This was quite the week for teams ranked number one in their division with fortunes varying from total upset to complete blow out. Going into week 11 the number one placed teams in action were the Cleveland Browns (AFC North), New England Patriots (AFC East), Denver Broncos (AFC West), New Orleans Saints (NFC South), Indianapolis Colts (AFC South), Detroit Lions (NFC North), Philadelphia Eagles (NFC East) and Arizona Cardinals (NFC West).
The first of these teams we shall be focusing on is the Denver Broncos as they travelled to the St Louis Rams. This season the Rams have been hit and miss but in their last few games they have been more hit. The main reason is their defence which has now tallied up 19 sacks in the last few games which included sacking Colin Kaepernick eight times. A pretty impressive feat when you think of how mobile he is.
Back to the game now and from the opening kick-off it was clear that the Rams were here to play, putting pressure on Peyton Manning every time he dropped back to pass and even the Rams offense were maintaining drives and eating time off the clock. Everyone in football will tell you the best way to beat Peyton Manning is to keep him off the field.
On offense this week the Rams were controlling the clock with the running of Tre Mason and were even making some big plays when they needed to in the passing game thanks to Kenny Britt who finished the day with four receptions for 128 yards. I shall stop my ranting’s there but let’s say the Broncos were just completely out played as you will see by clicking on the picture below for the highlights:
We move on now to the New Orleans Saints as they played host to the Cincinnati Bengals. The Bengals certainly had a point to prove this week after their humiliating loss to division rivals the Cleveland Browns in week 10.
If you were to take a look at the stats from this game without knowing the score I think you would be hard pressed to guess the outcome as both teams had a similar third down conversion rate, a similar number or plays and time of possession etc. There was even only one turnover in the whole contest.
Much like our first game however it was clear from the opening quarter that the Bengals just had the Saints number this week and despite scoring the first points of the game the Saints went on to concede 20 unanswered points over three quarters of play and there was just no coming back. You can check out the highlights by clicking on the picture below:
Now I could keep going running through a few of the games but instead I want to focus on some young players / rookies who are really stepping up to the plate. Some of the players have had the limelight thrust upon them due to injury whilst others have just simply been that good!
First up is rookie middle linebacker Chris Borland who is now starting for the San Francisco 49ers. Borland is a product out of Wisconsin college and was drafted in the third round by San Francsisco. In the last two weeks Borland has shown that not only is he a tackling machine but he knows how to come up with a big play. This week again the New York Giants he made 13 total tackles and had two interceptions. Granted one of the interceptions was off a very lucky deflection but as they say you still have to be in the right place at the right time to get the luck!
In the last three games he has made 48 combined tackles and two interceptions and with six weeks left in the regular season it excites me to think about the stats he could end up with!
The next player I want to talk about is New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr, now whilst he would probably have made their starting line up as a slot receiver, the injury to Victor Cruz has pushed him into a starting role and from game film you would have to say Eli Manning's number one target.
Now unlike Chris Borland, Odell wasn't thrust in through injury although the injury to Victor Cruz certainly moved him up the depth chart a spot. In his first three games Beckham Jr was making great catches but only managed a total of 106 yards. In his last three games however he has caught 21 passes for 357 yards. As I mentioned before he certainly appears to be the favourite target and you should all keep an eye out for him during the rest of the season.
The final young player / rookie I want to talk about is another wide receiver out of Texas A&M college and that is Johnny Manziel’s number one target whilst in college and that is Mike Evans. Of all the receivers I saw last year he was the one I was most excited about playing in the NFL.
He was drafted in the first round of this years NFL draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and he has not looked back since draft day. Coming into Tampa Bay he was always going to be the number two receiver behind Vincent Jackson which in itself comes with a fair amount of pressure.
Again similar to Beckham Jr it took Evans a little while to put up some big numbers but throughout the season he has been making big catches and showing why he was taken with the seventh pick in the draft. In the last three games Evans has caught 29 passes for a staggering 458 yards and five touchdowns. To say that Evans is currently on fire would be the smallest of understatements!
Of course there are a number of others players that have impressed me this year but unfortunately the blog can only be so long. With that said let us now take a look at all of the scores from week 11:
Buffalo 9 vs 22 Miami
Atlanta 19 vs 17 Carolina
Minnesota 13 vs 21 Chicago
Houston 23 vs 7 Cleveland
Seattle 20 vs 24 Kansas City
Cincinnati 27 vs 10 New Orleans
San Francisco 16 vs 10 New York Giants
Denver 7 vs 22 St Louis Rams
Tampa Bay 27 vs 7 Washington
Oakland 6 vs 13 San Diego
Philadelphia 20 vs 53 Green Bay Packers
Detroit 6 vs 14 Arizona
New England 42 vs 20 Indianapolis
To be Played Monday 17th November 2014
Pittsburgh vs Tennessee
Atlanta 19 vs 17 Carolina
Minnesota 13 vs 21 Chicago
Houston 23 vs 7 Cleveland
Seattle 20 vs 24 Kansas City
Cincinnati 27 vs 10 New Orleans
San Francisco 16 vs 10 New York Giants
Denver 7 vs 22 St Louis Rams
Tampa Bay 27 vs 7 Washington
Oakland 6 vs 13 San Diego
Philadelphia 20 vs 53 Green Bay Packers
Detroit 6 vs 14 Arizona
New England 42 vs 20 Indianapolis
To be Played Monday 17th November 2014
Pittsburgh vs Tennessee
As you can see from the above scores six of the first place sides in their divisions ended up with a loss this week. Granted two of the matches were between teams who were all first in their divisions but still you would expect the others to have played a lot better at this point in the season.
As it stands we currently have a team with a losing record leading the way in the NFC South in Atlanta with a record of 4 - 6. It is very reminiscent of a few years ago when Seattle made it to the playoffs with a 7 - 9 record. Crazy business when you think about but as you play everyone in your division twice it’s only fair that division winners make it to the playoffs.
Well that is it from me this week but be sure to check out our podcast ‘Spitball’ which will be available later in the week. Until next time football fans stay safe, take care and ‘Thanks for Stopping By’.