MORE NFL WEEK 11 TAKEAWAYS

STEELERS, TEXANS PAD DIVISION LEADS

Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers stunned the Jaguars with a late victory, while the Texans padded their lead in the AFC South and the Cowboys made up ground in the NFC East. Plus, the debut of Lamar Jackson electrified the Ravens in a win over the Bengals. In the late afternoon slate, the Broncos and Raiders staged thrilling late-game victories, while the Saints dropped 48 points on the Eagles.

PITTSBURGH STEELERS 20, JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS 16

The gutsy, fourth-quarter comeback over Jacksonville showed the Steelers' resolve but also exposed a flaw: Rangy defenders and a stout running game can control the pace against them. The Steelers gave up 141 first-half rushing yards to the Jags, and the offense has mustered just 66 passing yards and three turnovers by late in the third quarter. That will need to change for the stretch run. But apparently these games can impact a locker room the most. "Those are the ones you want to win -- when it's ugly," DE Cameron Heyward said. "It shows a lot of character, a lot of maturity

The Jaguars' No. 1 priority in the offseason has to be adding playmakers. Sunday's loss against the Steelers reinforced that, with RB Leonard Fournette leading the team in receiving with two catches for 46 yards and receivers and tight ends producing only 58 more receiving yards. QB Blake Bortles' inconsistency and inability to elevate those around continue to be a problem. Jacksonville's offense had negative yardage on four of its final nine possessions, which allowed the Steelers back in the game after they led 16-0. At 3-7, the Jags are playing out the string, starting next week at Buffalo.

CHICAGO BEARS 25, MINNESOTA VIKINGS 20

First-year Bears head coach Matt Nagy is off to a better start than anyone predicted. The only Bears head coach to have a better record through their first 10 games than Nagy (7-3) is Hall of Famer and team founder George Halas (9-0-1), per Elias Sports Bureau research. Nagy has the Bears closing in on a playoff berth, which is remarkable, since Chicago finished dead last in the NFC North in each of the past four seasons

In every prime-time game the Vikings have played this season, a costly turnover, interception or mistake elsewhere plagued them in ways they were not able to recover from. Against the Rams on Thursday Night Football, Sean McVay's play calling created mismatches they weren't able to win, but in the end, a Kirk Cousins fumble on a drive where the Vikings had a chance to tie the game sealed Minnesota's fate. Versus the Saints, Adam Thielen's fumble in the red zone was the beginning of a domino effect of bad breaks in a loss. The same can be said of Sunday's game, when Dalvin Cook's red-zone fumble and Cousins' interception in the red zone proved costly. The fact that some of these mistakes keep occurring are "definitely" a concern, according to Vikings coach Mike Zimmer, and they should be. The best teams in the NFL are able to overcome negative plays and self-inflicted wounds, which the Vikings haven't shown they can do this season against playoff-caliber teams.

DALLAS COWBOYS 22, ATLANTA FALCONS 19

At 5-5, the Cowboys find themselves in the chase to win the NFC East with six games to go, which did not seem likely when the Cowboys lost to Tennessee two weeks ago. Since then, the Cowboys have won back-to-back road games. The Cowboys have four of their final six games at home; starting with their Thanksgiving Day game against the Redskins, but Dak Prescott said the team's mindset will not change. "Our backs are against the wall," Prescott said. "They're still against the wall. [This win] showed the character of this team, us swinging, fighting, coming out, the ups and downs in this game, adversity, and success -- just played through it and stayed together." --Todd Archer

One of the Falcons' biggest issues this season has been their inability to close out games. Sunday's loss to the Cowboys marked the third time this season they lost at home in the final seconds, and the fourth time overall in six outings they've lost a game decided at the end, counting a road loss at Philadelphia. The last time a team rallied from a 4-6 start to make the playoffs was Green Bay in 2016, when the Packers rattled off six straight to finish 10-6. That might be too much to ask for the Falcons, especially with a quick-turnaround against the Saints on Thanksgiving night in New Orleans. -- Vaughn McClure

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS 38, TENNESSEE TITANS 10

Indianapolis' offensive line has not given up a sack on 214 consecutive dropbacks by Andrew Luck, who has thrown at least three touchdown passes in seven consecutive games and improved to 10-0 against the Titans. The Colts are on a four-game winning streak to stay in the thick of things for the final playoff spot in the AFC, with six games to go. They can make it five straight wins next Sunday, when the Colts host the Dolphins.

