Welcome to the Week 11 grades!
We have some shocking news to start off with here and that's the fact that the Giants earned an 'A' for the FIRST TIME all season. It took 11 weeks, but it finally happened and it happened after a game where the Giants defense smothered the Commanders in a 33-19 win. The Giants are now 2-0 this year against Washington and 1-8 against everyone else. If they played the Commanders every week, they'd be a lock for the playoffs.
The Giants weren't the only NFC East to earn an A in Week 11. The Cowboys also were given an 'A' after their 33-10 win over the Panthers. The Cowboys have now won six games this season by 20 points or more, which is tied for the second-most by any team through 10 games since 1950.
The NFC East actually had a pretty strong week. Not only did the Cowboys and Giants both win, but the Eagles closed out Week 11 by upsetting the Chiefs in Kansas City.
Let's check out all the grades for Week 11, starting with Philly's big win over the Chiefs.
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Philadelphia 21-17 over Kansas City
| B | |
| The Eagles got beat down in the first half, but they showed some serious resilience during a second-half comeback that allowed them to pull off an upset in Kansas City. After a first half that saw the Eagles only put up 78 yards of offense, Philly turned to D'Andre Swift and DeVonta Smith, and those two carried the team over the final two quarters. Those two combined for 206 of the Eagles' 238 yards. Jalen Hurts also played the role of Superman with two rushing touchdowns. As bad as the offense was in the first half, the Eagles were able to stay in this game thanks to a gutsy defensive performance. The Eagles forced two turnovers in the game and they both came after the Chiefs had driven inside of Philadelphia's 15-yard line. The defense topped things off by holding the Chiefs scoreless in the second half. The version of the Eagles we saw in the second half can beat any team in the NFL. | |
| C | |
| The Chiefs looked like they were going to run away with this game at halftime, but instead, they saw their offense implode in the second half for the third straight week. The Chiefs scored zero points over the final two quarters, and they've now gone three straight games without scoring in the second half. One big problem for the Chiefs is that their receivers keep dropping passes. Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Justin Watson both had crucial drops in the final two minutes. Even the Chiefs' two biggest stars struggled at times with Travis Kelce losing a pivotal fumble in the first half and Patrick Mahomes killing a drive with an end-zone interception in the first half. The offensive woes overshadowed a decent performance by a Chiefs defense that held the Eagles under 250 yards while sacking Jalen Hurts five times. If the Chiefs can't get things figured out on the offensive side of the ball soon, it's hard to imagine them repeating as Super Bowl champs. | |
Eagles-Chiefs grades by John Breech (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)
N.Y. Giants 31-19 over Washington
| A | |
| When you have the lowest-scoring offense in the NFL, it's always nice when your defense can help supply some points and that's what happened in this game. The Giants were able to pull off the upset thanks to a defense that kept forcing turnover after turnover after turnover after turnover (They forced six turnovers). Not only did they pick off Sam Howell three times, but they also recovered three fumbles. The other reason the Giants won is because Tommy DeVito -- TOMMY DEVITO -- outplayed Howell. The undrafted rookie threw three TD passes, including an impressive 40-yarder to Darius Slayton in the first half. Winning won't help the Giants with their draft position, but it might help team morale. | |
| D | |
| In what might go down as the ugliest offensive performance of the season by any team, the Commanders offense essentially gave this game away by turning the ball over SIX times, including a pick six by Sam Howell late in the fourth quarter (Howell threw three picks in the game). The Giants got 24 points of those six turnovers and that was the difference in the game. This was an embarrassing performance against a Giants team that went into Week 11 as the lowest-scoring team in the NFL. The only bright spot was a Commanders defense that sacked Tommy DeVito nine times. | |
Giants-Commanders grades by John Breech (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)
Detroit 31-26 over Chicago
| B- | |
| For more than three and a half quarters, the Bears played nearly perfect football, but everything fell apart for them over the final four minutes. After picking off Jared Goff three times and surrendering just 194 yards through the first three quarters. the Bears defense got steamrolled in the fourth quarter for 144 yards and two touchdowns. It was an unfortunate ending, considering how well they played earlier in the game. The offense showed some spark behind Justin Fields, who totaled 273 yards and a TD while playing in his first game since Oct. 15. This game felt like a moral victory for the Bears, but as we all know, moral victories mean nothing in the NFL. | |
| B- | |
| Jared Goff had a total meltdown in this game with three interceptions over the first three quarters, but he was able to shake those off to lead two TD drives in the final four minutes to pull out the win. On those two drives, Goff went 11 of 13 for 115 yards and one TD. Former Bears running back David Montgomery got revenge on his old team: Not only did he average 6.3 yards per carry with 12 rushes for 76 yards, but he also scored what proved to be the game-winning touchdown. This game marked the first time sine 2013 that the Lions were able to win a game despite turning the ball over four times. | |
