Some of the NFL’s biggest stars lit up the galaxy in Week 11. But we here at Pro Football Network celebrate names big, small, and in between.
So yes, as we hand out Game Balls for NFL Week 11, Josh Allen, Matthew Stafford, and Saquon Barkley get their due. But so do the likes of Karl Brooks, Payton Wilson, and Ladd McConkey.
Philadelphia Eagles | Saquon Barkley, RB
Are we seeing the best of Saquon Barkley in Year 7?
The Eagles running back in Week 11 topped 100 yards rushing for the fourth time in five weeks, going for 146 on 26 carries in a 26-18 Thursday night victory over the Washington Commanders.
Barkley’s two fourth-quarter touchdowns (23 and 39 yards) came just 20 seconds apart and turned a close game into a comfortable Philadelphia win.
Barkley leads the NFL with 1,347 scrimmage yards and is on pace to set a career high in that category (Barkley had a league-best 2,028 in 2018, a 16-game season).
It’s fair to wonder where the Eagles’ offense would be without him; even with Barkley’s heroics, they rank just 14th in PFN’s OFF+ (76.2, C grade).
Green Bay Packers | Karl Brooks, DL
How does a rotation defensive lineman who had just two tackles (and none for loss) get a game ball?
Because without Karl Brooks and his left hand, the Packers would probably be 6-4 entering Week 12 instead of 7-3. Brooks got just enough of Cairo Santos’ 46-yard field-goal attempt at the gun to preserve the Packers’ 20-19 victory.
THE FG IS BLOCKED FOR THE WIN!#GBvsCHI pic.twitter.com/zdxGIdJyZI
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) November 17, 2024
Turns out, Packers special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia called his shot.
“Rich challenged us to get a block, so I took it personally,” Brooks said postgame. “I wanted to go out there and get that block. I wanted to do that for Coach Rich.”
Because Brooks is 6’3″ and not 6’2″, the Packers kept pace with the Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings in a loaded NFC North and are now 83.7% to reach the postseason, per PFN’s Playoff Predictor.
Detroit Lions | Ben Johnson, OC
Ben Johnson was already among the hottest names in the 2025 head coach hiring cycle, but he probably will get a blank check from someone after the Lions put up 52 for the second time in four weeks.
Detroit could do no wrong on offense in Sunday’s humiliation of the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Lions’ stats in Week 11 were video game-esque: 645 yards of offense (8.5 per play), 38 first downs, 13.6 yards per pass, and touchdowns on all five red-zone trips.
Johnson has unlocked the best in Goff, whose 97.2 QB+ rating was by far the best of Week 11 and whose 1.04 EPA per dropback was the best of any NFL quarterback this season.
Miami Dolphins | Jonnu Smith, TE
A wild stat from the Dolphins:
Jonnu Smith on Sunday became the only Miami tight end to have 100 or more receiving yards and two touchdown catches in the same game since the 1970 NFL/AFL merger.
Smith set a career-high total in Week 11 with 101 receiving yards — the majority of which came on a game-sealing 57-yard touchdown catch and run. It was one of a team-high 11 receiving first downs Smith has had on the season.
He was a big reason why the Dolphins kept alive their faint playoff hopes (22.2% as of Monday, per the Playoff Predictor).
Los Angeles Rams | Matthew Stafford, QB
The Rams’ Week 10 loss to the Dolphins looks more like a hiccup than a red flag after Matthew Stafford torched the New England Patriots for 295 yards and four touchdowns in a 28-22 Week 11 victory.
Yardage of Stafford’s touchdowns, in chronological order: 5 (to Cooper Kupp), 12 (to Puka Nacua), 69 (to Kupp), and 19 (to Colby Parkinson).
It was the second time in four weeks Stafford has thrown four touchdowns and the 17th time in his career.
Ahead of Monday night’s game, it was the fourth-best quarterback performance of the week per QB+ (83.6) and a big reason why the Rams (winners of four out of five games) had the fourth-highest OFF+ rating of the weekend (87.8).
New Orleans Saints | Taysom Hill, ATH
Sunday was peak Taysom Hill.
The Saints’ Mr. Everything did it all in New Orleans’ 35-14 victory over the Cleveland Browns.
He led the Saints in rushing (138 yards, with a 19.7 yards per attempt average), touchdowns (three), and catches (eight for 50 yards).
Hill also threw two passes (completing one for 18 yards), returned a kickoff 42 yards, and even chipped in as the team’s personal punt protector. He lined up at five different offensive positions Sunday and also logged 11 special-teams snaps.
Ridiculous.
Taysom Hill is one of one.
– 3 TDs
– 138 rushing yards
– 50 receiving yards
– 18 passing yards
– 42 kick return yards pic.twitter.com/ef3ia7k35V— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) November 17, 2024
Indianapolis Colts | Anthony Richardson, QB
The Colts won’t be benching Anthony Richardson again any time soon — not after his gut-check performance in Indianapolis’ 28-27 victory over the New York Jets.
In his first game back after a two-week demotion, Richardson had arguably his best game as a pro. Richardson set or tied career-high marks in QB+ (83.2), passing yards (272), passer rating among games with five or more attempts (106.5), and rushing touchdowns (2).
Richardson’s final touchdown — a four-yard run with 46 seconds left in regulation — put the Colts ahead for good and capped a six-play, 70-yard drive. The key play on that possession? A 39-yard deep pass to Alec Pierce at the two-minute warning.
