#NFL Week in Review – Week 10 (2019)
Welcome to the Week in Review. Now available in regular and spicy!
Quick PSA: Pro Bowl voting is now open. Vote early and often for your faves!
Chargers 24, Raiders 26 (TNF)
Barring a Flex game or a playoff run, this was the last prime time game at Oakland-Alameda Coliseum. Can't really complain about a win, if you're a Raider fan.
I'm not, so I can.
Phillip Rivers seemed to turn into an old man in front of our eyes, throwing for a paltry 207 yards and three picks - two of them on the Chargers' first two drives. When the Raiders gave the Chargers a late game gift (missing the extra point on their final score, making it possible to steal the game with a FG), the result of that final drive?
Four straight incompletes, a bailout on a Raider Defensive Holding call, three more incompletes and a final INT on a 4th & 10.
Can't blame that one on the kicker.
San Diego Los Angeles will likely have to win out to have a shot at the playoffs. If this game is a taste of things to come, .500 down the stretch might be a big ask.
Not that Chucky and Co. covered themselves in glory here. Without Rivers' meltdown, they lose. Period.
Dear Bears Nation;
Be. Not. Proud.
Yes, Mitch Trubisky looked more like the promising gunner he did in 2018 than the impending bust he has for most of this year. Yes, the offense looked strong.
But that was also vs. a defense that's bottom 10 in every stat you'd care to name. And starting a rookie QB after Matt Stafford was a late scratch with a back injury.
Still, a win's a win, right? Who knows when the next one will come.
The Bengals day, in one clip:
https://youtu.be/lkRlchH14ns
They are currently doing a better job of tanking than the team down south that actively shed every player they could get away with, to facilitate the tank.
Also, much was made of Baltimore's "Triple Heisman Option", where Lamar Jackson (2016 winner), Bobby Three Sticks (2011) and Mark Ingram II (2009¹) took the field at the same time for a pitch to RGIII. Nerds flocked to the internet to see if such a lineup had ever happened before. There have been five other seasons where a team has had three Heisman winners on the roster at the same time. Three of those were the same trio: Marcus Allen (1981), Bo Jackson (1985) and Tim Brown (1987) for the LA Raiders from 1988 to 1990.
The other two?
And in case you were wondering, there have been five other teams with two Heisman winners in the regular season (Not counting seasons where any of the above trios were duos):
And three honorary mentions:
And the quest for 0-16: The Threequel continues!
If Stephen Hauschka doesn't have a Very Bad Day, y'all lose this game.
You realize this, right, Browns?
When you have 12 plays inside your opponent's 3-yard line and you come away with 3 points, you tend not to win. Nor do you deserve to.
But you got a gift from the Football Gods this day. Don't let it be a one-off.
This is what happens when you keep settling for field goals.
With the help of the Titans special teams, Ryan Tannehill kept the hot streak going, pulling of a major upset vs. the Chefs. They were bailed out late by a bad snap on a Chiefs attempt (That turned into Intentional Grounding, as the holder just launched the ball to the sideline, rather than try and salvage the play). And then, with KC attempting a game tying FG, reserve safety Joshua Kalu saved the day with a block.
The loss spoiled the return of the Cheat Code from injury, as Mahomes threw for a season high 446 yards and 3 TDs. But with KC settling for six FG attempts, the Titans were able to keep pace and preserve the win in the end.
Derrick Henry spearheaded the Titans attack with 188 yards rushing and 2 TDs.
Where the hell was this in the eight previous games?
The Falcons looked like the team we thought they would be at the start of the season, battering the Saints on defense, sacking Breesus six times (The Falcons had seven as a team coming into Week 10) and shutting down Alvin Kamara (24 yards rushing).
THey also battered the Saints on offense, rushing for 143 yards as a team, keeping the clock moving and the Saints' time on offense minimized.
Won't be enough to save Dan Quinn's job as this was pretty much a Super Bowl or Bust type of season. A theoretical best 9-7 ain't gonna cut it.
Apparently, New York didn't want Dallas to be alone in the shame corner. How generous of them.
Saquon Barkley got absolutely shut down (13 rushes for 1 yard, along with 5 catches for 30), leaving Danny Dimes to try to pick up the slack. He was game and stepped up (308 and 4 scores), getting help from Darius Slayton and Golden Tate (216 yards and 4 TDs between them).
Unfortunately for them, the Jets took advantage of every misstep, getting a Jamal Adams TD return on a strip sack and scoring the go-ahead TD after a 38-yd pass interference call.
This was only the 14th time the Jets and Giants have played each other (an average of once every 3 and a half seasons). This was the worst combined record for both teams when playing each other.
The Bucs kept the sputtering ember of their playoff hopes alive, holding off Kyler Murray and the young Redbirds.
And that's all the shine I'm willing to give this game. No1cur. Moving on.
Well, that was ugly with a capital "UG."
The treads officially fell off the tank with the Lolphins¹ second win in a row. The Fish scored thirteen points off three Colts turnovers and basically clowned backup QB Brian Hoyer (18 of 39 for 204 and three picks).
Miami falls to the fifth pick in the 2020 draft with the win. But with teams 2-4 (Washington, Giants, Jets) looking to be set at QB, this doesn't seem to have hurt their chances at nabbing their QB of The Future²
In a game that at least looked the part of a classic Lambeau game (weather-wise), the Pack got a last-second stop of Run CMC to preserve the win over Carolina. Green Bay took advantage of Panther miscues, scoring 10 points off Panther turnovers.