Nothing worked for the Titans on Sunday, and their point total reflected it. They managed only 263 yards of offense and lost quarterback Marcus Mariota after an elbow injury. The Titans struggled in all phases of the game but can get back on track in next week's divisional game against the Texans. The key will be Mariota's return to the lineup.

BALTIMORE RAVENS 24, CINCINNATI BENGALS 21

In his first NFL start, quarterback Lamar Jackson provided a jolt of excitement to a struggling team and ushered in a different style for the Ravens offense. Looking like a young Michael Vick, Jackson showed his explosiveness by running for 117 yards, the most by an NFL quarterback in four years. It certainly looks like Jackson will start Sunday against the Raiders, one of the worst defenses in the NFL. Asked if Joe Flacco can return for the next game with his injured hip, coach John Harbaugh said, "It will be tough for him this week coming up

Marvin Lewis isn't going to magically save the Bengals defense, and he doesn't appear to be able to save the offense, either. The Bengals played better against the Ravens than in recent weeks, but they still allowed a rookie quarterback to rush for more than 100 yards and couldn't drive down the field to score in two tries. The schedule should get easier with the Browns next week, but after Cleveland beat the Falcons, that's no guarantee.

HOUSTON TEXANS 23, WASHINGTON REDSKINS 21

The Texans' victory over the Redskins was their seventh in a row, and they have a two-game lead in the AFC South. But Houston still has improvements to make as Bill O'Brien has repeatedly talked about the importance of winning the turnover battle, and quarterback Deshaun Watson -- who threw two interceptions on Sunday -- has to take care of the football. The Texans have a big divisional game in Week 12 against the Titans. Watson threw an interception, and the Texans lost, when the teams met earlier this season.

The Redskins need quarterback help after losing Alex Smith for the season to a broken tibia and fibula in his right leg. The good news for Washington is veteran backup Colt McCoy has been in Jay Gruden's system for five years and understands it well; he throws with rhythm and timing, and teammates have always respected him and considered him a leader. But the Redskins don't have another quarterback on the roster, so they must sign one Monday; they likely will have four or five in for a workout. At 6-4, the Redskins are still a game ahead of Dallas in the NFC East. Losing Smith hurts, but if McCoy gives the Redskins a similar effort like he gave them in his one and half quarters Sunday, they can continue to contend over the final six games.

DETROIT LIONS 20, CAROLINA PANTHERS 19

The Lions won for the first time in almost a month, but for all the positives for the franchise on Sunday -- improved offensive line play, a breakout game from Kenny Golladay, a defense that held the Panthers to 3.5 yards per carry -- there is one major concern: the health of RB Kerryon Johnson. Johnson went down with a knee injury in the third quarter and didn't return. After the game, Coach Matt Patricia had no update on the rookie sensation. If the Lions were to be without Johnson for any period of time, it would significantly alter an offense that traded away WR Golden Tate at the deadline and then lost WR Marvin Jones Jr. to injury for an undetermined amount of time last week.

The decision to go for the two-point conversion with just over a minute left against a struggling Lions team had a feeling of desperation, even though Coach Ron Rivera argued he was just being aggressive and going for the win. But the Panthers are approaching that point of desperation, at least to win on the road. They are 1-4 away from Bank of America Stadium and now in a mix of teams fighting for a wild-card spot. At 6-4, with two of the next three games on the road, Carolina has to find a way to win away games if it has any hopes of being a postseason factor.

