To this point in the 2023 NFL season, we have had some teams surprise us, either by winning or losing.
Week 11 should be similar with battles between seemingly evenly matched teams. That starts with a Thursday Night Football matchup between two divisional foes, the Baltimore Ravens against the Cincinnati Bengals, which is sure to be the most exciting Thursday night game in a while. Capping off the Week 11 action is a rematch of Super Bowl, the Philadelphia Eagles against the Kansas City Chiefs.
However, the bye weeks continue and four teams won't be in action in Week 11 as they get the week off.
NFL Week 11 Byes: Four teams off this week
- Atlanta Falcons (4-6)
- Indianapolis Colts (5-5)
- New England Patriots (2-8)
- New Orleans Saints (5-5)
The Indianapolis Colts will arguably be the hottest team going into the bye week, squeezing out a 10-6 win across the pond in Frankfurt, though they struggled on offense, only scoring 10 points on the back of 264 yards of total offense. In Week 12, the Colts will clash with another team coming off a Week 10 win, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
However, their opponent, the New England Patriots will enter the bye week pondering more questions than they had answered in the abysmal loss. The team will now decide if they will part ways with long-time head coach Bill Belichick. Following his decision to bench Mac Jones in favor of Bailey Zappe on the last drive of the game, the Patriots will also need to make a decision as to who their starter will be moving forward. In Week 12, the Patriots will play fellow two-win team, the New York Giants.
The Atlanta Falcons will be another team asking themselves questions following their 25-23 loss against the Arizona Cardinals, a previously one-win team. In a game where both quarterbacks played and Bijan Robinson shined, Arthur Smith will now have to reflect on who he will start in the future and ponder the question: Is it time to fully release Bijan? The Falcons will take on their division rival, the Saints, in Week 12.
The Saints' nightmares were fully realized Sunday when they faced a 24-3 deficit entering the third quarter and a Derek Carr injury. With Jameis Winston now at the helm, the Saints managed to chip into the lead, but ultimately fell short, losing 27-19 against the Minnesota Vikings. Now they will evaluate the severity of Carr's injury to decide how to proceed.
