The eleventh week of the NFL is nearly in the books, with just one game left to play. Several players had incredible performances, along with surprising results from multiple teams.
Arguably the best performance came from Josh Allen and the Bills, who managed to end the Chiefs‘ undefeated season. There were so many nuggets to contextualize the win, so we broke them down below:
- Josh Allen got his fourth career win vs Patrick Mahomes, which is the most of any quarterback (regular season); he is 0-3 against him in the playoffs.
- The Bills 9-2 record is their best start through 11 games since 1992.
- This is the first time ever the Bills have defeated a team that enters a game 6-0 or better (were 0-8 in such games entering Sunday).
- The Chiefs streak of winning after trailing in the second half ends at nine wins, the longest such streak in NFL history (including playoffs).
- The Chiefs win streak ends at 15 (regular season + playoffs), the longest in franchise history.
- Entering today, the Chiefs had not allowed 28+ points in a game in 30 consecutive games (including the playoffs).
- Patrick Mahomes is now 1-4 against the Bills in the regular season.
Buffalo’s win wasn’t the only spectacular thing to happen this weekend. FOX Sports Research broke down ten more eye-opening nuggets for you. Let’s take a look
1. Super Saquon
Saquon Barkley’s addition to the Eagles roster is looking like the most impactful offseason move so far. He’s rushed for 1,137 yards in 10 games and trails only Derrick Henry by 48 yards, not to mention that Henry has also played an extra game. In Thursday’s win against the Commanders, he put up 146 rushing yards, two rushing scores, and added two receptions for 52 yards. Barkley’s six games with 100+ rushing yards is the most in the NFL, and for perspective— he had six such games in his last four seasons with the Giants (2020-2023).
He also has four games with 140+ rushing yards, which is as many as New York has as a team this season. What’s even more impressive is his tendency to dominate late in the game. Going back to the 1995 season, no running back has averaged more rushing yards per game in the second half/OT of games than Barkley this year— at 73.8 per outing.
Takeaway:
This year’s rushing title will be an incredible battle between Barkley and Henry. Will either reach 2,000?
2. Can anyone stop the Lions?
The Lions dismantled the Jaguars on Sunday, winning 52-6 to improve to 9-1— their best start through 10 games since 1934. This is the second time they’ve scored 50 points in a game this season, something they had only done three times combined from 1930 to 2023. The NFL record for 50-point games by a team in a single season is three, done by five teams: the 2013 Broncos, the 1969 Vikings, the 1966 Cowboys, the 1950 Giants, and the 1950 Rams.
Detroit also became the first team since the 2007 Patriots (Week 11 at Bills) to score a touchdown on each of their first seven drives in a regular season game. Much of that had to do with the terrific play from their skill positions. Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery became the fifth pair of teammates in NFL history to each have eight-or-more rushing touchdowns through the first 10 games of the season.
Amon-Ra St. Brown also joined the fun, becoming the fifth receiver since 2000 to score a receiving touchdown in eight consecutive games within a single season. He joined A.J. Green, Davante Adams, Antonio Brown, and T.J. Houshmandzadeh.
Takeaway:
The Lions are the best team in the NFL. Plain and simple.
3. Bowers on historic pace
Brock Bowers had another monster game this Sunday, recording 13 receptions for 126 yards and a touchdown catch in a loss against the Dolphins. He became the third rookie to have a game with 10+ catches, 100+ receiving yards, and a receiving score in the last five seasons— joining Malik Nabers (vs Commanders in Week 2) and Ja’Marr Chase (vs Chiefs in Week 17 of the 2022 season).
The rookie leads all tight ends with 706 receiving yards, 146 more than the next player— George Kittle with 560. He is currently on pace to break the rookie record for receptions in a season, currently held by Puka Nacua with 105. He is also on pace to break Mike Ditka’s record for most receiving yards by a rookie tight end in a season, with the Hall of Famer recording 1,076 in the 1961 campaign.
Takeaway:
Bowers is on his way to be the greatest tight end in the league. He might already be.
4. Hill’s heroics
Taysom Hill had one of the most unique stat-lines in recent memory with his dominant performance against the Browns. He finished the game with one-of-two for 18 pass yards and an interception, recorded seven carries for 138 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns, had eight receptions for 50 yards, and recorded one fumble.
Hill became the first player since at least 1950 to score multiple scrimmage touchdowns in a game with at least one catch, one completion, one interception, and one lost fumble lost to go along with it.
