We get a battle of two first place teams to wrap up NFL Week 11 on MNF. The Houston Texans (6-3) face off against the Oakland Raiders (7-2) in Mexico City.
Scroll on down for the live blog. Keep reading for this week’s press release from the NFL.
PLAYOFF RACES AROUND THE NFL ARE HEATING UP
NFL RETURNS TO MEXICO FOR 1ST EVER MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL GAME PLAYED OUTSIDE U.S.
The NFL has entered the second half of the season and the excitement is building as playoff races tighten.
Nine teams have at least six wins, led by the 8-1 Dallas Cowboys – Dallas (8-1), Kansas City (7-2), New England (7-2), Oakland (7-2), Denver (7-3), Seattle (6-2-1), Houston (6-3), the New York Giants (6-3) and Atlanta (6-4). The AFC West has three teams with at least seven wins – Kansas City, Oakland and Denver – and the NFC East is the only division in which all four teams have a winning record – Dallas, the Giants, Washington (5-3-1) and Philadelphia (5-4). MNF
As the season moves into the second half, it’s all still to be decided, with plenty of football left to play. So don’t count anyone out. Since 1990, 25 teams have qualified for the playoffs with a losing record through nine games. Last year, four teams accomplished the feat and advanced to the postseason – Houston (4-5), Kansas City (4-5), Seattle (4-5) and Washington (4-5). MNF
On the field, the games continue to be close. Through the first 10 weeks, 110 games have been within one score in the fourth quarter, the most such games in a season’s first 10 weeks in NFL history. MNF
Last Sunday, there were two games which featured seven lead changes – Dallas at Pittsburgh and Seattle at New England – which marked the first day in NFL history with two games having at least seven lead changes. Additionally, the Kansas City Chiefs scored 20 unanswered points – including 17 in the fourth quarter – to overcome a 17-0 deficit and pull out a 20-17 victory at Carolina. The Chiefs have now rallied from a 14+ point deficit in the fourth quarter in two games this season (Week 1 vs. San Diego and Week 10 at Carolina) and are the first team to have two such victories in a season since the 2003 Indianapolis Colts. MNF
Also in Week 11, the NFL returns to Mexico for the first time since October 2, 2005 when a crowd of 103,467 witnessed the league’s first international regular-season game as the Arizona Cardinals defeated the San Francisco 49ers 31-14 at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. On Monday night (8:30 PM ET), two first-place teams – the Oakland Raiders (7-2) and Houston Texans (6-3) – will meet at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City in the first-ever Monday Night Football game to be played outside the United States. The game will be televised live on ESPN in the U.S. and on Televisa and ESPN in Mexico.
“Expanding our International Series of regular-season games to Mexico marks an important step in our continued international growth,” says NFL Commissioner ROGER GOODELL. “We have a tremendous, passionate fan base in Mexico and we know the atmosphere on game day will be outstanding.”
The game is on ESPN at 8:20 p.m. Watch it with me.
