As the weather in America turns cold, the 2025 NFL season moves into the second half of the schedule and the importance of each game is amplified.
Week 11 produced in a big way, with a number of close finishes, surprising upsets and great individual efforts.
The league’s first game in Spain produced an overtime finish (albeit not exactly a thriller), to kick off a day where nine of the 13 games were decided by one score.
Five teams are on top of the pile with just two losses on their record and the upside down AFC playoff field remains tough to pick.
Check out our full recap of Week 11 in the NFL below as we review the big storylines to come from the weekend’s action.
1 – Zac Taylor Will Be the Next Coach to Go
The Cincinnati Bengals have clearly given up on their head coach and their atrocious effort in what should have been a winnable game against Pittsburgh last weekend surely sealed the fate of their soon to be ex head coach.
Heading into the game they should have been buzzing, Joe Burrow returned to practice during the week with an eye on starting in the next couple of weeks and they were still in a position to win out and sneak into the playoffs as a wild card entrant.
The game was finely poised in the third quarter with the Bengals trailing 13-9 and in possession before it all unravelled.
First Joe Flacco threw an ugly pick-six to give the Steelers breathing room and from there the rout was on.
Flacco drove the Bengals into field goal range and they reduced the deficit to eight points before the defence just absolutely gave up.
In Taylor’s entire tenure the defence has been a liability and the head coach has been the one constant throughout that time.
Right now their only hope is Burrow comes back, they win out and have a few things break their way but outside of a Disney movie, can you realistically see that happening?
There is nothing to be gained letting Taylor twist in the wind and Burrow’s injury should not be an excuse to keep him around in 2026.
2 – Kansas City Is Going to Have to Do It the Hard Way
Write them off at your own risk, but the Chiefs’ status as NFL heavyweights is starting to waver after another rough loss.
On a day the Broncos took control of the AFC West with a big win over their division rival and a bad loss by the Chargers, the reigning AFC champions are now realistically in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2014.
At this point they should still receive the benefit of the doubt that they are going to get it right, but they are right up against it.
Right now they are four games back from Denver in the AFC West as well as one game plus the head to head tiebreaker behind Jacksonville for the AFC’s seventh seed.
It doesn’t get any easier next week with the Colts coming to town but after that, five of their remaining six games are at least “winnable”.
However with the way they have struggled in close contests this season, there is also a very real possibility they lost against the Colts, Texans, Chargers and Broncos to end the season 8-9.
That seems unlikely and not something I’d be backing at the moment, but all of a sudden these sorts of opinions don’t seem so far fetched.
3 – Stafford Solidifies His MVP Case
The NFL MVP award is only meant to reflect the season for which it is awarded in, but it’s hard to argue against Matthew Stafford getting it at least partially as a career acknowledgement.
With the preseason favourites in Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson all ruling themselves out of contention for various reasons (although Allen may work his way back in over the next month), it’s going to go to an outsider.
Stafford is the presumptive favourite ahead of Drake Maye, Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold and others but it is hard to argue with the veteran from a statistical or storyline perspective.
Let’s not forget that in the offseason the Rams considered moving him on and he even spoke with a couple of other teams but he stayed in LA, healed his back and is tearing up defences.
What makes it even more remarkable is that after their win over the Seahawks, Stafford has a winning record as an NFL starting quarterback for the first time in his career.
Getting drafted first overall to the Lions will do that to you though, but his move to LA has revitalised his career and if the Rams keep going on their current trajectory, it may end with Stafford winning the MVP for the first time in his career.
4 – Shedur Sanders Had No Chance
Cleveland Browns fans have been clamouring for Shedur Sanders since they drafted him in the fifth round and they finally got to see their rookie in action.
When Dillon Gabriel went into the concussion protocol at halftime of their loss to Baltimore, Sanders got the call and… it was not good.
But the stat line does not tell the full story and Sanders was given no chance to succeed in this one.
The first Browns play of the third quarter, a five yard pass to Cedric Tillman was his first snap with the starters since preseason and it’s not like Gabriel was lighting up defences before he went out.
That’s not to say Sanders is going to turn into the next iteration of John Elway by the end of the season, but let’s not pretend like he was put in the best imaginable situation.
The Browns are really, really bad and Sanders has been an afterthought in the quarterback room with Joe Flacco and Gabriel preferred options prior to the former Colorado Buffalo.
But before we write him off as the worst Browns quarterback of all time (Kevin Hogan and Austin Davis say hi), it’s worth remembering he was in a no-win situation.
Next week against the Raiders with a full week of preparation might provide a slightly softer landing opponent than the Ravens.
5 – The Eagles Offence Has Gone Soft
The reigning champions might be 8-2 and in full control of their division, but there are some worrying signs for them, especially on offence.
It has been hit and miss for them all year with some great performances interspersed with some wretched efforts.
The last two games have seen them go from bad to horrific, posting a combined 26 points in games that they won because their defence is playing lights out.
If their offence could put anything of note together, they would be unstoppable and winning games by 30 points.
But something is off this season, especially with the running game that just hasn’t come close to the heights of 2024.
Cris Collinsworth was insisting that Saquon Barkley is on the verge of breaking out but the holes aren’t getting opened up by the line the same way they were last year and Barkley isn’t getting out of tackles the way he did last year.
Let’s not even start on the passing game, Jalen Hurts has done a good job avoiding turnovers with one interception on 269 attempts, but the dynamism isn’t there and that is in large part because the running game isn’t doing its job.
But watching them against the Lions, one thing stood out above all else, this team just doesn’t look as hungry or focused as they were last year.
It just looks like they have lost their edge and don’t have that same determination to make plays the way they did.
It’s not an apples to apples comparison but there is a real 2019 Patriots vibe about them right now, with a dominant defence that ran out of steam and a dysfunctional that massively underperformed all season.
Although unlike that Patriots team, Jalen Hurts won’t bolt for Tampa on the first day of free agency… AJ Brown might though.