Bears-Lions grades by John Breech (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)
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Green Bay 23-20 over L.A. Chargers
| B- | |
| The Chargers couldn't get out of their own way on Sunday. Offensively, they were plagued by drops. On the opening drive of the game, Donald Parham had an ugly drop on a fourth down in Green Bay's territory. Keenan Allen also had a costly drop when a TD went through his hands in the second half. There was also a drop by Quentin Johnston, who let a huge gain slip threw his hands on a throw that came with under 30 seconds left to play in the game. Austin Ekeler also had a fumble inside the Packers' 5-yard line. The Chargers also scored just one TD on four different trips to the red zone. Basically, the Chargers left a lot of points on the board and you just can't do that if you expect to win in the NFL. | |
| B+ | |
| It took 11 weeks, but Jordan Love might have finally had a breakthrough game. The first-year starter threw for a career-high 322 yards along with two TD passes that both came in the second half. He also showed impressive accuracy, especially on a third-quarter TD throw to Christian Watson that you can see here. Love got some serious help from a Packers defense that held the Chargers to negative yardage on their final two possessions of the game while Green Bay was clinging to a 23-20 lead. This was a big win for the Packers and they'll have a chance to pull off an even bigger win in Week 12 when they play the Lions on Thanksgiving Day. | |
Chargers-Packers grades by John Breech (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)
Dallas 33-10 over Carolina
| A | |
| No one is better at beating up on bad teams than the Dallas Cowboys. They've been destroying bad teams all season and they continued that on Sunday with a 23-point win in Carolina (Their sixth win this season of 20 points or more). The Cowboys dominated in every way that a game can be dominated. The defense racked up seven sacks with 2.5 of those coming from Micah Parsons. DaRon Bland recorded his fourth pick0six of the season, which is tied for the most in NFL history. The Cowboys offense was almost an afterthought on a day where the defense dominated the Panthers. | |
| D- | |
| It's too early to call Bryce Young a bust, but he does seem to be inching closer to that territory every week. The Panthers offense has been struggling all season and those struggles continued against the Cowboys. The offensive play-calling was bad, the offensive line was bad and Young was bad. The Panthers QB got sacked seven times and threw a pick-six on a day where the Panthers didn't even put up 200 yards of total offense. The Panthers continue to look like the worst team in the NFL. | |
Cowboys-Panthers grades by John Breech (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)
Jacksonville 34-14 over Tennessee
| F | |
| The Titans played like a team that's already given up on the season. The offense continues to struggle with Will Levis under center. After shining with four TD passes in his first start back in Week 8, Levis has crashed back to earth over the past three weeks. One issue for Levis is that he's gotten almost zero help from Tennessee's once vaunted rushing attack. Defensively, the Titans secondary got abused by Calvin Ridley, who went over 100 yards while also catching two TD passes. If the Titans had any hopes of making the playoffs, it seems like those are out the window after this loss. | |
| A | |
| After being held to a season-low total of three points last week, the Jaguars offense came out on fire against the Titans. On their first six possessions, the Jags had five drives that went at least 57 yards and they scored on all five of those. Calvin Ridley played a huge part in the offensive success with seven catches for 107 yards and two touchdowns. As good as the offense was, the Jaguars defense was even better. Derrick Henry was held under 40 yards and the Jags' pass-rush, which has struggled at times this season, got after Will Levis, sacking him twice. With the Texans nipping at their heels in the AFC South, this was a game the Jags desperately needed to win and they did that by making a statement against the Titans. | |
Titans-Jaguars grades by John Breech (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)
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Houston 21-16 over Arizona
| B- | |
| The Cardinals came close to pulling off the upset in Houston, but they fell short because the offense couldn't come up with any clutch plays. The Cards had three straight possessions in the second half that all ended with a failed fourth down. On each play, the Cardinals put the ball in Kyler Murray's hands, but on each play he was unable to lead his team to a conversion. The loss overshadowed a wildly impressive performance by an Arizona defense that picked off C.J. Stroud three times. | |
| B- | |
| For the second straight week, C.J. Stroud turned the ball over three times and for the second straight week, the Texans ended up winning anyway. Stroud was impressive in the first half, throwing for 259 yards and two touchdowns, but after taking a huge hit on Houston's first drive of the second half, he seemed to struggle from that point on with two interceptions over the final two quarters. Even with Stroud throwing a couple of bad balls, the offense still had a huge day. Tank Dell went off for 149 receiving yards while Devin Singletary crossed the 100-yard mark for the second straight week with 112 yards. Let's not forget about the Texans' defense, either. They had a huge second half performance that included three fourth down stops to seal the win. This is a team that could cause some trouble if they make the playoffs. | |