NEW YORK GIANTS 38, TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS 35

Saquon Barkley said this week he would carry the ball two or 38 times, whatever necessary to win. The Giants needed a career-high 27 carries from Barkley in a 38-35 win over the Bucs. He finished with 142 yards and three total TDs. It helped the Giants collect their first winning streak since December 2016, a span of 700 days. They used the same formula to beat Tampa Bay that they used to defeat San Francisco. They leaned on Barkley and the run game while Eli Manning also completed a career-best 94.4 percent of his passes (17-for-18) in what coach Pat Shurmur considered a "winning performance." -

Ryan Fitzpatrick was benched after throwing three interceptions in three quarters, including a pick-six. Jameis Winston stepped in, leading three scoring drives while producing a 129.9 passer rating and nearly pulling out a win. "[He played] fantastic," coach Dirk Koetter said of Winston. "He came in and lit it up." Koetter said the Bucs will weigh their options as to who starts next week against the 49ers and make an announcement Monday. At 3-7, the Bucs' two wins to open the season against the Saints and Eagles are looking more and more like a mirage, and they're still a team that doesn't know how to get out of its own way.

DENVER BRONCOS 23, LOS ANGELES CHARGERS 22

It took several tries, a few disappointments and a kick as time expired, but as Denver Broncos running back Phillip Lindsay put it, "We got on the good end." Brandon McManus' 34-yard field goal as time expired gave the Broncos a win over one of the league's hottest teams. They're still a long way from contending at 4-6, but the Broncos say if they keep working as they have all season, they still believe they can make something happen. "We're trying to ignite something," wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders said.

The Chargers experienced that losing feeling in a big way on Sunday, letting the Broncos escape with a 23-22 win at the StubHub Center. The Chargers finished with 14 accepted penalties for 120 yards and allowed a fake punt to work for a second consecutive week. However, the Chargers are still in good position for the playoffs at 7-3 and host the 2-8 Cardinals next week

OAKLAND RAIDERS 23, ARIZONA CARDINALS 21

Both Coach Jon Gruden and quarterback Derek Carr insisted their heated conversation was not the first such occurrence, nor would it be the last. Beating the Cardinals 23-21 on a last-second field goal for Oakland's second win of the season against eight losses will also diffuse any tensions, real or imagined. Because as Gruden acknowledged, the Raiders were in need of some positive vibes in such a trying season beset by so many injuries and, well, losses.

By losing to the Raiders, the frustration of a 2-8 season has set in. Players questioned why the same mistakes were happening over and over, week after week. There seems to be more frustration amid lip service that the Cardinals are improving and are close to turning a corner, but yet they're not winning games. "No disrespect to the Raiders but we feel we are the better football team. That's what makes this so frustrating," Cardinals quarterback Josh Rosen said.

NEW ORLEANS SAINTS 48, PHILADELPHIA EAGLES 7

The Saints (9-1) have now scored 45, 51 and 48 points over the past three weeks while winning nine straight games overall. Each win is more impressive than the last, and MVP contender Drew Brees now has 25 TD passes to one interception this year. They'll have to turn around quickly to host the rival Falcons on Thanksgiving night, and they can't really afford to let up with the Rams also 9-1 in the NFC.

An Eagles loss to the Saints on Sunday was expected, but the degree to which they were outclassed in a 48-7 throttling was troubling. The offense is broken -- raising questions about the significance of losing former assistants Frank Reich and John DeFilippo -- and the defensive secondary is unrecognizable thanks to a slew of injuries. Forget focusing on the playoffs. This team needs to figure out a way to stabilize, and if it keeps going this way, there could be some long-term damage. -- Tim McManus

SEATTLE SEAHAWKS 27, GREEN BAY PACKERS 24

The Seahawks are still capable of finishing games after all. That was starting to come into question following their past three losses, as they had a chance in all three to either take the lead or tie on their final drive. Seattle had its finishing touch Thursday night, with the defense forcing punts on four of Green Bay's final five possessions and Russell Wilson leading the go-ahead touchdown drive before the offense iced the game with a four-minute drill. At 5-5, the Seahawks will need a similarly strong finish down the stretch to make the playoffs.

