NFL Game Recaps: Week 11, 2024

NFL Game Recaps of previous weeks and seasons can be found via links at the bottom of the page.

Eagles 26, Redskins 18

Jayden Daniels has been the run-away Offensive Rookie of the Year winner, but he hadn’t seen a defense like this. That even includes the Steelers last week, as Pittsburgh is ranked seventh in defensive EPA, and Daniels was able to complete some deep passes against them. The Eagles, with Vic Fangio, are ranked first in defensive EPA. Daniels engineered an early scoring drive, but Washington got nothing except a field goal after that until garbage time.

Daniels looked perplexed by what Fangio threw at him. He couldn’t get much on the ground, and he skipped a number of passes into the dirt. Most of his passing yardage came via dump-off passes to Austin Ekeler, as Terry McLaurin didn’t catch a single pass in the first three quarters.

Despite Philadelphia’s defensive effort, this was a tight game for a while. The Eagles had a sleepy effort in the opening half, and it didn’t help that Jake Elliott missed two field goals and an extra point. Saquon Barkley couldn’t get going either, but he ripped off two long runs at the end of the game. The Eagles also got some lucky bounces. Grant Calcaterra hopped on the loose ball when Dallas Goedert fumbled in Washington territory. Meanwhile, Washington fumbled on a crucial fourth down in Philadelphia territory after foolishly running twice on second-and-1 and third-and-1.

The Eagles have won six in a row to improve to 8-2. Given their offensive firepower and No. 1 defense, they’re going to be a very tough out in the playoffs.

The Redskins have been a nice story this year, but they were outmatched in this game. They have lots of promise heading into 2025, but Daniels needs a viable No. 2 receiver and improved tackle play to aid him against superior competition.

Packers 20, Bears 19

The Bears haven’t beaten the Packers since 2018, and that poor streak was expected to continue because Chicago just lost to the Patriots and then fired their offensive coordinator. No one informed the Bears that they were supposed to lose, however, as they ran the ball effectively against the Packers all afternoon. They also came up big on some defensive plays, intercepting “No Cookie” Jordan Love in the end zone.

The Packers also ran well, and they were able to establish Josh Jacobs as a rusher and a receiver to take the lead in the third quarter. Chicago struck back, however, with D’Andre Swift sprinting 34 yards into the end zone to go up 19-14.

Green Bay made a questionable decision early in the fourth quarter, passing on a field goal while down 19-14 on a fourth-and-6. Love couldn’t convert, but was given another chance in the final frame, thanks to a deep catch by Christian Watson. Love snuck into the end zone to go up 20-19.

The Bears still had one more chance to reverse history. Caleb Williams was stuck in a fourth-and-3, but found Rome Odunze, who made a 21-yard back-shoulder catch along the sideline. Williams then hit Keenan Allen for a 12-yard connection to set up a 46-yard field goal by Cairo Santos to win the game. Santos’s kick was blocked, however, securing yet another victory for Green Bay over Chicago.

The Packers didn’t impress anyone with this victory, but they were getting Chicago’s best effort after the disgraceful loss to New England the prior week. Winning divisional road games is never easy, and yet Green Bay does this every year against Chicago.

The Bears were at least able to put forth a positive effort. They lost, but if there’s a silver lining, it’s that Williams played a solid game. It helped that the two Chicago tackles were back in action.

Saints 35, Browns 14

Marquez Valdes-Scantling shocked the NFL world last week by reminding everyone that he was still in the league. He caught two touchdowns despite not playing in prior games. Derek Carr tried to get the magic going again to Valdes-Scantling early in the afternoon, but was intercepted. On the next drive, Carr went back to Valdes-Scantling, albeit on a shorter route. Valdes-Scantling blazed by Cleveland’s defense, as the Browns displayed shoddy tackling on the 71-yard touchdown.

Cleveland’s poor tackling persisted throughout the afternoon. The team surrendered a third-and-13 to Taysom Hill on a fourth-quarter drive and then saw Hill rush for a touchdown on a fourth-and-1 run to break a 14-14 tie. The Saints scored again on the ensuing drive to distance themselves from the Browns, who hung around for a while, but missed out on some points because of three missed field goals by Dustin Hopkins. Had Hopkins connected on his attempts, the Browns would’ve had a chance to tie with a touchdown and a two-point conversion at the end, but had no chance of doing so because of their kicking blunders.

The final score says this was 35-14, and that was the result of Hill sprinting for a 75-yard touchdown when the Browns gave up. Hill finished with an unbelievable stat line of seven carries, 138 rushing yards, three rushing touchdowns, eight catches, 50 receiving yards, and 18 passing yards, and one interception.

