Ten most shocking developments from NFL Week 11

Looking purely at the results, it may not seem as though NFL Week 11 yielded many surprises or shocking developments. In fact, it did.

What was surprising about the Pittsburgh Steelers beating the Cleveland Browns, or the Dallas Cowboys beating the Baltimore Ravens? How was the first place Detroit Lions’ victory over the last place Jacksonville Jaguars genuinely surprising?

What were the most shocking developments from NFL Week 11?

1. Kickers struggle mightily with extra points

Following the 2014 season, the NFL decided to move the extra points back to 33 yards. Nearly two full years into the experiment, one thing is pretty clear. The kickers are not adjusting well. In fact, they’re getting worse.

The slew of missed PATs included two from New York Giants kicker Robbie Gould against the Chicago Bears. Perhaps he didn’t want to make his old team feel bad for cutting him before the season. Chicago’s Connor Barth also missed one. Now, that was a poor weather game. So, maybe we can attribute some of that to the winds that The Meadowlands is so known for.

Jason Myers and Matt Prater get no such excuse, though. They each missed a PAT in the Jaguars vs. Lions game, played indoors at Ford Field.

The conditions don’t seem to be the issue. The longer distance isn’t the issue, either. It’s just in the head of the kickers (more on that here).

That has never been more apparent than it was in Week 11.

2. Ravens defense no match for Dallas rookies

The Cowboys defeated the Ravens 27-17. For the record, that’s not what’s surprising.

This game was supposed to be a test for Dallas. With one of the NFL’s best, most complete defenses, Baltimore was going to test rookies Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott. It didn’t work that way.

Prescott was virtually flawless. The quarterback finished the game 27-for-36 for 301 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions.

Elliott’s big-play ability was somewhat limited. Still, the running back had a rock solid day, carrying the ball 25 times for 97 yards.

Dallas dominated the game. The Cowboys handily won the time of possession battle (35:39-24:21) and picked up 27 first downs to 17 for Baltimore. Again, the win itself was not surprising. But these two rookies made it look easy. That was surprising.

3. Chiefs off their game in loss to Buccaneers

While the uniform was the same, the team that took the field at Arrowhead Stadium Sunday did not resemble the Kansas City Chiefs.

At this point of his career, Alex Smith’s strengths and weaknesses are known. He’s not going to win any MVPs, but Smith won’t make many costly mistakes, either.

But with his team trailing 12-10 early in the fourth quarter, Smith did just that.

Chris Conte’s return set the Tampa Bay Buccaneers up with a short field. They took advantage of that with a touchdown, effectively clinching the game.

Overall, Tampa just dominated Kansas City. The Bucs out gained the Chiefs by nearly 100 yards (442-343) and held the ball for 35 minutes.

Kansas City is one of the best teams in the NFL. But with the Miami Dolphins charging, the AFC playoff picture is crowded enough that the Chiefs need to keep winning to be assured of a postseason spot. Considering all that, Kansas City’s effort on Sunday left much to be desired.

4. Dolphins’ late comeback stuns Rams

Much like the Cowboys defeating the Ravens, this result isn’t terribly shocking. How Miami beat the Los Angeles Rams, however, certainly was.

For nearly four quarters, there was virtually nothing going on to indicate the Dolphins would score against the Rams, let alone beat them. In its first 11 possessions, Miami logged 10 punts and one interception.

Leading 10-0, Greg Zuerlein missed a 48-yard field goal, apparently setting the Dolphins up with decent field position. But a 15-yard penalty from Leon Orr knocked Miami back to its own 23. Down 10 points with less than seven minutes remaining, that should have ended the Dolphins’ chances. For all of the team’s flaws, the Rams’ defense is generally well respected.

Nobody told that to Ryan Tannehill. Miami’s quarterback — who was having a terrible game until the final two possessions — took over. Over those two drives, Tannehill went 12-for-13 for 115 yards with two touchdowns and zero interceptions. That’s a 143.1 passer rating. He capped it off with a winning touchdown pass to DeVante Parker.

Watching that game, there was absolutely nothing to indicate that Miami had such a run in it.

But the Dolphins pulled out a miracle. On the other side, even with some talent on defense, Jeff Fisher’s Rams have proven time and time again that they can never be depended on to pull out a win.

5. Big Ben goes flat in Cleveland

Entering Sunday, one of the surer bets was a Steelers win over the Browns. Pittsburgh did win, and while a 24-9 prediction might have seemed a little conservative entering the game, Cleveland never challenged its AFC North rival.

What was shocking was the play of Ben Roethlisberger.

Big Ben was 23-for-36 for 167 yards without a touchdown. A 4.6 yards per attempt average is poor for anyone. For Roethlisberger, it’s unheard of.

Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell each caught eight passes for 76 and 55 yards, respectively. Throwing to anyone else on the team, Roethisberger was only 7-for-15 for 36 yards.

Big Ben could do nothing to expose a Cleveland pass defense that ranks near the bottom of the NFL in nearly every category.