Coach Mike McCarthy had a chance to make a bold move by going for it on fourth-and-2 from his own 33-yard line with 4:20 left and down three points in Thursday's game. Given how the Packers' season has gone, it could have been a turn-around moment had they made it and gone on to score. Instead, he sent the punt team on the field, and Aaron Rodgers never got the ball back. At 4-5-1, the Packers might need to run the table to make the playoffs.

As much as we obsess over how NFL teams look on paper before the season, Super Bowl runs can come down to who stays healthiest over the course of a long, arduous season. The 2017 Eagles are the obvious counterexample, given that they won with Carson Wentz, Jason Peters and others sidelined, but they're a rare exception to what has generally been a rule. We're also seeing those same Eagles struggle under the weight of a new set of injuries this season.

Of course, even the healthiest NFL team is going to put up with injuries here and there. In some cases, there's no getting past losing a player like Andrew Luck or Deshaun Watson. In other situations, teams manage to scrape by with excellent coaching and useful depth. Week 11 saw a little bit of both scenarios. Let's get to a few of the players whose injury absences either impacted the playoff picture on Sunday or will do so in the weeks to come, beginning with an incident I can't imagine anyone wanting to see again ...

ALEX SMITH, WASHINGTON

The most notable injury on Sunday came in Washington, where Smith suffered a gruesome compound leg fracture on a third-down sack. The injury required immediate surgery and will obviously sideline Smith for the remainder of the season. Washington turned things over to backup Colt McCoy, who led two touchdown drives but couldn't get his division-leading team over the hump in a 23-21 loss to the streaking Texans. McCoy went 6-of-12 for 54 yards on his first pass attempts since the 2015 campaign.

Vegas doesn't appear to anticipate a huge drop-off from Smith to his replacement. Last week, one bookmaker suggested he wouldn't move the line even a half-point if Washington was forced to replace Smith with McCoy. That might not be reflected in practice, given that Washington has gone up as an eight-point underdog for its Thanksgiving Day game against the Cowboys.

Smith was struggling on Sunday before the injury, as the longtime Chiefs standout was averaging just 5.0 yards per attempt and had thrown two interceptions, including a pick-12 that ended up serving as more than the margin of victory. Miscommunication between Smith and Jordan Reed in the end zone led to an interception for Justin Reid, who took the ball 101 yards from his own end zone to the house for a critical score.

Communication is going to be the short-term concern for McCoy, because he hasn't practiced with the starters and will get only a few brief reps on a short week before flying to Dallas. Coach Jay Gruden had some success giving McCoy quick throws off three-step drops, and the former Texas star was able to create first downs with his legs, but when McCoy held on to the ball for any length of time, he was sacked by a fearsome Texans pass rush or was unable to find any open receivers.

J.J. Watt & Co. versus a line missing three starting offensive linemen isn't really a fair matchup, and while McCoy has been a competent backup quarterback during his career, the injuries around him might put too much on the 32-year-old's plate. He's down Chris Thompson, Jamison Crowder, Paul Richardson and multiple offensive linemen. Reed and Adrian Peterson aren't 100 percent healthy. The best-case scenario for a backup quarterback is when he takes over behind a solid offensive line with weapons, like Nick Foles and Case Keenum last season. This is very different, and it's difficult to imagine Washington, which is 6-4 and atop the NFC East, getting a ton out of McCoy over the final six weeks of the season.

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Smith's future is uncertain. The most obvious comparison is to former Washington quarterback Joe Theismann, who wasn't able to return to the NFL after suffering a broken leg exactly 33 years to the day before Smith's injury. Medicine has advanced, though, and Smith's injury doesn't appear to be the same sort of fracture. Former Chargers team doctor David Chao suggested after the game that Smith would be healthy enough to return in 2019, although it remains to be seen whether he will retain the mobility he showed before the fracture. Washington will be in serious trouble if Smith can't make it back, given that he has $31 million in base salaries for 2019 and 2020 guaranteed for injury.

