Patriots, Ravens win among multiple blowouts
It was a day of blowouts in the NFL, with the New England Patriots and Baltimore Ravens among the winners.
The New England Patriots cruised to a win in Mexico and the Baltimore Ravens shut out the Green Bay Packers on a day of lopsided results in the NFL.
Sunday saw eight games decided by double digits and, throw in the Pittsburgh Steelers' 40-17 win over the Tennessee Titans on Thursday, week 11 was loaded with blowouts.
The notable lopsided game was Baltimore's 23-0 victory at Lambeau Field, which marked Green Bay's first shut-out home loss in 11 years. Packers quarterback Brett Hundley tossed three interceptions as Green Bay fell to 1-4 since starting QB Aaron Rodgers was lost for the season with a broken collarbone.
Hundley was bad, but it could have been worse. The decision by Buffalo Bills coach Sean McDermott to bench Tyrod Taylor in favour of Nathan Peterman backfired as the rookie tossed five interceptions in the first half of a 54-24 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. Taylor was at quarterback in the second half, finishing 15 of 25 for 158 yards and a touchdown, but the damage was already done.
Cleveland Browns rookie DeShone Kizer also struggled with a pair of picks and two lost fumbles in a 19-7 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. While the Jaguars improved to 7-3 to take sole possession of first place in the AFC South, the Patriots, Vikings and Saints joined the Steelers at 8-2 while the Eagles remained the NFL's best with a 9-1 mark.
New England cruised to a 33-8 win over the Raiders in Mexico while the Vikings pulled away from the Rams for a 24-7 victory in a matchup of 7-2 teams at U.S. Bank Stadium.
The Texans and Buccaneers snapped their skids with 10-point victories. The Texans rallied for a 31-21 win over the Cardinals. The Buccaneers jumped out to a 20-7 lead over the Dolphins as Jay Cutler was picked three times in the first half before holding on for a 30-20 win.
FABULOUS FITZGERALD, PACKERS STRUGGLE
Cardinals receiving Larry Fitzgerald passed Tony Gonzalez for fifth all-time in receiving yards with nine catches for 91 yards and a 20-yard touchdown.
The Packers were listless in a loss to the Ravens. It was the first time since November 19, 2006 that the Packers (5-5) were shut out at Lambeau Field.
The Browns (0-10) may have remained winless, but they did go the entire game without a penalty for the first time since 1962.
Patriots kicker Stephen Gostkowski connected on four field goals against the Raiders. Gostkowski took advantage of the thin air in Mexico City with a career-best 62-yard field goal. He also hit field goals of 51, 40 and 29 yards at Estadio Azteca, which is 7,200 feet above sea level.
Cincinnati's 20-17 win over the Broncos was the first victory for the Bengals in Denver since 1975. It snapped a 10-game losing streak in Denver while the Broncos' loss also marked the team's first six-game losing streak since 1990.
Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was 30 of 37 for 339 yards with three touchdowns and zero interceptions against the Raiders, who have failed to intercept a pass this season. The Raiders (4-6) are the first team in NFL history to go 10 games to start the season without an interception by the defense.
TRICKY JAGUARS
When a play-action fake works to perfection, it can even dupe the camera operators. The Jaguars did just that against the Browns with a fake handoff to Leonard Fournette before Blake Bortles tossed to a wide-open Marcedes Lewis in the end zone in the first quarter of Jacksonville's win.
Texans running back Lamar Miller had a beautiful diving catch for a touchdown in the second quarter of Houston's win over the Cardinals.
Ravens receiver Mike Wallace had an incredible 21-yard touchdown catch in tight coverage early in the third quarter of Baltimore's win over the Packers.
The Giants were able to knock off the Chiefs thanks to a remarkable diving catch by Roger Lewis to set up the game-winning field goal in a 12-9 victory.
Also winning in overtime were the Saints, who were able to force the extra period thanks to a stellar effort by rookie running back Alvin Kamara.
Joey Bosa had a strip-sack of Taylor and Melvin Ingram returned the fumble 39 yards for a Chargers touchdown in the rout of the Bills.
Patriots quarterback Tom Brady lit up the Raiders in Mexico, including a 64-yard strike to a wide-open Brandin Cooks.
Eagles' Nigel Bradham had six tackles Sunday and an exciting TD.
'IT SUCKS' - HUNDLEY
Hundley after Green Bay's 23-0 loss to the Ravens: "It sucks. Confidence-wise, I'll keep going with my head held high, but it sucks."
McDermott on Peterman: "It wasn't what he had hoped for or what we had hoped for, but young players experience things like this. We have to push through it. You know when you put a young QB out there, there will be some struggles. I'm going to take my time and evaluate who will be the starting quarterback next week. I'm going to make the decision that I think is right for the team."
SUNDAY'S RESULTS
Detroit Lions 27-24 Chicago Bears
Jacksonville Jaguars 19-7 Cleveland Browns
Baltimore Ravens 23-0 Green Bay Packers
Houston Texans 31-21 Arizona Cardinals
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 30-20 Miami Dolphins
Minnesota Vikings 24-7 Los Angeles Rams
New Orleans Saints 34-31 Washington Redskins
New York Giants 12-9 Kansas City Chiefs
Los Angeles Chargers 54-24 Buffalo Bills
Cincinnati Bengals 20-17 Denver Broncos
New England Patriots 33-8 Oakland Raiders
Philadelphia Eagles 37-9 Dallas Cowboys