What a whacky NFL Week 10! New Orleans once again blew a possible win while The San Diego Chargers stepped all over themselves in losing to Miami at home. Dallas beat Pittsburgh in a classic in Steel Town while Seattle got a measure of revenge over New England for their Super Bowl loss two seasons ago. Keep reading for write-ups of every NFL matchup in our Week 10 recap!
Editor’s Note: Check out our NFL Week 11 Picks by Matt Ross and the Week 11 Betting Preview DS Williamson
NFL Betting – Regular Season Week 10 Recap
Cleveland Browns 7, Baltimore Ravens 28
The Browns played well in the first half. They were only down 6 to 7. In the second half, after Hue Jackson switched quarterbacks from Cody Kessler to Josh McCown, Baltimore dominated. The Ravens handed Cleveland its tenth loss of the season. With games against Pittsburgh, twice, San Diego, Cincinnati, the New York Giants and Buffalo left on the schedule, the Browns could easily go 0 and 16.
Baltimore is ahead of Pittsburgh in the AFC North Division by a game. Baltimore’s defense, statistically, is the best in the NFL. The Ravens only allow a total of 281.6 yards per game. With a defense like that, Baltimore could go a long way in the playoffs.
Denver Broncos 25, New Orleans Saints 23
The Saints appeared to have the game sewn up on Nov. 13. All they needed to do was convert an extra point to take a 24 to 23 lead over the Denver Broncos. But the Broncos blocked the extra point attempt and ran it back for 2 points against the Saints. Since Denver got the ball back and the Saints had no more time outs, New Orleans ended up losing the game outright as a -3 home favorite.
The good news for the Saints is that NFC South leading Atlanta also lost. What it means is that even though New Orleans blew a huge opportunity, they are only 1.5 games behind the Falcons for the lead in the NFC South. Denver is only a game behind both KC and Oakland in the AFC West.
Houston Texans 24, Jacksonville Jaguars 21
I was wrong “big league” about the Houston vs Jacksonville game in Week 10. I thought that the Jags would beat Houston straight up. For some reason, Jacksonville’s defense is the only one in the NFL that hasn’t been able to force Houston QB Brock Osweiler into throwing interceptions. The Texans are ahead of Tennessee by about 2 games in the NFC South.
The Texans ‘schedule doesn’t favor them winning the South. They battle Oakland and San Diego in back to back games. Let’s see how Osweiler performs against those 2 tough AFC teams before declaring that he’s turned the corner.
Atlanta Falcons 15, Philadelphia Eagles 24
The key in this game is to determine if Atlanta is about to have one of its infamous, late season, free falls. The Falcons’ offense had no answer against a Philly defense that was fired up after 2 straight close losses to NFC East rivals Dallas and the New York Giants.
Philly held the Falcons to 255 passing yards and 48 rushing yards. Atlanta had better figure things out quickly. The Bucs and Saints are only about a game behind while Carolina sits about 2 games behind.
Philadelphia has a shot at a wildcard berth. Winning the NFC East away from the Dallas Cowboys appears to difficult for the Eagles to accomplish this late in the season.
Los Angeles Rams 9, New York Jets 6
What a bad game between the Rams and Jets in Week 10. Neither Los Angeles nor the New York Jets played great defense in this game. Both teams have terrible quarterbacks. That’s why this ended up as a 9 to 6 score. Rams’ QB Case Keenum passed for 165 yards. The Jets’ Bryce Petty passed for 163 yards.
Both teams rushed for 124 yards with the Jets rushing for 139 and the Rams rushing for 125.
Chicago Bears 10, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 36
The Bucs’ defense on average allows 386 total yards and 27 point per game. Chicago’s offense is so bad that it made Tampa’s 2016 defense look like the early 2000’s version, the one that won a Super Bowl over the Oakland Raiders.
One thing about Chicago that I’m positive about. There is no way that Jay Cutler is a Bear next season. It’s impossible for the Bears to keep Cutler after he threw 2 picks and lost a fumble against the Buccaneers. It was a terrible performance that veteran QBs don’t often make.
Kansas City Chiefs 20, Carolina Panthers 17
What’s going on in Carolina? The Panthers jumped out to a 17-point lead before blowing it in the 4th quarter. On a day when both the Saints and Falcons lost, the Panthers had a shot to make up some ground on those 2 NFC South Division rivals. But Carolina blew it. They blew it big time.
This could be Kansas City’s season. After going 2-2 before their bye, the Chiefs have run off 5 straight wins. They’ve beaten Oakland, New Orleans, Indianapolis, Jacksonville and now Carolina in those 5 wins. KC is the team to watch in the AFC.
