only hours after the game, Burrow sent out a tweet hinting that his season was over, saying, “”Thanks for all the love. Can’t get rid of me that easy. See ya next year.” (Burrow, 2020) On Monday, it was revealed that Burrow would indeed miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL, torn MCL, and other structural damage within the knee. Tears to a single ligament are tough enough to fight, so you can only imagine how difficult of a journey it will be to come back from multiple tears. However, Burrow is as tough of a player as you’ll get, so he should be able to recover as well as anybody out there.

Get well soon Joey B!

Scores

ARI   21-28    SEA

TEN 30-24    BAL

DET    0-20   CAR

PHI    17-22   CLE

NE     20-27   HOU

GB      31-34   IND

PHI    27-3      JAX

ATL      9-24    NO

CIN       9-20   WAS

DAL     31-28   MIN

KC        35-31    LV

MIA     13-20    DEN

NYJ     28-34    LAC

LAR      27-24    TB

MVP Rankings

1. Russell Wilson, QB, Seattle
2. Patrick Mahomes, QB, Kansas City
3. Aaron Rodgers, QB, Green Bay
4. Derrick Henry, RB, Tennessee
5. Kyler Murray, QB, Arizona

Written on November 25th, 2020

Sources:

(2020). Real-Time NFL Scores. Retrieved 24 November 2020, from NFL.com, www.nfl.com/scores/2020/REG11.

(22 November 2020). Cowboys vs. Vikings – Box Score – November 22, 2020. Retrieved 24 November 2020, from ESPN.com, www.espn.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=401220305.