The Sportsletter - Week 11: We Don't Know...?

BY JEFF YODER

NOV. 22, 2021  |  SUBSCRIBE  |  BROWSER VIEW

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Welcome Back,

Week 11 in the NFL just made the playoff picture even more fuzzy. If you like chaos down the stretch, buckle up. Twenty-four of the 32 teams are separated by four games or less (from 4-7 to 8-3). We don’t know who’s who. You don’t either.

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NFL

Week 11 Notebook: NFL Storylines

Photo: Kevin Hoffman / Getty Images

Jonathan Taylor Leads Indy With History 5-Touchdown Day

The NFL season rolled into Week 11 with no shortage of surprise games, from Indy’s rout of Buffalo to a huge upset in Tennessee. The Cardinals (9-2) are the first team to nine wins while the Packers (8-3) and Titans (8-3) both lost on Sunday. We’ve got seven of the top storylines from Sunday’s games, and we’ll cap off Week 11 with a Monday Nighter between the Bucs and Giants.

NFL Week 11 Storylines

JT’s 5 House Calls: The Colts capsized the Bills (41-15) in Sunday’s early slate thanks to a franchise day for RB Jonathan Taylor. JT racked up 204 total yards on 35 touches with a whopping 5 TDs (4 rushing, 1 receiving). Indy has now won three straight.

A Texas-Sized Upset: The stunner of the day came in Tennessee where the one-win Texans took down the Titans (22-13). The AFC’s worst team beat the AFC’s best team behind QB Tyrod Taylor’s two rushing TDs.

Wild Ending in the North: Aaron Rodgers (4 TDs) and Kirk Cousins (3 TDs) led a high-flying air-raid with 7 TDs and more than 700 yards combined in the Vikings-Packers battle before a wild finish. Minnesota kicker Greg Joseph won it with a field goal at the buzzer (34-31).

Eagles Fly With Ground Game: Philly won its second straight game with a ferocious rushing attack that sems to be picking up steam. The birds had 242 yards on 50 carries among four rushers, including 3 TDs from QB Jalen Hurts. They beat the Saints (40-29).

The Rivera-Newton Reunion: The Panthers host Washington in a matchup between Cam Newton and his former head coach, Ron Rivera. Newton struck first, but Rivera got the last laugh (27-21).

Chiefs Chop Cowboys: One of Sunday’s most notable matchups expected high scoring between the Chiefs and Cowboys, but it wasn’t so. Kansas City won a defensive struggle (19-9) where neither Dak Prescott or Patrick Mahomes threw a touchdown.

Bolts Bend But Don’t Break: The Sunday night contest saw the Chargers rolling the Steelers heading into the 4th quarter before Pittsburgh rung up 27 points to take a late lead. It didn’t last long. Chargers QB Justin Herbert (30/41, 382 yards, 3 TDs) found WR Mike Williams for the game-winning TD in the final minutes (41-37).

All Week 11 Scores & Highlights

Patriots def. Falcons (25-0) | Eagles def. Saints (40-29) | Dolphins def. Jets (24-17) | Washington def. Panthers (27-21) | Colts def. Bills (41-15) | Browns def. Lions (13-10) | 49ers def. Jaguars (30-10) | Texans def. Titans (22-13) | Vikings def. Packers (34-31) | Ravens def. Bears (16-13) | Bengals def. Raiders (32-13) | Cardinals def. Seahawks (23-13) | Chiefs def. Cowboys (19-9) | Chargers def. Steelers (41-37)

Monday Night Football

Giants at Bucs (8:15 pm ET)

Additional Storylines

SI: Colts RB Jonathan Taylor Shines With 5 TDs in Historic Day

NFL: Week 11: What We Learned From Sunday’s Games

B/R: NFL Week 11 Puts Updated Playoff Picture in Complete Chaos

CFB

Buckeyes Blow Up the Polls

Photo: Gregory Shamus / Getty Images

Ohio State Jumps From No. 5 to No. 2 After Rout of Michigan State (56-7)

Chaos, commence! Ohio State stole the headlines on Saturday to throw the college football standings into a frenzy. The Buckeyes rolled No. 7 Michigan State (56-7) in a win that looked like an early season tune-up. QB C.J. Stroud was basically perfect (32/35, 432 yards, 6 TDs). Ohio State jumped three spots to No. 2 in the polls, and their success should translate to a bump in the CFB Playoff Rankings later this week. Meanwhile, No. 3 Oregon took a 31-point shellacking from No. 23 Utah to effectively end their playoff hopes. Here’s where they stand heading into Thanksgiving.

