This weekend’s slate of NFL games features an appealing lineup that hasn’t aligned previously in any Week 11 of any season during the league’s AFC/NFC era. For the first time in that 55-season span, the Week 11 schedule features three games matching teams that have at least seven victories apiece – Philadelphia Eagles at Washington Commanders on Thursday night and Baltimore Ravens at Pittsburgh Steelers and Kansas City Chiefs at Buffalo Bills on Sunday.

Philadelphia quarterback Jalen Hurts will make his eighth start against Washington. But these aren’t the same old Commanders. Washington has a 7-3 record and is one-half game behind the Eagles at the top of the NFC East standings.

The former Alabama QB has faced the Commanders once when they had a winning record, when Washington was 2-1 at the time of the first 2023 meeting.

The Commanders have transformed with rookie Jayden Daniels at quarterback. Washington added the 2023 Heisman Trophy winner with the second pick of the NFL Draft on April 25.

“I’ve always thought he was a great player,” Hurts said, “being able to win the Heisman, on all the success he’s had and even to this point.”

While the Commanders have become one of the NFL’s top-scoring teams with Daniels, new coach Dan Quinn has engineered a much-improved defense after Washington yielded the most points and most yards in the NFL in 2023.

“They’re a disciplined football team, have great coaches,” Hurts said. “Obviously, got a lot of familiarity with them and they got great players playing hard. The way they are able to create problems up front. Their linebackers are really good players, smart players, instinctual players, fast players. And then out wide, they’re very sticky in coverage.”

Another former Alabama standout, Ravens running back Derrick Henry will play in the Baltimore-Pittsburgh rivalry for the first time after spending his first eight NFL seasons with the Tennessee Titans.

In Baltimore, there’s a saying: You’re not a Raven until you beat the Steelers.

“I’ve heard it,” Henry said. “It’s something that they’ve had going here for a while, and I guess I’m not going to be a Raven until we get the ‘W.’”

Pittsburgh leads the AFC North at 7-2, with Baltimore at 7-3. Henry expects a typical game between the rivals.

“Two physical teams, two playoff teams, two really good defenses that will knock your head off on any given play,” Henry said, “and this is a physical game. I feel like since I was a kid watching them, every game against them is just physical.”

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With Kansas City at 9-0 and Buffalo at 8-2, the game matching the top two teams in the AFC will be the fifth in the AFC/NFC era between teams with eight or more wins in Week 11 or earlier in a season. The home team won the previous four.

The Alabama Game of the Week is the Eagles-Commanders contest on Thursday night. Fourteen players from Alabama high schools and colleges are on the teams’ active rosters.

The Week 11 schedule (with all times Central and point spreads from BetMGM):

Thursday

• Washington Commanders at Philadelphia Eagles (-3.5), 7:15 p.m. (Prime Video)

Sunday

• Green Bay Packers (-5.5) at Chicago Bears, noon
• Jacksonville Jaguars at Detroit Lions (-14), noon
• Las Vegas Raiders at Miami Dolphins (-7.5), noon (WTVY, WKRG)
• Los Angeles Rams (-4.5) at New England Patriots, noon
• Cleveland Browns (-1) at New Orleans Saints, noon (WALA)
• Baltimore Ravens (-3) at Pittsburgh Steelers, noon (WIAT, WAKA)
• Minnesota Vikings (-6) at Tennessee Titans, noon (WHNT)
• Indianapolis Colts at New York Jets (-4), noon
• Atlanta Falcons at Denver Broncos (-2.5), 3:05 p.m. (WBRC, WZDX, WCOV, WDFX)
• Seattle Seahawks at San Francisco 49ers (-6.5), 3:05 p.m.
• Kansas City Chiefs at Buffalo Bills (-2.5), 3:25 p.m. (WIAT, WTVY, WHNT, WKRG, WAKA)
• Cincinnati Bengals at Los Angeles Chargers (-1.5), 7:20 p.m. (NBC)

Monday

• Houston Texans (-7.5) at Dallas Cowboys, 7:15 p.m. (ABC, ESPN)

CHECK OUT MAPS OF SUNDAY’S BROADCAST TV COVERAGE

Teams on their bye this week are the Arizona Cardinals, Carolina Panthers, New York Giants and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

FOR MORE OF AL.COM’S COVERAGE OF THE NFL, GO TO OUR NFL PAGE

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.