The Sportsletter - Week 11: Nobody's Perfect

BY JEFF YODER

NOV. 18, 2024 | SUBSCRIBE | WEB VIEW

Welcome Back 👋

Nobody’s perfect. That includes us. We hyped up the Netflix fight on Friday, and what a mistake that was. Speaking of nobody’s perfect… The Chiefs just suffered their first loss in 11 months. We’ve got football, fights, and plenty more to kickstart another glorious week in sports.

Letter Rip!

NFL

Week 11: Nobody's Perfect

Photo: Timothy T. Ludwig / Getty Images

Bills Hand Chiefs 1st Loss (30-21) While Lions Light Up Scoreboard & Kickers Have Nightmares

Nobody’s Perfect

The Bills held off the Chiefs in a Buffalo thriller at Highmark Stadium (30-21). Bills QB Josh Allen had a remarkable touchdown run on 4th down to put the Bills up two scores and seal the deal. It’s Kansas City’s first loss since December 2023 (15 games). The Bills (9-2) and Chiefs (9-1) are atop the AFC with a potential dog fight for the No. 1 seed in the future.

Steelers Win Without Scoring TD

The Steelers beat the Ravens (18-16) in a classic defensive scoreline. Pittsburgh kicked six field goals (no touchdowns) and still found a way to win by stopping Lamar Jackson on a late two-point conversion to tie the game. The Steelers (8-2) lead the Ravens (7-4) in the AFC North.

Lions Let Loose in a Laugher

While nine of 13 games in Week 11 were decided by single digits, the Lions weren’t one of them. Detroit hung 52 on the Jags in a track meet (52-6). Jared Goff threw for over 400 yards and 4 TDs, and the Lions went for 645 yards of offense. It’s the second time the Lions scored 50-plus this season, and they’ve put up 40-plus four times. Detroit (9-1) has the best record in the NFC.

Kickin' Nightmares

Three games were decided via nightmare endings for kickers on Sunday. Bears’ kicker Cairo Santos had his game-winning field goal blocked by the Packers (20-19). Ravens’ kicker Justin Tucker missed two kicks in a game that was decided by two points (18-16). And Bengals’ kicker Evan McPherson missed two potential go-ahead kicks in the fourth quarter on Sunday Night Football before the Bengals lost to the Chargers (34-27). Yikes.

Week 11 Scores & Highlights

Eagles def. Commanders (26-18)

Packers def. Bears (20-19)

Lions def. Jaguars (52-6)

Vikings def. Titans (23-13)

Dolphins def. Raiders (34-19)

Rams def. Patriots (28-22)

Saints def. Browns (35-14)

Colts def. Jets (28-27)

Steelers def. Ravens (18-16)

Broncos def. Falcons (38-6)

Seahawks def. 49ers (20-17)

Bills def. Chiefs (30-21)

Chargers def. Bengals (34-27)

Tonight (Monday Night Football)

Texans at Cowboys (8:15 pm ET, ESPN)

Yahoo! Sports: Broncos Rookie Bo Nix (4 TDs) Carves Up Falcons in Blowout

CBS Sports: Packers Special Teams Coordinator Apparently Called Team’s Game-Winning FG Block Night Before

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

SEC Chaos is Here

Photo: Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images

BYU's 1st Loss Opens the Door for Four 2-Loss SEC Teams Back Into Top-10

Week 12 of the college football season only had a few must-see games, but the result was something unique in this week’s AP Poll. With Kansas upsetting #6 BYU, the top 10 of the AP Poll now features four Big Ten Teams (1-5), five SEC teams, including four two-loss powers (7-10), plus Notre Dame. It might have taken all season, but the blue bloods of college football have risen to the top. They might be setting up one epic playoff next month.