The Saints have won two in a row since firing Dennis Allen. They had a chance to play for the top pick in the draft, but ruined their future with these meaningless victories.

The Browns, conversely, did well to help secure the No. 1 selection. They might be able to land Shedeur Sanders, though that would require Deion Sanders greenlighting the move.

Rams 28, Patriots 22

The Rams lost to the Dolphins on Monday night, and in the early going, it seemed as though they would suffer another defeat. They allowed the Patriots to go down the field and score a touchdown, with Drake Maye finding Kendrick Bourne in the end zone to go up 7-0.

It didn’t take very long for this game to reverse course. The Rams scored themselves, and then forced a turnover on a Maye strip-sack. Matthew Stafford took advantage of the give-away by firing a touchdown pass to Puka Nacua. The second-year receiver was hurt upon catching the touchdown, remaining on the ground for minutes, but didn’t miss any action.

With Nacua healthy, the Rams had no issues moving the chains following their slow start. Stafford continued to pepper Nacua and Cooper Kupp with plenty of targets, eventually going up 28-13. The Rams scored a couple of times late in the game, and they were able to shut the door by intercepting Maye on the final drive of the afternoon.

The Rams remained alive in the divisional race by improving to 5-5. Their offensive line play was much cleaner in this game than it was in that Monday night defeat.

The Patriots remained competitive for a while, but Maye couldn’t overcome a bit deficit with such pedestrian receivers at his disposal. Check out the 2025 NFL Mock Draft to see what weapons New England can obtain to help Maye.

Steelers 18, Ravens 16

This was a massive game in the AFC North, but the Ravens did not play like it was. Baltimore is well coached and often doesn’t make mistakes, but that was not the case in this matchup against Pittsburgh. The Ravens’ first half was comprised of nothing but blunders. It began when Derrick Henry lost a fumble, setting up a Pittsburgh field goal. Baltimore couldn’t complete drives because of constant penalties, as the team was guilty of six infractions in the opening half alone. This caused stalled drives, and Justin Tucker missed field goals from 47 and 50. Baltimore finally appeared to get its act together during the 2-minute drill prior to intermission with an impressive touchdown drive, but Isaiah Likely lost a fumble to set up another Pittsburgh score.

Despite all of these errors, the Steelers led just 9-7 at the half. Pittsburgh also committed some penalties, while the offensive line was to blame for poor blocking. Russell Wilson couldn’t take advantage of Baltimore’s poor secondary because he took four sacks. The offensive line also couldn’t open any running lanes for Najee Harris, who was stuffed on a fourth-down attempt.

The Steelers gave the Ravens a golden opportunity to mount a comeback when Wilson irresponsibly floated a pass into the end zone that was picked. Passing up on a field goal there would’ve allowed Pittsburgh to eventually lead 21-10, but it was 18-10 with a few minutes remaining. The Ravens continued to shoot themselves in the foot with a Zay Flowers drop and an ineligible player downfield penalty to negate a big gain. However, Flowers redeemed himself by eventually catching a touchdown. Down 18-16, the Ravens had to go for two, but Lamar Jackson couldn’t find anyone open and had to heave the ball up for grabs. The pass fell incomplete, giving the Steelers the huge victory.

The Steelers built their roster to defeat Jackson, and that’s what they did once again. They stymied Jackson, restricting him to just 46 rushing yards.

The Ravens lost, but they’re still in good shape as far as the playoffs are concerned at 7-4. They need to play a cleaner game in the rematch.

Dolphins 34, Raiders 19

The Dolphins won on the West Coast and had to travel across the country to play an early game on a short week. It looked like they were jetlagged to start the game. They botched an early red zone opportunity and couldn’t get off the field defensively.

Despite what this score says, this contest was a close one for most of the afternoon. The Dolphins led 10-6 at halftime and 17-12 heading into the final frame. The Raiders did a great job of keeping the ball away from Miami’s offense, with Gardner Minshew constantly targeting Brock Bowers, who had a big afternoon. Bowers caught 13 passes for 126 yards and a touchdown.

The Raiders, however, couldn’t keep up this facade up for very long. They couldn’t move the chains in the fourth quarter, allowing the Dolphins to score on three possessions. Tua Tagovailoa hit some big plays late, including a 57-yard touchdown to Jonnu Smith where Tagovailoa heaved the ball off his back foot. Before long, Miami was up multiple scores and had the victory secured.

The Dolphins have won two in a row to save their season. They’re now 4-6, and they’re not too far away from the seventh seed. They’ll have a chance to get it if Tagovailoa remains healthy.

