1) In a resounding victory, Jared Goff was flawless and prolific once more. In Week 10, five interceptions versus the Texans? That proved to be a victory. A flawless passing rating in Sunday’s game versus the Jaguars? resulted in victory as well. Detroit’s 9-1 start under Goff and the Lions is the best since the team’s 10-0 start in 1934. This season, Goff has had a number of standout performances. In Week 11, for the fifth time, he achieved a game completion percentage of at least 80, which is the most by any player in an NFL season (minimum of 15 throw attempts per game).
Goff is the only player in his career to have at least 400 yards of throwing and a perfect passer rating, and this was the second time in his career that he has done it. Only five of these games have been played by all other players combined.
2) Taysom Hill’s performance helps the Saints win big. It took place. During the eleventh week, the “Taysom Hill Game.” NFL fans are exposed to the statistical aberration that is a peak Hill performance at least once a year, and twice if we’re lucky. A three-play stretch in the first quarter of New Orleans’ game against the Browns encapsulated Hill’s distinctiveness: On second down, the QB, RB, WR, TE, and ATH completed an 18-yard throw, promptly received a 3-yard pass, and then ran for a 10-yard touchdown.
Hill, who is a dual, nay, triple threat, finished with seven carries for 138 yards of rushing and three touchdowns, one of two passes for 18 yards and an interception, and eight of ten receptions for 50 yards. He might have sneaked in a few defensive and special teams snaps as well. (All right, according to Next Gen Stats, he did not play defence, but he did record 11 special teams snaps.) Hill’s passing, running, and receiving statistics can be combined in a variety of ways to make him stand out from the crowd, but here’s a straightforward one:
While there are a multitude of ways to combine Hill’s passing, rushing and receiving stats to put him in unique company, here is a simple one:
Hill is one of just two players since 1950 with at least 100 rushing yards, three rushing touchdowns and eight receptions in a game. On Sunday, he joined Hall of Fame running back LaDainian Tomlinson, who achieved those numbers in 2002 against the Broncos.
Just for fun — Hill also became the first player with three rushing touchdowns, 50 receiving yards and a passing interception since the Dallas Texans’ Frank Jackson (whose many positions Pro Football Reference lists as FL-FB-SE-WR-HB) did so in 1961 against the Broncos.
3) Bo Nix keeps getting better with his most impressive performance to date. Nix quietly became one of the league’s most productive quarterbacks after beginning his NFL career 0–2 with four interceptions and no touchdown passes. He has 14 passing touchdowns to just two interceptions since Week 3, the third-best ratio during that span behind Justin Herbert and Lamar Jackson (minimum five starts). Nix finished 28 of 33 for 307 yards, four touchdowns, and zero interceptions in the Broncos’ 38–6 thumping of the Falcons. He became the first rookie in NFL history to throw for at least four touchdowns and 300 yards while completing at least 80 percent of his throws.
4) Andrew Van Ginkel makes an impressive career for himself. One of the offseason’s most significant acquisitions, Van Ginkel’s reunion with Brian Flores in Minnesota has turned out to be a match made in heaven. (In 2019, when the Dolphins selected Van Ginkel, Flores was their head coach.) In a 23–13 victory over the Titans, the former fifth-round pick from Wisconsin recorded another multi-sack day, raising his season total to 8.0 sacks.
Van Ginkel is now the third player with at least 8.0 sacks and multiple pick-sixes in a season since sacks were first tabulated in 1982, following Terrell Suggs in 2008 and Hall of Famer Jason Taylor during his 2006 Defensive Player of the Year campaign.
5) Despite losing to the Dolphins, Brock Bowers continues to accumulate honours. Perhaps as a result of all the losses in Las Vegas, Bowers has not received the recognition he deserves for an incredible season, but his performance on Sunday is too good to ignore. With 13 receptions for 126 yards and a score against the Dolphins, the 21-year-old finished the day with the most receptions of any rookie tight end in NFL history. Bowers (706), who joined Odell Beckham Jr. (71) as the only players with at least 70 catches in their first 10 career games, became the first tight end in NFL history to achieve 700 receiving yards in his first 10 games.
He’s now had at least 90 yards receiving in four different contests, trailing only Mike Ditka (six in 1961) for the most performances with 90-plus receiving yards by a rookie tight end all time. Bowers (10) also tied Jeremy Shockey for the most 10-catch games by a rookie tight end all time. Look past all those season-long numbers and focus solely on his most recent receiving line — 13 catches, 126 receiving yards, one receiving touchdown — and you’ll find that he is the only rookie in the common draft era, regardless of position, to ever reach those thresholds in a single game.