Welcome to the best week the NFL has had to offer.
The Week 11 slate has been awesome so far (well, not including the Commanders-Dolphins matchup in Spain).
In the late games, the Broncos bested the Chiefs at Empower Field at Mile High on the final play of regulation, winning 22–19 on a Wil Lutz field goal, putting them up 3.5 games on Kansas City. Meanwhile, the Seahawks and Rams went to the wire at SoFi Stadium, with Los Angeles taking over first place in the NFC West thanks to four Sam Darnold interceptions.
In the early window, the Jaguars toppled the Chargers while the NFC North had a key game between the Bears and Vikings, ending in a walk-off, 19–17 victory for Chicago.
Finally, Sunday night features an elite game between the Eagles and Lions at Lincoln Financial Field, rife with playoff implications.
But we start with the Broncos, who all but finished off any hopes of Kansas City winning the AFC West for a 10th consecutive season.
Good: Broncos in the driver’s seat for AFC West
Denver can’t be called a fraud any longer.
Yes, the Broncos are seemingly pulling every rabbit from every hat in the greater Colorado area, but they’re not just beating bad teams. On Sunday, Denver hosted Kansas City as an underdog and watched as Bo Nix lit up Steve Spagnuolo’s defense for 295 passing yards, winning 22–19 to give the Broncos a two-game lead over the Chargers and a 3.5-game lead in the AFC West.
For Denver, the offense is doing enough while the defense is playing lights out. The Broncos intercepted Patrick Mahomes, sacked him three times and limited the Chiefs to 1-of-4 in the red zone. The Broncos also won without star corner Patrick Surtain II, linebacker Alex Singleton and running back J.K. Dobbins, while also being penalized 10 times for 147 yards.
Maybe the Broncos have an expiration date. Maybe Denver can’t keep pulling off fourth-quarter comebacks; it now has five of those after Sunday. But it’s unfair to say the Broncos aren’t legitimate contenders with wins over the Eagles and the Chiefs on their résumé.
Bad: Sam Darnold brings all the concerns to the surface
Darnold has mostly been awesome this year. In his first season with the Seahawks, the 28-year-old entered Sunday having thrown 17 touchdowns against six interceptions. He was cruising, and Seattle was 7–2.
But we saw this last year with Darnold, when he led the Vikings to a 14–2 record entering Week 18 with MVP-level numbers. Then, in a winner-take-all game against the Lions in prime time, Darnold was 18-of-41 for 166 yards. In the following wild-card game, he was sacked nine times by the Rams in a defeat.
This weekend, he once again struggled against the Rams, throwing four interceptions in a game otherwise dominated by the Seahawks. Los Angeles won, 21–19, despite being outgained 414–249 and going just 2-of-11 on third down.
At 7–3, Seattle finds itself in third place in the NFC West, with losses to the 49ers, Rams and Buccaneers. All three defeats have come with Darnold making costly errors, as the other two losses featured last-minute, back-breaking turnovers.
If the Seahawks are going to reach the heights they often appear capable of, Darnold needs to play his best in the big moments, too.
Ugly: Everything about Kansas City’s process through 10 games
The Chiefs are in unfamiliar territory at 5–5, the worst record Patrick Mahomes has had at this point in the year. If they don’t start playing better in all phases, they’ll also experience missing the playoffs for the first time in his career.
In Sunday’s 22–19 loss to the Broncos, all of Kansas City’s issues were on full display. Mahomes threw a red zone interception that cost the Chiefs at least three points, something he’s done in three of the team’s five losses. Jawaan Taylor took two penalties, one of which canceled out a quick pass which would have made it first-and-goal at the Denver 2-yard line. Instead, three plays later, Mahomes threw a pick. For Taylor, it’s his 38th and 39th penalties since joining Kansas City in 2023, easily the most in the NFL.
On special teams, Harrison Butker, who has missed seven kicks this season, had an extra point blocked that kept Kansas City’s fourth-quarter lead at three points instead of four. The punt coverage unit also allowed a 70-yard return, punctuated by a Chiefs penalty.
And speaking of penalties, Kansas City had 10 of them on the day. That’s the same number as in the team’s Week 1 loss to the Chargers, and somehow three fewer than in the Chiefs’ defeat at Jacksonville in Week 5.
Kansas City looks like an undisciplined team without much of a plan. And if it keeps playing the way it did against Denver, the plans could end up centering around vacation in January.
Good: Packers fighting through injuries to win in New York
Nothing has been easy for the Packers in recent weeks, but Green Bay is finding a way to survive.
After losing to the Eagles on Monday night while scoring seven points, the offense notched 27 points in New York, winning 27–20 over the Giants at MetLife Stadium. Jordan Love was in and out of the lineup and completed 13-of-24 passes for 174 yards and two touchdowns. While the numbers aren’t gaudy, Love engineered the short-week road win without receiver Jayden Reed, tight end Tucker Kraft and center Elgton Jenkins, helping Green Bay get to 6–3–1 and remain in the race for the NFC North title.
In a week where there’s been talk about coach Matt LaFleur’s job security, the Packers answered by fighting through injuries to Reed, Kraft and Jenkins, along with running back Josh Jacobs leaving early due to a knee injury. While the health woes are a huge concern moving forward, Green Bay has a chance to make a big move over the next three weeks with divisional tilts against the Vikings, Lions and Bears, respectively.
Green Bay needs Love to elevate the beat-up offense while the defense keeps rolling behind the edge pressure of Micah Parsons and Rashan Gary, but after beating the Giants to break its two-game skid, things are looking up.
Bad: Bengals’ reasons for keeping this coaching staff
Zac Taylor and Al Golden might very well get 2026 to showcase their talents in Cincinnati. Yet the reasons for allowing it to happen are dwindling.