Top-10 CFB Scores

#1 Oregon def. Wisconsin (16-13)

#2 Ohio State def. Northwestern (31-7)

#3 Texas def. Arkansas (20-10)

#4 Penn State def. Purdue (49-10)

🚨 Kansas def. #6 BYU (17-13)

#12 Georgia def. #7 Tennessee (31-17)

#8 Notre Dame def. Virginia (35-14)

Bottom of Top-25 (Notable Highlights)

#17 Colorado def. Utah (49-24)

Stanford def. #19 Louisville (38-35)

#20 Clemson def. Pittsburgh (24-20)

#21 S. Carolina def. #23 Missouri (34-30)

Florida def. #22 LSU (27-16)

AP Poll
1. Oregon (11-0) | —

2. Ohio State (9-1) | —

3. Texas (9-1) | —

4. Penn State (9-1) | —

5. Indiana (10-0) | —

6. Notre Dame (9-1) | ↑2

7. Alabama (8-2) | ↑2

8. Georgia (8-2) | ↑2

9. Ole Miss (8-2) | ↑2

10. Tennessee (8-2) | ↓4

Next CFP Rankings Reveal (Tues. 7:00 pm ET)

UFC / BOXING

Good & Bad: Fight Week Rewind 🥊

Photo: Chris Unger / Getty Images

Jon Jones TKOs Stipe Miocic in UFC309 — Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul Was the Farce We Were Afraid Of

Friday and Saturday night were circled on our sports calendar for months. The back-to-back billing of Tyson-Paul and UFC 309 promised to be the best fall weekend of fights, but only one delivered. Let’s recap:

🥊 Jon Jones Brings It in UFC 309

The preliminary card for UFC 309 featured a lot of great fights at Madison Square Garden, but the main event was everything we hoped and more. Jon Jones TKO’d Stipe Miocic with a spinning back-kick to the body at the end of Round 3 to stay on top of the UFC’s heavyweight division. Miocic took Jones’ foot to the ribs and collapsed. Jones (28-1-0) still hasn’t lost a fight since 2009, and he continues to be regarded as one of the best fighters of this generation.

🥊 Netflix’s Tyson-Paul Money Grab

Shame on us. We saw the training videos of Mike Tyson’s power punches and forgot that his 58-year-old legs would have to hold up, too. Friday night’s Netflix live event in Arlington was awful, both with streaming issues for millions of viewers and the lack of excitement in the main event. Tyson’s legs were spent early, but Jake Paul let him finish all eight rounds out of respect, or fear of exposing himself to a big punch. More than 65 million viewers saw a disappointing display. Paul won the fight by unanimous decision, landing 78 punches to Tyson’s 18.

Yahoo! Sports: Jon Jones Melts Stipe Miocic With Highlight-Reel TKO

HIGHLIGHTS 🎥

Lightning Round: Kings' Guard 👑

Photo: Todd Kirkland / Getty Images

Kings' De’Aaron Fox Scores 109 Points in Wild Back-to-Back

Plenty of exciting sports moments happened across the world this weekend, but Kings’ guard De’Aaron Fox had the second-best two-day stretch in NBA history. Fox dropped 60 points in a loss on Friday night, then he scored 49 in a win on Saturday. His 109 points in a back-to-back was the second-most in the NBA over the last 50 years, falling just 1 point shy of Kobe Bryant’s 110 (2007). Watch: De’Aaron Fox Highlights

🏀 NBA

Cavaliers def. Hornets (128-114)

Cleveland Stays Perfect (15-0)

Lakers def. Spurs (120-115)

AD (40 pts) & Wemby (28 pts) Go Head-to-Head

Celtics def. Raptors (126-123, OT)

Jayson Tatum Hits Game-Winning 3

T-Wolves def. Suns (120-117)

Julius Randle Hits Game-Winning 3

⚽️ NWSL Playoffs (Semifinals)

Wash. Spirit def. Gotham FC (1-1, 3-0 PKs)

Hal Hershfelt’s Stoppage-Time Goal Saves Spirit