MARCUS MARIOTA, TENNESSEE TITANS

Mariota probably wasn't going to make a huge difference for Tennessee on Sunday, as the Titans were already down 24-0 to the Colts when the former second overall pick went down with an aggravation of his elbow injury. The elbow ailment cost Mariota a game earlier this season and forced him to play at least one half of football with numbness in his fingers after backup Blaine Gabbert went down with an injury of his own.

While the Titans were blown out by the Colts before and after Mariota's injury Sunday afternoon, they were able to survive without a healthy Mariota earlier this season. Gabbert won his lone start against the Texans in Week 2, while Mariota did enough as a substitute to beat the Jaguars in Week 3. Those efforts had little to do with the offense, though; the 20-17 win over the Texans was decided by a fake punt for a touchdown, while the Titans managed to hold the Jags to two field goals in a 9-6 victory.

Mariota's status for a critical Week 12 divisional rematch with the Texans is unclear, although he'll get an extra day to heal with the Titans playing on Monday Night Football. "Unclear" is also a good way to describe the absolutely inscrutable Titans, who must be an absolute mystery to even themselves. Tennessee followed a three-game winning streak with a three-game losing streak, and then righted the ship with impressive victories over the Cowboys and Patriots. Beating the Patriots by 24 points and losing to the Colts by 28 points seven days later is inexplicable.

At this point, honestly, the Titans seem predicated more upon their defense than whatever Mariota or the passing attack is offering from week to week. They came into the week ranking fourth in defensive DVOA variance, suggesting they've been relatively conservative. The offense, on the other hand, had been the sixth-most inconsistent attack in the league. The Titans will look less consistent after allowing the Colts to score 38 points on Sunday, but there's not really much shame in getting torched by Andrew Luck & Co. Since the start of October, only the Saints have been scoring more points per game on offense than Frank Reich's team. (It probably did not help matters when Titans defensive coordinator Dean Pees left the game during the first half and went to a hospital with an undisclosed medical condition.)

The one place they haven't been consistent on defense might be the key. When the Titans win, they rank 14th in the league in pressure rate (relative to the pressure rates of other teams around the league when they win, too). When Pees' defense loses, though, it has the league's fourth-worst pressure rate. The good news is that the Titans, one of five 5-5 teams in the AFC, are about to face a string of porous and/or banged-up offensive lines with the Texans, Jets, Jaguars, Giants and Washington to come before a rematch with Indy in Week 17.

DENZEL PERRYMAN, LOS ANGELES CHARGERS

Perryman is not the sexiest name in the league, but the Chargers inside linebacker was sorely missed on Sunday. The 2015 second-round pick went down early in the Week 10 win over the Raiders and was placed on injured reserve last week. The Chargers replaced him with a combination of Kyle Emanuel and Uchenna Nwosu, and while Emanuel helped out on a fourth-down stop early in the game, the Broncos have to be happy with what they accomplished in Perryman's absence.

The playoff picture got a bit clearer at the top, while the wild-card races now seem quite muddled. NFL Nation dives into Week 11.

Denver ran the ball 19 times for 108 yards and three touchdowns on Sunday, an impressive total from a team down its two best interior linemen in Ronald Leary and Matt Paradis. Running back Phillip Lindsay also had four catches for 27 yards. Case Keenum did most of his work over the middle of the field, too, going 7-of-10 for 87 yards on passes between the numbers.

It wouldn't necessarily be fair to pin that all on Perryman's absence, but the Chargers missed their stalwart inside linebacker last season, too, when he missed nine games with ankle and hamstring injuries. With the University of Miami product on the field, the Chargers allowed an average of 4.0 yards per carry and 1.6 yards after initial contact. Without Perryman, Gus Bradley's defense gave up 5.8 yards per carry and a league-worst 2.6 yards after first contact.

