NFL Week 11

-Jay Cutler's woes continue as Chicago loses at home to Philly. After the game was over, Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb spoke into Jay Cutler's ear for a good minute. Cutler seemed receptive to his words, if a little embarrassed at the situation.

I'm sure that McNabb was simply trying to remind Cutler of his ability and that he needs to have confidence in himself, after he produced another poor display. While he did not match last week's 5 interceptions, Cutler looked skittish, was inaccurate all day, and overthrew three potential touchdown passes.

Chicago did not make the blockbuster trade for Cutler this summer for the numbers he has put up so far, and that pressure and the Soldier Field boos have obviously affected him. He hasn't been helped out by his weak offensive line, absent running game and inexperienced receiver corps, but ultimately the Bears brought him in to be the star.

Cutler may have angered many people with the way he went about getting himself out of Denver, but I think it's easy understand why McNabb, among others, is concerned by his rapid demise. At his best with the Broncos, Cutler was a joy to watch, a young quarterback with a powerful arm who could throw accurately from the pocket and on the run. On Sunday night, he looked like a different player, and we all know he is better than that.

-I hope the Eagles don't think they impressed us with that win. Philadelphia has been hot and cold all year, and while they scraped by the Bears 24-20 for a crucial victory, for much of the game they didn't look much better than Chicago, which is having more than its fair share of problems.

While the Eagles defense looked better on Sunday, their offense sputtered, turning the ball over three times, and punting five. At the moment, their passing game seems to be split between the short dump off and the deep home run ball with not much else in between.

So, while they did get their big play on the night, McNabb's 48 yard bomb to DeSean Jackson for a touchdown, they continued to struggle to both sustain long drives and execute efficiently in the red zone.

With a 6-4 record, they still have a good shot at making the playoffs, but like the rest of the teams in the NFC East, they haven't been as good as expected this season.

-A new dawn in Kansas City? For the past two years, we've heard a lot about the rebuilding effort in Kansas City. In 2008, after a number of veteran players like Jared Allen, Ty Law and Eddie Kennison left, the Chiefs had the youngest team in the NFL, but ended up with a franchise worst 2-14 record.

Sunday might just have been the first glimpse we've had of the rebirth of the Chiefs. They stayed with the Steelers all game, and quarterback Matt Cassel led the offense on a 91-yard drive to tie the game at 24 with just under four minutes to go.

Arrowhead was rocking as the game headed into overtime, reminding us what a fantastic football venue it can be, and though the Steelers won the toss, the Chiefs managed to force the punt. Free agent rookie linebacker Jovan Belcher read Mewelde Moore's run to the right and tackled him for a three yard loss on third down, meaning Pittsburgh's hopes of a long field evaporated.

Cassel then hit Chris Chambers with a 61yard pass, their second long hook-up of the day, to set up the winning chip shot from the Steelers 4.

The Chiefs have now won two on the bounce, with Cassel, Chambers, Jamaal Charles and Dwayne Bowe all coming up with some big offensive plays. They have a long way to go, they're 3-7 after all, but first year head coach Todd Haley's work to forge a good team is beginning to pay off.

-Great game in Baltimore, but the Colts prove to be too good for the Ravens. The wind could have so easily been taken out of the Ravens sails after Peyton Manning marched the Colts offense down the field on their very first drive for a 7 play, 89 yard touchdown.

But the Ravens defense wasn't fazed and for the rest of the game was at its aggressive big-hitting best, picking off Manning twice, forcing a fumble and three punts.

Baltimore was let down by its offense though, which struggled in the red zone. Enter Billy Cundiff, the journeyman placekicker, who had been signed by the Ravens only four days earlier. He made 5 of 6 kicks, accounting for all the Ravens points on the day. The Ravens clearly lack in targets for their quarterback Joe Flacco, who threw 16 of his 23 completions to Derrick Mason and dump-off man running back Ray Rice.

The Colts are sitting pretty at 10-0, having beaten three good teams in their last three games. Manning, last season's MVP, continues to be the league's best player and is forging a potent Colts offense out of his new young weapons, Austin Collie and Pierre Garcon. He even got backup tight end Tom Santi, who hadn't caught a pass all year, in on the act against the Ravens, finding him 6 times for 80 yards.

-Hands up if you saw the 75 point game between the Lions and Browns coming. That's what I thought. 51 points in the first half? 912 yards of total offense? 9 touchdown passes from two quarterbacks who had only thrown 7 between them all year?

Sure, part of the reason the shootout came about was because of the teams' awful defenses, but still both sets of fans will be relieved to see that their young quarterbacks can throw for over 300 yards and lead their teams down the field.

-How quickly form is won and lost in the NFL. Both the Patriots and Chargers lost their match ups earlier in the season against big divisional rivals, the Jets and Broncos respectively. Yet only a few weeks later, it was the Pats and Bolts turn to win convincingly Sunday afternoon against these same two teams. As the Patriots and Chargers savor their revenge, the Jets and Broncos will be left to wonder where their early season mojo has gone.