His 138 rushing yards are the most in NFL history by a tight end. He is also the first non-running back ever with 130+ rushing yards and 50+ receiving yards in a game.
Takeaway:
Hill is the definition of a gadget player. He’s carved out one of the most unique careers in NFL history, and it’ll be interesting to see how Darren Rizzi continues to use him.
5. Van Ginkel joins elite company
With two sacks on Sunday, Andrew Van Ginkel is now up to eight on the year— tied for the fifth most in the league this season. With two interceptions returned for a touchdown this year, he became the third player ever with eight or more sacks in a season and multiple interceptions returned for a score. He joined Terrell Suggs (2008) and Jason Taylor (2006). Talk about some elite company.
Takeaway:
Van Ginkel is one of the most underrated defensive players in the league, and he’s a huge reason why the Vikings are 8-2.
6. How ’bout Bo?
All season, Broncos fans have been waiting for Bo Nix to put on a prolific passing performance. It finally happened this week in a 38-6 blowout victory against the Falcons. The Oregon product finished 28-of-33 for 307 yards and four touchdown throws, along with no interceptions or turnovers. Nix became the first rookie in NFL history to complete 80 percent of his passes while throwing for at least four touchdowns and 300 yards. He is also the only rookie since at least 2000 with 18+ total touchdowns and two or fewer turnovers in a nine-game span. Denver is now 7-3 against NFC teams since the start of last season.
Takeaway:
Bo Nix looked incredible this week, but can he keep this up consistently?
7. Go Goff go!
Jared Goff had a phenomenal game in the Lions win over the Jaguars. The ninth-year veteran finished 24-of-29 for 412 yards and four touchdown passes, giving him a perfect passer rating on the day (158.3). He is now the only quarterback in NFL history to have multiple games with 400+ passing yards and a perfect passer rating, with his first such game coming in 2018 with the Rams. Since 2018, Lamar Jackson is the only other quarterback with multiple games recording a perfect passer rating.
Takeaway:
We mentioned the Lions are the best team in the NFL, and Goff’s play is the main reason why.
8. Steelers keep winning
Russell Wilson just keeps on winning. The Steelers are 4-0 with him as the starter and got a massive win against the Ravens on Sunday to stay at the top of the AFC North. However, Wilson didn’t have his best game and Pittsburgh managed a very rare win. For the second time this season, Mike Tomlin’s squad earned a win despite scoring no touchdowns. In Week 1 against the Falcons, they won 18-10 behind Chris Boswell’s six made field goals. This Sunday, they did the same thing in an 18-16 win against Baltimore. This is the first time ever the Steelers have had two wins without a touchdown in the same season, and they join the 1993 Chargers as the only teams in NFL history with six or more field goals and zero touchdowns in multiple games within a season. Pittsburgh also improved to 8-2 in the last 10 meetings against Baltimore.
Takeaway:
Just how real are the Steelers, and how long can the defense keep doing this? Russ will need to start cooking again in order for them to keep winning.
9. Packers take down Bears
The Packers recorded their 11th straight win vs the Bears, which is the longest win streak by either team in the 104-year history of the series. Below are also a few interesting nuggets on the matchup:
- In 1999, the Bears blocked a 28-yard field goal attempt on the final play of the game vs the Packers to snap a 10-game losing streak against Green Bay; on Sunday, the Packers blocked a 46-yard field goal attempt on the final play of the game to extend their win steak over the Bears to 11 games.
- The Bears have now allowed their opponent to score the game’s first points in all 10 of their contests, the most such games in the league; the last team to allow their opponent to score first in all of their first 10+ games of a season were the 2004 Saints (13 straight).
- The Bears scored a touchdown for the first time since October 27, which ended their drought at 25 consecutive offensive possessions without a touchdown, their longest streak since Weeks 12-14 of the 2005 season (30 drives).
Takeaway:
Green Bay got a big divisional win, but they’ll need to clean up quite a bit if they want to have any chance at dethroning the Lions.
10. Seattle snaps streak
Including the playoffs, the Seahawks snapped a six-game losing streak to the 49ers with a come-from-behind win on Sunday. The Cardinals sit at the top of the division at 6-4, with the other three teams all at 5-5. Since conference realignment took place in 2002, this is the first time in that span that the NFC West has had three teams at 5-5 through the first 10 games.
Takeaway:
The NFC West is wide open. It’s going to be one of the most fun divisions to watch for the remainder of the season.
Get more from National Football League Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
