NEWSLETTER
Another Monday, another L. It’s become the status quo in the life of a Chicago Bears fan these days. But we’re not going to talk about the Bears here. Instead, we’re going to take a spin around the rest of the NFL to try to find ourselves some football enjoyment.
But not before:
Good morning to absolutely no one but especially not this guy… pic.twitter.com/LmLYippNNM
— Bleacher Nation Bears (@BN_Bears) November 22, 2021
• And, if you must relive yesterday’s loss, Lu does a great job of unpacking it in this morning’s Bears Bullets.
• The Vikings were able to beat the Packers in the “team I can’t stand vs. the team I can’t stand just slightly less” bowl yesterday. Justin Jefferson was a man on a mission for Minnesota on Sunday, catching eight passes for 168 yards and two touchdowns:
https://twitter.com/MattAnderson_8/status/1462541814276100101?s=20
• That Vikings win further solidified Minnesota’s place in the glob of NFC playoff contenders:
AFC
(1) TEN 8-3
(2) BAL 7-3
(3) NE 7-4
(4) KC 7-4
(5) CIN 6-4
(6) LAC 6-4
(7) BUF 6-4
NFC
(1) ARI 9-2
(2) GB 8-3
(3) DAL 7-3
(4) TB 6-3
(5) LA 7-3
(6) MIN 5-5
(7) NO 5-5
Draft
#1 DET 0-9-1
#2 NYJ 2-8
#3 JAX 2-8
#4 HOU 2-8
#5 NYJ (from SEA 3-7)— Lee Sharpe (@LeeSharpeNFL) November 22, 2021
• It also knocked the Packers out of the No. 1 seed, despite this guy’s most valiant efforts:
7️⃣5️⃣ yards from @AaronRodgers12 to @MVS__11!
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) November 21, 2021
TOUCHDOWN! 🙌 #GBvsMIN | #GoPackGo
📺 FOX pic.twitter.com/uZA2PtBNBg
• Over in the AFC, some things never seem to change:
First place in the AFC East belongs to the New England Patriots 📈 pic.twitter.com/yEeroCnaYf
— ESPN (@espn) November 21, 2021
• A 25-0 win over the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday night, coupled with Buffalo’s loss on Sunday, has the Patriots back on top of the AFC East, a place in which Bill Belichick has spent seemingly his entire tenure as the head coach in Foxboro. I’d love to know how many total days the Patriots have spent atop the AFC East over the last 20-plus years that Belichick has been there.
• Staying in the AFC East, hot damn the Bills took one on the chin against the Colts on Sunday. Jonathan Taylor punched it in for Indianapolis on the opening drive and then scored four more touchdowns as the Colts cruised to a 41-15 victory over Buffalo. Taylor racked up 185 rushing yards and five total touchdowns and became the NFL’s first running back to break 1,000 yards this season and put himself in the MVP conversation:
Jonathan Taylor = MVP? @JayT23 | @Colts | #ForTheShoe pic.twitter.com/SsJ38QMnPS
— NFL (@NFL) November 22, 2021
• Sure, the MVP award is usually a QB thing, but Taylor is doing everything he can this season to ensure that his name is in the conversation. He’s averaging more than 100 rushing yards per game and carrying an Indianapolis offense that is second in the NFL in scoring.
• And who needs an MVP trophy when you’re the bio of the NFL’s official Twitter?
It's NFL bio official now. 🖼️ pic.twitter.com/XZc3oPyIdV
— Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) November 22, 2021
• An Old Friend Alert from Sunday’s Bills-Colts game:
Zaire's first career pick comes against the reigning NVP!
— Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) November 21, 2021
📺 CBS pic.twitter.com/yVCfTzTnmr
• I know I said I wasn’t going to talk about the Bears here, but I can’t pass on the opportunity to give Robert Quinn a much-deserved shoutout for his 3.5 sack performance yesterday:
On a brighter note, how about Robert Quinn today, #Bears fans?
3.5 sacks in one game is unreal. He’s so damn flexible and fast for someone who’s been in the league 11 years. pic.twitter.com/wD3lRMrvzq— Jacob Infante (@jacobinfante24) November 21, 2021
• Quinn is up to 10 sacks on the season through just ten games after recording just two sacks last season. What a bounce-back campaign for the veteran pass rusher.
• It’s good to see Quinn rolling right now, because he has a rookie playing his best ball awaiting him on Thursday:
Penei Sewell didn't allow a single QB pressure vs Cleveland today (23 pass-block snaps)@oregonfootball pic.twitter.com/rwB4fHoyju
— PFF College Football (@PFF_College) November 22, 2021
• In other NFC North lineman news, the Packers were dealt a serious blow:
The fear is that #Packers stellar OL Elgton Jenkins tore his ACL, source said. Would be a significant blow, but he’ll have an MRI to determine the full extent.— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 21, 2021
• Jimmy Garoppolo and San Francisco 49ers downed the Jaguars, moving San Francisco to 5-5 while the Jags fall to 2-8 and closer to the No. 1 pick in the draft (although the Lions might have that one sewn up at this point):
FINAL: @49ers take the Week 11 win! #SFvsJAX #FTTB pic.twitter.com/tnSbD4Svh9
— NFL (@NFL) November 21, 2021
• San Francisco has now won three of its last four games. Naturally, the stretch began with that come-from-behind win against the Bears. Go figure.
• The Cardinals went into Seattle and beat the Seahawks with Colt McCoy under center. They’ve won games without their head coach, their MVP-candidate quarterback, J.J. Watt, Chase Edmonds, DeAndre Hopkins, and more throughout the season, yet the Cardinals sit at 8-2 after a 23-13 win over the Seahawks. It’s just Arizona’s year, so far:
@heykayadams has been on the @AZCardinals bandwagon all year… nothing has changed in Week 11
"Talk about adversity and excuses.. this is the best team in the NFL" — @heykayadams pic.twitter.com/TwuBH1vj6m— Good Morning Football (@gmfb) November 22, 2021
• Tom Brady and the Bucs host the Giants tonight on Monday Night Football to wrap up the Week 11 slate around the NFL. And they might get a familiar face back in action:
Bucs’ TE Rob Gronkowski, listed as questionable for tonight due to his back, will play as long as there are no pre-game setbacks, per source.— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 22, 2021
Week 11 finale coming right up. 🔥 (by @MercedesBenz)#TogetherBlue | #GoBucs
— NFL (@NFL) November 22, 2021
📺: #NYGvsTB — Tonight 8:15pm ET on ESPN
📱: NFL app pic.twitter.com/AmzIwhyrHi
