Between the reigning Super Bowl champions losing their first game of the season and former contenders continuing their disappointing seasons, Week 11 was filled with talking points.
The ‘Trump dance’ also took center stage, with many prominent players across the league mimicking the dance made popular by President-elect Donald Trump to celebrate moments in their games.
Here are the main takeaways from the past week in the National Football League.
Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen slips past Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Nazeeh Johnson to score on a 26-yard run near the end of the game in Orchard Park, New York, on Sunday, November 17. The Bills beat the Chiefs 30-21, ending Kansas City’s 15-game win streak. Allen finished with 262 yards, one touchdown and one interception while adding 57 yards and a score on the ground.Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP
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Shake-up at the top of AFC?
The AFC path to the Super Bowl looked like it would run through Kansas City after the Chiefs opened the season on a nine-game winning streak.
However, things might be subject to change following the Chiefs’ first loss of the season to their conference rivals, the Buffalo Bills, on Sunday.
Related articleJosh Allen and Buffalo Bills hand Kansas City Chiefs first loss of the season
The Bills now sit just a game behind the Chiefs who still occupy the AFC’s No. 1 overall seed, but due to the 30-21 win, hold the tiebreaker between the two teams.
Perhaps more than the result though, it should how Buffalo might be growing into the most complete team in the conference.
Spearheaded by an MVP-caliber quarterback in Josh Allen, the Bills’ offense has everything it needs to succeed, even in the often-freezing cold temperatures of upstate New York.
Between the Bills’ host of playmaking wide receivers, talented group of tight ends and running backs capable of making defenders miss, Allen can pick and choose which match-up he favors as he lines up to take the snap.
Even when those things are covered and his offensive line has been beaten by defenders, Allen’s running ability can be a great pressure-release valve as he showed on the final touchdown in the victory over Kansas City, breaking multiple tackles and rumbling into the endzone for the game-sealing score.
Allen is also helped by an ascendant defense which, under the tutelage of head coach Sean McDermott, has grown as the season has progressed, intercepting Patrick Mahomes twice and restricting the Chiefs as a whole to just 259 total yards on offense.
It was a momentous victory for Buffalo to overcome the AFC’s No. 1 seed, but as the team heads into its bye week, the squad is stressing it’s not the end of the season.
“This is not the finish line, this is the next game,” McDermott said, with left tackle Dion Dawkins calling it “just a win.”
“It feels good to win, especially against a great team. Anytime that we play the Chiefs, we already know what type of time it’s going to be and to get a win, which is beautiful, but it’s not the Super Bowl,” he told reporters.
“The respect is there, and the respect is high, but it’s a good thing going into the bye week. It puts everybody in good faith and good spirits and good smiles.”
Week 11’s results mean it is now extremely tight at the top of the AFC with seven weeks of the season remaining.
The Chiefs hold a one game lead over the Bills who themselves have a one game advantage over the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Houston Texans, Los Angeles Chargers and Baltimore Ravens all sit on seven wins.
Season over for Jets and Cowboys?
The 2024 season has been one to forget for the New York Jets and Dallas Cowboys.
The Jets lost their eighth game of the season on Sunday, falling by a point at home to the Indianapolis Colts after a late fourth-quarter touchdown drive – led by recently-reinstalled starting quarterback Anthony Richardson – gave Indy the win.
The Cowboys, meanwhile, lost their fifth game in a row and seventh of the season on Monday, being emphatically beaten 34-10 at home by the Houston Texans.
For two teams with high expectations entering 2024, their Week 11 results could signal the end of any playoff hopes they might’ve had and foreshadow a big offseason of changes in both New Jersey and Texas.
The Jets were supposed to be transformed into a Super Bowl contender with the addition of Aaron Rodgers last year, but his season-ending Achilles injury on the fourth snap of his debut ended all hopes last year.
This season hasn’t been much better though, with head coach Robert Saleh being fired and the acquisition of Rodgers’ long-time friend and Green Bay Packers teammate Davante Adams not helping a stuttering Jets offense.
What the Jets do next season at quarterback remains a question with Rodgers turning 41 in December.