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A loaded Week 11 gave us some entertaining games and interesting results. Let’s just jump right to the takeaways, shall we?

Broncos likely to run away with AFC West, Chargers and Chiefs may be cooked: We wondered whether the Denver Broncos were for real, and they answered the question Sunday when they took out the Kansas City Chiefs 22-19. Quarterback Bo Nix was good against a strong K.C. defense, throwing for almost 300 yards and putting together two scoring drives in the fourth quarter. Now, at 9-2, Denver is in great position in the AFC West, sitting two games ahead of the Los Angeles Chargers. The Chargers were blown out 35-6 by the Jacksonville Jaguars, with L.A.’s offense just not looking the same lately after major injuries to the offense line.

At 5-5, the Chiefs have a tough road to get back into the playoff hunt. They have games against the Indianapolis Colts, Dallas Cowboys, Houston Texans, Chargers and Broncos — suddenly, K.C.’s loss to the Jags earlier this year could come back to bite them when it comes to their wild-card hopes. The Chargers have a similarly tough schedule, though their wild-card chances look a bit more hopeful than K.C.’s, especially with that Week 1 win over them under their belt.

The NFC should be scared of the 49ers: It’s been quite amazing how San Francisco has managed to stay competitive all season despite its injuries. Many have believed that a healthy Niners roster could make them unstoppable. Well, they’re beginning to get healthy, and in Week 11 they were nearly unstoppable.

The 49ers took out the Arizona Cardinals 41-22 on Sunday, with QB Brock Purdy throwing for three touchdowns in his return. Running back Christian McCaffrey thrived like always with 121 yards and three scores, while tight end George Kittle racked up a couple TDs of his own. And while WR Ricky Pearsall didn’t end up doing anything in his return, the thought is that he’ll make an impact soon given his success earlier this season. Right now, this Niners offense is beginning to look how it’s supposed to look. And that should scare the rest of the NFC.

Suddenly, the Bears are contenders: Hold on, Chicago is leading the NFC North? When did that happen? Well, the team has done exactly what it’s supposed to do, and that’s beat lesser teams, including the Minnesota Vikings 19-17 in Week 11. Having a nice 1-2 punch with RBs D’Andre Swift and an emerging Kyle Monangai has certainly helped. The only thing left to fix is the Bears’ deep ball — QB Caleb Williams struggled with deep throws in Week 11, but coach Ben Johnson plans to make it a point to fix that in the coming weeks.

Now, at 7-3, Chicago controls its own destiny, but has a true test coming up. The Bears have the Philadelphia Eagles, Green Bay Packers twice, 49ers and Detroit Lions left on their schedule. Soon, we’ll know whether the Bears are truly contenders or pretenders.

Seahawks might have been exposed: Seattle has hung on as a top team record-wise for a while, but Week 11 might have proved that the Seahawks still aren’t ready to hang with the big dogs. Seattle lost 21-19 to the Los Angeles Rams, which doesn’t seem like a big deal on paper, but QB Sam Darnold throwing four interceptions is a big deal. Our guy Kyle Crabbs breaks down Darnold and Seattle’s outlook the rest of the season:

“Take the four interceptions at face value. It happens to everyone. Bad games happen. But we’re now set to enter into Week 12, and the Rams have put some valuable tape out for the rest of the league. How does Darnold, offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, and company respond? Welcome to the defining stretch of Seattle’s regular season.

“Any time you pair a new offensive coordinator with a new starting quarterback and things click, you’ll have the opportunity to get out ahead of opposing defenses. We’re seeing the same thing in Indianapolis this season with Daniel Jones and Shane Steichen. Both Seattle and Indianapolis sit near the top of their respective conferences. But at some point throughout the course of that season, someone’s defense is going to figure out how to push your buttons and get you uncomfortable and off-script.

“The other side of the ball gets paid too. And this critical juncture for Seattle is going to determine whether Kubiak and Darnold have more clubs in the bag to get out in front of what the Rams put on tape or if Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula helped his defense take the first major step in cracking Seattle’s offensive code.”

Ravens are in great shape to take the AFC North: It was all over for the Baltimore Ravens, until it wasn’t. They were, at one point, 1-5, and it looked like 2025 was a waste. But then they went 2-5 and QB Lamar Jackson returned after, and suddenly Baltimore is 5-5 and one game behind the Pittsburgh Steelers for the top spot in the division.

Who do the Ravens have coming up on their schedule? The New York Jets (2-8), Cincinnati Bengals (3-7), Steelers (6-4) and Bengals again. That’s a very winnable stretch of games, and even if the Ravens drop that one to Pittsburgh, the two have another game coming up in Week 18. Baltimore may be too late to snag the AFC’s top seed, but the playoffs look more and more likely for them each week, and we could certainly see them back in the AFC Championship Game once again if their current level of play continues.

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Adam Zientek