The Raiders did well to lose once again, dropping to 2-8. They’ll have a great chance to land Shedeur Sanders atop the 2025 NFL Draft.

Vikings 23, Titans 13

Titans head coach Brian Callahan was not a happy camper during this game. His frustration stemmed from a horrendous call the officials made in the second quarter. Up 7-3, the Vikings attempted a fourth-down pass in the red zone. The pass fell incomplete, but they didn’t turn the ball over on downs because the officials threw a flag on a hit on Jordan Addison that went to his chest. Callahan spent minutes yelling at the officials, but to no avail. The Vikings scored on the very next play to go up 14-3.

Callahan was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct because of what he shouted to the officials. This, however, did not light a fire under his team, as the Titans barely accomplished anything the rest of the game. The Titans scored a touchdown on a 98-yard pass to Nick Westbrook-Ikhine on a busted coverage, but that was it. Tennessee mustered just three points the rest of the way.

The Vikings, meanwhile, took care of business. Sam Darnold played a mostly clean game after his three-interception performance last week. He didn’t throw a pick, but lost a fumble on a strip-sack late in the third quarter. However, illegal contact negated the turnover and eventually set up a Cam Akers touchdown to put the Vikings comfortably ahead, 23-10.

This was a huge game for Darnold. The Titans were an easier opponent, but he needed to give himself and his team some confidence that he won’t blow potential victories with constant turnovers.

Considering the horrible matchup, Will Levis’ numbers weren’t too bad. He threw an interception, but it occurred at the very end in desperation time, down 10. Levis, however, continued to take bad sacks to disrupt drives. Levis is awful against the blitz, and Minnesota happens to blitz more than any other team in the NFL.

Colts 28, Jets 27

The Jets were favored by four heading into this must-win game, but they didn’t play like they had to win in the early stages. They struggled to get off the field against the Colts, who started a recently benched Anthony Richardson. The offense was even worse, failing to secure a single first down in the first 28 minutes of the game. They tried to move the chains on a fourth down while down 10-0, but a Tyler Conklin sneak failed.

Just when it looked like the Jets would suffer an utterly embarrassing blowout loss to the Colts, their offense finally showed signs of life just prior to halftime. They scored a late touchdown and then continued the pace following intermission. Their defense then stepped up with a turnover off a Richardson fumble to set up a Breece Hall touchdown. This gave the Jets their first lead of the game.

New York couldn’t sustain their lead, however. The defense, which was supposed to be the strength of the team, allowed some big gains to multiple receivers. This game went back and forth, with the Jets going up five on a field goal with 2:44 remaining. However, New York’s decision to kick a field goal on a fourth-and-2 on the Colts 17-yard line – and wasting a timeout in the process – backfired because the Colts marched down the field on the ensuing drive. Richardson hit Alec Pierce for a 39-yard connection and then found Josh Downs for 17 yards. Richardson then breached the end zone on a 4-yard scamper to secure the decisive score.

This loss drops the Jets to 3-8, and their season is over. They would’ve had a shot to reach the playoffs at 4-7, but at 3-8, they can only go 9-8 if they win the remainder of their games, and that probably won’t be good enough for the seventh seed.

The Colts, conversely, have a chance to sneak into the playoffs now that they’re 5-6. They still get to play the Jaguars and Titans, so they’ll have an opportunity to rack up some wins.

Lions 52, Jaguars 6
By Charlie Campbell – @draftcampbell

EDITOR’S NOTE: It’s a shame that Jared Goff barely played in the fourth quarter because he could’ve had one of the all-time great passing performances.

This game was sheer domination, as one could expect, but it was even more brutal than the score suggests. The Lions racked up 645 yards on offense, the ninth most by a team in a single game in NFL history. Amon-Ra St. Brown had 161 yards and two touchdowns. Jameson Williams had 124 with a score. And the Lions offense had 18 explosive plays. Not only was the Detroit offense brilliant, but the defense held Jacksonville to only 169 yards and zero touchdowns.

The Jaguars took the opening kickoff for a drive that ended with them making a 59-yard field goal. The lead didn’t last long as they moved down the field using St. Brown and David Montgomery, with Mongomery charging into the end zone. The next drive was led by Jahmyr Gibbs and Williams, with Gibbs scoring from a yard out to go up 14-3. Before long, the lead expanded again, with Montgomery adding another short rushing touchdown. After another Jaguars punt, Goff threw a checkdown to Gibbs, and he turned it into a 54-yard play. A couple of plays later, St. Brown caught a short cross and ran it through the secondary for a 26-yard touchdown. The Jaguars added a field goal to make it 28-6 at halftime.