Minnesota Vikings 20, Washington Redskins 26
At first it appeared as if Minnesota was going to end the losing streak. The Vikings entered halftime in their battle versus Washington up 20 to 14. Unfortunately, the second half proved to be a different story. Washington outscored Minnesota 12 to 0 in the second half to beat the Vikings 26 to 20.
Minnesota has officially gone from running away with the NFC North Division to being in a tie with the Detroit Lions. The Lions and Vikings are only a game ahead of the Green Bay Packers. The Vikings have lost 4 games in a row. Washington is in position to battle both the Giants and Philadelphia for a wildcard spot.
Green Bay Packers 25, Tennessee Titans 47
The Packers entered Nissan Stadium in Nashville this past Sunday as a -2.5 road favorite. They left Nissan Stadium with their fans and football analysts scratching their heads. Tennessee didn’t just beat Green Bay in Week 10.
The Titans put a beat down on the Packers. Green Bay has a lot of issues on both sides of the football. There’s no doubt about that. Green Bay’s defense is wrought with injuries. The offensive line is a mess. Aaron Rogers doesn’t seem like himself at all.
Tennessee’s offense has turned into one of the better units in the NFL. The Titans could easily win the AFC South this season.
San Francisco 49’ers 20, Arizona Cardinals 23
The San Francisco 49’ers almost pulled off the upset of the year in Week 10. As a +14 road dog, the 49’ers fought Arizona hard enough for Cardinal kicker Chandler Cantanzaro to have to nail a 34-yard field goal for the win as time expired. It was a great effort by the San Francisco defense, which held the Cardinals to 86 yards rushing and picked off Carson Palmer twice.
Arizona, like Carolina, is a shell of the team that marched to the NFC Championship game last season. Arizona just doesn’t have it in 2016. The Cardinals are 2 games behind Seattle in the NFC West. It’s hard to see AZ catching the Seahawks if they keep playing as badly as they did versus San Francisco in Week 10.
Miami Dolphins 31, San Diego Chargers 24
If it wasn’t for San Diego QB Phillip Rivers throwing 4 interceptions, one while the Bolts were on Miami’s 2-yard line ready to punch it in, the Chargers may have won this game. But Phillip did throw 4 picks and Miami beat San Diego 31 to 24.
Since losing 17 to 30 to Tennessee in Week 5, the Fins have won 4 straight against Pittsburgh, Buffalo, the Jets and now San Diego. What’s crazy is that QB
Ryan Tannehill has thrown only 4 TD passes during that time. But he hasn’t thrown a single interception. Miami could be a surprise playoff team in the AFC this season. Tannehill has finally grasped Adam Gase’s offensive system.
Dallas Cowboys 35, Pittsburgh Steelers 30
Talent is talent. It sounds ridiculous when you say it out loud. But, it’s true. The bottom line in Dallas’s impressive 35 to 30 win over Pittsburgh in Week 10 is that the Cowboys have a vastly more talented offensive line than Pittsburgh’s defensive line. Ezekiel Elliott ended the game with a 32-yard TD run with less than 40 seconds left on the clock. How does that happen?
Pittsburgh is now behind Baltimore in the AFC North while Dallas has won 7 straight games after losing 19 to 20 to the New York Giants in Week 1. The Cowboys have a shot at going to the Super Bowl. Pittsburgh? Not so much.
Seattle Seahawks 31, New England Patriots 24
That was an unbelievable finish to one of the more entertaining games in Week 10 on Sunday night. With less than 2 minutes to go and only needing a TD to tie, the New England Patriots failed to get the football into the end zone in 4 straight tries starting inside Seattle’s 10-yard line. It was a massive failure on the part of the Patriots’ offense.
Don’t worry about New England going into Week 11. The Pats will bounce back. The Patriots are still the best team in the AFC. Seattle has a tough battle versus Philadelphia in Week 11. The schedule favors the Seahawks to win the NFC West.
New York Giants 21, Cincinnati Bengals 20
The New York Giants did just enough on defense to beat the Cincinnati Bengals this past Monday night. It wasn’t a very good game. Cincinnati played with no fire. Too bad. The Bengals weren’t out of it until the loss to the Giants. Although the Bengals are 3-5-1 and still in the hunt for AFC North Division title, their lack of urgency is a problem.
The Giants, like every team in the NFC East, continues to fight for a wildcard berth. The G-Men have a shot now that their defense is finally playing well.