The Bengals lost 34–12 to the Steelers on Sunday, managing one touchdown against the league’s 28th-ranked defense. Cincinnati also allowed 27 defensive points to Pittsburgh, which lost quarterback Aaron Rodgers midway through the game with a left hand injury.
The easy defense for Taylor is Joe Burrow’s Week 2 toe injury, which knocked him out for multiple months. But this is Taylor’s seventh season, and barring a miracle for his 3–7 Bengals, he’ll have reached the postseason only twice. When Burrow isn’t in the lineup, Cincinnati isn’t going to be a juggernaut, but it is often an embarrassment.
As for Golden, he replaced Lou Anarumo to help fix a defense that ranked 25th in both points and yards allowed in 2024. Instead, the unit is even worse, entering Week 11 as the worst in both categories, surrendering 426.6 yards and 33.3 points per game.
History says the Bengals won’t change. After all, Marvin Lewis was the head coach for 16 years without winning a playoff game.
But it’s a mistake considering the play we’ve seen from the Bengals on both sides of the ball.
Ugly: McCarthy performance in Minnesota
It’s early, but the returns on second-year quarterback J.J. McCarthy are concerning.
Minnesota lost 19–17 at home to the Bears on Sunday, dropping the Vikings to 4–6, well out of a playoff spot in the top-heavy NFC. From a long-term perspective, the most worrisome result was McCarthy’s stat line of 16-of-32 for 150 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions.
McCarthy has been either ineffective or inactive for almost every NFL game of his career. A national champion at Michigan, the 2024 first-round pick has played only five games in his pro career due to injuries. He has thrown for 842 yards on 6.0 yards per attempt with six touchdown passes and eight interceptions while completing 52.8% of his attempts.
Even if general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and coach Kevin O’Connell don’t believe McCarthy is the future by season’s end, Minnesota is in a tough spot. The Vikings have a win-now roster with stars either in their primes or aging out, including receiver Justin Jefferson, tackles Brian O’Neill and Christian Darrisaw, linebackers Blake Cashman, Andrew Van Ginkel and Jonathan Greenard, safety Josh Metellus and others.
Drafting another quarterback would reset the timeline. Additionally, it would be a quick admission of failure in a league where that’s rare. In free agency, there’s not much to be had, and trading for someone such as Kyler Murray or Tua Tagovailoa isn’t helping.
In short, it’s a long road to success for Minnesota if McCarthy doesn’t vastly improve.
Good: Jaguars making their case for a playoff spot
It’s been tough to get a read on the Jaguars. Over their first four games, they were 3–1 with 13 takeaways. Then they beat Kansas City in a wild Monday night affair in which the Jaguars allowed 476 total yards. Since then, Jacksonville had gone 1–3 going into Sunday’s game with the Chargers.
But against Los Angeles, the Jaguars made their statement. In a game that could eventually represent a key tiebreaker for the postseason, Jacksonville won 35–6. The defense beat up Justin Herbert with two sacks and five hits, limiting him to 81 passing yards and an interception before he was lifted for Trey Lance in the fourth quarter. Overall, Jacksonville permitted just 135 total yards and eight first downs.
Offensively, Trevor Lawrence threw for only 153 yards, with a touchdown and an interception, but the rushing attack scored four times to help ensure the blowout.
Moving forward, Jacksonville has an advantageous schedule. The Jaguars play the one-win Titans twice, the 2–8 Jets and the Jacoby Brissett–led Cardinals. Jacksonville also has both games against the Colts remaining, giving it a shot at the AFC South crown.
It’s been a winding path for the Jaguars, but their win over the Chargers and the defensive performance within it are providing reason to believe.
Bad: Buccaneers need to get healthy after another loss
Tampa Bay went to Buffalo and forced three turnovers. Baker Mayfield and the offense scored 32 points. And yet, the Buccaneers lost 44–32 while allowing six Josh Allen touchdowns.
While a fifth consecutive NFC South title feels secure, this season had Super Bowl aspirations. Those dreams seem lofty now, with Tampa Bay losing its third game in four weeks, while a host of stars are sidelined, including receivers Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and Jalen McMillan, corner Jamel Dean, running back Bucky Irving and others.
At 6–4, the Buccaneers are a strong bet to beat out the Panthers, Falcons and Saints in the moribund NFC South, but anything other than a No. 4 seed would be a surprise. That’s the same spot Tampa Bay was in the past three years, a place the Buccaneers have only advanced from once.
The defense is the biggest problem, as the unit has quietly struggled against good competition. Against the six above-.500 teams Tampa Bay has faced (Eagles, Seahawks, 49ers, Lions, Patriots and Bills), it is averaging 30.1 points per game against.
Ugly: Chargers’ offensive line is sinking the season
It’s rare to say a 7–4 team is in genuine trouble of missing the playoffs, but the Chargers are in such a spot.
After losing 35–6 to the Jaguars, Los Angeles has its bye week before hosting the two-win Raiders. Then, the Chargers welcome the Eagles into SoFi Stadium for a de facto road game before visiting the Chiefs. Their last three games also include the Texans and their pass-rush duo of Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter, and the Broncos, who lead the league with 46 sacks.
This is all terrible news for a team that can’t block after season-ending injuries to star tackles Joe Alt (ankle) and Rashawn Slater (knee). Coming into Sunday, Jacksonville ranked 23rd in pressure rate at 32.0%. Against the Chargers, the Jaguars constantly harassed Herbert, resulting in two sacks and five quarterback hits.
Looking at the AFC, the most likely path to the playoffs for Los Angeles is a wild-card spot, but there’s ample competition, including the Bills, Chiefs, Broncos, Jaguars, Ravens and Steelers.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as The Good, Bad and Ugly, Week 11: Broncos Take Control of AFC West.
