NFL Week 10 Recap
Week 10 of the NFL saw some great games as only five of the 14 games were decided by double digits, so here’s a recap of the action.
On Thursday night, the Indianapolis Colts made a statement with a dominating 34-17 win over the Tennessee Titans. Colts quarterback Philip Rivers played extremely well, finishing with 308 yards and a touchdown and completing 76 percent of his passes, while the Colts defense stymied Derrick Henry for only 103 yards on 19 carries.
In the early Sunday slate, the Philadelphia Eagles continued to make mistakes and fail to make adjustments on the offensive side of the ball as they fell to the New York Giants 27-17, but they remain on top of the NFC East due to the tie with the Cincinnati Bengals earlier in the year.
In the AFC, the Cleveland Browns narrowly defeated the Houston Texans 10-7 in one of the worst beats of all time. Cleveland relied on its stellar rushing attack, which exploded as Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt combined for 230 yards and a touchdown.
Going to Detroit, the Lions narrowly avoided blowing a 21-point lead against the Washington Football Team in Alex Smith’s first start since his gruesome leg injury. Although Washington tied it up late, Matt Prater kicked the game winning field goal in the closing seconds.
One of the most surprising games this season occurred in Green Bay this weekend as the Packers defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars 24-20, but the most important factor of this victory was Green Bay’s defense who picked off Jake Luton and sacked Luton in the closing minutes of the game to seal the victory.
After getting stomped by the New Orleans Saints on national television, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers responded with a 23-point shellacking of the Carolina Panthers, which featured a 98-yard touchdown run from Ronald Jones II.
Shifting focus to Sin City, the Raiders returned to Las Vegas as they hosted the Denver Broncos and proceeded to run the Broncos out of the stadium. Josh Jacobs had a field day against Denver’s defense as he ran for 112 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries, whereas Drew Lock has struggled to get Denver on a winning streak.
In a matchup of quarterback prospects, No. 5 overall pick Tua Tagovailoa and the Miami Dolphins defeated the No. 6 overall pick Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers by only eight points. Both quarterbacks struggled but Miami’s defense forced more mistakes, which made the difference.
Going to Arizona, the Cardinals and Buffalo Bills had one of the best games of the season so far, which culminated in a miraculous Hail Mary touchdown from Kyler Murray to DeAndre Hopkins, who was draped with three defenders on him, as time expired.
On the West Coast, the Seattle Seahawks lost to the Los Angeles Rams by a touchdown as Russell Wilson continues to attempt to single-handedly win football games without any offensive support.
Heading down to New Orleans, the Saints convincingly defeated the San Francisco 49ers as the Saints defense continued their exceptional play and pressured Nick Mullens routinely and forced two interceptions.
Wrapping up Sunday’s action, the New England Patriots and Baltimore Ravens faced off in rainy Foxborough. With conditions worsening as the game progressed, the Patriots relied on their rushing attack to limit Lamar Jackson and the Ravens offense’s time on the field, which ultimately led to a 21-17 win.
In what’s been a rollercoaster season for Chicago fans, the Bears once again disappointed on Monday Night Football as they dropped another game but this time to the Minnesota Vikings. Chicago’s defense has been excellent this entire season but the offense has been one of the worst units in the entire season and with Nick Foles injured, Chicago must find answers soon to fight for a playoff spot.
Matthew McLaughlin is a freshman majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email mem6936@psu.edu.
