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Dallas Cowboys in turmoil and Kansas City to go unbeaten? NFL Week 11 preview

Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys lament a lost season, with the amazing stats showing why, and can the Chiefs go unbeaten the rest of the way?

NFL Week 11 Preview with NFL Straya

Week 10 delivered one of the most fun NFL slates of the season, with more drama than an episode of ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ crossed with ‘Hard Knocks’ and a bit of ‘This Is Us’ and maybe ‘Game of Thrones’ thrown in for good measure.

The Dallas Cowboys were once again killed at home - this time by a division foe in the Eagles - and Jerry Jones was forced to defend why he built a football stadium boasting windows that let in enough sun to blind his own players.

That was before star defensive lineman Micah Parsons appeared to take shots at under-fire coach Mike McCarthy.

Good times in big-D.

Chicago fell apart at home against the woeful Pats and subsequently fired OC Shane Waldron, but still look without answers as quarterback and last year’s number one pick Caleb Williams looks short on confidence.

New Orleans rode first-week interim coach Darren Rizzi to a win, Indianapolis’ playoff push under Joe Flacco slipped to 0-2 and they’ll now turn back to Anthony Richardson, while the Panthers upset the Giants in Germany for their first win streak since the start of the 2021 season.

Plus, Jared Goff threw five interceptions, but the Detroit Lions managed to come back and beat the Houston Texans with a last-second field goal.

Oh. And the Kansas City Chiefs stayed unbeaten at 9-0 thanks to blocking Denver’s attempted walk-off game-winning field goal.

Remarkable.

As is the fact that McCarthy is still in charge of the Cowboys: they have a total of 6 points scored in the third quarter of all their home games this season, and have lost their four home games by a combined 153-59 score line. Or, roughly, 38-15 per game.

Across the season, Dallas kicker Brandon Aubrey has scored 79 of the team’s 177 total points.

Still, 10 weeks in this NFL season is reliably chaotic: coaches like McCarthy in Dallas, Matt Eberflus in Chicago and Doug Pederson in Jacksonville are all copping plenty of heat, but the playoff picture is beginning to take shape, if only because there are still a ridiculous 11 teams with three wins or fewer.

Detroit sits atop the NFC at 8-1 with Philadelphia close behind at 7-2 riding its much-improved Vic Fangio defence, while the AFC contenders are a familiar bunch: KC at 9-0, as well as 8-2 Buffalo, and the AFC north pairing of Pittsburgh (7-1) and Baltimore (7-3).

All five of those teams sit in the top 8 of total DVOA, with Minnesota, San Francisco and Washington also making themselves heard, which is reflected in the standings: the Vikings are also 7-2, the Commanders are 7-3 and the getting-healthy Niners have won two straight and sit 5-4 with Christian McCaffrey now back on the field.

Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs. Picture: Jamie Squire/Getty Images
Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs. Picture: Jamie Squire/Getty Images

The Super Bowl odds currently have the Chiefs slightly favoured ahead of the Lions, which makes sense: the Chiefs are 9-0 and have an incredible chance to go through the season unbeaten if they can get past Buffalo this week.

KC take on the Bills, then face Carolina, Las Vegas, the Chargers and Browns, before a tough close to the regular season in hosting Houston, then visiting both Pittsburgh and Denver.

Amazingly, bar the Bills game, the Chiefs are currently favoured in ALL of their remaining outings.

Could Kansas City become the first team since the 2007 Patriots - and only the third team in the Super Bowl era - to go unbeaten in the regular season?

Following a Week 10 that saw a raft of upsets – or closer-than-expected games that allowed underdogs to cover the point spread – favourites are now winning only at a 52% clip across the season, while total point over-unders are almost even, overs hitting at 51% and unders at 49% for the year.

Week 11, however, offers up an exceptionally tasty slate of games for rivalry week, beginning with an unreal divisional matchup for Thursday Night Football between NFC East foes Washington and Philadelphia, and a slew of fun classic rivalries across the weekend. Green Bay takes on Chicago, the Seahawks and Niners play a huge NFC West game, while a battle for the AFC North between the Steelers and Ravens will be as brutal as usual.

The two cherries on top will be Kansas City paying a visit to Buffalo to renew the Patrick Mahomes-Josh Allen rivalry, while Sunday Night Football also offers up a great Cincinnati-LA Chargers game.

Mercifully the Giants and Panthers join the Bucs and Cards on byes.

Jaymz Clements from NFL Straya previews Week 11 of the 2024 NFL season above, breaking down all the games for the weekend ahead, showcasing just what’s ahead for NFL fans.

As for the Aussie NFL players, Jordan Mailiata of the Eagles will look to come off IR in the near future, while Baltimore’s Daniel Faalele has been impressive the past few weeks breaking open opponent lines for Derrick Henry to truck through, while the bevvy of Aussie punters – Mitch Wishnowsky, Michael Dickson, Matthew Hayball and Tory Taylor – are all continuing excellent seasons.

Aussie NFL fans have a terrific Week 11 slate to dig into, so watch the NFL Straya breakdown above to see who should win and why.

Will 9-0 Kansas City remain undefeated against rival contenders Buffalo?

Who wins the battle for the AFC North between Baltimore and Pittsburgh?

Can the Niners keep up winning ways against the Seahawks?

Can Philly move further ahead in the NFC East with a win over Jayden Daniels and

Find out with NFL Straya’s NFL Week 11 preview and in the breakdown above.

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NFL WEEK 10 SCHEDULE

FRIDAY 12.15am AEDT

Washington @ Philadelphia

MONDAY 5am AEDT

LA Rams @ NE Patriots

Green Bay @ Chicago

Jacksonville @ Detroit

Minnesota @ Tennessee

Las Vegas @ Miami

Cleveland @ New Orleans

Indianapolis @ NY Jets

Baltimore @ Pittsburgh

MONDAY 8.05am AEDT

Atlanta @ Denver

Seattle @ San Francisco

MONDAY 8.25am AEDT

Kansas City @ Buffalo

MONDAY 12.20pm AEDT

Cincinnati @ LA Chargers

TUESDAY 12.15pm AEDT

Houston @ Dallas

Byes: Arizona, Carolina, NY Giants, Tampa Bay

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Originally published as Dallas Cowboys in turmoil and Kansas City to go unbeaten? NFL Week 11 preview

Original URL: https://www.themercury.com.au/sport/american-sports/dallas-cowboys-in-turmoil-and-kansas-city-to-go-unbeaten-nfl-week-11-preview/news-story/aa59ff1203420de223f46725d283da28