If New England Patriots running back Jonas Gray ran for 199 yards and four touchdowns in an entire season, there is a chance the casual NFL fan wouldn’t even notice.
However, the fact that he registered those numbers in a single game was worthy of headlines in Week 11, and was one of many reasons New England beat up on the Indianapolis Colts 42-20 on Sunday Night Football. The Patriots left no doubt they are clearly the class of the AFC right now and that is one of four lessons we can take from week 11 of the NFL season.
The Patriots Are The Class Of The AFC
The fact that a running back that most casual fans have never even heard of could run for nearly 200 yards and four scores is testament to New England’s depth. With wins over the Indianapolis Colts and Denver Broncos over the last three weeks, the Patriots are now in control of their own destiny in the AFC.
Tom Brady threw for 257 yards and two touchdowns against the Colts and, as long as he has a healthy Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman, the pass offense looks like it will continue to shred opposing secondaries.
Perhaps more surprising is the fact the defense continues to get the job done despite some notable injuries. Home-field advantage will be that much more important against the Colts and Broncos come playoff time, and right now New England is hitting on all cylinders.
The Cardinals Can Win Without Carson Palmer
There aren’t many teams in the NFL that would be able to win with Drew Stanton at quarterback but Arizona appears to be one of them. Many people laughed earlier in the week when head coach Bruce Arians said this team can win the Super Bowl with Stanton running the show but there are more believers after the Cards handled the second-best team in the NFC.
This excellent coaching staff continues to find ways to maximize its talent on both sides of the football. It showed again in Week 11 as Stanton threw for over 300 yards and two touchdowns while the defense held the Detroit Lions to a pair of field goals in a 14-6 win.
Stanton doesn’t have to play at an MVP level for the Cardinals to win and he certainly did enough last week to get the job done. Now comes arguably the toughest test yet for Arizona as they visit the Seattle Seahawks in Week 12 in a game that will make the NFC playoff picture a lot clearer.
The Falcons Can Win The NFC South
Speaking of the NFC playoff picture, the Falcons are coming off back-to-back wins to get to 4-6. While most people left them for dead, 4-6 is good enough for first in the NFC South after the New Orleans Saints dropped consecutive games.
While the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Carolina Panthers aren’t exactly playoff caliber teams, the fact that Atlanta was able to beat both of them on the road could be a turning point in a division that is wide open. Don’t forget, they should have beat Detroit a few weeks ago in London in a wacky ending game.
The Falcons will play four of their final six games at home, although their two road games are at Green Bay and New Orleans. That visit to the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in Week 16 could be the game that decides the NFC South. At any rate, despite their early struggles and everyone calling for head coach Mike Smith’s head, Atlanta is still very much in playoff contention.
Home-Field Advantage Is Crucial To The Packers Success
Aaron Rodgers and the Packers continued their dominance at Lambeau Field with a 53-20 win over the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday to improve to 5-0 at home this season. Green Bay has scored at least 31 points in each of its five home wins this year including an average of 46 over its last three victories.
That has them in position to challenge for top spot in the NFC. The Packers still have issues on the defensive side of the football and while they’ve looked great in back-to-back games, remember that they put up quite the clunker in New Orleans a few weeks ago. They are 2-3 on the road this season, so locking up the top seed in the NFC and home advantage for the playoffs will be that much more important if Rodgers and company are going to make a Super Bowl run.