AP Poll (Top-10)

1. Georgia (11-0) | —

2. Ohio State (10-1) | ↑3

3. Alabama (10-1) | ↓1

4. Cincinnati (11-0) | ↓1

5. Notre Dame (10-1) | ↑1

6. Michigan (10-1) | ↑2

7. Oklahoma State (10-1) | ↑2

8. Ole Miss (9-2) | ↑2

9. Baylor (9-2) | ↑2

10. Oklahoma (10-1) | ↑2

Full AP Top-25

College Football Highlights

#1 Georgia def. Charleston South. (56-7)

#2 Alabama def. #21 Arkansas (42-35)

#23 Utah def. #3 Oregon (38-7)

#4 Ohio State def. #7 Michigan State (56-7)

#5 Cincinnati def. SMU (48-14)

#6 Michigan def. Maryland (59-18)

#8 Notre Dame def. Georgia Tech (55-0)

#9 Oklahoma State def. Texas Tech (23-0)

Clemson def. #10 Wake Forest (48-27)

Additional Storylines

ESPN: Ohio Stat Surges 3 Spots to No. 2 in AP Top-25

Yahoo! Sports: Kirk Herbstreit’s New Top 6 Following Oregon’s Blowout Loss

NWSL

Washington Spirit Win NWSL Title

Photo: Brad Smith/ISI Photos / Getty Images

NWSL Championship & MLS Cup Playoff Highlights

A busy weekend of postseason soccer had us reaching to pack it all into one section for today’s newsletter. The top story was the finale in the NWSL Playoffs where the Washington Spirit used a second-half comeback to beat the Chicago Red Stars (2-1) for the 2021 NWSL title. Chicago’s Rachel Hill scored the opening goal just before halftime. Washington’s Andi Sullivan evened the score in the 67th minute to send the game into overtime before Kelly O’Hara delivered the dramatic game-winner (90’+7’). It was Washington’s first championship in club history.

Watch: Washington Spirit Win 2021 NWSL Championship

MLS Cup Playoff Highlights (Round One)

Philadelphia def. NY Red Bulls (1-0)

Sporting KC def. Vancouver (3-1)

NYC FC def. Atlanta (2-0)

Portland def. Minnesota (3-1)

MLS Cup Playoffs Bracket

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🎥 THE HIGHLIGHTS

🏀  NBA: Suns Streak Hits a Dozen

The Phoenix hot streak continued through the weekend with two more wins to extend their streak to 12, including a 126-97 blowout against the Nuggets on Sunday. They had six players in double figures in both games.

🏒  NHL: Rangers at the Horn!

Among the weekend NHL highlights was a game-winning goal from Ryan Lindgren to lift the Rangers over the Sabres (5-4) with 0.7 seconds left. New York is 5-1-0 in their last six games.

🏎️  F1: Hamilton Makes History

With his win Sunday at the Qatar Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton became the first Formula 1 driver to win at 30 different F1 racetracks.

🥊  BOXING: Crawford Stays Undefeated

Terence Crawford knocked out Shawn Porter in the 10th round Saturday in Las Vegas to retain the WBO welterweight title belt.

Men’s NCAA Basketball Scoreboard

Women’s NCAA Basketball Scoreboard

📰 THE HEADLINES

Florida Fires Head Football Coach Dan Mullen After 5-6 Season

(Bleacher Report)

Sacramento Kings Fire Head Coach Luke Walton After Losing 7 of Last 8

(Yahoo! Sports)

Viral Video Shows Tiger Woods’ Progress, Swinging Clubs 9 Months After Car Crash

(CBS Sports)

Southern Utah Loses to Cal in Double-OT After Scores Table Error

(ESPN)

LeBron James & Isaiah Stewart Ignite Lakers-Pistons Fight in Detroit

(FTW)

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