WINNERS
Jimmy Garoppolo
Jimmy Garoppolo and the 49ers made quite a statement in Mexico on Monday night as they beat the Arizona Cardinals by a score of 38-10. The Week 11 game was the best San Fransisco’s offence has looked this season, and other NFC teams should certainly be taking notice. With so much talent around him, Jimmy Garoppolo is in an average quarterback’s dream situation. The offence is being built around getting their best players in space, which means that Jimmy often throws short passes that end up going for very large gains. This kind of play is much less risky than throwing downfield and if executed like it was on Monday, it can lead to some great stat lines for quarterbacks. Sure enough, Jimmy G went 20/29 for 228 yards and four touchdowns in the game, throwing all his completions to just four players.
Taylor Heinicke
Taylor Heinicke will be buying yet another pair of Jordans this week after a dominant Commanders win against the Texans. Heinicke might not produce the most eye-popping personal stats, but he sure knows how to win. Since he took over from Carson Wentz at quarterback, the Commanders have gone 4-1 and are now in the middle of the NFC playoff race. After a game this week against the Falcons, Washington will see the Giants in back to back games with massive playoff implications. If the Commanders can win two of those next three games, they’ll be heading into Week 16 with a record of 8-6.
Tony Pollard
Even with Ezekiel Elliot back in the lineup, Tony Pollard still managed to be the best offensive player for the Cowboys in Week 11, racking up more than 180 total yards and two touchdowns. Pollard and Elliot both had 15 carries on the day, but it was Pollard who almost doubled Zeke in yardage on the ground while also contributing through the air with six catches for 109 yards. Regardless of who else is in the locker room, Pollard has proven that this Dallas offence is much more efficient when he gets a good share of touches. Over the last three games, he’s averaged more than 100 yards rushing and has scored six touchdowns.
LOSERS
Zach Wilson
It was an ugly Sunday in Week 11 for the New York Jets’ offence, and a very ugly Sunday for quarterback Zach Wilson. The second year signal caller led his team to just three points, going 9/22 for 77 yards in the 10-3 loss to the Patriots. For the second time in a month, Bill Belichick’s defence led the New England past the Jets, and New York is now back in the basement of the AFC East. Even more concerning than the game were a few of Wilson’s interview answers after the game:
After being unable to take accountability for his play, Wilson has been benched for the Jets Week 13 matchup in favor of backup Mike White.
New York Giants
Next up in the ‘Losers’ category for Week 11 is the other New York team that’s been coming back down to Earth recently. After starting the season 6-1, the Giants have dropped two of their last three games to the Seahawks and Lions. The loss in Seattle was less worrisome but falling to the Lions at home the way they did this week is cause for some concern. After scoring the first touchdown of the game in the first quarter, the Giants wouldn’t put up another point until the fourth quarter. By that time, Detroit had gone up 24-6 and the game was almost out of reach. Unfortunately, the schedule doesn’t get any easier for the G-Men, as they still have five divisional games as well as a meeting in Minnesota left on the calendar.
Denver Broncos
Finally, we have Denver. The Broncos fell to 3-7 on the year after losing to the Las Vegas Raiders, making them the victim in two of Las Vegas’ three wins on the season. The team is now 0-3 in overtimes and will almost certainly miss the playoffs in Russell Wilson’s debut season. Melvin Gordon was also waived by the team on Monday after yet another fumble in the red zone almost stopped a Denver drive in the first half. It just seemed like more of the same for Denver’s offence, which has looked abysmal all year despite people thinking it will eventually turn around. If they had been able to score just 18 points in every game this year, the Broncos would be 9-1 right now.
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