Week Eleven of the 100th season is officially in the books. It didn’t bring us much, as there were only so few standout moments. Once again, the Ravens had another impressive performance led by Lamar Jackson. Contenders continued to impress, as the playoffs creep closer and closer. It’s safe to say that Week Eleven was one of the “drier” weeks of football thus far. Nevertheless, I return with the Week Eleven edition of my NFL stock market. Whose stock rose from last week, and whose performance dropped-off?
Stock Up: Dak Prescott vs. Lions
63.0 completion percentage, 444 passing yards, 3 passing touchdowns, and a 116.6 passer rating.
Dak Prescott is leading the NFL’s best offense, yet he has no contract extension. If I’m being entirely honest, he should’ve been paid before Ezekiel Elliot. However, that’s another conversation for another day. Prescott looked good against an unpromising Lions squad. Almost everything seemed to go right for the QB who’s going to lead the Cowboys to the NFC East crown. The real question is whether or not he can put up these big-time performances when it counts the most. Time and time again, I’ve said that I have the Cowboys and the Patriots in the Super Bowl. Dallas’ coaching is a little bit off, but if Prescott can continue this level of play, the Cowboys have a great chance to win the NFC.
Stock Down: Patrick Mahomes vs. Chargers
59.4 completion percentage, 182 passing yards, 1 passing touchdown, 1 interception, and a 72.7 passer rating.
Patrick Mahomes had himself a very uncharacteristic game against the underwhelming Chargers. A win is a win, but in this win, Mahomes didn’t look like his MVP-self. You can turn to the fact that he may have been dealing with an injury. But, at this point, Mahomes always manages to shake off rust/pain. I don’t expect Mahomes to have many performances where he’s unlike himself considering the Chiefs hold a wildcard spot right now. With the Patriots keeping up their winning ways and the Ravens making their presence known, Kansas City needs Mahomes at full strength, playing his best. He can’t be at whatever level he was against Los Angeles.
Stock Up: Lamar Jackson vs. Texans
70.8 completion percentage, 222 passing yards, 4 passing touchdowns, a 139.2 passer rating, 10 carries, and 79 rushing yards.
Lamar Jackson is simply ridiculous. Not only did he just beat an AFC foe, he dominated them. Jackson against the Texans was simply child’s play which is reflected in his numbers. He’s inserted himself into the MVP conversation in convincing fashion and just continues to rack up excellent performances. He’s now beaten Tom Brady, Russell Wilson, and Deshaun Watson this season. That comes with the possibility of knocking off the defending NFC Champion Los Angeles Rams and the currently first-seeded San Francisco 49ers. Jackson is inching closer and closer to being one of the youngest MVPs in league history.
Stock Down: Philip Rivers vs. Chiefs
53.8 completion percentage. 353 passing yards, 1 passing touchdown, 4 interceptions, and a 49.6 passer rating.
Last, and certainly least, we have Philip Rivers, who’s having a near opposite season than that of last year. Rivers has been borderline horrible to the point where I might just drop him on my fantasy team. All jokes aside, he isn’t the player that led the Chargers to a 12-4 record. He’s on pace to throw 20 interceptions which would be tied for the second-most in his career.
I understand that the Chargers have been suffering from both key holdouts and key injuries, but that shouldn’t correlate to Philip Rivers playing as bad as he’s been. I don’t expect him to get any better simply because Los Angeles is just a bad team this year. Rivers has been bad to the point where analysts are now questioning his future with the team after he led them to a Divisional Round appearance just a year ago.
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