Week 11: This Week’s Must-Watch NFL Games

Bucs–Bills: Will the Bills bounce back from last week’s shocker against the Dolphins? They certainly have the pieces to do so. But Josh Allen showed us shades of old Josh Allen — the one that made too many mistakes as a result of trying too hard to play savior and not relying on his offense enough. The Bills really need to lean on the run game more. They lead the league in rushing this season, yet for some reason James Cook only had 13 carries last week against Miami. I’d guess that if he has under 15 carries again today, that won’t bode well for the Bills. The Bucs couldn’t get it done last week against the Patriots, and I guess the Baker Mayfield who turned on the jets in the fourth quarter of every game to start the season was just a fluke. Oh well. That was fun to watch! I still think they’re a fantastic team, though — even without that.

Bears–Vikings: The NFC North is looking good this year. Coming into the season the Bears were the team with the biggest question mark around them, with a new head coach and a QB who hadn’t yet proven he was worthy of being the number 1 overall pick in his first year, but also a team with plenty of weapons on both sides of the field. The question was whether they could put it all together. Well, being 6-3 answers most of that — though not all of it. Caleb Williams has orchestrated some wild comebacks this year through the air and with his legs. He looks more and more comfortable as the season goes on. Their defense has looked good too- depending where you look. They lead the league in interceptions and have the third-least penalty yards committed, but they do give up a lot of yards (and subsequently points). J.J. McCarthy did not look very good last week against the Ravens, completing less than half his passes and throwing 2 interceptions, but their defense limited Derrick Henry to 75 yards on 20 carries.

Seahawks–Rams: I’ll admit it: before the season started I didn’t believe in either of these teams. My main concern with both was at the QB position. I thought Sam Darnold was just a one-year wonder with the Vikings and I thought Stafford was getting too old for this game. But I was wrong about both of them. Their teams both look really good, with the Seahawks’ suffocating defense (especially against the run) and the Rams looking like one of the league’s premier offenses (not to discount the Seahawks offense, which looks really good too). This could be a gritty, hard-fought game.

Chiefs–Broncos: The Chiefs will always be fun to watch as long as Patrick Mahomes is under center. They haven’t looked as good this year compared to years past, but this is the time of year where they always heat up. Coach Andy Reid will continue to coach his team in a way that shows on the field, and I don’t see how they will ever be boring to watch with those two leading the organization. The Broncos have been scuffling on offense of late, scoring 10 points against a Raiders team not known for its defense outside of Maxx Crosby and 18 against the Texans the week before (the Texans do have the best defensive numbers in the league). Bo Nix did not look good in either of those two games and he will have his work cut out for him against the Chiefs, who are allowing only 17 points per game this year. But as bad as the Broncos have looked recently, they’ve still won seven in a row! This will be their hardest test since beating the Eagles back in early October.

Lions–Eagles (SNF): Buckle up for this one! Although the Eagles–Packers game last week on MNF was not very entertaining to say the least (Eagles won 10–7 and it was only 3–0 going into the fourth quarter — and I think 99 times out of 100, football is much more entertaining when more points are scored), hopefully this week will have more fireworks. This could very well be a playoff preview or even an NFC Championship Game preview. Dan Campbell’s Lions are coming off a shellacking of the Commanders and the Lions have much more fun than the Packers do in terms of strategy (always going for it on fourth down, for example), which automatically brings an element of entertainment and drama. I just can’t see another 10–7 game happening here, folks.