In Week 11, NFL fans witnessed epic comebacks and victories based on a pure desire to triumph. We saw Matthew Stafford and the Lions pull out another big comeback win, Tony Romo and the Cowboys defeat the Redskins in overtime, and finally Tim Tebow improved to 4-1 as a starter in the weeks biggest upset over the N.Y. Jets.
Lions 49, Panthers 35
Behind Matthew Stafford’s five touchdown passes and Kevin Smith’s 140 rushing yards, the Detroit Lions improved to 7-3 on the season as they came back to defeat Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers.
As the score clearly indicates, this was an offensive battle throughout the game. The Panthers appeared to have clear control of this game, but as they have done on more than one occasion this season, the Lions came out of half time and made a great comeback to pull out the win.
The Panthers scored three touchdowns in the first half in three different ways. The Panthers got on the scoreboard first with an Olindo Mare 27-yard field goal followed by a 15-yard touchdown pass from Cam Newton to Steve Smith to round out the scoring for the first quarter. The Panthers led 10-0 after one period.
The Lions finally got into the scoring action early in the second quarter as Kevin Smith caught a 28-yard touchdown pass from Matthew Stafford. However, shortly after, Kealoha Pilares returned the kickoff 101-yards to give the Panthers a 17-7 lead. The Lions would later add a 3-yard touchdown pass from Stafford to Titus Young to account for the 14 points they put up in the second quarter.
The Panthers used an 11-yard touchdown run from Cam Newton and an Olindo Mare 31-yard field goal as time in the half expired to take a 27-14 lead into halftime.
After halftime, the game was dominated by the Lions. They put up 14 points in the second quarter via a 16-yard touchdown pass from Stafford to Nate Burleson and a 17-yard pass from Stafford to Scheffler. The Lions took a 28-27 lead into the fourth quarter.
Detroit put up its third straight touchdown early in the fourth quarter as Kevin Smith had another touchdown run, this time for 4-yards, to take a 35-27 lead.
Cam Newton did bounce the Panthers back with a 6-yard touchdown pass to Steve Smith and a two-point conversion to Smith as well to tie the game at 35.
However, the Lions put the game away with two unanswered touchdowns to close out the game. Matthew Stafford threw a 7-yard pass to Brandon Pettigrew and Kevin Smith ran in a 19-yard touchdown score to put the game out of reach.
The Lions will look to stay hot coming off their win when they take on the undefeated Green Bay Packers on Thanksgiving Day. The Panthers will attempt to get their third win of the season next week against the winless Indianapolis Colts.
Dallas 27, Washington 24
The Dallas Cowboys used stellar play by quarterback Tony Romo to pick up an overtime win against their division rival in the Washington Redskins.
The Cowboys struck first as Romo got it going early with a 22-yard touchdown pass to Dez Bryant. This rounded out the scoring for the first quarter as the Cowboys defense shut down the Redskins.
Early in the second quarter the Cowboys added a 37-yard field goal from Dan Bailey to take a 10-0 lead for Romo in company. However, this lead was short lived.
The Redskins finally got on the scoreboard late in the second quarter through a 4-yard touchdown run from their quarterback Rex Grossman. Seconds before halftime, the Redskins added another touchdown through a 16-yard scoring pass from Grossman to Jabar Gaffney. The Redskins took a 14-10 lead into halftime.
The only scoring in the third quarter was a field goal from Graham Gano for the Redskins. Romo and the Cowboys bounced back when he threw two touchdown passes; one of which was a 7-yard pass to red-hot Laurent Robinson and the other to Jason Witten for 59-yards.
Behind these two touchdown passes, the Cowboys took a 24-17 lead midway through the fourth quarter.
However, the Redskins had a chance late in the game to force Overtime. Rex Grossman and company did just that. The Redskins drove the field and with 14 seconds left, Grossman threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Donte Stallworth to force OT.
However, in OT, the Cowboys persevered and used a 39-yard Dan Bailey field goal to win the game. The Cowboys hope to get their seventh win of the season next week when they take on the Miami Dolphins.The Redskins hope to end their six game losing streak in Week 12 against the Seattle Seahawks.
Denver 17, N.Y Jets 13
Despite the criticisms, Tim Tebow yet again pulled out another unexpected win.
In a dramatic upset, Tebow and the Broncos pulled through late in the game to come out with the victory.
This was primarily a defensive matchup as there was not much scoring.
In the first half, the Broncos and Jets only combined for a field goal each coming from Matt Prater and Nick Folk.
The Jets finally got on the scoreboard early in the fourth quarter, but not through the offense. The Jets recovered a fumble for 1-yard and got in the end zone to take a 10-3 lead.
However, shortly after, the Broncos answered back with their own defensive score. Andre Goodman intercepted a pass from Mark Sanchez and took it 26-yards for the score.
The Jets used a 45-yard Nick Folk field goal to give them a 13-10 lead for the game.
But, Tim Tebow not only emotionally sparked the Broncos, but used his own perseverance to motivate his teammates and lead Denver to an improbably win.
Against a solid Jets defense, Tim Tebow lead the Broncos on a 95-yard drive capped off by a 20-yard touchdown run, by Tebow, with under a minute to go in the game.
The Broncos have improved to 4-1 under Tebow and will look to continue their winning ways against the San Diego Chargers in Week 12. The Jets will look to end a two game losing streak against the Buffalo Bills next week.
A Look at Week 12
NFL fans have a great week of football coming up over this Thanksgiving weekend. Generally I suggest three games to watch, but there are so many good games slated for Week 12 that I just suggest that every fan of football tune in to all the games they can and enjoy the holiday weekend with some NFL football.
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