The Denver Broncos beat the Minnesota Vikings 21-20 in an absolute thriller on Sunday Night Football, wrapping up a splendid day of NFL football.
Of course, the week isn't over until the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles wage war in a Super Bowl rematch on Monday night. That will have significant postseason implications at the top of the bracket.
For now, however, here is a look at how the postseason picture shapes up for both conferences — with the Vikings losing ground in the wild card race, and the Broncos making a surprising late-season push.
AFC playoff picture after Week 11 NFL games
1. Kansas City Chiefs (7-2)
2. Baltimore Ravens (8-3)
3. Jacksonville Jaguars (7-3)
4. Miami Dolphins (7-3)
5. Cleveland Browns (7-3)
6. Houston Texans (6-4)
7. Pittsburgh Steelers (6-4)
It was a significant day on the AFC postseason front. Jacksonville managed to stave off C.J. Stroud and the red-hot Texans with a dominant win over the Titans. The Dolphins got right back on track and bumped the Raiders further out of postseason contention.
Most notable, of course, was the Cleveland-Pittsburgh game — as hard as it was to watch. Dorian Thompson-Robinson did just enough to help the Browns' defense rule the day in a 13-10 win, moving Cleveland into sole possession of second place in the AFC North and into the top AFC wild card spot. The Steelers fall to the last wild card spot at 6-4, in a tight race with Houston.
We are getting close to Joe Flacco postseason football in 2023, folks. What a time to be alive.
AFC Wild Card standings after Week 11
1. Cleveland Browns (7-3)
2. Houston Texans (6-4)
3. Pittsburgh Steelers (6-4)
4. Buffalo Bills (6-5)
5. Indianapolis Colts (5-5)
5. Denver Broncos (5-5)
7. Cincinnati Bengals (5-5)
Russell Wilson has strung together a couple strong efforts now. Sean Payton and the Broncos caught a lot of well-deserved criticism early in the season, but Denver has some momentum at its back. Are the Broncos going to make the playoffs? We can't count it out...
NFC playoff picture after Week 11 NFL games
1. Philadelphia Eagles (8-1)
2. Detroit Lions (8-2)
3. San Francisco 49ers (7-3)
4. New Orleans Saints (5-5)
5. Dallas Cowboys (7-3)
6. Seattle Seahawks (6-4)
7. Minnesota Vikings (6-5)
The Vikings' loss moves them closer to the edge, but the NFC is a bit of a crapshoot beyond the top teams, so there's a cushion in place. Joshua Dobbs certainly wasn't terrible on SNF, and the Vikings will soon get Justin Jefferson back to boost the offense.
Philadelphia is generally not favored in tomorrow's matchup with Kansas City, so the battle for No. 1 with Detroit could get interesting. The 4-5 matchup between New Orleans and Dallas we're trending toward is peak comedy. The home team would be double-digit underdogs in that game.
NFC Wild Card standings after Week 11
1. Dallas Cowboys (7-3)
2. Seattle Seahawks (6-4)
3. Minnesota Vikings (6-5)
4. Green Bay Packers (4-6)
5. Los Angeles Rams (4-6)
6. Atlanta Falcons (4-6)
7. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-6)
The NFC South should be preserved and studied for scientific purposes. What a wonderfully mediocre division.
At this point, the Vikings simply need to play okay football the rest of the way. Josh Dobbs appears very much capable of reaching that level as the emergency QB, and Jefferson's return should help. The Packers, Rams, Falcons, and Bucs all feel like teams on the verge of falling apart, so the competition ain't stiff. It's basically a matter of keeping the NFC South runner-up at arm's length the rest of the way.
