4th & Monday: Playoff picture comes into focus, Gruden loses his cool and ... another middle finger?
It's Thanksgiving week, which means sports fans only have to wait three more days for another day full of glorious NFL action.
Setting the stage for a Thanksgiving Day showdown for first place in the NFC East was a last-second win for the Cowboys, a painful defeat for the Redskins, and a horrific showing for the defending Super Bowl champions.
Just as everybody expected when the season started, the Bears are in control of the NFC East before Thanksgiving. Now, the Bears have a quick turnaround before playing the Lions in Detroit on Thursday.
While the Saints (nine games), Texans (seven games) and Steelers (six games) extended win streaks, the Chargers' run of victories ended at six games. The Chiefs have a big opportunity to build on their lead in the AFC West in Monday night's game against the Rams.
Here's 32 things we learned in Week 11 -- as well as Sunday's winners and losers -- to check out before we dive into the moments you surely can't miss from Sunday's action.
Quick hits: Must-see NFL moments
- NFL playoff picture: With six weeks remaining in the regular season, each conference's field of six is slowly coming into focus. Take a look at how things stack up, if the season ended today.
- Eagles safety flips off Sean Payton: After the Saints went for it on fourth-and-6 while up 31 points, Malcolm Jenkins — who was burned on the play for a long score — let the Saints coach know what he thought of that decision.
- Did questionable call cost Redskins a win? An uncalled pass interference might have cost the Redskins a chance to beat the Texans.
- Wild finishes put RedZone host in frenzy: Scott Hanson, the host of NFL RedZone on NFL Network, had a wild 25 seconds as the 1 p.m. ET games were concluding, and Twitter had some fun with his enthusiasm.
- Quick shift from offense to defense: Maybe the injury-riddled Falcons should consider playing Julio Jones, their all-pro receiver, on defense, too. Jones adjusted and delivered a vicious hit on Cowboys safety Jeff Heath to burp the ball away on what looked like an easy interception.
- Gruden loses cool on QB: Jon Gruden visibly lost his patience with Raiders quarterback Derek Carr, and he did it with the cameras running. All's well that ends well, they say. The Raiders pulled off a last-second victory over the Cardinals for just their second win of the season.
- Francesa goes off: Grumpy sports radio host Mike Francesa went on a very serious rant when he heard about the Browns-Condolezza Rice report.
- Fired NHL coach tailgates with Bears fans: Joel Quenneville is no longer the coach of the Chicago Blackhawks, but he's still a Bears fan and he joined the tailgate scene before Sunday night's game.
TOP SHOTS: Best pics from Week 11 | Cheerleaders | Celebrations | Fans
Key storylines from Week 11
- Ravens' QB riddle: Lamar Jackson powered the Ravens to a win over the Bengals, but is he ready to take over the reins from Joe Flacco?
- Alex Smith out for the season: The Redskins quarterback suffered a gruesome leg injury during Sunday's loss to the Texans. Backup Colt McCoy was pressed into action, and the Redskins plan to work out a number of veteran quarterbacks, including Mark Sanchez but not including Colin Kaepernick. Smith's injury shared two really eerie coincidences with Joe Theismann's career-ending injury.
- Fitzpatrick benched in Bucs loss: The Buccaneers' quarterback merry-go-round continued during Sunday's loss to the Giants, as Ryan Fitzpatrick was benched in favor of Jameis Winston.
- Browns to interview Condoleezza Rice? A report tied the Browns to a surprising name. While the Browns are still in the process of evaluating possible candidates, one does wonder what a football team coached by the former Secretary of State would look like.
- Some women the Browns could call: Forget Condoleezza Rice. There are plenty of other women who actually coach football that the Browns could talk to.
- Titans coach doing OK after 'medical issue': Titans offensive coordinator Dean Pees was transported to a local hospital after what the team called "a medical issue," and was held overnight for further tests.
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Week 11 rundown
Bears 25, Vikings 20: Just as we all expected, the Bears are in control of the NFC North.
Saints 48, Eagles 7: The season is coming unglued for the defending Super Bowl champions.
Broncos 23, Chargers 22: Brandon McManus' field goal as time expired snapped the Chargers six-game win streak.
Raiders 23, Cardinals 21: The Raiders won a game that could have serious 2019 NFL draft order ramifications down the line.
Steelers 20, Jaguars 16: The Steelers rallied back from a 16-point deficit to win their sixth in a row. The Jaguars, meanwhile, have lost six straight.
Texans 23, Redskins 21: The Texans tied a franchise record by winning their seventh consecutive game.
Giants 38, Buccaneers 35: The Giants have won two games in a row and are six more wins short of Odell Beckham Jr.'s proclamation of winning eight straight games and shocking the football world.
Colts 38, Titans 10: The future is now for the Colts, who have won four straight and are in the thick of the AFC playoff race.
Lions 20, Panthers 19: The Lions halted a three-game skid, but the victory came with a cost.
Ravens 24, Bengals 21: In his first NFL start, Lamar Jackson put the Ravens back in the AFC playoff conversation.
Cowboys 22, Falcons 19: Two straight road wins have the Cowboys just a game behind the division-leading Redskins, who Dallas plays on Thanksgiving Day.
Seahawks 27, Packers 24 (Thursday): In what many pegged as an elimination game, it was the Packers whose playoff hopes were dealt a severe blow.
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Eyes on the (fantasy) prize
As fantasy football’s regular season winds down, there’s precious little talent remaining on the waiver wire.
Depending on what the Ravens decide to do with their quarterback situation, dual threat Lamar Jackson could be a notable exception. Baltimore has an extremely favorable schedule over the next four weeks. In addition, rookie running back Gus Edwards saw his first extensive action of the season, rushing for 115 yards, a touchdown and a two-point conversion.
One bright spot for the Eagles was running back Josh Adams — who racked up 72 total yards and a touchdown. He might be Philly’s top back down the stretch.
Saints rookie wideout Tre'Quan Smith might have been cut loose after going without a reception in Week 10. If that's the case, he'll be a hot pickup this week following a 10-catch, 157-yard effort with a touchdown.
MORE: Week 11 takeaways, plus the Broad Shoulders Award
Coming this week
Monday: Week 11 concludes with one of the season's most anticipated matchups, when the Kansas City Chiefs play the Los Angeles Rams at the L.A. Coliseum (8:15 p.m. ET on ESPN). How many #points will be scored in this one?
Tuesday: USA TODAY Sports' NFL experts update their power rankings for all 32 NFL teams after Week 11. Don't agree with our rankings? Speak up! Submit your own rankings to tell us where our experts got it wrong with our NFL Fan Power Rankings.
Thursday: Thanksgiving Day features a heaping helping of pigskin action! The fun starts in Detroit, where the Lions host the Chicago Bears (12:30 p.m. ET, CBS). Then, the Dallas Cowboys host the Washington Redskins (4:30 p.m. ET, FOX) in a key NFC East showdown. Later, the New Orleans Saints host the Atlanta Falcons (8:20 p.m. ET, NBC). Hopefully the tryptophan-induced coma doesn't kick in until after this promising triple-header of NFL action. Before Thursday's games, make sure to visit USA TODAY Sports to check out our expert picks for every Week 12 game.
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