Week 10 of the NFL contained some absolutely exhilarating games led by Josh Dobbs and C.J Stroud taking their teams to victory. Dobbs, who just got signed by the Vikings was called upon to fill in for the injured Jaren Hall and he ended up getting the win for Minnesota. While that was happening in Atlanta, C.J Stroud had a stunner of a game in Houston and posted 470 passing yards along with 5 passing touchdowns. Those are some Patrick Mahomes stats right there and this rookie has taken the Texans to a 4-4 record.
The first NFL game in Germany was this weekend and it was an AFC battle between the speedy Dolphins and the defending Super Bowl Champs, the Chiefs. For the Dolphins, it was a big chance to prove that they can beat a strong team while the Chiefs wanted to prove they’re still a top team without Tyreek Hill. The Chiefs got to Frankfurt on Friday so they might’ve started slow but it seemed like the Dolphins were the ones who took the toll of jet lag. At halftime, the high scoring Dolphins we’re accustomed to were down 21-0 and it felt like game over. As surprising as it sounds, it was the defenses who kept their teams in the game and both offenses didn’t do too much. It was a relatively low scoring game and in the end, it was too big of a hole for the Fins to come back from. I thought Hill and Waddle were kept in check by Kansas City’s defense and they showed everyone they are a legit defense. At the end of it, it was a real missed chance for Miami and as they head into their bye week, they’re 0-3 against teams with winning records, a stat which is not a recipe for playoff success.
The next big game between two probable playoff teams was the Cowboys against the Eagles. It was a big division game and also a rivalry game so it meant a lot for both teams. It was a game where Dallas dominated but the Eagles somehow clawed their way out. The Cowboys had 409 total yards to the Eagles 292 yards, they had 374 passing yards to the Eagles 207, and they averaged 5.8 yards per play to Philly’s 4.9. Dallas had the better stats but the Eagles fought their way to a victory. At the end in the final 4ish minutes, I was really surprised by their urgency. The commentators talked about how they needed to give themselves more time but it felt like they were running a regular drive. The ending was so rushed because they didn’t leave time and get down the field quickly. Philly weren’t anywhere near perfect but in the big moments, they were clutch and they’re 8-1 heading into their bye week.
The Bills played the Bengals on Sunday Night and I think it’s safe to say that Joe Burrow is back to doing MVP caliber stuff. He seems completely healthy and he’s dealing his cards now. Cincinnati is on a 4 game winning streak and they’re on a roll. For the Bills, their run game keeps struggling. Josh Allen is having to do too much and in addition to his 258 passing yards, he had 8 carries for 44 yards on the ground. The Bills running backs combined had 8 carries for 24 yards which is just awful. The biggest thing is that they don’t try to run the ball at all. Even if it doesn’t work, they can’t give defenses one look the entire game. The Chiefs in years past were so pass heavy but this year they’re running the ball much more. Buffalo would be such a better team if they could run using their running backs more. Additionally, excluding Diggs, the Bills wide receivers combined for 66 yards while Diggs had 86 and their tight end, Kincaid had 81. The Bills are so over reliant on Diggs and Allen which is why they’re 5-4 instead of 6 or 7 wins.
The last game of Week 10 was the Chargers against the Jets on Monday Night. To understate it, the Jets offense had a bad game. They lost 3 fumbles, didn’t have a touchdown, and allowed 8 sacks. I’m pretty sure most Jets fans left MetLife Stadium praying that Aaron Rodgers was going to return soon because the longer Zach Wilson is under center, the Jets playoffs are disseminating. They have a great defense but they need offensive support. You cannot be a playoff team by relying on your defense and scoring single digit points. Meanwhile, the Chargers took care of business and got a much needed win. It wasn’t a great performance but it was enough to beat the Jets who were pretty poor on that night.
There were some good matchups in Week 9 and the most surprising result was the Ravens crushing Seattle 37-3. They’re 7-2 and it looks like Lamar’s team is a serious playoff team. They have the Browns and the Bengals at home back to back these next two weeks so that’ll be a big test for them in the AFC North division. In Week 10, who‘ll win between the Niners and the Jags? That’ll be the game of the week as the 5-3 San Francisco 49ers will visit the 6-2 Jacksonville Jaguars.
THE END
good stuff