On the opening drive of the third quarter, Goff hit Williams on the run, and he exploded down the field for a 64-yard touchdown. Late in the third quarter, Goff threw a short touchdown pass to Brock Wright. Lions safety Kerby Joseph grabbed his league-leading seventh interception. Detroit ripped the ball down the field, and at the start of the fourth quarter, Goff connected with St. Brown for another score to go up 49-6.

Broncos 38, Falcons 6
By Charlie Campbell – @draftcampbell

EDITOR’S NOTE: Sean Payton claimed to have the best quarterback from the 2024 NFL Draft. Bo Nix certainly played like it in this game. Nix made some amazing throws to ruin my teaser, which never had a chance.

The Falcons came out flat, and the Broncos (5-5) dominated in a game they had to have to stay within striking distance of the crowded AFC playoff picture. Atlanta is fortunate that they play in a weak division. This loss may not mean much if Atlanta (6-4) stays in first place in the NFC South, but it was not a competitive game in Denver. Bo Nix continues to show improvement, and this was the first 300-yard passing game of his career while also throwing four touchdowns with zero interceptions. Denver’s defense dominated Kirk Cousins and kept Atlanta out of the end zone.

The Broncos took the opening drive down the field before Nix hit a bootleg pass to a wide-open Nate Adkins for a 12-yard touchdown. Atlanta responded with Cousins leading a field goal drive. Midway through the second quarter, Denver moved down the field to set up Javonte Williams to power through over the goal line and put Denver up 14-3. Atlanta responded with a long field goal from Younghoe Koo. In the final seconds of the first half, Marvin Mims Jr. scored on a short wide receiver screen to make it 21-6 at halftime.

Early in the third quarter, the Broncos added to their league with Troy Franklin scoring on a wide receiver screen. Cousins helped the Broncos blow the game open when he threw a terrible pass into double coverage for an easy interception for Cody Barton. Early in the fourth quarter, Lil’Jordan Humphrey got wide open in busted coverage and coasted down the field with a 41-yard touchdown to go up 38-6. With nine minutes remaining, the Falcons put Michael Penix Jr. into the game, but he was only 2-of-4 in passing for 24 yards before time expired.

Seahawks 20, 49ers 17

The 49ers had a great season last year. Their 2024 campaign has not gone nearly as well. They’ve blown late leads all year, thanks to poor red zone offense, horrible special teams, and shoddy in-game decision-making by Kyle Shanahan. There was a belief that the 49ers’ fortunes would reverse in the wake of Christian McCaffrey’s return to action, but this game is an indication that this won’t be the case the rest of the season.

San Francisco sabotaged this victory. It began when the team was up 7-3. Brock Purdy was moving the ball, but threw an interception. The San Francisco then secured its own interception when Geno Smith panicked under pressure in a 7-6 game during the third quarter. The 49ers were gifted a short field, but once again failed in the red zone. They settled for a field goal despite battling one of the worst defenses in the NFL, as multiple penalties ruined their chances of scoring a touchdown.

Despite this botched opportunity, the 49ers still led 17-13 with 2:45 remaining in the fourth quarter. They were stuck in a fourth-and-6 on Seattle’s 42-yard line. They decided to punt, which was an extremely poor decision because Seattle had plenty of time to drive down the field and score a touchdown. The choice to punt was made worse by the boot landing in the end zone, resulting in a net of just 22 yards.

It didn’t take the Seahawks very long to overcome those 22 yards. With Nick Bosa sidelined with an injury, Smith hit Jaxon Smith-Njigba for several passes to move over midfield. Smith then did the rest, scrambling for 16 yards and then 13 more yards to reach the end zone for the game-winning touchdown.

The 49ers are still just one game out of the divisional lead at 5-5. They can still rally and win the NFC West, but time is running out for them to fix their many issues.

The Seahawks saved their season to improve to 5-5. Smith-Njigba had a monstrous performance for the second consecutive game.

Bills 30, Chiefs 21

The Bills built their roster to beat Patrick Mahomes. They won their previous three regular-season matchups against Mahomes, and this turned out to be the fourth straight win. Buffalo spent the entire afternoon frustrating Mahomes, while the offense did just enough to give them the victory to tighten the race for the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoff race.

Mahomes’ frustration began early when the Bills intercepted him. The Bills turned the take-away into a touchdown to go up 6-0. The Chiefs were able to strike back and take the lead when Mahomes peppered Xavier Worthy with some unlikely targets. Worthy eventually scored a touchdown to put the Chiefs up 7-6. Buffalo and Kansas City exchanged touchdown drives after that, but a field goal just prior to halftime gave the Bills a 16-14 lead.

