Here’s a look at the announcing assignments for Week 11 of the NFL season, with some discussion of a featured game in each slot based on broadcasters, matchups, or both. All times are Eastern.
Thursday, Nov. 14
Featured/only game: Washington at Philadelphia
Prime Video 8:15 p.m.
Al Michaels, Kirk Herbstreit, Kaylee Hartung
Spanish: Miguel Gurwitz, Rolando Cantú
Westwood One Radio: Ian Eagle, Ross Tucker
This is one of the best TNF games this season to date by matchup, which should make Michaels happy. This has the 7-3 Commanders taking on the 7-2 Eagles (3.5-point home favorites) in a crucial NFC East showdown that may play an important role in deciding the division.
Many eyes will be on the quarterbacks in this one. Washington rookie Jayden Daniels continues to impress (he’s thrown for 2,147 yards and nine touchdowns, with two interceptions and a 68.7 percent completion mark) in his rookie season. And Philadelphia’s Jalen Hurts is a threat both through the air (1,976 yards and 12 touchdowns against five interceptions, with a 69.8 percent completion mark) and on the ground (93 carries for 378 yards and 10 touchdowns). But the defenses are also worth watching, with the Eagles and Commanders second and 14th respectively in yards allowed per game (274.1 and 324.9).
Sunday, Nov. 17, early window
Featured game 1: Green Bay at Chicago
Fox 1 p.m.
Kevin Burkhardt, Tom Brady, Erin Andrews, Tom Rinaldi
Sports USA Radio: Larry Kahn, Mark Carrier
There’s another good divisional showdown here, and it’s going to a decent amount of the country in Fox’s singleheader. This one isn’t quite as important for the division lead, with the 6.5-point road favorite Packers and Bears coming in at 6-3 and 4-5 and third and fourth in the division respectively (behind the 8-1 Detroit Lions and 7-2 Minnesota Vikings), but Green Bay is currently in the seventh and last NFC playoff berth, and the Bears are still in contention as well (with only the San Francisco 49ers between them and the Packers). And, on the broadcasting side, it will certainly be interesting to hear Brady call Packers-Bears.
For Green Bay, Josh Jacobs remains a force on the ground. He has 762 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 158 carries, an average of 4.8 yards per carry. He’s also caught 19 passes for another 128 yards and a touchdown.
For Chicago, the focus remains on rookie QB (and No. 1 overall draft pick) Caleb Williams, especially after the Bears fired offensive coordinator Shane Waldron this week and replaced him with passing game coordinator Thomas Brown. Williams was held to just 120 passing yards on 30 attempts (with 16 completions) last week in a 19-3 loss to the New England Patriots; we’ll see if the OC switch helps rejuvenate him.
Jacksonville at Detroit
CBS/Paramount+ 1 p.m.
Kevin Harlan, Trent Green, Melanie Collins
ESPN Radio: Roxy Bernstein, Mike Tannenbaum
Las Vegas at Miami
CBS/Paramount+ 1 p.m.
Tom McCarthy, Jay Feely, Ross Tucker, Tiffany Blackmon
LA Rams at New England
Fox 1 p.m.
Adam Amin, Mark Sanchez, Kristina Pink
Cleveland at New Orleans
Fox 1 p.m.
Kenny Albert, Jonathan Vilma, Jen Hale
Indianapolis at NY Jets
CBS/Paramount+ 1 p.m.
Andrew Catalon, Tiki Barber, Jason McCourty, AJ Ross
Featured game 2: Baltimore at Pittsburgh
CBS/Paramount+ 1 p.m.
Ian Eagle, Charles Davis, Evan Washburn
Compass Media Radio: Chris Carrino, Brian Baldinger
This is a crucial AFC North clash, with the Ravens and Steelers coming in at 7-3 and 7-2 respectively. Baltimore played one of the best games of the season last Thursday, beating the Cincinnati Bengals 35-34, with QB Lamar Jackson throwing for 290 yards and four touchdowns without a pick. On the season, Jackson has 2,669 passing yards (second in the league) and 24 touchdowns, with just two interceptions and a 69.1 percent completion rate.
The Steelers (3.5-point underdogs) are also coming off a thrilling one-point win, edging the Commanders 28-27 last Sunday. And they’ve won four in a row, the last three with Russell Wilson as starter. But Wilson only threw for 195 yards last week and only completed half of his passes, and with Justin Fields waiting in the wings, there’s going to be a lot of focus on his play.