Cardinals-Texans grades by John Breech (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)
Cleveland 13-10 over Pittsburgh
| D+ | |
| Pittsburgh had a big game on the ground, and its defense played well for most of the game until the final drive. But the Steelers lost the field position battle and couldn't get anything going via the pass. Pittsburgh also had several miscommunication errors that led to ill advised timeouts. In defeat, the Steelers received another big game from Jaylen Warren, who recorded his second 100-yard rushing performance in as many outings. | |
| B+ | |
| Cleveland took an early lead, never relinquished it and put together the game-winning drive in the final two minutes. While he was bogged down for most of the second half, Dorian Thompson-Robinson let it loose on the last drive and the Browns were better off for it. His last big throw, an 11-yard gain to David Njoku, set up Dustin Hopkins' game-winning kick with two seconds left. Defensively, the Browns didn't allow Kenny Pickett to complete any deep passes downfield. The Browns' pass rush also received another big game from Myles Garrett, who recorded two sacks while continuing his Defensive Player of the Year push. | |
Steelers-Browns grades by Bryan DeArdo (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)
Miami 20-13 over Las Vegas
| C | |
| The Raiders were in it until the very end, but the offense struggled in the second half with zero points scored and three turnovers. The Raiders defense really played with some juice, and forced three turnovers of their own. Unfortunately for Las Vegas, the offense scored just six total points off of those three turnovers, which was a deciding factor in this one. | |
| C+ | |
| Miami remains undefeated at home, but the Dolphins did not look great coming off of the bye. The offense turned the ball over three times and scored just six points in the second half, which left the door open for the Raiders at the very end. Miami's defense was great, as it forced three second-half turnovers from Aidan O'Connell, and allowed just one touchdown. Jalen Ramsey stood out with two interceptions, but this game was much closer than it really should have been. | |
Raiders-Dolphins grades by Jordan Dajani (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)
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San Francisco 27-14 over Tampa Bay
| A | |
| Hard to nitpick anything the 49ers did Sunday, using a ho-hum performance en route to victory. Brock Purdy was brilliant, as he completed 21 of 25 for 333 yards with three touchdowns. He had a perfect 158.3 passer rating, becoming the first 49ers quarterback to do that since 1989. Rookie Ji'Aiyr Brown had two crucial plays in the red zone in the fourth quarter (pass breakup on fourth down and interception on third down) to make sure the 49ers preserved their double digit lead. The defense bent but didn't break in the second half, and San Francisco took care of business against a lesser opponent. That's what Super Bowl contenders do. | |
| C+ | |
| Going 1 of 3 in the red zone doomed Tampa Bay in this one, especially with the turnover on downs and red-zone interception in the fourth quarter that was Baker Mayfield's first red-zone interception in four years. Mayfield did whatever he could to mask an inconsistent offense (4.3 yards per play) and nonexistent run game (the Buccaneers averaged 3.7 yards per carry). Tampa Bay's defense didn't play well until the 49ers got conservative after building a 20-point lead. Regardless, the Buccaneers did fight, but they just don't have the talent to compete with the top teams in the NFC like the 49ers. | |
49ers-Buccaneers grades by Jeff Kerr (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)
L.A. Rams 17-16 over Seattle
| B- | |
| The Seahawks were in total control of this game with a 16-7 lead through three quarters, but after Geno Smith went down with an injury at the end of the third quarter, things started to fall apart quickly for Seattle. Smith's backup, Drew Lock, threw an interception late in the game that set up the Rams' game-winning points. Lock didn't get any help from a Seahawks defense that also struggled in the fourth quarter. The Rams put up 144 yards in the final frame, which was more than half their total for the entire game (they finished with 267). Despite the fourth-quarter failures, Smith came back in on the final drive and quickly set up Jason Myers for a game-winning field goal attempt, but the Seahawks kicker couldn't put the ball through the uprights. Myers was forced to attempt the kick from 55 yards because the Seahawks made the curious decision to not try and move the ball closer in the final 20 seconds. This game is going to sting because the Seahawks probably should have won, but despite the loss, they're still comfortably in the NFC playoff picture. | |
| B | |
| After Matthew Stafford threw an interception on the Rams' second play of the fourth quarter, it looked like his team was going to be left for dead, but then Stafford made up for the pick with some fourth-quarter magic. The Rams QB only threw for 190 yards Sunday, but 108 of those came during a fourth quarter where the Rams scored 10 points in six minutes. It was a gutsy performance by Stafford, who got banged up and was playing without Cooper Kupp. As good as Stafford was, this win wouldn't have happened without an impressive second-half performance from a Rams defense that only surrendered 87 yards over the final two quarters. Derion Kendrick came up with the biggest play for the defense when he picked off Drew Lock, which set up the eventual game-winning field goal from Lucas Havrisik. The Rams might be a long shot for the playoffs, but this win saved their season while also giving them a fighting chance to be playing in mid-January. | |
