Cowboys excel while Vikings get an F
Close games were once again a theme this week. Eight contests were decided by one score in Week 11. The Minnesota Vikings vs. Dallas Cowboys game, however, wasn’t close at all. The Cowboys’ 40-3 shellacking was the largest margin of victory on the road in franchise history.
Dallas was one of three NFC East teams to win on Sunday. Each team in the NFC East and AFC East have winning records through 11 weeks.
Eight teams in the AFC have winning records and seven teams in the NFC are above .500 after Week 11.
How much of an influence did coaches have on the outcomes in Week 11? USA TODAY Sports examined the performances of NFL coaches. Here are their grades for Week 11:
New England Patriots coaching staff: A
Jets quarterback Zach Wilson tossed three interceptions in New York’s Week 8 loss to New England. In Week 11, Wilson was held to a mere 77 passing yards in the Jets’ 10-3 loss to the Patriots. The Patriots defense had Wilson frustrated all game. Wilson was sacked a season-high four times, pressured 16 times and completed a season-low 40% of his passes. He only had nine completions.
Wilson was uncomfortable the entire game. The Patriots ran a stunt blitz where linebackers Matthew Judon and Josh Uche both looped around and blitzed up the A-gap. The blitz resulted in a Judon sack.
The Jets were held to 2 total yards in the second half. New England did an excellent job of shutting down New York’s offense.
Even worse, the lone touchdown the Jets gave up was a backbreaking 84-yard punt return for a game-winning touchdown by Marcus Jones. Jones’ TD marked the first punt-return touchdown in the NFL this year.
Jones is the sixth player to notch a game-winning puntreturn touchdown in the final two minutes of regulation or in overtime since 1970, per NFL research.
New England has defeated the Jets 14 consecutive times, the league’s longest active winning streak by any team over another.
Kansas City Chiefs coaching staff: B+
The Chiefs dialed up a natural pick play where wide receiver Justin Watson and tight end Travis Kelce both ran drag routes. Watson by design was in Chargers safety Derwin James’ running path, which slowed James down a little. The slight change in pace and hesitation created just enough space for Kelce to catch a Patrick Mahomes pass in stride on the way to a game-winning 17yard touchdown.
Kelce typically has a difficult time creating separation against James, but the play design naturally created space for Kelce.
Kelce finished the 30-27 win with six catches, 115 yards and three touchdowns. Chiefs coach Andy Reid and offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy did a great job of creating opportunities for the perennial Pro Bowl tight end.
Kansas City also did a solid job of taking advantage of the Chargers’ poor run defense. The Chargers defense came into Week 11 allowing 146 rushing yards per game. Kansas City gashed them for 163 rushing yards. Rookie running back Isiah Pacheco produced 107 yards on 15 carries (7.1 yards per carry).
Mahomes passed for 329 yards and three TDs. He’s a dominant 14-0 in road games against the AFC West.
Detroit Lions coaching staff: C
The Lions upset the New York Giants 31-18, giving second-year coach Dan Campbell his first three-game winning streak.
Lions running back Jamaal Williams had a career-best three rushing touchdowns in the win.
One successful counter run led to a touchdown. Fullback Jason Cabinda motioned inside and when the ball was snapped, he cleared out a New York defender, which paved the way for Williams. Williams wasn’t touched until he was 2 yards past the line of scrimmage with a full head of steam. His momentum, along with Cabinda and successful blocks upfront helped the running back enter the end zone.
Detroit’s defense deserves credit, too. The Lions had defensive end Aidan Hutchinson drop back in coverage on one play and it caught Giants quarterback Daniel Jones off guard. Hutchinson was in Jones’ throwing window as he picked off the pass.
Hutchinson had three tackles, an interception and a fumble recovery in the win.
Denver Broncos coaching staff: D
The Las Vegas Raiders had a really good play design on their game-winning touchdown in OT. Broncos cornerback Patrick Surtain bit on a double move by Raiders wide receiver Davante Adams. Adams’ superb routerunning ability created nearly 15 yards of separation and it resulted in an easy walk-off touchdown reception in overtime.
Surtain was juked on the double move, but it’s mystifying that the Broncos didn’t have a safety over the top of Adams.
Adams torched the Broncos for seven receptions, 141 yards and two touchdowns in the win. No other Las Vegas pass catcher had more than 52 receiving yards in the win. The Broncos should’ve doubleteamed Adams or had a safety over the top.
Surtain is one of the top corners in the game, but Adams is probably the best wideout in the NFL. The Fresno State product has an advantage in single coverage.
Adams has three career touchdowns in overtime, which is tied with Hall of Fame running back LaDainian Tomlinson for the most overtime touchdowns in NFL history.
Minnesota Vikings coaching staff: F
The Vikings’ 40-3 beatdown was their worst home loss since 1963.
Minnesota failed as an entire team.
The Vikings had a seasonlow 183 total yards, quarterback Kirk Cousins was sacked a career-high seven times and Minnesota’s defense gave up a season-worst 40 points.
Micah Parsons’ strip sack on Minnesota’s first possession perfectly foreshadowed what was to come for the Vikings. Parsons just outworked Vikings tackle Christian Darrisaw off the edge.
The Cowboys overwhelmed the Vikings all four quarters.
BONUS – Cowboys coaching staff: A
Everything went the Cowboys’ way Sunday (see above). The Cowboys’ 37-point win at Minnesota was the largest margin of victory on the road in franchise history.
Running back Tony Pollard compiled 189 yards from scrimmage (109 receiving, 80 rushing) and two touchdown receptions. Parsons had four tackles, two sacks, one tackle for loss, five quarterback hits and a forced fumble in the win.
On 3rd-and-14, Pollard was matched up with Vikings linebacker Jordan Hicks on a wheel route. The Cowboys took advantage of the mismatch. Quarterback Dak Prescott threw an accurate pass to Pollard that hit the running back in stride as he then scampered for a 68-yard touchdown reception.
The Cowboys defense had seven sacks in the win, the most they had in a single game this year.