USA TODAY International Edition
Good/ bad trends coming into focus
The 32 things we learned from Week 11 of the 2019 NFL season ... with a bit of added flair from Thursday’s SteelersBrowns melee: 1. Just a week ago, Browns DE Myles Garrett was one of the league’s rising young stars and most compelling personalities. Then he had a ( very) bad day with his now infamous game- ending meltdown, punctuated by the Pro Bowler ripping the helmet off Steelers QB Mason Rudolph and slamming it onto his head. In the aftermath, I appreciated Browns coach Freddie Kitchens and team stars like QB Baker Mayfield and WR Odell Beckham denouncing Garrett’s momentary lapse of reason. I also appreciated Garrett for facing the music in a quiet locker room following a win – one his teammates admitted it felt like a loss after his outburst – while taking responsibility for his actions. 2. Good thing the Steelers are getting a mini bye after their loss. They need time to physically recover after RB James Conner and WRs JuJu SmithSchuster and Diontae Johnson were among those knocked out of the game ... and time to recalibrate after a conservative offensive approach bore no fruit while scattershot Rudolph saw his season interception total double from four to eight. And with C Maurkice Pouncey set to miss the next three games for his role in the game- ending melee, this team has a lot of work to do to reposition itself as an AFC wild card. 3. Conversely, for 59 minutes and 52 seconds Thursday night, the Browns actually looked like they might have enough juice for a belated playoff push. The 21- 7 score isn’t indicative of their complete dominance of Pittsburgh, particularly on the defensive side. And with Miami, Arizona and Cincinnati ( twice) still on the schedule, they “coulda been a contender” ... but not without Garrett. 4. And if things don’t turn around in a hurry for the Browns, how much longer before people begin asking why Cleveland didn’t select Saquon Barkley and Lamar Jackson atop the 2018 draft instead of Mayfield and Denzel Ward? 5. Fun fact: Mayfield is 4- 0 against Rudolph going back to the Bedlam Rivalry when Mayfield played for Oklahoma and Rudolph for Oklahoma State. Thursday was the first time a former Sooners QB and ( OSU) Cowboys QB faced off in the NFL as starters. 6. The Patriots will finish above .500 for the 19th consecutive season ( or every year since QB Tom Brady became the starter). 7. With Russell Wilson on bye, Ravens QB Lamar Jackson continued to burnish his MVP credentials with 86 rushing yards and four TD passes while leading the league’s top scoring offense to 41 more points in a rout of Houston. 8. Meanwhile, Deshaun Watson’s MVP candidacy was shattered at the hands ( talons?) of Jackson and the Ravens. The Texans also fell into a firstplace tie with Indianapolis in the AFC South and are only a game up on idle Tennessee. Crucial stretch ahead with the next three games in Houston, starting Thursday with a visit from the Colts for sole possession of first place. 9. Ravens K Justin Tucker also saw his MVP case go by the boards – we kid, we kid – but he surely wasn’t happy to finally miss on a field goal attempt this season. 10. Cowboys QB Dak Prescott has racked up 841 yards passing and six TDs over the past two weeks with little help from Dallas’ run game. The case that he should reset the quarterback salary scale continues to pick up steam. 11. Defensive lineman Michael Bennett has three sacks in three games since joining the Cowboys. Apparently he’s found the right home ... though he could be looking for another once free agency begins in March. 12. Scott Van Pelt siren: The 49ers’ game- ending defensive TD against the Cardinals is surely going to make “Bad Beats” given the NFL no longer mandates extra points after time expires when they don’t affect the outcome. San Francisco was favored by 101⁄ in several 2 places and won 36- 26 ... without a PAT try following D. J. Reed’s 4- yard fumble return. 13. The Bills will very likely reach the AFC playoffs as limited as they are. But don’t blame a defense that continues to perform at an elite level. It racked up seven sacks Sunday in Miami and hasn’t permitted 400 total yards in its last 22 games, the longest streak in the league. 14. No ghosts in Washington, where Jets QB Sam Darnold spooked the Redskins to the tune of a career- best four TD passes. 15. But at least the ’ Skins finally snapped their franchise- record string of quarters without a TD at 16, rookie QB Dwayne Haskins connecting for a pair of fourth- quarter scores, including a 45yarder to RB Derrius Guice. The local fans desperately hope those are signs of good things to come. 16. Denver’s soul- crushing loss at Minnesota after building a 20- 0 lead at halftime might also serve as a springboard for a Vikings team that could be the most underrated Super Bowl contender at the moment. 17. Minnesota RB Dalvin Cook surpassed 1,000 yards rushing for the first time in his career. The last Vikings back not named Adrian Peterson to do so? Chester Taylor in 2006. 18. The Jaguars have one rushing TD this season. One. 19. The Saints – all of them, to include Drew Brees ( 3 TD passes), Alvin Kamara ( 122 total yards), the defense ( 4 INTs) – rebounded nicely from their Week 10 flop against Atlanta. New Orleans is the best team in the NFC for my money. 20. Congrats to Saints WR Michael Thomas, the first in league history to catch 90 balls ( 94 actually) in just 10 games. He is also the first to surpass 90 receptions in each of his first four seasons and remains on pace to become the first with 150 in a single campaign. 21. Speaking of the Falcons, they’re now 2- 0 against NFC South foes and 1- 7 against everyone else. Their last two games have come against division foes, and so will their next three. Don’t pull their plug yet. 22. Jameis Winston has already tied a career high ( reached a career low?) with his four- interception day boosting his 2019 total to 18. Maybe the Bucs should sign Colin Kaepernick. 23. Appears the Rams are finally ready to unleash RB Todd Gurley, whose 28 touches Sunday ( 133 total yards) were nine more than he’d received in any previous game this season. 24. Maybe the Panthers need to call Kaepernick and reunite him with Eric Reid, who resurrected his career in Carolina. After going without a pick in his first four starts this season, QB Kyle Allen has nine INTs in his past four ( three of them losses). Of course, if Allen continues to lose his grip, rookie Will Grier would surely get a shot before Kaep. 25. The Bengals are 0- 10 for the second time in franchise history. 26. The Bengals were the first team to officially be eliminated from playoff contention. 27. The Bengals, of course, lead us directly to thoughts of the 2020 draft, and here’s hoping Tua Tagovailoa makes a speedy recovery whether or not he decides to go pro next year. 28. The Raiders began Sunday as the AFC’s final playoff team and ended it outside the field despite beating Cincinnati. 29. Shoutout to Raiders rookie DE Maxx Crosby, who notched four sacks Sunday, the first Oakland player to do so since Khalil Mack in 2015. 30. Nice to see Adam Vinatieri have an easy day at the office given how rare they’ve been in 2019. While becoming the first Colt to score 1,500 points, he also broke the record for field goal attempts ( 170) in NFL history. 31. Tragic that All- Pro Colts G Quenton Nelson’s first NFL carry didn’t result in the goal- line TD he believed he’d scored. But mostly immaterial ... because we still got to see his fantastic keg stand end- zone celebration. 32. Dearest mother – I’m in a fretful state since getting word from the front that unit discipline may be cracking. Three code violations evidently and rumors that Corporal Nelson is imbibing mass quantities of ale and lager as the men celebrate newly earned terrain. Such shameful shenanigans in my selfimposed exile. – Andrew