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The eleventh week of the NFL season showed us who are pretenders and who are contenders. Top teams rolled to confident victories while bottom-dwellers floundered, and teams hoping to make their cases for the playoffs battled to hard-fought victories. It wasn’t particularly eventful, but the Rebels in the league were highlighted by a few standout performances.
Here is how they fared:
Offense
- D.K. Metcalf kicked off the weekend on Thursday Night Football and put together a strong performance after being held scoreless by Rams defensive back Jalen Ramsey last week. The man who was overlooked because of three cones lined up across from Patrick Peterson and hauled in three grabs for 46 yards and a score. He had the former LSU Tiger trippin’ all evening.
“Shuffle” or “Slide” release by DK Metcalf makes Patrick Peterson jump inside. Filthy release move. pic.twitter.com/oHVpOI8cae
— Brad Kelly (@BradKelly17) November 20, 2020
When he wasn’t burning him deep, Metcalf sauced em up with some fire feet.
Nasty pic.twitter.com/7Yt0uLhQsM
— Derrell Hart Jr., Pharm.D. (@Derrell_PharmD) November 20, 2020
He began the evening with a “get open” route for the game’s first points.
Nothing was stopping DK from getting open @dkm14 @Seahawks
— The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) November 20, 2020
#AZvsSEA on NFLN/FOX/PRIME VIDEO pic.twitter.com/oQaeiNMiet
Late in the game, things got chippy between the two teams and the Ole Miss alum got up in Dre Fitzpatrick’s grill. Imagine picking a fight with Metcalf....
Dre Kirkpatrick and D.K. Metcalf mixing it up pic.twitter.com/FSXRDUDtA3
— NFL on ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsNFL) November 20, 2020
Here’s one more, just for fun.
Let's look at a few clips between D.K. Metcalf and Patrick Peterson from last night.
— Johnny Kinsley (@Brickwallblitz) November 21, 2020
Jesus, DK..... pic.twitter.com/c4goHRAzAz
- The man who lined up aside him in college also had a big day. Arthur James had four catches for 72 yards and a score, but it was his utter strength that had people in awe. The YAC King continues to earn his crown and doesn’t go down.
AJ BROWN WILL NOT BE STOPPED!
— NFL (@NFL) November 22, 2020
: #TENvsBAL on CBS
: NFL app // Yahoo Sports app: https://t.co/XvGQdBFS2I pic.twitter.com/XOxSkEvimm
- A.J. and D.K. lead the league in broken tackles by a wide receiver. NO BIG DEAL!!
- Another nWo product found his way onto the box score on Sunday. New England signed Donte Moncrief early in November and he recorded his first catch as a Patriot in a close loss. Maybe they would have won if they fed him!
Donte Moncrief with a first-down catch. Had no idea he was in the league still. pic.twitter.com/3LZpaMfA5B
— Rivers McCown (@riversmccown) November 22, 2020
- Over in Indianapolis, the backfield continues to be a mystery. Jordan Wilkins burst onto the scene earlier this season but has seen his touches dwindle over the past few weeks. He had four touches for 21 yards and a catch for 15 yards.
Frank Reich with no love for fantasy owners out there: "We're gonna look at our three running backs as starters. I know it's frustrating for fantasy players, but it's just the way we're gonna roll."
— Zak Keefer (@zkeefer) November 23, 2020
The Jonathan Taylor/Nyheim Hines/Jordan Wilkins rotation worked on Sunday.
- At tight end, Evan Engram had a pair of catches for only 15 yards and Dawson Knox was on a bye up in Buffalo.
- On the line, Laremy Tunsil didn’t allow a sack in the win while Greg Little remained on the sideline waiting for the starting tackle spot to open up full-time.
Defense
- This week’s highlight comes from Houston. A.J. Moore is fully healthy and mixed into the defensive rotation for the Texans on a fairly high level. He took 25 snaps and recorded four solo tackles as the team’s primary safety! He will face C.J. for the first time in the NFL on Thanksgiving Thursday.
- Also in the secondary, Myles Hartsfield had a tackle for Carolina and Mike Hilton recorded a tackle in a very limited role after returning from an injury. Hilton’s presence in Pittsburgh’s secondary cannot be understated, he is an impact-maker.
- For the Panthers, it was not just Hartsfield that got involved. Marquis Haynes is slowly becoming a prominent figure in the linebacking core and took 28 snaps at OLB in Carolina’s confident win over a lowly Detroit squad. He had two tackles and came up with a fumble. The offense scored on the following drive, and points off an Ole Miss forced turnover is something we love to see!
.@MarquisHaynes98 was on it pic.twitter.com/ifehx1mA6l
— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) November 22, 2020
- For the second-straight week, Christian Wilkins was inactive for Tampa Bay, leaving the door open for big Benito Jones to get in on the defensive line. He drew a lot of attention from guard-center double teams, which opened up the rest of the front seven to get involved, but Jones did record a tackle.