ICYMI: The Best Stories You Missed From NFL Week 11

GREENE IS GOOD

The Jacksonville Jaguars aren't hurting for talented, yet underrated, young receivers. Yet in the fifth round of this year's rookie draft, the Jaguars added Florida State wideout Rashad Greene.

Greene doesn't have eye-popping measurables, nor did he excel at the combine. His production, though, was undeniable: In 2014 Greene set a school single-season record with 99 catches, was named first-team All-ACC for the second straight year, and was named second-team All-American and was a Biletnikoff Award semifinalist.

With Allen Robinson, Allen Hurns and Marquise Lee owning the top three receiver slots, the best chance Greene had to make an impact was at returner—which he did, earning the starting punt-returner job out of training camp.

When Lee tweaked a hamstring, making him unavailable for the opener, the Jaguars leaned on Greene as their third option. In fact, with the Carolina Panthers defense blanketing Hurns and Robinson, Bortles threw to Greene a whopping 13 times.

Greene was hardly gashing the Panthers—he caught seven of those balls, for only 28 yards—but one of those catches was a touchdown. It seemed Greene had forced his way into the lineup.

Lee returned, and ate into Greene's snaps and targets in the Jaguars' Week 2 game against the Miami Dolphins. During that game, Greene tore a ligament in his thumb. The Jaguars put him on the IR/Designated to Return list, shelving him for a big chunk of the season.

Greene was activated in Week 11. By then all but the hardcore Jaguars fans had forgotten about him. He was only targeted once against the Tennessee Titans, a completed two-yard pass. Yet, Greene ended up making the difference in a crucial divisional game.

With just 3:49 left in the game, the Jaguars were down 13-9 and about to get the ball back for what might be the last time. Upon fielding the punt, Greene sliced upfield, followed his blockers and tacked back to the sideline, rolling for a 63-yard gain. Greene's timely return set up the Jaguars on the Titans five-yard line. They immediately then scored a touchdown.

The Titans fumbled the ensuing kickoff, so the Jags were able to tack on another three points; the 19-13 victory incredibly puts them within one game of the AFC South lead.

In more ways than one, the Jaguars owe their huge Week 10 win to Greene's return.

BACK IN JACK

Last season, he was a living headline. Dismissed from the Philadelphia Eagles on the heels of his third Pro Bowl appearance in his six seasons because, um, gangs or something, receiver DeSean Jackson immediately signed with division rival Washington.

The spurious reasons behind his release led to speculation about head coach Chip Kelly's ability to relate to players with strong personalities—especially black players with strong personalities.

Jackson wasted no time in making his on-field point: Despite a complete meltdown at the quarterback position for Washington, Jackson, the consummate deep threat, caught 56 passes for 1,1169 yards and six touchdowns—best league in yards-per-reception—in just 13 starts.

This season, Jackson pulled a hamstring early in the season opener, and his inability to explode off the line sent him to the bench for six weeks. His return in Week 9 was accordingly slow, just three catches for 15 yards. He wasn't needed much in the Week 10 blowout of the New Orleans Saints; he took one 42-yard bite out of Rob Ryan's failing defense, and one little two-yard nibble.

In Week 11, against the vaunted Panthers defense, Jackson was again faced with a tough task—but his talent won out, beating a busted coverage for a 56-yard touchdown in the middle of the first quarter. That bomb was his first score of the year, and it would be Washington's last offensive score of the day in a 44-16 blowout loss. The point was quietly proven, though: Jackson is the best weapon his 4-6 squad have, and they finally have him all the way back.

SALUTE YOUR SHORTS

For years in Jacksonville, receiver Cecil Shorts III was a notorious one-trick pony: He either hauled in a long touchdown pass, padding his otherwise-meager stats for the day, or he didn't.

In Houston, though, Shorts has displayed more versatility—and in Week 11, he pulled off a multifaceted play worthy of commission in the Swiss army.

Against the stout New York Jets defense, Shorts was targeted five times as a receiver, carried the ball four times as a runner and threw this 21-yard touchdown pass:

**WR THROWING TD ALERT!!**Cecil Shorts gonna run after the catch?Nah.He'll throw a 21-yard TD instead. — NFL (@NFL)November 22, 2015

Since 1992, the earliest Pro Football Reference is able to track target data, only 11 other players have rushed at least four times, been targeted five times and thrown a touchdown pass (LaDanian Tomlinson did it six times).

Across those 23 seasons, only four of those players threw a pass as long as Shorts'. Since all of them were running backs, none came close to matching Shorts' 51 receiving yards. Shorts didn't forget his old trick, either; 35 of those 51 receiving yards came in one long chunk.

This little statistical quirk was more than just that, though; Shorts' passing touchdown put the Texans up 17-10 in what would finish as a 24-17 victory over a tough opponent. The Texans stayed one game ahead of the Jaguars, and tied the Colts for AFC South supremacy.

In a season where the quarterback and running back position have been in constant flux since before the start of the season, maybe Shorts—who's second on the team in receptions despite starting only two games all year—can be a part of the solution to both problems.