There was a lot to learn from Week 11 of the NFL slate on Sunday, as teams like the Rams, Broncos and Eagles all established themselves as Super Bowl contenders and remained at two losses with impressive victories.
On the other side of the coin, the Seahawks, Chargers and many others. ended up on the list of losers from Week 11. Now, with just seven weeks to go in the regular season, the playoff picture is starting to take shape.
Who came out on top and made it on the list of winners? Let's dive into it.
Josh Allen makes MVP statement
Coming into Week 11, a lot of the talk regarding the NFL MVP race was surrounding three names: Matthew Stafford, Drake Maye and Jonathan Taylor. Josh Allen had largely been pushed to the side due to a frustrating loss to the Dolphins.
In Week 11, Stafford had a tough day against a very good Seahawks defense, Maye played on Thursday night and Taylor's Colts were on bye. That left the stage wide open for Allen to re-enter the conversation, and he did not disappoint.
The reigning NFL MVP scored six total touchdowns in a 44-32 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to keep the Bills in the race in the AFC East. He dominated both with his arm and his legs after throwing an ugly interception early in the game and looked like the best player in football once again.
If Allen can continue to play at that level, the Bills will certainly find themselves in the playoffs, whether they can close the ground in the division or not. He will also be right there down the stretch in the MVP discussion with more games like Sunday's.
Eagles defense morphing into an elite unit
The Eagles were a bit underwhelming on both sides of the ball during the first half of the season. Nick Sirianni and company still were finding ways to win, but there were clear flaws on both sides of the ball.
The offensive struggles have persisted and been the louder of the two units, but the defense has quietly started to round into form recently. Philly now has given up less than 10 points in back-to-back games against playoff-caliber teams in the Packers and the Lions.
Trade deadline addition Jaelan Phillips has been one of the best edge rushers in the NFL since coming to the Eagles from the Miami Dolphins, and that looks like a potentially transformative move for this defense. Adoree' Jackson is playing much better on the outside, Quinyon Mitchell may be a First Team All-Pro this season, and Howie Roseman has built arguably the best linebacker core in football.
The offense still has a ways to go before getting to the level it was at when it won the Super Bowl last season, but the defense looks like it is getting closer and closer to that level.
Broncos take command in AFC West
Despite an 8-2 start to the season, questions still surrounded the Denver Broncos heading into Sunday's game against the Kansas City Chiefs. Was the offense good enough to compete for a Super Bowl? Is Bo Nix the guy in Denver? Just how real is this Broncos team?
Some of those questions may still remain, but the question of whether the Chiefs' reign atop the AFC West is getting closer and closer to getting an answer. At the moment, it looks like the answer is yes after the Broncos beat the Chiefs 22-19 in Denver.
Now, the Broncos are sitting at 9-2 heading into their bye week while the Chiefs are just 5-5. At this point, Kansas City is just about out of the division race and its playoff hopes are in peril.
Coming out of the week off, Denver's sights will shift to the race for the No. 1 seed and home-field advantage in the AFC come playoff time. The Colts, Patriots and Broncos are all sitting with two losses and will battle it out for that spot over the back half of the season.
Bryce Young bounces back
Every time you think you know what Bryce Young is all about, he proves you wrong. Coming into this season, it felt like Young had done enough during the back half of last season to provide optimism that he could be the franchise guy in Carolina. However, nothing about the first half of this season suggested that he should be the starter in 2026.
Coming into Week 11, most of the general public was out on Young as a franchise quarterback. He simply responded by breaking the Panthers' franchise record for passing yards in a game with 448 in a 30-27 win over the Falcons in overtime.
Now, the Panthers have very quietly gotten to 6-5 and are right in the middle of the wild card race and the chase for the NFC South with just six games left to play. Carolina will get to show off its stuff to the rest of the NFL on a national stage in Week 12 when it takes on the San Francisco 49ers on Monday Night Football, and it can move its playoff dreams closer to reality with a win.
The conversation about whether Young can be a franchise quarterback is still a legitimate one, but it's time to table it until the offseason. For now, Young and company are chasing a spot in the postseason.