The Chargers have gotten by without the likes of Jason Verrett and Joey Bosa this season, but with Perryman's return stabilizing the defense and sparking a second-half winning stretch last season; it's hard not to feel some sense of dread about what happened Sunday. The old Chargers who seemed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory came back. Anthony Lynn's team committed a staggering 14 penalties, tying for second most in a game this season. Kicker Michael Badgley whiffed on an extra point in a game that ended up being decided by ... one point. Philip Rivers threw two interceptions, including one to Von Miller on a screen pass the Chargers ran for a big play earlier in the game.

BRONCOS EDGE CHARGERS TO SNAP 6-GAME WINNING STREAK

With three seconds on the clock, Brandon McManus hits a 36-yard game-winning field goal to give the Broncos a 23-22 win over the Chargers.

Most notably, with an opportunity to seal the game, the Chargers (7-3) ran a broken play on second down before Rivers one-hopped a screen on third down. They had the Broncos backed up with a second-and-16 on their own 45-yard line with 37 seconds left, but Keenum drove the Broncos 39 yards on two plays to set up the game-winning field goal try from Brandon McManus. It was a disheartening loss to an inferior team at "home" in front of a group of fans mostly wearing the opposing team's colors.

CAM ROBINSON, JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS

Robinson is just one of the offensive linemen Blake Bortles has lost this campaign, but the second-year left tackle was lost at the high point of the Jacksonville season, and the Jags haven't recovered. Robinson tore his ACL during the Week 2 victory over the Patriots, during which Bortles threw the ball 45 times for 376 yards and four touchdowns. The much-maligned former first-round pick has just seven touchdown passes in the ensuing eight games, as the Jaguars have dropped seven of eight and seen their season come crashing down.

Any hopes of a possible Jags resurgence came to an end with a heartbreaking loss to the Steelers on Sunday. It was a game in which offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett clearly had no faith in Bortles or the offensive line's ability to protect Bortles, who was sacked six times in just 24 dropbacks. Hackett had Bortles attempt just 18 passes, including a mere five throws (with four sacks) in 25 plays in the second half. The Jags also were missing center Brandon Linder, but their hole at left tackle is most notable given that they're now starting Ereck Flowers, who started the year as the Giants' right tackle. Backup center Tyler Shatley actually had a worse day than Flowers, but the offense has ground to a halt since Robinson was injured.

As a result, a game the Jags absolutely needed to win and should have won using the Tom Coughlin Formula from a year ago turned into a brutal defeat. Jacksonville held the Steelers scoreless for the first 42 minutes of the game and went up 16-0. Jalen Ramsey and the Jags' defense picked off Roethlisberger three times and forced the Steelers to become one-dimensional, which should have freed their pass rush to tee off on the veteran quarterback. Hackett's bevy of running backs combined with Bortles to run the ball 43 times for 179 yards.

It all didn't matter. The formula relies on the quarterback to do something to win against a competent offense, because the Jags couldn't keep Roethlisberger down forever. The Jags (3-7) turned three possessions that started on Pittsburgh's side of the field into six points. When they needed a first down or two to keep the Steelers' offense off the field, the offensive line couldn't manufacture one. The Jaguars didn't record a single first down on their final five possessions. They are a broken offense, and while it's easy (and partly accurate) to pin it on Bortles, the loss of Robinson seems to have set off a disastrous chain of events.

ENTIRE SECONDARY, PHILADELPHIA EAGLES

Well, this includes just about everyone besides Malcolm Jenkins, who was last seen Sunday nipping at Alvin Kamara's heels on the fourth-and-6 go route the Saints ran for a touchdown to go up 45-7 in the fourth quarter. If Doug Pederson was famed for never taking his foot off the gas last season, Sean Payton hit the nitrous up 31 points on Sunday.

The other defensive backs on the field on that play aren't exactly Eagles legends. Corey Graham had already been benched this season for Avonte Maddox, who went down in the first quarter with a knee injury. The center fielder on the play was Tre Sullivan, who spent 2017 on the practice squad and had six defensive snaps as a pro before playing 21 snaps against the Cowboys last week. Neither of them is a close approximation of Rodney McLeod.