It didn’t cost the Steelers a win, but this is definitely something to track. Roethlisberger normally comes back strong from injuries, but that hasn’t happened so far this year.

6. Minnesota plays poorly against Cardinals, still breaks losing streak

Over their previous four games, the Minnesota Vikings had averaged 302 yards of offense, 19 first downs and had held the ball for less than 31 minutes per game. That led to a 14 points per game average and an 0-4 record.

On Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals, the Vikings picked up only 217 yards of offense, 16 first downs and lost the time of possession battle to Arizona 31:02-28:58.

In many ways, Minnesota was worse in Week 11 than during its four-game losing streak. Yet, the Vikings beat the Cardinals 30-24.

What in the heck happened?

Late in the second quarter, Xavier Rhodes intercepted Carson Palmer in the end zone and returned it 100 yards for a touchdown (watch here). That’s at least a 10-point swing. Then, Cordarrelle Patterson opened the second half with a 104-yard kickoff return (watch here).

Minnesota was opportunistic, but Arizona was simply dreadful. We know that the Cardinals aren’t as good as they were last year. But at the very least, they should be a team that makes opponents beat them. That didn’t happen.

Arizona simply let the Vikings off of the hook. Given how talented the Cardinals are, it was surprising to see that many mistakes.

7. Detroit comes back to win…again 

Are the Lions the NFC North’s best team or simply the luckiest? Right now, it looks like Detroit is both.

The Lions outscored the Jacksonville Jaguars 10-0 in the fourth quarter to pull out a 26-19 win. That may not look terribly shocking. But that’s the sixth such win this year for Detroit.

The last team to win six games in which it trailed in the fourth quarter was the 2011 Cardinals. Now, five years may not seem like that long. But in reality, this is pretty stunning.

It took Arizona all 16 games to rack up those six wins. Through the Cardinals’ first 10 games in 2011, they had only three such wins.

Arizona also finished that year 8-8 and well out of the playoff race. We don’t yet know how Detroit will finish, but the Lions are currently a playoff team. Logically speaking, this will not hold up. A team can not win 60 percent of its games if it trails late in all of them.

But the longer Detroit’s season goes, the harder it gets to apply logic.

8. Drew Brees and Saints collapse in loss to Panthers

In Week 10, the New Orleans Saints lost to the Denver Broncos when a would have been game winning extra point was blocked and returned for a score. Week 11 brought more of the same to Brees and his New Orleans teammates.

A Brees fumble on the opening possession set up a Carolina Panthers field goal. Brees threw an interception, which set up a Carolina touchdown. Near the end of the half, the Panthers blocked a field goal. Unlike Denver, Carolina didn’t score on the field goal, but Carolina did put the ball in on the next play.

So, if you’re scoring at home, 17 of the Panthers’ 23 points were scored off of a New Orleans miscue. For a game that finished 23-20, that’s pretty darn significant.

The Saints certainly have some younger players, but they also have a great deal of experience on the roster. Brees is one of the best, most experienced quarterbacks in the game. He shouldn’t be turning the ball over twice in a big divisional game.

When a future Hall of Famer plays a game like that, it’s certainly a surprise.

9. Kirk Cousins outshines a solid Aaron Rodgers

If the Green Bay Packers were going to beat the Washington Redskins on Sunday night, Aaron Rodgers had to have a great game. He did. Yet, Green Bay lost by 18 points.

As good as Rodgers was, Kirk Cousins was simply better.

A good game from Cousins could have been predicted. He’s having a good year and the Packers’ defense is simply a MASH Unit.

But Cousins didn’t have a good game. He was brilliant.

If the Redskins are going to make the playoffs and go on an extended run, Cousins will have to star. If he can be the best quarterback in a game that includes a strong performance from Aaron Rodgers, it doesn’t seem too outrageous.

10. Andrew Luck plays entire game, enters concussion protocol after

Andrew Luck and his Indianapolis Colts continued their dominance over the Tennessee Titans with a 24-17 win. What happened after the game, though, was shocking and troubling.

Luck played the entire game. He didn’t even head to the bench when the Colts went into victory formation. Yet, following the game, he was placed in concussion protocol, placing his availability for Thanksgiving’s game against the Steelers in great doubt (read more about that here).

This is unacceptable.

We know that football is a violent sport. With that, concussions are going to happen. But if we take the NFL at its word, it’s trying to limit how bad concussions are. This is why we have things like concussion protocols.

So, how does someone play a full game, only to go into the protocol later. Are we supposed to believe that Luck somehow suffered the concussion after the game?

Also, we’re not talking about some mediocre player at a position where its easy to blend in. Luck is Indianapolis’ franchise player and plays at the game’s most prominent position. All eyes are on him at all times, especially when the Colts have the ball.

It’s borderline impossible to believe that nobody saw that something was wrong with Luck. But given Luck’s value to that team in a close game, it’s entirely believable that someone realized it but didn’t want to say anything.

Given the emphasis on concussions, it shouldn’t be so easy to believe that. Looking at the entire situation, though it’s almost impossible to believe anything else.