Minnesota at Tennessee
CBS/Paramount+ 1 p.m.
Spero Dedes, Adam Archuleta, Aditi Kinkhabwala
Sunday, Nov. 17, afternoon window
Atlanta at Denver
Fox 4:05 p.m.
Kevin Kugler, Daryl Johnston, Laura Okmin
Sports USA Radio: John Ahlers, Brandon Noble
Seattle at San Francisco
Fox 4:05 p.m.
Joe Davis, Greg Olsen, Pam Oliver
Compass Media Radio: Bill Rosinski, Merrill Hoge
Featured game: Kansas City at Buffalo
CBS/Paramount+ 4:25 p.m.
Jim Nantz, Tony Romo, Tracy Wolfson
ESPN Radio: Steve Levy, Harry Douglas
The 9-0 Chiefs continue to win, but in unexpected ways. The latest case there came on a last-second field goal block against the Denver Broncos on Sunday, giving them a 16-14 victory. Now, they face a difficult opponent in the 8-2 Bills, who are 2.5-point home favorites here.
Bills’ QB Josh Allen has thrown for 2,281 yards and 17 touchdowns against four interceptions this year, but has just a 63.5 percent completion mark and tossed two of those four picks last week against the Indianapolis Colts. (He did throw for 280 yards there, and Buffalo won 30-20, but he completed just 59.5 percent of his passes in that win.)
We’ll see what Allen and the Bills can do against a Chiefs’ defense that’s fourth in the NFL in yards per game allowed (289.9). And, if Taylor Swift winds up in attendance (possible, considering that she’s playing nearby Toronto Thursday-Saturday, which spawned conspiracy theories about the NFL schedule and led to denials), we’ll see if Romo continues his wife “jokes.”
Sunday, Nov. 17, Sunday Night Football
Featured/only game: Cincinnati at LA Chargers
NBC/Universo/Peacock 8:20 p.m.
Mike Tirico, Cris Collinsworth, Melissa Stark
Universo: Miguel Gurwitz, Rolando Cantú, Ariana Figuera
Westwood One Radio: Ryan Radtke, Mike Golic
The Bengals are 4-6 this year, but they just played one of the best games this year in a loss, falling 35-34 in that aforementioned defeat against the Ravens last Thursday. And before that, they posted an impressive 41-24 win over the Las Vegas Raiders. And QB Joe Burrow leads the league with 2,672 passing yards and has tossed 24 touchdowns against four interceptions, and threw for 428 yards and 4 TDs with no picks last week.
But the 6-3 Chargers are 1.5-point home favorites here, and they have a notable QB of their own in Justin Herbert. Herbert’s having a down year by his standards, throwing for 1,889 yards and 11 touchdowns with an interception (and a 66.0 percent completion rate) to date, and only threw for 164 yards in a win over the Tennessee Titans last week, but he’s always a threat. And J.K. Dobbins gives Los Angeles a notable rushing threat; he’s collected 670 yards and six touchdowns on 141 carries (4.8 yards per carry) thus far.
Monday, Nov. 18, Monday Night Football
Featured/only game: Houston at Dallas
ABC & ESPN/ESPN2/ESPN Deportes 8:15 p.m.
Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, Lisa Salters
ESPN2: Peyton Manning, Eli Manning, Bill Belichek, Guests TBA
ESPN Deportes: Rebeca Landa, Sebastián Martinez-Christensen, MJ Acosta-Ruiz
Westwood One Radio: Kevin Harlan, Kurt Warner
The Texans are 6-4 and tops in the AFC South, but they’re coming off a pair of losses against the Lions and Jets. Can they get back on track this week against their Texas neighbors? They are 7.5-point road favorites considering the struggles of the Cowboys, who have lost four straight, including a 34-6 pasting by the Eagles last week.
For Houston, a key figure to watch is defensive end Will Anderson Jr., who has 7.5 sacks and 27 tackles on the season. Danielle Hunter is a notable pass-rushing bookend as well, with 5.5 sacks and 27 tackles. They may make life challenging for Dallas, expected to continue with Cooper Rush at QB with Dak Prescott opting for season-ending surgery following a hamstring injury.
BYE: Arizona, Carolina, NY Giants, Tampa Bay
H/T Sammy for the listings!
