NFL 2021: Notes, Quotes and Colts For Week 11

Happy Thanksgiving. Week 12 begins with a Turkey Day tripleheader. Meanwhile, it’s the latest edition of “Notes, Quotes and Colts,” yet another collaboration from pfgVIBE co-founders Julie Voigt and Russell S. Baxter. We take a look around the league. And the surging Indianapolis Colts are now above .500 mark via a resounding road victory over Buffalo Bills. And the surprises around the league continued.

Notes

Blankety…Blank, Blank

Last Thursday night at Atlanta, the New England Patriots rolled the Atlanta Falcons, 25-0. One week earlier at Lambeau Field, the Green Bay Packers shut out the Seattle Seahawks, 17-0. Earlier this year, the Buffalo Bills held both the Buffalo Bills and Houston Texans scoreless. And in Week 3 at Denver, the Broncos beat the Jets, 26-0. That is a total of five shutouts in 11 weeks this season, one more than in both the 2019 and 2020 NFL seasons (4).

Close…and the Cigar

It’s safe to say that Mike Zimmer’s Purple Gang has been a fun watch. Especially if you like close games. Back in Week 3, the Minnesota Vikings hosted the Seattle Seahawks and came away with a 30-17 victory. That happens to be the only game this season involving Zimmer’s club that wasn’t decided by seven points or less. There have been three overtime affairs (1-2 record), a one-point loss at Arizona and a point differential of plus-13 (255-242).

Indianapolis (Above) .500

It took 11 weeks. But a team that finished 11-5 a year ago and captured a wild card berth now sits at 6-5 and is on the move upwards. The Indianapolis Colts lost their first three games this season. But Frank Reich’s club has now won six of their last eight contests and come off a 41-15 rout of the Bills at Buffalo. If the Colts do manage to reach the postseason, they would be just the seventh club in NFL annals to qualify for the playoffs after a 0-3 start.

Around FPC

NFL: Matt Judon Leading Patriots Defensive Resurgence

NFL: Bucs Notes: Tampa Looks To Snap Two-Game Losing Skid

NFL: Colts: Jonathan Taylor Building On His 2020 Strong Finish

NHL: You Don’t Understand Why the Islanders’ New Arena Is Such a Big Deal

Wrestling: WWE Releases More Wrestlers, Including John Morrison & Hit Row

PODCAST: Full Press NFL Podcast Ep 20: Will The Patriots Win The AFC East? Week 11 Picks and Predictions

Quotes

“That’s the frustrating part. It’s hard enough to beat good teams, but when you’re sitting there handing them things, and I am talking about the pre-snap stuff, those self-inflicting wounds…That’s what the Patriots have feasted on for 20-plus years. That’s what’s frustrating.”

Atlanta Falcons head coach Arthur Smith following his team’s 25-0 home loss to the New England Patriots

“It was a win for us, obviously, but it wasn’t a perfect game, so there’s still stuff to clean up,” Taylor said. “I mean, we’ll do that, but like I mentioned to you guys last week, and like, we spoke in the locker room and in our team meetings, 1-0 mindset, we got to continue to keep taking that for the rest of the season.”

Houston Texans’ quarterback Tyrod Taylor following the team’s 22-13 win at Tennessee

Colts

The Indianapolis Colts brought more than the juice to Orchard Park in Week 11 during their dominating win over the Buffalo Bills. It was a complete 41-15 victory over the defending AFC East champions. And one particular running back led the stampede via five touchdowns.

It was none other than Jonathan Taylor, who is not only making a name for himself the second-year pro may be ready to enter the NFL MVP discussion. He was named the AFC’s Offensive Player of the Week and currently leads all league players when it comes to Pro Bowl votes by the fans. And Taylor is now the very first player in NFL annals to run for 175-plus yards, rush for four or more touchdowns and also manage a scoring reception in a single contest.

In Week 12, the Colts will face another playoff contender in Tom Brady and the defending Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers.