As November enters its final week, clarity has begun to manifest across the NFL.
The front-runners have distinguished themselves. Six teams — Detroit (9-1), Kansas City (9-1), Buffalo (9-2), Minnesota (8-2), Philadelphia (8-2) and Pittsburgh (8-3) — already have eight wins or more. It’s only the third time in the last 35 years that six teams have won at least eight games by this point in the season.
For only the second time since 1970, six teams entered Week 12 riding winning streaks of four games or more. The Steelers’ streak was halted at five in Thursday’s 24-19 loss to the Browns, but the Lions (winners of eight straight), Eagles (six), Bills (six), Cardinals (four) and Chargers (four) still have a chance to keep their success going.
Conversely, a whopping 11 teams have seven losses or more. The Jaguars lead the league with nine losses, while the Raiders, Titans, Browns, Patriots, Jets and Giants all have eight losses. The Bengals, Saints, Panthers and Cowboys have lost seven games. Many of those teams will soon shift into evaluation mode, if they haven’t already, while others with more wins will jockey for position in postseason races.
Here are five of the most compelling storylines to follow in Week 12. (Find the full schedule here.)
1. Philadelphia Eagles surging
After raising concerns with the way they stumbled out of the gate, the Eagles have gotten healthy, regained their footing and kicked into high gear. Sunday, the Eagles face the L.A. Rams at SoFi Stadium. Leading the way is running back Saquon Barkley, who tops the NFL in scrimmage yards (1,347) and is second in rushing yards (1,137). Barkley is one of only two players this season to rush for 100 yards or more in six games (Houston’s Joe Mixon is the other). Philadelphia quarterback Jalen Hurts’ 11 rushing touchdowns rank second in the NFL behind only Ravens running back Derrick Henry’s 13. Hurts on Sunday aims to tie Justin Fields (2022) as the only quarterbacks in NFL history to score a rushing touchdown in six straight games.
Keep an eye on Eagles rookie cornerback Quinyon Mitchell, who already is garnering a reputation as a shutdown corner after holding an impressive list of wide receivers (Terry McLaurin, CeeDee Lamb, Ja’Marr Chase, Brian Thomas Jr., Malik Nabers, Mike Evans, Chris Olave, Drake London and Christian Watson) to fewer than 35 receiving yards. Mitchell has yet to surrender a touchdown this season, but Sunday features another challenge: containing Rams wideout Cooper Kupp, who last week became the first player in NFL history to record 600 receptions, 7,500 yards and 50 touchdowns in his first 100 career games. Kupp’s 614 receptions are tied with Anquan Boldin for fourth-most all-time by a player in his first 100 games.
The Eagles are trying to remain within striking distance of Detroit for the top seed in the NFC while the Rams (5-5) are fighting to remain in the NFC West race and in wild-card playoff contention. Los Angeles has won four of its last five games. (Eagles at Rams, 8:20 p.m. ET Sunday.)
2. 49ers–Packers divisional playoff rematch
Familiar foes face off Sunday afternoon as the San Francisco 49ers visit the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. The last time these teams played each other, in last season’s divisional round of the playoffs, the Packers almost upset the host 49ers. Green Bay actually held a 21-14 third-quarter lead before the 49ers rallied to win 24-21 and advance to the NFC Championship Game. Two years prior, San Francisco beat Green Bay 13-10 in the same round of the playoffs. In 2021, Green Bay won the last regular-season meeting between these teams 30-28.
Things have changed a bit since last season’s playoff meeting. The Packers, at 7-3, are the stronger of the two opponents. The 49ers had started to regain their health after battling a rash of injuries, but quarterback Brock Purdy was ruled out of Sunday’s game with a shoulder injury. The unproven Brandon Allen is starting in place of him. Niners sacks leader Nick Bosa also won’t play Sunday after exacerbating a hip/oblique injury last week against the Seahawks. The NFC West remains within reach for San Francisco, as Arizona is 6-4 and the 49ers, Rams and Seahawks are all 5-5. But Kyle Shanahan and his team are starting to run out of time.
Meanwhile, Green Bay needs to string together some wins to remain in position for a wild-card berth. (The Packers currently hold the sixth spot.) Catching 9-1 Detroit for the NFC North crown will be hard, but overtaking Minnesota (8-2) for second place remains possible. Shanahan and Packers coach Matt LaFleur know each other well having worked together in Houston, Washington and Atlanta, and having faced each other as opponents frequently, so expect an intriguing chess match.