Pittsburgh Steelers | Payton Wilson, LB
A franchise with a rich history of linebacker play might have never had one make a play quite like the one Payton Wilson did Sunday, considering the time of the game, the stakes, and the degree of difficulty.
In the game book, the play at the 8:24 mark of the fourth quarter has a pretty anodyne description: L.Jackson pass deep left intended for J.Hill INTERCEPTED by P.Wilson at PIT 36.
But it was so much more than that. Wilson got screened at the start of the play, so his back was to Lamar Jackson the entire time as he chased Justice Hill on a wheel route.
Jackson’s pass was on target, but when it neared Hill’s grasp, Wilson instinctively raised his right hand and ripped it away for the rookie’s first career interception.
“I wasn’t looking,” Wilson told reporters postgame. “I was chasing him on the wheel route. Once you go under a pick route, you’re in chase mode. Once his hands went up, I went through his hands and the ball happened to be there. I took it from him.”
PAYTON WILSON RIPS IT AWAY. WILD @STEELERS INT.
📺: #BALvsPIT on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO8ZBqG pic.twitter.com/lisvTk1lt7— NFL (@NFL) November 17, 2024
Minnesota Vikings | Andrew Van Ginkel, OLB
Poor Will Levis will probably be seeing Brian Flores’ pass rush in his nightmares the next few nights.
Vikings defenders totaled five sacks and 20 pressures in 161 combined pass-rush snaps in Minnesota’s 23-13 Week 11 victory over the Tennessee Titans.
And no one was more effective than Andrew Van Ginkel, who continues to flourish in the Twin Cities.
Van Ginkel, per TruMedia, had five pressures, four quarterback hits, and one hurry in just 16 pass-rush snaps (for a staggering 31.3% pressure rate).
Van Ginkel also had two sacks and three tackles for loss in Week 11. On the year, Van Ginkel has 27 pressures, eight sacks, and two defensive touchdowns.
Denver Broncos | Bo Nix, QB
Talk your talk, Broncos fans. You deserve it after screaming at PFN for the last few weeks that our QB+ undervalues rookie QB Bo Nix.
No matter what metric you use, Nix was excellent in Sunday’s 38-6 beatdown of the Atlanta Falcons in Week 11.
The 2024 NFL Draft’s 12th overall pick threw a career-best four touchdowns and topped 300 yards for the first time of his career.
Nix completed 28 of 33 and averaged a whopping 11.7 adjusted yards per attempt to lead the Broncos to their sixth win in nine games.
As for his controversial QB+ rating? 86.1, the NFL’s third-best score in Week 11 through Sunday’s games.
Seattle Seahawks | Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR
Ten catches on 11 targets for 110 yards is a good day’s work against any team, but doubly so against a division rival who had beaten you six straight times.
So hats off to the Seattle Seahawks in general, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba in particular, for going on the road and upsetting the San Francisco 49ers 20-17 Sunday.
He has emerged as Geno Smith’s go-to target in his second NFL season, leading the Seahawks through 11 weeks in catches (60) and receiving yards (678).
Smith-Njigba didn’t do anything spectacular Sunday, but the Seahawks’ offense wouldn’t have functioned without him. He had three catches, including two on third downs, that set up Smith’s 13-yard touchdown run on Seattle’s game-winning drive.
Buffalo Bills | Josh Allen, QB
The MVP race tightened considerably because Josh Allen nearly single-handedly beat the NFL’s last unbeaten team.
Allen wasn’t perfect — his 81.1 game QB+ ranked just 76th among all NFL quarterbacks in 2024 — but he was the best player on the field in the Bills’ 30-21 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 11.
Allen’s signature moment? His 26-yard touchdown rumble on 4th-and-2 late in the fourth quarter that put the game on ice.
JOSH. ALLEN. GREATNESS.
📺: #KCvsBUF on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO8ZBqG pic.twitter.com/3HyIoDCaAC— NFL (@NFL) November 18, 2024
On the afternoon, Allen completed 27 of 40 attempts for 262 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. He also led all Bills players with 55 rushing yards on 12 carries.
As of Monday morning, Allen, not Lamar Jackon, was the betting favorite for MVP (+150).
Los Angeles Chargers | Ladd McConkey, WR
When the wheels got wobbly for Justin Herbert Sunday night night, Ladd McConkey kept the Los Angeles Chargers on track.
The Chargers’ decisive 84-yard touchdown drive in the final minute of L.A.’s 34-27 win over the Cincinnati Bengals almost certainly would not have happened without McConkey’s two clutch catches — the first for 28 yards, and the second for 27.
On the night, McConkey had a team-best 123 yards on six receptions, giving the 2024 NFL Draft’s 34th overall pick 43 catches for 615 yards and four touchdowns on the year.
When Herbert targeted anyone but McConkey Sunday, he completed just 40.7% of his passes and averaged 6.1 yards per attempt.
Houston Texans | Danielle Hunter, DE
Nothing cures what ails a defense like a game against the 2024 Dallas Cowboys.
The Houston Texans gave the Cowboys the horns on national TV, roughing up and frustrating Cooper Rush for four quarters to snap a streak of eight straight games of allowing 20 or more points.
Certainly, there were several worthy candidates for this honor, starting with Derek Barnett (who had a sack and a defensive touchdown), but no one was consistently more impactful than Danielle Hunter, who had a sick stat line: Two sacks, three quarterback hits, three tackles for loss, and a pass defensed.
With the Titans and Jaguars in the next two weeks, the good times should just be starting for Houston.