Justin Herbert puts Chargers among AFC's best; Jaguars officially AFC's worst
After winning 15 straight dating back to last season, the Kansas City Chiefs finally lost in the biggest game of the weekend — a 30-21 setback on the road to the Buffalo Bills in what could have been a preview of the AFC title game.
Patrick Mahomes is now 1-4 against the Bills in the regular season; however, he's 3-0 against Buffalo in the playoffs.
Meanwhile, the Detroit Lions scored 52 points for the second time in four weeks, handing the Jacksonville Jaguars their worst loss in franchise history — a result that could lead to the organization making major changes.
This weekend was also about meaningful missed kicks. Kickers missed 10 field goals in Week 11. Those included two misses each by Cincinnati's Evan McPherson and Baltimore's Justin Tucker in close games that both of their teams lost.
And the Chicago Bears lost a heartbreaker when Cairo Santos had his 46-yard field goal attempt blocked by Green Bay's Karl Brooks.
The high for this season, according to my FOX Sports colleague Greg Auman, is 13 missed kicks in Week 3. Kickers missed 12 field goals in Week 10.
Overall, Week 11 was filled with several entertaining games and memorable performances, so let's take a closer look at who's hot and who's not.
WHO'S HOT
Justin Herbert, QB, Chargers
On Sunday night against fellow 2020 first-round draft pick Joe Burrow, Herbert put the Chargers on his back in a 34-27 victory. The Oregon product did it with his arm (297 passing yards and two touchdown passes) and his legs (65 rushing yards). The Bolts avoided "Chargering" when J.K. Dobbins scored the winning touchdown on a 29-yard scamper after Cincinnati had erased a 21-point deficit.
Herbert has not thrown an interception in a franchise-record 246 passing attempts, eclipsing his previous mark of 233 attempts from Dec. 26, 2022, to Oct. 1, 2023.
The victory gives Los Angeles a three-game winning streak and puts them in the conversation among the AFC's best teams at 7-3, just two games behind Kansas City (9-1). Dobbins said afterward that Herbert belongs in the MVP conversation, while coach Jim Harbaugh was succinct in describing his quarterback's clutch play down the stretch.
"He didn't flinch," Harbaugh said. "He's as cold-blooded as anybody can possibly be."
Anthony Richardson, QB, Colts
Benched for two games in favor of veteran Joe Flacco, Richardson got his starting job back and led the Colts to a comeback victory over Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets. Richardson completed 20 of 30 passes for 272 yards and a score. And he also ran for 32 yards, including a 4-yard touchdown for the winning score with 46 seconds left.
The Colts improved to 5-6 and are only two games behind the Houston Texans (6-4) in the AFC South. Indianapolis head coach Shane Steichen said he wants to see Richardson keep it rolling.
"We know how talented he is," Steichen said. "He put in great work this week. He's got to continue that because we know what type of player he can be in this league."
The AFC North goes through Pittsburgh. Kicker Chris Boswell made sure of that as he was responsible for all 18 points for the Steelers in a tight win over the Baltimore Ravens. Bowell kicked six field goals, including three from 50-plus yards.
Once again, head coach Mike Tomlin's defense shut down reigning league MVP Lamar Jackson, as the Steelers kept Jackson out of the end zone late on a failed two-point conversion.
Jackson is 1-4 all time against Pittsburgh, and the Steelers are now 8-2 in their past 10 meetings with the Ravens.
Taysom Hill, TE, Saints
New Orleans' utilityman led the NFL in rushing on Sunday, running for 138 yards. Playing multiple positions, Hill had 206 total yards from scrimmage and scored three touchdowns in his team's 35-14 victory over the Cleveland Browns. He became just the second player in the Super Bowl era to have at least eight catches, 130 rushing yards and three scores in a single game.
Hill is also one of two players in league history with at least 25 rushing touchdowns, 10 receiving touchdowns and 10 passing touchdowns in his NFL career.
Geno Smith, QB, Seahawks
Seattle defeated San Francisco for the first time in three years, and Smith was at the center of the come-from-behind road victory. Smith led the Seahawks on an 11-play, 80-yard drive, punctuated by his 13-yard scramble for the winning score.
Smith entered the game 0-5 against the reigning NFC West champs, and Seattle ended a six-game losing streak to the 49ers with the win. At 5-5, Seattle remains in the playoff hunt in Mike Macdonald's first season as head coach.
Geno Smith, Seahawks shock Brock Purdy, 49ers
WHO'S COLD
Justin Tucker, K, Ravens
He remains one of the most accurate kickers in NFL history, with a career 89.35% success rate on field goals, so Tucker isn't going anywhere. But 2024 continues to be a struggle for the Ravens veteran.
Tucker was wide left from 47 and 50 yards in the opening quarter of Baltimore's 18-16 loss to the Steelers, the first time since 2022 that he failed to make consecutive attempts. Tucker is 16-of-22 on field goals (72.7%) and needs to get things corrected before the postseason.
Raheem Morris, head coach, Falcons
The bye week arrives at a good time for the NFC South leaders, after losing their second straight game in embarrassing fashion on the road against the Denver Broncos.
What's concerning for the Falcons is that a team with a defensive head coach got carved up by a rookie quarterback in Bo Nix. Yes, the Oregon product is playing well, but Morris and the Falcons had no answer for Sean Payton's offense.
A meeting with Herbert's Chargers looms in two weeks.
Travis Kelce, TE, Chiefs
One of the many reasons the Bills defeated the Chiefs is they succeeded in taking away Kansas City's best offensive weapon in Kelce. The future Hall of Famer finished with just two receptions for eight yards.
Kelce had been a problem for the Bills in previous matchups, with 36 career receptions for 448 receiving yards and four touchdowns. But Buffalo blanketed Kelce defensively, forcing Mahomes to throw the ball elsewhere.
Maybe Kelce's pregame outfit was bad luck?
Trent Baalke, GM, Jaguars
Jacksonville has reached the expiration date on the head coach-GM tandem of Doug Pederson and Baalke. It's never a good look when a team scores 52 points on you. Jacksonville players seemed disinterested.
At 2-9, the Jaguars have lost four straight and 14 of the team's past 17 games dating back to last season.
The Jaguars are entering their bye week, and they have a former head coach on staff who can serve in an interim role in Mike McCoy. Firing Pederson and Baalke now would give the franchise a jumpstart on the head coach/GM search.
Owner Shad Khan believed this was the most talented team his organization had fielded in the team's history, but the Jaguars have woefully underperformed this season, and that falls at the feet of Baalke and Pederson. Time for a reset.
But hey, at least the Jaguars looked good getting off the bus on Sunday.
Eric D. Williams has reported on the NFL for more than a decade, covering the Los Angeles Rams for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Chargers for ESPN and the Seattle Seahawks for the Tacoma News Tribune. Follow him on Twitter at @eric_d_williams.
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