NFL over/underreactions: Week 11

With 11 weeks in the books, things have now become evident in the NFL. Certain teams and players have proved early doubters wrong, while others have created new ones.

As reality hits players, coaches, and teams, many will feel more confident than others. In evaluating Week 11, here are some of our biggest takeaways after this past weekend:

Carlin, Underreaction: The Pittsburgh Steelers have the No. 1 defense in the league.

The black and gold have a top-10 defense in the league if all you do is look at the stats. However, those don’t always tell the whole story.

While the Steelers couldn't find the end zone against the Baltimore Ravens, they still managed to win off six field goals from Chirs Boswell. That couldn't happen without the stout defense Pittsburgh has.

Baltimore has the No. 1 offense in the league, averaging 430.1 yards and 30.4 points each game. It didn't even come close to reaching those numbers.

The Ravens only found 329 yards and were held to a mere 16 points, which isn’t normal for them.

It also isn't normal for them to concede three turnovers (two fumbles and one interception), one of which came from “The King” Derrick Henry on the second play of the game.

To put that in perspective, he hasn't fumbled since Week 15 of 2022.

Pittsburgh makes up a third of those turnovers (3-of-9).

Being able to control the game against one of the best teams in the league deserves some recognition.

Dominick, Overreaction: Tyreek Hill has fallen off.

Tyreek Hill can still run upwards of 22 miles per hour. When you have that type of speed in your back pocket, you have not fallen off, simply put.

Hill has struggled with injury this season, despite taking the field every game. Namely, his wrist injury will require surgery, which Hill is putting off until the offseason. His minor injuries have without a doubt hampered his play so far.

He remains one of the top wide receivers in the game despite a major dip in production so far this year. He’s been unable to receive the number of targets per game that he received last year, dropping from just under eleven to about seven.

This stems from Tua Tagovailoa only being able to suit up for six games so far, as a rotating door of backups man the ship in his stead. These quarterbacks do not have the skill of Tagovailoa, resulting in the Dolphins going run-heavy in those games.

Hill may never again reach 1799 receiving yards like he did last year, but he’s not the 52.3 receiving yards per game player he’s been in this campaign.

It has been factors that are out of his control that have led to his less productive season. I expect him to improve as the season winds down, and fully healthy next season, once again be a consensus top-five receiver in football. -Dominick Pizzelanti

Alex, Underreaction: Jim Harbaugh has been one of the best coaches in the league.

After spending nearly a decade with the Michigan Wolverines, Jim Harbaugh made the stunning move back to the NFL this past offseason.

At Michigan, Harbaugh saw both highs and lows. In 2023, Harbaugh was suspended for allegations of sign stealing and won the national championship. It was a roller coaster of a season, to say the least.

After reaching the mountaintop at the collegiate level, he took on a new challenge, coaching the Los Angeles Chargers on the professional stage. This move came with plenty of risk and criticism as the Chargers in particular seemed to be trending in the wrong direction when Harbaugh was hired.

Last season, Los Angeles went 5-12 and finished last in the AFC West. While they were ravaged by injuries, this was another underwhelming season for a team that had the talent to be so much better.

That’s been the story for the Chargers for a few years now. They’ve always had star players, and a great quarterback to pass them the ball, they could just never get the job done.

After the disappointment of last year, the Chargers cut ties with many of those star players. They let Austin Eckler walk in free agency, released Mike Williams, and traded Keenan Allen to the Chicago Bears.

After making these moves, it seemed impossible the Chargers had any chance of being relevant. However, they somehow have managed to be significantly better than last year, with much less talent at the skill positions.

In fact, they’ve already won more games this season being 7-3 to this point. This record has Los Angeles right in the middle of the playoff race, somewhere nobody expected them to be.

After Week 11, the Chargers have allowed just 15 touchdowns on defense which is best in the NFL. They’re also tied for fourth in turnover ratio this season with +8.

While head coaches jumping from college to the NFL can oftentimes be a disaster, Jim Harbaugh’s move to Los Angeles so far has been brilliant. It’s evident that the Chargers don’t have the most talents, yet they still have one of the better records in football.

Jim Harbaugh deserves massive amounts of credit to this point, and if the season were to end today, he’d be a favorite to win Coach of the Year. -Alex Harkins

Chase, Overreaction: The Chiefs will fall back to earth

The 1972 Dolphins get to hold on to their perfect season for yet another year following Kansas City’s loss to Buffalo 30-21 on Sunday.

And while the Chiefs did get off to their best start in the Mahomes era, it covers up the fact that the team, including Mahomes, has not looked as good compared to previous seasons.

Kansas City has been in seven one-score games and their offense has only put up 30 points once this season. They needed overtime against Tampa Bay in order to reach that mark too.

As for Mahomes, he is currently tied for the league lead in interceptions with 11 and is 20th in passer rating with 90.3.

The Chiefs also have to be careful that this loss does not snowball into something that ruins the rest of the season.

Take the 2020 Steelers and 2023 Eagles who started 11-0 and 10-1 respectively. Once December hit, they both only won one more game before getting eliminated in the wildcard round of the playoffs.

But a team like this falling off by season’s end does not seem possible. While they still have to play the Chargers, Texans and Steelers within a four week stretch later in the year, this team still has three rings since 2019 and no one knows how to win them better right now than Mahomes and Reid.

As long as last week’s result was a fluke, Kansas City is still in great shape as they try to go for the NFL’s first Super Bowl three-peat. -Chase Fisher

Carlin Whalen is a fourth-year student majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email cjw6426@psu.edu.

Dominick Pizzelanti is a second-year student dual majoring in broadcast journalism and Spanish. To contact him, email dqp5565@psu.edu.

Alex Harkins is a second-year student majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email arh6278@psu.edu.

Chase Fisher is a first-year student majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email ctf5198@psu.edu.