Big-game results didn't reveal much that wasn't obvious over the first 10 weeks of the NFL season

A loaded NFL schedule produced results that didn’t reveal much that wasn’t already known.

These are not the same Kansas City Chiefs who’ve owned the AFC West for nine seasons. Their struggles over the first nine games showed up again in a 22-19 loss at Denver.

The Buffalo Bills will go as far as Josh Allen takes them — as usual. His six touchdowns made up for two picks in a 44-32 win over Tampa Bay.

The Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks are even teams with two of the best defenses in the NFL. The Rams took a one-game lead over Seattle in the NFC West after holding on for a 21-19 victory when Jason Myers missed a 61-yard field goal try as time expired.

The reigning Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles are still the team to beat in the NFC, even if their offense is underachieving. Vic Fangio’s defense has been dominant against dynamic offenses, including a 16-9 victory over the Lions.

Detroit is going to live and die with coach Dan Campbell’s aggressive play-calling. When it works, the Lions are unstoppable. When it doesn’t, they have a tough time.

Kansas City’s reign of dominance in the division is over. The Chiefs (5-5) will have to battle just to make the playoffs and they have a tough matchup next week against the Indianapolis Colts (8-2). A poor offensive line isn’t helping Patrick Mahomes, who threw one costly interception in field-goal range after a pick-6 was negated by a penalty. The offense isn’t making enough plays to win one-score games, going 0-5 this season. Still, the Chiefs will be considered a dangerous team in the playoffs, if they get in. They won twice on the road on their way to a second consecutive Super Bowl title two years ago.

Meanwhile, the Broncos (9-2) have won eight straight games but still look beatable. Six of those wins have been by four points or fewer, including five fourth-quarter comebacks. Denver’s last three wins have come by a three-point margin. The Broncos beat the Giants by one and the Jets by two. Bo Nix is making big plays in the fourth quarter and a dominant defense keeps the team in games. But it’s going to be hard to sustain success with an inconsistent offense that has to rally each week.

The Bills (7-3) are chasing the New England Patriots (9-2) in the AFC East. But they can beat anyone when Allen plays the way he did against Tampa Bay. The reigning NFL MVP overcame a poor interception on the first drive to finish with 317 yards passing with three TDs in the air and three TDs rushing. Buffalo has a tougher schedule than New England with upcoming road games against Houston (5-5) on Thursday night and Pittsburgh (6-4) on Nov. 30. But like the Chiefs, the Bills are a team nobody wants to face in January.

The Buccaneers (6-4) still look like a team that’s good enough to win a weak NFC South but won’t go anywhere in the playoffs. Their defense has been a problem against top teams since 2021.

Sam Darnold struggled in another big game, throwing four interceptions. His fantastic turnaround season in Minnesota last year ended with clunkers in back-to-back important games.

However, Seattle’s defense kept the team in the game and Darnold drove the Seahawks (7-3) into position for what would’ve been a remarkable comeback victory if Myers could’ve hit the long field goal. He has to play better start to finish in playoff-type games.

The Rams (8-2) couldn’t do anything on offense in this battle between two of the league’s best defenses. The defense baffled Darnold and two of the four picks turned into touchdowns on drives of 3 yards and 25 yards.

The teams will meet again on Thursday night in Week 16 in a matchup that will likely determine the division winner.

Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley and A.J. Brown still can’t get going but the Eagles relied on an elite defense to fluster Jared Goff and the Lions. After surrendering just one score to Green Bay in a 10-7 win on Monday night, they held Detroit to three field goals.

The Eagles (8-2) are the NFC’s No. 1 seed and keep finding ways to win games. They’ll need more production from the offense to have a chance to repeat but the defense has been getting better each week since shutting down Mahomes and the Chiefs in the Super Bowl.

Detroit was 0-for-5 on fourth down, including a fake punt. The Lions (6-4) fell one game behind the surging Chicago Bears in the NFC North. But the Lions are more talented. The two teams meet in Chicago in Week 18.

Eleven weeks into the season, it's a wide-open race in both conferences.

On Football analyzes the biggest topics in the NFL from week to week. For more On Football analysis, head here.

