NFL standings after week 11: Winners and losers in the AFC and NFC divisions

Week 11 didn’t just give us a handful of heavy weight battles between conference contenders and divisional foes. It gave us a J.K. Dobbins game winning run on Sunday night football. It gave us a “block off” win for the Packers who tipped the game winning effort of Cairo Santos as Green Bay won an 11th straight win over the Bears. It gave us nail biting finishes, explosive plays, and a shift in the power balance of the AFC heading into the final stretch of the season. Here are the winners and losers coming out of Week 11.

Winner: The fans

How many times to we get teased for a whole week thinking that the Game of the Week is going to knock our socks off, only to be let down time and time again. This week we had plenty of opportunity for a let down in any one of the three “Games of the Week” that featured teams with seven wins or more. Fortunately for us, each of the games delivered, and best of all they were all on at different times throughout the weekend. The Eagles and Commnaders played a tight game for almost four quarters on Thursday night and Saquon Barkley called game with two monster TD runs to give Philly command of the NFC East. In the early window on Sunday afternoon, the Steelers and Ravens went all 12 rounds in a battle of heavyweights in the NFC North. The game came down to a two point conversion with 66 seconds left in the 4th quarter. The Bills and Chiefs took the stage on Sunday evening and gave us another instant classic as NFL fans got their fix in a perfectly distributed weekend that gave us important, impactful, high drama games all weekend.

Winner: Brotherly Love

There isn’t typically much love in the City of Brotherly Love. This city and it’s fan base are an unjustly demanding bunch considering the history of heartbreak and disappointment that has been plaguing Philly for much too long. Sure there has been the occasional championship from time to time, but I’m going to say this knowing that I won’t be making friends in Philadelphia anytime soon. You aren’t Boston, or LA. You don’t get to be that demanding. However, something is brewing at the Link. Philly hasn’t had a hero as beloved as Saquon Barkley since Benjamin Franklin. The boo birds have turned into song birds. People on both sides of the tracks join arm in arm to cheer on this team that ripped their hearts out in the final half of last season. It doesn’t matter if your team Pat’s or team Geno’s. The city is united on the shoulders of Saquon and the Eagles have spread their wings and soared to the top of the NFC East.

Winner: Josh Jacobs

The Packers beat the Bears for the 11th straight time on Sunday from the Windy City. What else is new? It did go down to the bitter end and Green Bay fans were made to suffer a bit more than they have grown accustomed to over the last half decade, but the Pack prevailed as the Bears fell victim to a second “block off” win in as many weeks following the Chiefs “block off” over the Broncos last Sunday. The Packers are in the thick of the playoff hunt. Jordan Love is playing like Jordan Love from the second half of last season. That would be reason enough for the Packers to be in the winners category, but Josh Jacobs is the real winner coming out of the game from Soldier Field. He broke a run into the secondary, saw Bears DB Jaylon Johnson in the open field and told him to bring it like he was Bruce Lee. Johnson obliged but got bundled over by the Packers running back. This play wouldn’t have meant much had Karl Brooks not blocked the game winning kick. Since he did, the Packers will have a nice little laugh about that when they watch that play in film this week.

Loser: Justin Tucker

All good things come to an end. Justin Tucker is a future Hall of Famer and widely considered as one of the best kickers in the history of the league. He was the most accurate kicker ever until his two missed field goals in Pittsburgh on Sunday. Now that distinction goes to Eddie Piñero currently of the Carolina Panthers. It’s strange to see greatness fade like an aging star. Tucker was automatic for most of his career, but it just goes to show you that Father Time is undefeated. He is 16/22 this season and his misses have been costly, no more so than the two he missed on Sunday. If this team is going to make a run to the playoffs they are going to need clutch kicks late in games, and may have to make a decision regarding the greatest kicker to ever do it.

Loser: Mac Jones

The Jags season has been a disaster since Day 1. In a year that Jacksonville owner Shahid Khan said that this is the most talented team the Jags have had since entering the league, they are 2-9 and it doesn’t look like it’s going to get much better from here on out. With the playoff hopes long gone, top paid QB in the league Trevor Lawrence hopefully won’t play anymore this season, but that means that Mac Jones will have to play the rest of the season. In the two games the Jags have had to start with their back up, Jones has thrown three picks and zero touchdowns while averaging 6.5 points per game. He was booted out of New England after Robert Kraft and Bill Belichick saw his as the incumbent to Tom Brady. Now I’d be surprised if he even makes a practice squad once the season is over.

Loser: AT&T Stadium

Haven’t the Cowboys fans been through enough this season? After an offseason in which Jerry Jones shelled out big money contracts to Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb, they are all but eliminated from playoff contention with seven weeks to go in the season. Worse than that, Cowboys fans have had to watch their teams get beat down by a combined 187-69 in each of their five home games. There is no such thing as home field advantage at AT&T Stadium. In fact, it has been working against them. Look at the CeeDee Lamb drop in the end zone a few weeks ago that was a direct result of the curtains being open and the sun shining in the eyes of the WR from the opposite end zone. It wasn’t the curtains or the sun on Monday night. It was the actual stadium falling apart in a fitting depiction of the Cowboys season. A part of the roof fell from the sky, and luckily didn’t hurt anyone, but if I’m Jerry Jones I take this as a sign. Close the stadium. Lock the doors. Don’t allow any more fans to enter AT&T this year. Put them out of their misery.

AFC East

AFC West

AFC North

AFC South

NFC East

NFC West

NFC North

NFC South