Here’s what we learnt over the eleventh week of this season’s NFL action, which featured a number of marquee games.
Matt McGloin could take the starting role
In his first NFL start, undrafted rookie quarterback Matt McGloin carried the Oakland Raiders 28-23 victory over the Texans.
His team may have got some help from unreliable quarterback play on the other side of the ball, but McGloin did his part with three touchdown passes and no interceptions – the first undrafted rookie to do so since the draft era began in 1967.
It looks likely McGloin has wrested the job from Terrelle Pryor.
Battle of top NFC teams left Saints on high
The 49ers (6-4) lost their second straight game to conference rivals as they went down to the Saints (8-2) on Sunday.
The 49ers managed to keep the high-scoring New Orleans offence down for the first three quarters, taking a six point lead into the fourth quarter. But Drew Brees led three field-goal drives to win, whereas Kaepernick was held to only 127 yards in the air and 25 on the ground.
The 49ers, who also lost to the Panthers last week, are now in a tight spot to win a playoff berth.
Ref makes critical non-call
Monday Night Football saw an epic match between the Patriots and Panthers, that came down to the game’s final play, with the Pats needing a touchdown from the 18-yard line to win.
Quarterback Tom Brady fired into the end zone looking for Rob Gronkowski, who was held by Luke Kuechly. The referees deemed the hold too far away from the spot of the ball to affect the play, and thus the Panthers won the game.
A poll on NFL.com had 51% of fans agreeing with the referees. The opinion from this view shares that of ESPN analyst Trent Dilfer – the referee was making a judgement call regarding the physical ability of Gronkowski to readjust to the ball’s flight and make a play.
Do you think Gronk could’ve hauled it in, if unimpeded?
Broncos jump up four spots
The Denver Broncos took down the previously undefeated Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday night, jumping from the fifth seed to the one seed in the AFC.
We knew the Broncos had a good offence, but the defence also surprised with a big game, restricting the Chiefs to 17 points and notching up three sacks.
On the other side of the ball, the Chiefs were leading the league in sacks and didn’t manage to bring down Peyton Manning once.
A rematch of this game will be a feature in Week 13.
Andy Dalton is not the answer
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton was able to lead his team to a victory on Sunday over the Browns, but it would seem they may have won in spite of Dalton, not with his help.
Dalton threw two bad interceptions early in the game and finished with only 93 yards from 27 attempts. His passer rating in the last three games has been 62.7 or worse, and in seven out of his 11 games this year his completion percentage has been below 65%.
Long term, it’s tough to see the Red Rifle as the Bengal’s franchise quarterback.
Quick Hits
* Cardinals coach Bruce Arians is the first Cardinals coach to win six of his first 10 games since 1966
* Redskins linebacker London Fletcher played in his 250th consecutive game on Sunday
* Tony Gonzalez now has 16 seasons with at least fifty catches, the second most in NFL history (Jerry Rice has 17 seasons)
* There have been more close games (within seven points in the fourth quarter) this year than any other year in NFL history
* There have been 18 400-yard passing games this year, tied for most in NFL history, and it’s only Week 11
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