The NFL Roundup 2018: Week 11 – What We Learned

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

​Sometimes, a weekend of NFL football finds a way to leave you in awe, and this past weekend’s slate of games meet that criteria. Because we were treated to some incredible moments and some awe-inspiring games, the kind that taught us all kinds of things about our favorite teams and well, let’s not waste any more time today and get right down to discussing, what we learned from Week 11 in the NFL.
 
Lamar Jackson is just what the Ravens need right now.
You know, it didn’t dawn on me just how badly the Baltimore Ravens needed a little jolt offensively, until I watched rookie Lamar Jackson take the field for his first start in the league. They’re just stale with Joe Flacco at the helm and Lamar gave them the spark they’ve so desperately needed this season. Granted, a lot of the magic he brought to the table came by way of the fact that he ran the ball 27 times, which isn’t exactly what you hope for with a new quarterback, but…you take what you get and while he isn’t ready to be a prolific passer just yet, he’s a winner at the moment and he’s giving hope to the fans and the team and you can’t ask for more than that right now.
 
The Denver Broncos still have something left in the tank.
Just when you’re ready to count the Denver Broncos out, they find a way to surprise us all and stay relevant in the football world. Because this team, played some damn fine football on Sunday, and they managed to stun the Chargers at home with a big time win and well, now I’m left wondering exactly what it is that makes this team so inconsistent. Because when they are on, they are on, and this game proved that since Case Keenum made some big time throws when he needed to and the defense was shockingly good against Philip Rivers and well, perhaps the Broncos just need more time to jell as a squad. Or, maybe the players are finally tuning out all the noise that the local press is sending their way. But, make no mistake about it, the Broncos still have some fight left in them, and they may play the spoiler again down the line.
 
The Pittsburgh Steelers are one tough team.
I have said it before, and I will say it again, the best teams out there, are the ones that simply never quit and the Steelers performance on Sunday, proved that saying once again. Because for a better part of that game, the Jaguars had Big Ben’s number, making him look like a sub-par quarterback while the offense did its thing. But a fourth quarter rally from the offense, sealed the deal for the Steelers and well, it was just downright impressive to watch them fight for every yard and every point and that kind of moxie and resolve is precisely what you want from a playoff team and I’m sure this big time, tough win from the Steelers will be a moment they call upon in the future when they need a little inspiration to stand up against another opponent.
 
The New Orleans Saints continue to impress.
There comes a point in the season where some teams just leave you in awe when it comes to their performance and well, that moment arrived for the Saints on Sunday. Because once again, their offense left an opponent in the dust since they dropped 48 points on the defending Super Bowl Champions and well, at this point, this team simply seems unstoppable. Their defense is playing lights out football, something I wasn’t sure they were capable of earlier on this season and Drew Brees is having an outright career year, and it seems as though it doesn’t matter what a defense throws at him, he can read it clear as day and as long as this team stays healthy and keeps this momentum rolling, the sky will be the limit for the Saints as they roll over more opponents on their way to the playoffs.
 
Monday Night’s Chiefs/Rams game was one for the ages.
Sometimes you get a feeling in your bones about a particular game, and something told me the Monday night game between Kansas City and Los Angeles was going to be an epic matchup. But I was ill prepared for how epic it was going to be. I mean come on, it made NFL History since this is the first time ever that both teams were able to score fifty plus points in a game and well, while I know the mantra in the NFL is that there are no moral victories, let’s be honest, the fact that the Chiefs could hang with the Rams like this is a huge deal and well, when all is said and done, I would venture to say that this game will go down as one of the finest prime time matchups to ever be played in league history and it will also serve as the moment when both of these offenses arrived and considering how young Mahomes and Goff are, I think we can expect to see more prolific play from these two gunslingers for years to come.  

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