National Football League

NFL Week 11 top plays: Chargers outlast Steelers, Vikings top Packers, more

Updated Nov. 21, 2021 11:51 p.m. ET

Week 11 of the NFL season delivered a haul of enticing matchups.

In one of the top early games, Justin Jefferson and the Minnesota Vikings came away with a huge last-second win over Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers.

'We came mentally prepared' — Justin Jefferson on Vikings' win over Packers

Pam Oliver caught up with Justin Jefferson after his big performance in the Minnesota Vikings victory over the Green Bay Packers.

The afternoon slate featured a dominant win by the Chiefs over Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys.

And capping Sunday's action was a thrilling matchup between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Los Angeles Chargers in which Justin Herbert & Co. came up victorious after a hard-fought battle at SoFi Stadium.

Here are the top moments from Sunday's action-packed slate.

Los Angeles Chargers 41, Pittsburgh Steelers 37

Bolt Up!

The Steelers were first on the board, but the Chargers took the lead late in the first quarter when Austin Ekeler found the end zone for six.

On a roll

And a big 18-yard gain from Keenan Allen set up another Ekeler TD for the Chargers as they jumped out to a 14-3 lead.

Star of the Steelers' show

It was all Diontae Johnson to close out the first half. The star receiver picked up a huge 22-yard gain to move the chains.

Then, Ben Roethlisberger floated one up to Johnson for a Steelers TD to keep the Chargers within arm's reach.

Hat trick

What can't Ekeler do? The star RB snagged his third score of the night on this catch-and-run to make it a two-score game. He is the first player with multiple rushing TDs and multiple receiving TDs in a single game since Maurice Jones-Drew in 2011.

Terrible Towels take over

The tide changed for Pittsburgh when the Steelers' defense came up with a huge punt block late in the game.

On the ensuing drive, rookie Najee Harris caught some air on his way to the end zone as the Steelers cut the deficit to seven.

All gas, no brakes

But unfortunately for the Steelers, Herbert and Ekeler still had a lot left in the tank:

And just like that …

Steelers tight end Eric Ebron reeled in this pass to keep things close, getting momentum on Pittsburgh's side.

Energy shift

Once again, the Steelers' defense came up with a huge pick, this time late in the fourth to take over in L.A.'s territory.

Then, Big Ben hit his rookie tight end Pat Freiermuth to knot things up.

Stuffed

After a turnover on downs at the Chargers' 34-yard line, Pittsburgh would nail a field goal to take the lead.

Bombs away

The Chargers answered with a dazzling 53-yard score from Mike Williams to regain the lead, 41-37, and things ended there.

Kansas City Chiefs 19, Dallas Cowboys 9

KC strikes first

The Chiefs were first on the board after this direct snap to Travis Kelce.

Travis Kelce scores rushing touchdown from unorthodox formation

The Kansas City Chiefs lined up in an unorthodox formation inside the five yard-line, leading to a four-yard rushing touchdown for TE Travis Kelce in Kansas City's Week 11 win.

Giddy up

The Cowboys had some tricks up their sleeve to move the sticks.

15 from CEH

In his first game since Week 5, Chiefs' star back Clyde Edwards-Helaire punched one in to extend Kansas City's lead …

… but how about this taunting penalty that was called on the play?

Tangled up

The Chiefs came up with a huge pick on what was almost a CeeDee Lamb touchdown catch for Dallas …

… but the Cowboys returned the favor shortly after.

Arizona Cardinals 23, Seattle Seahawks 13

Up, up and away!

Colt McCoy — who is in for an injured Kyler Murray — was letting it fly the first half, and A.J. Green sure did rise to the occasion.

Comin' through

DeeJay Dallas powered through the Cardinals' defense to make it a three-point game midway through the fourth.

Sealing the deal

The nail in the coffin for Seattle, though, was this short run from James Conner as Arizona made it a 10-point game.

Cincinnati Bengals 32, Las Vegas Raiders 13

Giving 110%

Joe Mixon beat the Raiders' defense on the way to the end zone for an early Bengals TD.

Dropping dimes

Derek Carr was right on the money when he dropped this ball to tight end Foster Moreau for a Raiders TD.

Bengals build lead

Ja'Marr Chase snagged this pass from former LSU teammate Joe Burrow to extend Cincy's lead in the fourth.

Double trouble

Once again, Mixon sprinted through the Raiders' defensive front for a 21-yard score, sealing the Bengals' fate.

Indianapolis Colts 41, Buffalo Bills 15

Choo choo!

All aboard the J-Train! Jonathan Taylor plowed his way up the middle for Indy's first score.

Get your tickets here!

The show has started, and Taylor is its undisputed superstar.

This catch-and-run put the Colts up 14-0 in the first quarter.

Toe-tappin'

Stefon Diggs injected some life into the Buffalo crowd with a dazzling reception, while keeping his feet in bounds.

He's not finished

The Colts are not shy about their mission: Feed JT.

Still, the Bills have yet to thwart his effectiveness. This dive over the pile gave the squad a 23-7 edge in the first half.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5

That's how many TDs Taylor has today. Fantasy owners rejoice!

Minnesota Vikings 34, Green Bay Packers 31

Behind the defense

Hit the griddy, Justin Jefferson. This deep catch set up a 1-yard score from Dalvin Cook.

Regular visitor

Adam Thielen is pretty familiar with the end zone. He gave himself a nice welcome back in the middle of the second quarter.

Arm talent

Rodgers makes special things happen. This incredible play brought Green Bay within a possession, as Josiah DeGuara hauled in his first-career TD on the play.