At cornerback, Philly had Cre'von LeBlanc, Chandon Sullivan and De'Vante Bausby, none of whom made the active roster out of camp. The Eagles got limited snaps out of the returning Sidney Jones, who missed a key tackle on the 38-yard Mark Ingram run that opened the game for the Saints before leaving with a hamstring injury, and lost Rasul Douglas during the game with a knee injury. Ronald Darby is already on injured reserve. Jalen Mills was out with a foot injury. The Eagles were playing replacement-level defensive backs, Jenkins aside, against the league's most efficient passing attack. What happened next would qualify as a horror film.

BREES TOSSES 4 TDS IN SAINTS' DRUBBING OF EAGLES

Drew Brees throws for 363 yards and four touchdown passes as the Saints win their 9th straight and demolish the Eagles 48-7.

To his credit, Jim Schwartz tried to play away from type and show the Saints something new. They played way more man coverage than usual and doubled Michael, daring Drew Brees to beat them by going to other receivers. Brees went 10-of-13 for 157 yards on throws to Tre'Quan Smith, picked up chunk yards on throws to Dan Arnold, Josh Hill and Keith Kirkwood, and still managed to hit Thomas for 92 yards and a score on four targets. The Saints' top receiver is now catching 90.1 percent of his passes, an unprecedented catch rate for a wideout who draws as much attention as Thomas does from opposing teams.

There's no quick fix coming for the Eagles. Jones might not be ready for Week 12. Mills wasn't playing all that well when he was in the lineup. Their best bet is to get more out of their pass rush and hope that the extra pressure can cover up weaknesses in their secondary. Fortunately for Philly, its next two games are against the Giants and Washington, whose offensive lines are a mess. At 4-6, those divisional contests probably qualify as must-wins to keep the Eagles in the race for the NFC East crown.

JOE FLACCO, BALTIMORE RAVENS

With their longtime quarterback starter missing just his seventh game as a pro with a hip injury, Ravens fans had to be excited to see the debut start of first-round pick Lamar Jackson against the Bengals on Sunday. The Heisman Trophy winner had thrown the ball 12 times and racked up 28 carries over the first nine weeks of the season as a part-time player, getting most of his touches as an option quarterback in the red zone. I was intrigued to see whether the Ravens would expand their playbook coming off a bye week with Jackson in a starting role.

Instead, we mostly just saw a larger portion of the package Jackson was running in his limited role. The Ravens ran an extremely conservative, run-heavy scheme, with Jackson spending most of his time in the pistol with an H-back alongside him and a halfback behind. Baltimore's first 13 plays were rushes, including an 11-play, 75-yard drive for the opening touchdown with read-option looks the Bengals didn't seem prepared to defend.

As a runner, Jackson was good. He carried 27 times for 117 yards, an attempt total topped in Week 11 only by Leonard Fournette. By my count, it's the second-most carries a quarterback has racked up in a single game going back 68 years to Joe Geri, who was really a tailback playing in a different sort of offensive structure for the 1950 Steelers. This was the largest rushing workload a real quarterback has shouldered in the history of the NFL.

Seven of those runs turned into first downs, though Jackson also was stuffed on a fourth-and-1 sneak and came up short running QB power on third-and-4 as Baltimore was trying to chew up clock with a three-point lead late in the fourth quarter. He picked up 21 yards on a beautiful quarterback draw on third-and-4 on the opening drive, but Jackson came up short on a series of draws in goal-to-go situations. The threat of Jackson did seem to create running lanes for the likes of previously unknown backup Gus Edwards, who carried 17 times for 115 yards.

When Jackson dropped back to throw, the results were uneven. The Ravens clearly didn't trust him to do much as a passer and he finished 13-of-19 for 150 yards with an ugly interception on a scrambling attempt to the sideline. His biggest pass of the day was a 23-yard toss to John Brown just before halftime to set up a long Justin Tucker field goal, which came at the end of a scramble so long that Jackson actually tucked the ball to run and then untucked it to throw a pass.

