Here's my quick review of everything we saw in Week 11 of the 2001 NFL season:
| TJ'S TOP 10 |
W-L |
TJ SAYS |
| 1. Steelers |
9-2 |
Black and Gold hold on for dear life against Vikings.
|
| 2. Rams |
9-2 |
Took care of the football and coasted at Atlanta.
|
| 3. 49ers |
9-2 |
Ran all over Bills on Sunday night.
|
| 4. Raiders |
8-3 |
Slumping defense caught up with them against Cards.
|
| 5. Packers |
8-3 |
Brett Favre does it again as Pack escape with a win.
|
| 6. Bears |
9-2 |
Another ugly and low-scoring win within division.
|
| 7. Jets |
7-4 |
Let the Pats hang around and it cost them dearly.
|
| 8. Dolphins |
8-3 |
Saved the best for last with 21 fourth-quarter points.
|
| 9. Ravens |
8-4 |
Defense shaky, but made timely plays when needed.
|
| 10t. Eagles |
7-4 |
Andy Reid's team continues to be road warriors (5-0).
|
| 10t. Patriots |
7-5 |
Huge road win for those very-for-real-Patriots.
|
Offensive player of the week:
Rams running back Marshall Faulk. Six catches for 128 yards and three touchdown receptions gives the versatile performer 100 career touchdowns.
Defensive player of the week:
Ravens free safety Rod Woodson. Clinched the 39-27 win over the Colts with an interception return for a score, his NFL-record 10th interception return for the future Hall of Famer.
Special team player(s) of the week:
The Gramatica Brothers: Buccaneers kicker Martin booted a 21-yard field goal in OT to beat the Bengals; Younger sibling/Cardinals rookie kicker Bill nailed a 36-yarder, also in overtime, to stun the Raiders.
Number of the week:
0. For the second straight year, no teams will go undefeated at home. Before 2000, that hadn't happened since 1994.
Surprise of the week:
Cardinals over Raiders. Jake Plummer and company survived a see-saw affair and stunned the Silver and Black in Oakland in overtime.
Coaching move of the week:
Dave Campo. The Cowboys heard all week that they would finally lose to the Redskins. But Dallas' brain trust stuck with their game-plan and extended their winning streak over Washington to nine straight.
Rising this week:
Arizona Cardinals. Three wins in a row and Dave McGinnis' team is now tied for second in the NFC East.
Falling this week:
Denver Broncos. The rollercoaster ride continues as Mike Shanahan's club owned a 10-0 lead in the fourth quarter, then gave up 21 unanswered points.
Store it away:
The Rams have gone turnover-free in only two games this year and have won them by a combined score of 77-16 (42-10 over Dolphins, 35-6 over Falcons). Mike Martz finally acknowledged that they needed to cut down on the mistakes and his team responded.
Tom Jackson is an NFL analyst for ESPN.