Directing traffic

Rodgers to Davante Adams is a match made in heaven. The two hooked up for this third-quarter score to draw within a TD.

Jettas!

When you have a receiver of Jefferson's caliber, sometimes all you have to do is throw it up.

One play later …

GB clearly wasn't deterred by the score. Rodgers hit Marquez Valdes-Scantling on a deep post, who went 75 yards.

Skol!

Minnesota got into great field position and ran the clock down to set up Greg Joseph for a game-winning attempt. Money.

Washington Football Team 27, Carolina Panthers 21

Showing up early

Newton was wowing in his first snaps with Carolina. He found D.J. Moore over the middle for the Panthers' first TD of the day.

Wait a minute …

There's no way Christian McCaffrey stayed on his feet after this hit. His team is certainly glad to have him back.

Cam TD

Cam Sims, to be exact. His reception on a dart from Taylor Heinicke knotted things at 7.

Newton TD

This is the one you were expecting above, right?

Cam Newton breaks loose on a 24-yard rushing touchdown

Cam Newton showed glimpses of his last stint with the Carolina Panthers by breaking off a 24-yard rushing touchdown in his first start since returning to the team.

Getting spooky!

Uh-oh, Scary Terry is starting to flash his arsenal. This timely grab tied the affair at 14 just before the half.

Second half theatrics

Washington took the lead in the second half on a doozy of a grab from DeAndre Carter.

Cam to CMC

This is a pretty tough combo, and Newton made this throw look effortless.

Hero Heinicke!

Heinicke made something of nothing on the big fourth down conversion. It keyed a Washington field goal, which helped it come away with a 27-21 victory.

Miami Dolphins 24, New York Jets 17

Wiggle Waddle

Jaylen Waddle has got some burst. He hit the outside of the field for Miami's first TD early in the first.

Not your average Joe

No biggie, just former Super Bowl champion Joe Flacco making things happen on 4th down.

Deep waters

The Fins are trekking out into the deep end. Tua Tagovailoa dialed up this bomb to Mack Hollins for six.

Tie game!

Elijah Moore was a treacherous deep threat. He got the wheels turning on this big 62-yard run for pay dirt to draw even at 14.

Taking the lead

Tagovailoa dialed up this short-yardage bullet to Myles Gaskin, which gave MIA a 21-14 lead.

Philadelphia Eagles 40, New Orleans Saints 29

Don't hurt 'em too much

Jalen Hurts has been on a tear these past few weeks, and Sunday's matchup was no different.

Jalen Hurts breaks ankles en route to his third rushing touchdown of the game

For his third rushing touchdown of the game, Philadelphia Eagles QB Jalen Hurts put on some moves on his way to the end zone in his team's Week 11 win.

Double down

Like we were saying …

Navigating the pocket

OK, Trevor Siemian! Show off your foot speed.

Dallas caught it!

Someone should check Dallas Goedert's mitts for stick-em.

Oh hey, big play

Darius Slay makes big plays. He picked off Siemian here, and found pay dirt on the ensuing return to give Philly a 27-7 halftime lead.

Make it interesting

Welp, this one's not completely over yet. Siemian made magic with his feet for this 17-yard scoring scamper.

Unstoppable

But Hurts would not be denied. He found some room to maneuver for his third rushing score of the day.

Baltimore Ravens 16, Chicago Bears 13

Pluck it out of the sky!

Mark Andrews started the outing with more of his usual tricks: Moving the sticks with big catches.

Clutch gene

There's a reason Justin Tucker is the most accurate kicker of all-time. This crucial field goal put Baltimore up 9-7 with just over three minutes remaining.

Red rifle

After Justin Fields' injury sidelined him in the third, Andy Dalton stepped in and stepped up with a huge fourth down conversion for six.

See one, raise one

Baltimore came up with its own yard-crunching bomb to move the sticks.

Walk-off

Before Devonta Freeman charged into the end zone for the decisive TD.

Cleveland Browns 13, Detroit Lions 10

Wildcat!

No, we're not talking about the Lions. Check out Jarvis Landry's opening TD out of the backfield to put Cleveland up 7-0 early.

Multifaceted

Nick Chubb runs for a lot of touchdowns, but he can catch 'em with the best of his fellow RBs as well.

Moving swiftly

D'Andre Swift was simply too fast for the defense on this play.

Houston Texans 22, Tennessee Titans 13

Need a breather?

This entire interception return from the Texans was just … wow.

Leapfrog

Get a glimpse of Tyrod Taylor's ups, as he sailed into the end zone to put Houston up 13-0.

First one!

Hey rook, welcome to the NFL. You'll never forget this one, Dez Fitzpatrick.

San Francisco 49ers 30, Jacksonville Jaguars 10

YAC merchant

Deebo Samuel makes big catches. But his main calling card is his runs afterwards. He showed why here.

Deebo Samuel breaks off a 25-yard rushing touchdown

Deebo Samuel took a handoff 25 yards to the house for a touchdown in the San Francisco 49ers' 30-10 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Tight windows

Jimmy G aroppolo was torching the Jaguars' defense. He connected with Brandon Aiyuk to give his squad a 17-0 advantage in the second.

Jimmy Garoppolo links up with Brandon Aiyuk on a seven-yard touchdown

Jimmy Garappolo linked up with Brandon Aiyuk on this seven-yard touchdown pass. The San Francisco 49ers would go on to beat the Jacksonville Jaguars 30-10.

Cook 'em Kittle

Welcome to tight end U, Jacksonville.