Mark Eckel looks at Week 11 of the NFL, with the Panthers, Bears, and Eagles all making waves in the NFC
What happens when you lose a must-win game?
The Kansas City Chiefs are about to find out. Faced with a must-win Sunday against the Denver Broncos, the nine-time defending AFC West champs and three-time defending AFC champs lost 19-16.
Denver (9-2) now has a commanding lead over the Chiefs (5-5) in the AFC West as the Broncos head for what should be an enjoyable bye week. The battered Los Angeles Chargers (7-4) are in between the two after coming off a blowout loss at Jacksonville.
“We belong here”
“If you go back and all of us were there,’’ Denver head coach Sean Payton said after the win. “We had a Thursday night game (against Kansas City). That was the first time we played them and we defensively played them really well. We were awful on offense. We had a poor plan. Then we played them at home and we took the ball away five times and had a decisive win. So we were split with them. Last year, obviously, the last game of the season was a different game (KC had clinched). I think that loss in Kansas City (on a blocked field goal) was where the 189 miles per hour was tested. That was a tough, gut-wrenching loss. But I think there was a feeling, there was a feeling that we belong here. The response after that game was super.’’
Sunday, Will Lutz’ field goal was good and Denver walked off with command of the division.
“There was some irony when we were kicking the field goal,’’ Payton said. “But I think that confidence thing that we always talk about exists in that locker room. It’s special.’’
Mile High belief
Second-year quarterback Bo Nix, who engineered the field-goal winning drive and has his team at 9-2 on the season, agreed that the confidence level is well, Mile High.
“It’s ironic it happened the same exact way, if feels like,’’ Nix said of the winning field goal. “We just have a resilient team that believes we’re going to win. And at the end of the game when it’s close, belief goes a long way.
“Hey (the Chiefs) were at the top and if you want to be the best you have to beat the best. Some say, ‘If you’re scared go to church.’ If you’re going to play this sport, if you’re going to play this game for too long, you can’t be intimidated or there’s really no sense in going out there. If you don’t believe you’re going to win and eventually get to the top, then I feel, with all the work we put in all week, you’re just wasting your time.’’
Go Fourth?
Philadelphia head coach Nick Sirianni and Detroit head coach Dan Campbell are known for their aggressive styles of coaching. Sunday night both men may have been just a little too aggressive.
Sirianni, whose Eagles held on for a 16-9 win, went for a 4th-and-1 from his own 30 late in the fourth quarter with a 10-point lead. The Lions stopped the Eagles’ “Tush Push’’, took over on downs and kicked a field goal to make it a one-score game.
Campbell’s Lions went 0-for-5 on fourth down tries for the game. In a low-scoring, defensive game, field position was crucial, and the Lions had none of it. Sometimes a punt isn’t a bad thing.
Keep Pounding
Don’t look now but the Carolina Panthers (6-5) are only a half-game behind Tampa Bay (6-4) for first place in the NFC South.
The division rivals have not met yet. The first meeting comes Dec. 21 in Carolina and the second will be on the final day of the season.
Stay tuned.
Bear Down or Fool’s Gold?
Chicago leads the NFC North at 7-3, a half-game ahead of Green Bay (6-3-1), even though the Bears have been outscored on the season, 264-258.
Are the Bears for real, or just very fortunate?
We should find out soon. The next three games are home with Pittsburgh, at Philadelphia and at Green Bay. And the final three are Green Bay again, at San Francisco and Detroit.
If . . .
The playoffs started today (they don’t) the AFC would look like this: Denver (9-2, top seed); No. 7 Jacksonville at No. 2 New England; No. 6 Los Angeles (7-4) at No. 3 Indianapolis (8-2) and No. 5 Buffalo (7-3) at No. 4 Pittsburgh (6-4).
In the NFC, Philadelphia (9-2) would get the top seed. No. 7 San Francisco (7-4) would be at No. 2 Los Angeles (9-2); No. 6 Green Bay (6-3-1) would be at No. 3 Chicago (7-3) and No. 5 Seattle (8-3) would be at No. 4 Tampa Bay (6-4).