The deciding factor could be quarterback Jordan Love, who appears to have taken a small step backward from last season’s performance. He is completing 62.3 percent of his passes after posting a 64.2 clip last season, and has thrown 11 interceptions, which is tied with Patrick Mahomes and Geno Smith for most in the league. Love has thrown at least one interception in every game he has played this season, but last week he did complete a season-high 76.5 percent of his passes for 261 yards and a touchdown and ran for a touchdown as well. (49ers at Packers, 4:25 p.m. ET Sunday.)
3. NFC West clarity
The Cardinals lead the hotly contested NFC West with a 6-4 overall and 2-0 division record. The Rams are 2-1 in the division, followed by the Seahawks (1-2) and 49ers (1-3). Sunday’s game between Arizona and Seattle could allow the Cardinals to pad their lead in the NFC West, or enable the Seahawks to move up in the standings. Arizona is coming off its bye week and has won four straight. Seattle pulled off a 20-17 victory over San Francisco last week to snap a two-game losing streak.
Setting the tone for Arizona are quarterback Kyler Murray, who is having one of the finest seasons of his career, and a stingy defense. Murray is completing a career-best 69.2 percent of his passes while also sporting a career-best passer rating of 100.8. Arizona’s defense, meanwhile, hasn’t surrendered a touchdown since Week 8 and has yielded a combined 15 points in its last two games.
The Seahawks hope last week’s win propels them toward a strong finish to the season. To accomplish this, they will need improved consistency from Smith, who has completed 69 percent of his passes but has thrown as many interceptions as touchdowns (11). Severe weather knocked out power at the Seahawks’ practice facility and at several players’ homes for multiple days, but players say they will not use the alteration of their game-week routine as an excuse. (Cardinals at Seahawks, 4:25 p.m. ET Sunday.)
4. Can Commanders bounce back vs. Cowboys?
After an impressive 7-2 start to the season, Jayden Daniels and the Washington Commanders hit a rough patch, losing to the Steelers and the Eagles in a five-day span in Weeks 10 and 11. It was the first set of consecutive losses this season for Washington, and the two least-productive outings for Daniels, the front-runner for Offensive Rookie of the Year. The two losses also cost the Commanders their NFC East lead to the Eagles.
Sunday, the Commanders get back to work and host the downtrodden Cowboys. Washington’s hope is that the 10-day layoff after that Thursday night loss to Philadelphia has helped it reset and gain strength for a much-needed surge down the stretch of the season. Daniels hasn’t looked like the same player since he suffered a rib injury in Week 8. He and coach Dan Quinn say Daniels is now healthy and that they expect Daniels’ ability to resume a full practice load will help the quarterback regain the impressive accuracy that carried him and his offense for the first half of the season.
This week also represents a great test for Quinn and offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury. Quinn has great familiarity with the Cowboys, having served as their defensive coordinator before coming to Washington this season. His ability to get his team back on track with an authoritative win would speak volumes about the legitimacy of Washington’s turnaround. While head coach of the Cardinals, Kingsbury often was criticized for the way his team — and offenses in particular — fizzled in the second halves of seasons. Defenses seemed to figure out his schemes and play-calling tendencies, and Kingsbury struggled to develop counterpunches. Washington’s offense certainly has cooled. After averaging 31 points per game through the first seven games, the Commanders have scored 22.5 points per outing during a 2-2 stretch. Is the decline related to Daniels’ health, Kingsbury’s effectiveness or both? (Cowboys at Commanders, 1 p.m. ET Sunday.)
5. Harbaugh Bowl
Brothers John and Jim Harbaugh face off as the Ravens visit the Chargers on “Monday Night Football.” It’s the first meeting between the Harbaughs since Super Bowl XLVII, which John and the Ravens won 34-31 over Jim’s 49ers.
Baltimore is 7-4 and aims to rebound from last week’s loss to Pittsburgh. The Chargers have won four straight to improve to 7-3, which has them in the fifth spot in the AFC playoff race, one spot ahead of Baltimore. This game pits one of the league’s most prolific offenses against one of its stingiest defenses. Baltimore ranks second in the NFL (and tops in the AFC) with an average 30.4 points per game, while L.A. boasts the No. 1 scoring defense (14.5 points allowed).
Lamar Jackson is 2-0 against Justin Herbert, but Henry may be the biggest difference-maker in this matchup. He leads the NFL with 1,185 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns and will face a Chargers defense that surrenders 110.5 rushing yards per game. The Chargers rank second in red-zone defense, however, surrendering touchdowns inside the 20-yard line only 40.9 percent of the time. The Chargers have yielded only three rushing touchdowns all season. (Ravens at Chargers, 8:15 p.m. ET Monday.)
(Top photo of Jalen Hurts: Luke Hales / Getty Images)
