Conclusions after Week 11 - The Playoff Picture strating to assemble

The early playoff picture is starting to take shape and there are still two unbeaten teams, the New England Patriots and the Carolina Panthers. It's quite a feat when you consider that the Panthers had been written off at the start of the season and the Patriots have an ever increasing injury report.

 

The Cardinals and the Bengals showed that they're for real in an impressive head to head. It was Carson Palmer who made his case for player of the week with an impressive second half showing through the air. Thanks to Palmer the Cardinals pulled off the win, 31-34.

 

The Falcons continue their free fall with a loss to the Colts who started Matt Hasselback at quarterback. The Eagles continue to have an inconsistent season as they were demolished 45-17 by first overall pick Jameis Winston. Winston looked ridiculously good for a rookie as he threw five different touchdowns to five different players!

 

Denver travelled to Chicago with untested QB Brock Osweller. He had a strong showing and may be the successor to future Hall of Famer Peyton Manning. Osweller did a pretty good job against Chicago and will get at least two more games to show that he is for real.

 

London has proved to be somewhat of a talisman for the Chiefs. They have carried on their good form and move into playoff contention with a win against the terrible San Diego Chargers, who look like they are firmly in the hunt for the number one overall pick. This week Dontari Poe became the heaviest player to score a touchdown as he rumbled in from a yard out.

 

The Blaine train came off the rails against the Seahawks but the 49ers will continue to see what they have in Blaine Gabbert, especially now that they have put Colin Kaepernick on IR. If Gabbert plays well he's likely to secure a job for next year at the very least. At worst he becomes the short term answer to their quarterback problem.