ROB GRONKOWSKI, NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS

Gronk didn't play this week with the Patriots on their bye, but with New England's star tight end missing three of the past four games before the break with a back injury, Tom Brady has suffered. His raw numbers are mostly the same, but Brady has relied far more heavily on yards after catch to build the offense without Gronkowski in the fold.

With Gronkowski on the field this season, Brady has completed 66.9 percent of his throws, averaged 8.1 air yards per pass and posted a Total QBR of 70.6. Without Gronk, Brady has completed just 61.9 percent of his throws, a below-average figure in 2018. Brady is averaging just less than 7.0 air yards per throw, with his receivers making up the difference by leaping from 5.1 yards after catch per pass to 6.8 yards per pass. Thanks in part to an increased sack rate, Brady's QBR falls all the way to 46.0.

This is nothing new. Over the previous five seasons, Brady took 1,990 dropbacks with Gronk on the field and 1,037 without the future Hall of Fame tight end. Brady's Total QBR fell from 75.7 to 62.4 without Gronkowski around, as his numbers fell across the board in virtually every category. Without Gronk, Brady basically went from looking like Aaron Rodgers to putting up numbers closer to what Matthew Stafford or Andy Dalton did over the same time frame:

SPLIT	CMP	ATT	CMP%	YDS	Y/ATT	TD	INT	RATING	TOTAL QBR
Brady with Gronk, 2013-2017	1211	1861	65.1%	14599	7.8	114	24	104.0	75.7
Brady w/o Gronk, 2013-2017	620	986	62.9%	6754	6.8	40	13	91.1	62.4

There's obviously no replacing Gronk, who might be the most physically dominant tight end in league history. At this point, with a two-game lead in the AFC East, the Patriots probably need to be conservative with Gronkowski, whose back issues have led to multiple season-ending surgeries. The Pats shouldn't be aggressive about rushing him back for a road game against the Jets next Sunday, and honestly, I would think twice about running him onto the field in Week 13 against a Vikings defense that can be brutal on opposing receivers. The target should be Week 15 against the Steelers, a team that Gronk has ripped apart in years past, in a matchup that could determine whether the Patriots land a first-round bye in the AFC.

ERIC BERRY, KANSAS CITY CHIEFS

Let's finish up with a player who has been missing all season. It has now been 25 games since we saw Kansas City's star safety, and when Berry misses Monday night's mouthwatering game against the Rams, it'll be 26 straight absences. The five-time Pro Bowler missed 15 games in 2017 with a ruptured Achilles and has been out for the entirety of 2018 with a Haglund's deformity impacting his other heel. There's no timetable for his return.

At 9-1, Kansas City hasn't shown effects of playing without Berry, but the Chiefs badly missed him late in their loss to the Patriots, when New England set up its game-winning field goal by targeting Gronk, who was covered by reserve defensive back Josh Shaw. Berry helped shut down Gronkowski in the season-opening upset of the Patriots last year before suffering the Achilles injury late in the game.

CHIEFS, RAMS SET FOR SHOWDOWN OF NFL'S ELITE

Get ready for Monday Night Football as two of the NFL's most dynamic offenses square off on ESPN.

With the Chiefs traveling to Los Angeles, the natural matchup would have been Berry vs. Todd Gurley. Kansas City has the And the sixth-worst pass defense against running backs by DVOA while allowing those backs a league-high 74 receiving yards per game. Would Berry single-handedly shut down Gurley? Probably not. Would he give the Chiefs their best chance of slowing down the most dynamic offensive weapon in the game? Of course.

Again, at this point, it seems like the best-case scenario is that the Chiefs get Berry back for the postseason, given that they haven't placed the 29-year-old on injured reserve. As the Chiefs look to erase years of playoff disappointment by swapping out Alex Smith for the higher ceiling of Patrick Mahomes, it would be a shame if their defense couldn't hold up its end of the bargain. After allowing 37 points to the Steelers and 43 points in that classic loss to the Patriots, we'll see what the Chiefs can do without Berry against another elite offense. Their chances of making it to the Super Bowl might depend upon getting Berry back.