The NFL season is past its halfway point. Week 11 is next up after exciting Week 10 action, and the playoff picture is beginning to take shape.
In the AFC, it appears to be anybody’s conference to take. The Patriots made their case to be considered favorites with a statement win over the Buccaneers, easily the best victory of the season for New England. The Bills’ contender status, meanwhile, took a fairly significant hit as they looked utterly lifeless in an upset loss to the Dolphins. The Chiefs were on bye and will be looking to flex their muscles against the Broncos this week to remind everybody who has represented the AFC in five of the last six Super Bowls.
In the NFC, it would seem the Seahawks are legit. Seattle put up another massive offensive performance to blow out the Cardinals. It leads to the most enticing matchup of the week: a clash with the Rams, coming off their own huge divisional win over the 49ers. With both teams at 7-2 this game will be pivotal towards determining who will be sitting atop the division by season’s end—and potentially who gets a bye as the top playoff seed. But the Lions made sure nobody could forget about them while discussing NFC contenders thanks to their offensive showcase against the Commanders, apparently spurred by coach Dan Campbell taking over play-calling duties.
It was a lot of fun. This week is shaping up to be similarly enjoyable. Let’s take a look at the Week 11 coverage map to prepare for Sunday’s slate of action.
What is an NFL coverage map?
Coverage maps show exactly what games will be broadcast where around the country on Sunday.
Each week, every non-primetime game (in other words, the games that aren't played on Thursday Night Football, Sunday Night Football, or Monday Night Football) is broadcast on either CBS or Fox at 1 p.m. ET or around 4 p.m. ET. This means fans everywhere will have at least two games shown on their screens every Sunday afternoon during the season.
Every team playing will have its game broadcast in its local market no matter what (i.e. the Cincinnati Bengals will always be on in Cincinnati). But that still leaves another game to be broadcast, which is assigned by the network. And in the case that the local team is playing during primetime or is on a bye week, there will still be a game broadcast in the window they'd normally play.
Ergo, the coverage map shows that: what teams will be shown in what cities when the local team is not playing. Maps are all courtesy of 506sports.
NFL coverage map Week 11
Fox single game window
Here's the coverage map for games being shown on Fox that kick off at 1 p.m. ET and 4:05 p.m. ET. Games kicking off at 4:05 p.m. ET are denoted as "LATE" on the key.
Fox coverage map key
CBS early game window
Here's the coverage map for games being shown on CBS that kick off at 1 p.m. ET.
CBS early game window key
CBS late game window
Here's the coverage map for games being shown on CBS that kick off at 4:05 p.m. ET.
CBS late game window key
Key NFL matchups in Week 11
As hinted at above, the Seahawks-Rams game figures to be the most consequential game on the slate this week. Both teams figure to be competing for not just the NFC West title but a top playoff seed as well. Yet as we saw last year with the Lions and Vikings, a team can boast an amazing record and still have to play an away playoff game during wild card weekend if they don’t win the division. Seattle and Los Angeles will both be hyperaware of that little factoid as the two sides prepare for Sunday’s game.
Elsewhere around the league, the Bills and Bucs figure to compete fiercly with one another. Buffalo is coming off an embarrassing defeat to the Dolphins in which the team looked disjointed and not terribly interested in winning. A bounceback win, or even just a more competitve effort, would be a great sign for the Bills’ postseason hopes. On the other side Tampa Bay’s Week 10 loss was much less embarrassing but still winnable and Baker Mayfield figures to return with a vengeance in enemy territory.
It should be a fun week of football. Enjoy!
More NFL on Sports Illustrated
This article was originally published on www.si.com as NFL TV Coverage Map Week 11: Full Breakdown of CBS, Fox Broadcasts.