Seahawks-Rams grades by John Breech (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)
Buffalo 32-6 over N.Y. Jets
| F | |
| New York's defense did its best to keep the Jets in this game early, but eventually gave way as the Bills posted 32 points against them in Week 11. The story in this game was the inability to move the ball on offense for New York. It came into this game as the worst third-down team in the NFL and didn't do much to help its reputation, going 0-11 on the key downs in this loss. Zach Wilson did not complete a single pass to a wide receiver on his 23 dropbacks and was eventually benched by Robert Saleh in the closing seconds of the third quarter. The passing game was so brutal for New York that Thomas Morstead -- the punter -- had the best throw of the night on a fake punt pass in the first half. When that's happening, you know you've reached rock bottom as an offense. They also coughed up the ball four times, which put them behind the eight-ball from the get-go. | |
| A | |
| Buffalo was a bit sluggish offensively out of the gate as it settled for field goals early, but did start to get into a groove as this game went on. The offense seemed to flow nicely with Joe Brady as the interim OC and Josh Allen had three passing touchdowns for the contest. Buffalo ran the ball well with James Cook -- 73 yards rushing -- and got contributions in the receiving game from Ty Johnson and Khalil Shakir. While the offense scored north of 30 points, the defense was the true bright spot for the Bills. Rasul Douglas recorded two interceptions and a fumble recovery, while the pass rush was able to record six sacks in the winning effort. From top to bottom, this was an old-fashioned beatdown by the Bills. | |
Jets-Bills grades by Tyler Sullivan (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)
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Denver 21-20 over Minnesota
| B- | |
| The Vikings outgained the Broncos, they were better on third down and they were better in the red zone. As a matter of fact, they were better at almost everything except for taking care of the football. The Vikings turned the ball over three times and those turnovers led to nine points for Denver and that's a big reason why Minnesota will be heading home with a loss. Joshua Dobbs once again played with no fear, but the Vikings found out why that's not always good. Dobbs threw one interception while also having several other throws that were almost picked off. This is a Vikings team that's good enough to make the playoffs, especially once Justin Jefferson is back, but they won't go far in the postseason if they don't take care of the ball. | |
| B | |
| The Broncos went 59 minutes without scoring a TD on Sunday night, but Russell Wilson ended that drought with a wild 15-yard pass to Courtland Sutton that ended up being the game-winner. For most of the night, the Broncos offense couldn't convert anything — the unit was 1 of 11 on third down and 0-for-4 in the red zone going into their final drive — but they overcame that with some late-game magic from Wilson. The rest of Denver's magic came from its defense. The unit forced three turnovers, which led to three Wil Lutz field goals and that ended up being the deciding factor in Denver's one-point win (Lutz made five field goals in the game). At 5-5, the Broncos are suddenly in the thick of the AFC playoff race, which is something that didn't seem possible after their 0-3 start. | |
Vikings-Broncos grades by John Breech (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)
Ravens 34-20 over Bengals
| D+ | |
| It's almost impossible to grade the Bengals for this game. They were beating the Ravens, 10-7, when Joe Burrow exited with an injury in the second quarter, but after he went to the locker room, it seemed to deflate the entire team. On the defensive side, the Bengals allowed the Ravens to score two touchdowns in the final 2:30 of the second quarter, which allowed Baltimore to take a 21-10 lead into halftime. From there, the game was all but over for Cincinnati. With Jake Browning running the offense, there was simply no way the Bengals were going to overcome a double-digit deficit. Joe Mixon was having a huge game before Burrow left, but was quiet after that on a night where he finished with 100 total yards and a TD on 21 touches. With Burrow now out for the year, the Bengals season feels like it's essentially over. | |
| A- | |
| Lamar Jackson wasn't perfect in this game, but he did play nearly perfect football in spurts, staring with Baltimore's opening drive, which ended in a touchdown. Jackson threw for 264 yards, with 178 of that coming on three drives in the first half. Jackson did his most damage on Baltimore's final two drives of the half, which both ended in touchdowns. In the second half, the Ravens played vintage Ravens football. For one, their defense ate Jake Browning alive. Browning got sacked three times while throwing for just 68 yards in two and a half quarters of action. From an offensive standpoint, the Ravens finally got things going on the ground in the second half. After only rushing for 30 yards in the first two quarters, the Ravens showed why they have the NFL's No. 1 rushing attack by steamrolling the Bengals defense for 127 yards on the ground in the second half. The Ravens also got a breakout performance from Odell Beckham Jr., who hit the 100-yard mark for the first time since the 2021 NFC title game. Although the Ravens won, the victory came at a high cost with Mark Andrews suffering a season-ending ankle injury. | |
Ravens-Bengals grades by John Breech (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)