The score remained 16-14 for a while. The Bills had a chance to score more, but botched a fourth-down attempt. The Chiefs, meanwhile, couldn’t get anything going in the second half. Mahomes saw tons of pressure from Buffalo’s front. He was sacked only twice, but pressure disrupted most Kansas City drives. The Bills eventually broke free a score, as Josh Allen found Curtis Samuel for a touchdown to go up 23-14.

Kansas City, naturally, didn’t go away. The Chiefs, stuck with 14 points for a big chunk of the afternoon, finally put together a successful drive early in the fourth quarter. Mahomes hit DeAndre Hopkins, Justin Watson and JuJu Smith-Schuster for significant gains to set up a touchdown pass to Noah Gray to trim the margin to 23-21. Kansas City needed one more chance to prevail, but Allen knew he couldn’t give the ball back to them. He took matters into his own hands, or rather, his legs. On a fourth-and-2 in field goal range, Allen scrambled for a 26-yard touchdown to clinch the victory.

The Bills are now in play for the No. 1 seed in the playoffs. They’re one game back of the Chiefs, but own the head-to-head tie-breaker.

The Chiefs lost their first game of the year, so they’ll be forced into playing their late-season games unless the Bills lose again. Still, they have plenty of time to fix what’s wrong, just as they did last year.

Chargers 34, Bengals 27

This was a game that came down to the wire, but it certainly did not look like that would be the case in the first half. This was a completely lopsided affair prior to intermission. Justin Herbert began the game 9-of-10, as his team accumulated 200 yards on just 16 plays. The Bengals couldn’t sustain drives because of the pressure Joe Burrow saw, and as a consequence, the Chargers established a 27-6 lead.

The Bengals could have quit, but they stormed back instead. They scored two touchdowns in the third quarter and then got lucky when Herbert lost a fumble in field goal range. Burrow then made two amazing plays to muscle out of a pair of potential sacks and delivered some strikes to Chase Brown. Burrow was able to come all the way back to tie the game at 27 and then put his team in position to take the lead, but Evan McPherson missed from 48 yards.

The Chargers suddenly had new life in the wake of McPherson’s whiff, but Herbert missed a wide-open Ladd McConkey. Cincinnati put McPherson in position for another kick, but he once again missed, this time from 48. The Chargers then went three-and-out because of a near interception and a dropped pass. They punted the ball away to the Bengals, who then went three-and-out themselves.

Amazingly, the Charger had yet another chance, and they finally made the most out of it. Herbert connected with McConkey for completions of 28 and 27 yards, with the second connection occurring as Herbert was getting hit. J.K. Dobbins then broke free for a 29-yard touchdown, sealing the victory for the Chargers.

The Chargers would have found a way to lose this game in the past. This, however, is a new Charger team under Jim Harbaugh.

The Bengals once again suffered a heart-breaker. In an alternate universe, they would have won all of these games, but they’re just 4-7 in this universe. They’ll have to run the table out of their Week 12 bye.

Texans 34, Cowboys 10

The Cowboys were blown out at home against the Eagles last week. With Dak Prescott sidelined, it didn’t seem like things would go differently in this game. For a while, it seemed like Dallas had a chance to keep this contest close – it was 17-10 at halftime – but in the end, the Texans became the latest team to crush the Cowboys.

The play that sealed it for the Texans occurred when Dallas had the ball. It was a 20-10 game when Derek Barnett strip-sacked Cooper Rush. Barnett scooped and scored, giving the Texans a 17-point lead that the Cowboys couldn’t even think to overcome, given that their sole touchdown came on a play in which Kavonte Turpin scored when the defending cornerback slipped on the turf. Mike McCarthy ended up waving the white flag when he punted on a fourth-and-20 on the ensuing drive despite his team hitting a 20-yard pass on a fourth-and-10 earlier. This is the sort of moronic coaching we’re going to miss with McCarthy once he’s fired after the season.

The Texans won, but didn’t have the most convincing offensive showing. Joe Mixon was great, but that was about it. C.J. Stroud still missed some easy throws he used to convert. He’ll need to snap out of this sophomore slump soon with the playoffs soon approaching.

The Cowboys really need to evaluate what they’re doing, and that’s not even in reference to the eventual McCarthy firing. It makes no sense for Rush to be playing over Trey Lance when Jerry Jones used a fourth-round pick to obtain Lance, whose contract is expiring at the end of this year.

For more thoughts, check out my updated NFL Power Rankings, which will be posted Tuesday morning.

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