The Pittsburgh Steelers are 6-3 on the season and are being outscored by 26 points. The Buffalo Bills are 5-5 and have outscored their opponents by 78 points in 10 games.
These are two of the biggest surprises in the NFL heading into Week 11. One is a surprise in the literal defintion of the term. The other has surprised by stinking it up amid a season with Super Bowl aspirations.
Speaking of surprises, the New York Giants are now the NFL’s worst team after earning a playoff spot a season ago. Let’s take a look at the five biggest surprises around the league as the second half of the 2023 season continues.
Related: NFL Week 11 power rankings
Pittsburgh Steelers: Mike Tomlin is pure magic
Pittsburgh is now the first team in NFL history to be outgained in its first nine games and still boast a winning record. The team sits at 6-3 heading into a big Week 11 outing against the division-rival Cleveland Browns.
We’ve heard chants from Steelers fans for the team to fire offensive coordinator Matt Canada. Pittsburgh ranks 26th in the league in scoring at 17.3 points per game. Quarterback Kenny Pickett has thrown just six touchdowns in nine games. The team ranks 29th in passing offense and 28th in total yards.
Did we mention that Pittsburgh is 6-3 this season? This is primarily due to a defense that has allowed the 11th-fewest points in the NFL and a legendary head coach in Mike Tomlin. In fact, this might be his best coaching job since replacing Bill Cowher back in 2007.
The question here is whether Pittsburgh can maintain this success. It still has two outings with the division-rival Cincinnati Bengals as well as a season-ending matchup against the Baltimore Ravens. But what we’ve seen from this team after an humiliating 30-7 season-opening loss to the San Francisco 49ers is absolutely shocking.
New York Giants: What in the world of Brian Daboll?
Left tackle Andrew Thomas missing all but three games. Check. Right tackle Evan Neal playing out of position. Check. Daniel Jones’ struggles and season-ending torn ACL. Check. The 2022 iteration of the New York Giants being a mirage. Check. Brian Daboll’s Coach of the Year award being a fluke. Check.
These are all true. They are also the reasons why New York heads into NFL Week 11 with a 2-8 record and as pretty much the worst team in professional football. Don’t believe us? Look at the raw data. Or, if you’re a Giants fan, look away.
New York ranks dead last in the league in scoring (11.8 PPG). It’s 29th in scoring defense (26.6 PPG). The team is being outscored by nearly 15 points per game. Its quarterbacks have thrown seven touchdowns with 11 giveaways in 10 games. The Giants have lost to the division rival Dallas Cowboys by a combined margin of 89-17 in two games. The Giants have scored 10 points or fewer five times.
We told Giants fans to look away. That isn’t just dreadful stuff. It makes this squad look like amateur hour at the Apollo. It’s absolutely amazing to realize that these Giants won nine games and defeated the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC Wild Card Playoffs a season ago.
Minnesota Vikings: Captain Kirk and Joshua
Speaking of the Vikings. This team won 13 games in Kevin O’Connell’s first season, only to lose to the aforementioned Giants in the playoffs. Most figured that the 2022 Vikings were a fluke given that they boasted an 11-0 record in one-score games. There was no way this would repeat in 2023, right?
After an offseason full of stripping down its roster, Minnesota started with a 1-4 record. All five games ended in one-score differences. The world was shifting back to its normal axis. Luck wasn’t on the Vikings’ side as we saw last season.
About that? Minnesota has won five consecutive games. Two of those came with veteran journeyman Joshua Dobbs replacing an injured Kirk Cousins (out for season, Achilles) under center. Dobbs first win back in Week 9 came days after the Arizona Cardinals dealt him to Minnesota for the NFL’s version of a Whopper Jr. He had not taken to the practice field with Minnesota before leading the team to a win over the Atlanta Falcons.
It’s crazy to think about. No Kirk Cousins. Justin Jefferson just now nearing his return from a five-game absence (all Vikings wins). And they are somehow alive in the NFC North race with the Detroit Lions. By the way, four of these five wins have come by … one score. Data scientists are rolling around in their cubicles.
Houston Texans: DeMeco Ryans and C.J. Stroud fly high
Remember when the talk of the football world was C.J. Stroud’s low score in the S2 Cognition Test (whatever that is) ahead of the 2023 NFL Draft? When asked about his low score in the test, Stroud responded that he “plays football” and is “not a test taker.” Play football? That’s what the NFL is about? This narrative seemed equally as amusing and irratating at the time.
Fast forward less than seven months, and Stroud actually finds himself as a legitimate NFL MVP candidate with his Texans at 5-4 on the season. If you don’t believe us, just look at these stats.
- C.J. Stroud stats (2023): 62% completion, 2,626 yards, 17 total TD, 2 INT, 101.0 QB rating
- Patrick Mahomes stats (2023): 69% completion, 2,442 yards, 17 TD, 8 INT, 96.7 QB rating
Yes, we’re comparing Stroud to the reigning NFL and Super Bowl MVP. A player that might go down as the greatest at his position in the history of the league. At least, we’re comparing stats. Why wouldn’t we?
As a team, Houston has won five of its past seven games dating back to September 24. That’s less than two months. In the team’s previous two seasons combined, it won seven games over a 484-day span. Yeah, DeMeco Ryans is also already the runaway winner for the NFL Coach of the Year award.
Buffalo Bills: Josh Allen’s struggles and Sean McDermott’s hot seat
How bad is it in Buffalo right now? The team is coming off a 24-22 loss to a Denver Broncos squad that’s mere weeks removed from allowing 70 points to the Miami Dolphins. Seventy points in an NFL game. That was a real thing back in September.
Offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey was fired after the aforementioned loss. Stefon Diggs brother, a member of the Dallas Cowboys, is calling for him to request a trade after this season.
Pretty much seen as the best thing in Western New York since the creation of the buffalo wing, Josh Allen has turned into legitimate fried chicken. His turnover proneness has Buffalo at a mere 5-5 on the season. But it dates back even further than that. Last season’s playoffs included, Allen has committed 32 turnovers in his past 22 games. Talk about making the likes of Mac Jones proud.
Buffalo entered the season with Super Bowl aspirations. It also came into the campaign with questions about the team’s ability to perform in the playoffs. Heading into Week 11, the Bills wouldn’t even be a playoff team right now. Allen’s turnovers. Diggs’ complaining. McDermott’s questionable coaching. It’s all led to a disaster class of epic proportions in upstate New York.