The 2016 NFL season is in full swing, with the bulk of the Week 11 games complete. The season is past its halfway point, and the contenders and pretenders are starting to emerge. With just the Monday Night game left, let's get you caught up with what you need to know from Week 11's action with our NFL Final.
Cowboys Keep Rolling
Even the Ravens' stout defense (No. 1 against the run and No. 5 against the pass) wasn't enough to slow down the Cowboys. Dallas picked up a 27-17 win, as Dak Prescott threw for over 300 yards. Dallas looks like one of the best teams in the NFL and are among the Super Bowl favorites. As a bonus, here's a gif of Zeke eating.
#FEEDZEKE pic.twitter.com/6YRdpC8WBK
— Tom Downey (@WhatGoingDowney) November 20, 2016
#NFLKickers
It was a rough day for kickers around the NFL. The failures of college kickers has resulted in #collegekickers, but the general struggles turned pro Sunday. NFL kickers missed 11 extra points today alone, matching the NFL record for most in a single game. That's more extra points than were missed in the entirety of the 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 missed extra points. At least one kicker needs to lose his job as a sacrificial lamb. Clearly the football gods weren't satisfied with just Blair Walsh. I nominate Mike Nugent who missed two for the Bengals.
Don't Sleep On The Dolphins
Miami got some help in the AFC Wild Card race thanks to Tampa Bay Buccaneers beating the Kansas City Chiefs in a road upset. The Chiefs are now 7-3, while Miami is quietly 6-5. The Dolphins have won five straight and although it wasn't pretty against the Rams Sunday, it was a comeback win. Miami is a serious threat in the AFC Wild Card race.
NFC Playoff Mess
The Cowboys, Seahawks and to a lesser extent the Falcons, are in great shape for the NFC Playoffs. The rest of the teams are a complete mess though.
The Lions won, but have the makings of an 8-8 team. That might be enough in the NFC North, even with the Vikings getting a huge win over the Cardinals to snap a losing four-game losing streak and improve to 6-4. A kick return TD and a 100-yard pick-six did wonders for the Vikings. The now 4-6 Packers are in a bad position and might be looking for a new head coach this offseason.
The Eagles lost to the Seahawks and the 26-15 final score isn't indicative of the actually quality of play for the Eagles. The Seahawks were clearly the superior team. The Giants beat the Bears, but it was not a convincing win. The Redskins looked sharp against a struggling Packers team and at 6-3-1, they are in playoff position.
The Panthers and Saints are both 4-6 after Carolina beat New Orleans and they both have difficult roads to the postseason. Now at 4-5-1, the Cardinals might come up short. I don't buy the Tampa Bay Buccaneers yet (I think they're a year or two away), but they could be a dark horse team.
A.J. Green Hurt, Marvin Lewis' Job In Danger
A bad season for the Bengals was made worse when AJ Green left the game with what is now reported as a hamstring tear. He might miss the rest of the season. With the way the Bengals have played, the loss of Green is pretty close to a death blow. Even worse, the team also lost RB Gio Bernard for the year. And if the now 3-6-1 Bengals miss the playoffs, that should mean the end of Marvin Lewis' time in Cincinnati. He's barely kept his job in years past and with former assistant coaches like Mike Zimmer and Jay Gruden finding success elsewhere, the Bengals might have waited too long.
Gus Bradley Should Be Gone Too
The Jacksonville Jaguars had another chance to win a game this week, but came up short against the Detroit Lions (who have had every game decided by a score or less). At 2-8, it's only a matter of time before Gus Bradley is canned in Jacksonville. The organization was patient with him, since it was a major rebuild, but this was supposed to be the year the Jags took a step forward. They haven't. The real question is is Blake Bortles can salvage his career. He's trending toward bust status. In other AFC South action, the Colts picked up a huge win over the Titans, making the Colts the top threat to the Texans.
Browns Officially Eliminated
With their loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, the 0-11 Cleveland Browns are now mathematically eliminated from playoff contention. Anyone else surprised it took so long?