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Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Jaelan Phillips celebrates after an NFL football game against the Detroit Lions on Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025, in Orchard Park, N.Y. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix celebrates following an NFL football game against the Kansas City Chiefs Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) reacts after being sacked during the second half an NFL football game against the Denver Broncos Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)

A Houthi official said Tuesday that Saudi warplanes struck Yemen, killing three people, including two children, while Human Rights Watch accused the Houthi rebels of possible war crimes with its attacks on commercial vessels.

The renewed fighting in Yemen is endangering civilians and threatening shipping through the Red Sea, a route that has become more important due to disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz since the U.S. launched its war against Iran.

The Associated Press could not independently verify the Houthi official's claim. The official did not say what the Saudi warplanes had targeted.

Here’s a look at the latest news in the Middle East. Full coverage can be found here.

Anees al Asbahi, a spokesperson for the Houthi-run Health Ministry, said in a post on X on Tuesday that Saudi airstrikes killed three people, including two children, in Yemen's Taiz province. The Associated Press couldn’t independently verify that claim.

Al-Asbahi said another two other people were injured in the strikes.

The escalation comes as the Iran-backed Houthi rebels have seized the strategic islands of Greater and Lesser Hanish in the southern Red Sea, bolstering their ability to control a key maritime shipping route.

Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz — through which a fifth of the world’s traded oil and gas transits in peacetime — in the opening days of the war. The Saudis have since used the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which leads out of the Red Sea, for crude oil exports.

The Houthis’ latest seizures, which follow their capture of the Red Sea port of Mokha and a strategic island last week, puts more pressure on Saudi shipments and, in turn, global oil supplies and prices.

This could give Iran additional leverage in its war with the United States.

Human Rights Watch said Tuesday that at least three attacks by Houthi rebels against commercial vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden between Jul. 20 and Aug. 24 could amount to war crimes.

The Houthi attacks against Saudi-linked shipping started in mid-July in the latest flare-up of violence in the Yemen civil war.

Niku Jafarnia, a Yemen and Bahrain researcher at Human Rights Watch, said that irrespective of any politics involved, “attacks on civilian crews carried out deliberately or recklessly are war crimes.”

The Houthis say their attacks on Saudi-linked shipping are retaliation for the Saudi-led coalition blockade on the Houthi-held areas in Yemen, a measure related to Yemen's decade-old civil war.

The human rights organization said the Houthis claimed to have attacked at least nine vessels over the span of a month, including two Saudi-flagged vessels, a Tanzania-flagged vessel, and a Dominica-flagged vessel.

The rights group urged the Houthis to “immediately and unconditionally end all unlawful attacks on civilian ships.”

China's Foreign Ministry said Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will visit the country on Wednesday and meet with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi.

This report will be updated throughout the day as new developments emerge.

In this photo provided by the Egyptian Presidential Press Office, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, left, and Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, shake hands at the Presidential Palace in Cairo, Egypt, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026. (Egyptian Presidential Press Office via AP)

In this photo provided by the Egyptian Presidential Press Office, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, center right, greets Egyptian officials at the Presidential Palace in Cairo, Egypt, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026. (Egyptian Presidential Press Office via AP)

A fisherman carries his catch, including hammerhead sharks, ashore at the Sirah fish market in Aden, Yemen, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdulnasser Alseddik)

A man counts Yemeni currency at a gas station in Aden, Yemen, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdulnasser Alseddik)

Displaced Yemenis are seen at Al-Firdaws camp in Ras Imran, just outside Aden, Yemen, Monday, Sept. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdulnasser Alseddik)

Displaced Yemenis sit at their tent at Al-Firdaws camp in Ras Imran, just outside Aden, Yemen, Monday, Sept. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdulnasser Alseddik)

A displaced Yemeni carries a carpet at Al-Firdaws camp in Ras Imran, just outside Aden, Yemen, Monday, Sept. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdulnasser Alseddik)

Displaced Yemenis chat at Al-Firdaws camp in Ras Imran, just outside Aden, Yemen, Monday, Sept. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdulnasser Alseddik)

A doctor examines a displaced child at Al-Firdaws camp in Ras Imran, just outside Aden, Yemen, Monday, Sept. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdulnasser Alseddik)