Week 11 winners and losers

This may have been the wildest Sunday of the 2021 NFL season. And given the parity we have seen so far this year, that’s saying something.

The early slate saw some tight finishes and huge upsets, none bigger than the previously one-win Houston Texans toppling the AFC’s No. 1 seeded Tennessee Titans.

The Buffalo Bills losing at home to the Indianapolis Colts also shook up the balance of power in the conference, but in the afternoon window, the Kansas City Chiefs showed glimpses of their previous levels of excellence.

And while the Chiefs did take down one of the NFL’s best in the Cowboys, it’s important to put their recent success in context.

Here are the winners and losers from Week 11 in the NFL.

Winners

The Chiefs: To be clear, this wasn’t the track meet, offensive explosion we saw two seasons ago when the Chiefs ascended to the Lombardi Trophy. But Kansas City, with a 19-9 victory against Dallas, appears to have recaptured their swagger.

The Cowboys came into the game with the NFL’s top scoring offense, which was averaging 31.6 points per game. Kansas City kept them out of the end zone altogether. Now, the caveats. Dallas was shorthanded with receivers Amari Cooper (COVID-19) inactive and CeeDee Lamb sustaining a concussion in the second quarter. Left tackle Tyron Smith (ankle) also didn’t play. This comes two weeks after Kansas City beat the Packers with Aaron Rodgers sitting out because he tested positive for COVID-19. So, yes, the Chiefs have had some unreasonably lucky breaks.

No Kyler (and DeAndre), no problem: It’s not just their record, the best in the NFL. The Arizona Cardinals are the best team in football right now. Their 2313 victory against the Seattle Seahawks improved Arizona to 2-1 with Colt McCoy starting in place of the injured Kyle Murray (ankle). And with the Packers’ loss, Arizona (9-2) has the NFL’s best record and moved back into the No. 1 seed in the NFC. The Cardinals also went 2-1 without star receiver DeAndre Hopkins.

Surging Eagles: Winners of three of their last four, the Philadelphia Eagles are suddenly clawing their way back into playoff contention.

Losers

The AFC East champion Buffalo: The Patriots, who were at home enjoying their Thursday night win against the Falcons, might as well be winners, too. With Buffalo’s disastrous 41-15 loss against the Colts, the Bills fell out of first place in the AFC East and New England slid in there.

Steelers’ standing in the AFC North: Every team in the AFC North won Sunday except the Pittsburgh Steelers. A 4137 loss against the Chargers will sting, especially because Pittsburgh scored 27 points in the fourth quarter to battle back, only to have its defense implode

But because the Ravens, Browns and Bengals all won their games, the Steelers (5-4-1) dropped to third in the division..

(Former) No. 1 seeds: Both the Titans and Packers entered Sunday holding onto the top seeds in their respective conferences. By the end of the night, Tennessee (8-3) still held the spot, but lost some valuable positioning with maybe the biggest upset of the season, a 22-13 loss against the previously one-win Texans.

In the NFC, it was the Packers (8-3) who started the day atop their conference but suffered a letdown.