Aaron Jones had another monster game (93 yards and 3 TDs on 13 carries), becoming the first Packer since Sterling Sharpe in 1994 with multiple 3+ TD games in a season and the first Packer running back to do so since Jim Taylor in 1962.
McCaffrey finished the day with 108 yards and a TD, alond with 33 yards receiving.
The win puts Green Bay solidly in the #2 playoff spot in the NFC.
Remember when everybody thought trading a first rounder for Minkah Fitzpatrick (4 tackles, 2 passes defended, 1 INT, 1 fumble return for TD) was lunacy? Yeah, me neither.
*laughs nervously*
There are times where, no matter what the scoreboard says, you didn't lose - you got whooped.
The Cowboys got whooped on both sides of the line of scrimmage: Zeke Elliot was held to 47 yards on 20 carries. Dalvin Cook continued his campaign for All-Pro (97 and 1 TD rushing, 7 for 86 receiving). This shouldn't have really been a factor, since Dak Prescott and his receiver corps were carving up the Vikings' D (Prescott had 397 and 3TDs. Amari Cooper and Randall Cobb both had over 100 yards receiving, with Michael Gallop adding 74).
Except, in the crunch, with the Cowboys needing a TD and time running out, decided to lean on Zeke in the Red Zone. The same Zeke Elliott who, as noted, had been shut down (His longest run of the day was for six yards). The Result? No gain, 3-yard loss, shotgun dump off to Elliot that fell incomplete.
While so many in Cowboy Nation brought the hate for OC Kellen Moore in this instance (and he deserved some heat, no doubt). But this "Go away from what's worked for 90% of the game at the last minute, only to be stunned that it doesn't work" routine is a hallmark of Jason Garrett's tenure as Cowboys HC.
And that shit's got to stop. Like Andy Reid, he's spent his entire tenure making the same mistakes. Unlike Reid, he has no other strong points to make up for it. Seriously: Name one element of the Cowboys game over the last decade that says "That's a Jason Garrett move."
Check that: Name a positive element.
By itself, losing at home to Kirk "Prime Time Is My Kryptonite" Cousins should be enough to get the axe.
It's late into Overtime. You have the ball on your own 20. 01:50 left on the clock. You've already gagged one chance at the win with a missed FG off an INT. But all you need here is a field goal to win. Plenty of time to run your offense. With a spike or two, you can run the ball a couple of times and/or take a couple of shots down the middle of the field on passes. You've got options.
Or. fi you are the Niners, you can go shotgun for three straight plays and throw three straight incompletions, gaining no yards and running only 26 seconds off the clock. And then punt and cross your fingers.
I would say, at that point, you deserve to lose. Twice.
Fortunately, you only get one loss at a time, as Seattle kicked a 42-yard game winner with 4 seconds left to knock he Niners from the ranks of the unbeaten.
"72 Dolphins" immediately started trending on Twitter.
Somewhat lost in the drama of overtime is the fact that the Seahawks' D played their best game of the season. By which I mean "Jadeveon Clowney played the game of his pro career.¹"
Also somewhat dimming the glow of victory is the fact that George Kittle (the Niners top passing target) sat out the game with an injury and Emmanuel Sanders was knocked out in the first quarter with a rib injury. Missing his top two targets couldn't help but make things harder for Jimmy G.
But the Seahawks aren't going to give back that win, I'm betting.
Quick PSA: Pro Bowl voting is now open. Vote early and often for your faves!
Chargers 24, Raiders 26 (TNF)
Barring a Flex game or a playoff run, this was the last prime time game at Oakland-Alameda Coliseum. Can't really complain about a win, if you're a Raider fan.
I'm not, so I can.
Phillip Rivers seemed to turn into an old man in front of our eyes, throwing for a paltry 207 yards and three picks - two of them on the Chargers' first two drives. When the Raiders gave the Chargers a late game gift (missing the extra point on their final score, making it possible to steal the game with a FG), the result of that final drive?
Four straight incompletes, a bailout on a Raider Defensive Holding call, three more incompletes and a final INT on a 4th & 10.
Can't blame that one on the kicker.
Not that Chucky and Co. covered themselves in glory here. Without Rivers' meltdown, they lose. Period.
Lions 13, Bears 20
Dear Bears Nation;
Be. Not. Proud.
Yes, Mitch Trubisky looked more like the promising gunner he did in 2018 than the impending bust he has for most of this year. Yes, the offense looked strong.
But that was also vs. a defense that's bottom 10 in every stat you'd care to name. And starting a rookie QB after Matt Stafford was a late scratch with a back injury.
Still, a win's a win, right? Who knows when the next one will come.
Ravens 49, Bungles 13
The Bengals day, in one clip:
https://youtu.be/lkRlchH14ns
They are currently doing a better job of tanking than the team down south that actively shed every player they could get away with, to facilitate the tank.
Also, much was made of Baltimore's "Triple Heisman Option", where Lamar Jackson (2016 winner), Bobby Three Sticks (2011) and Mark Ingram II (2009¹) took the field at the same time for a pitch to RGIII. Nerds flocked to the internet to see if such a lineup had ever happened before. There have been five other seasons where a team has had three Heisman winners on the roster at the same time. Three of those were the same trio: Marcus Allen (1981), Bo Jackson (1985) and Tim Brown (1987) for the LA Raiders from 1988 to 1990.
The other two?
- The Raiders again in 1998 : Brown, Desmond Howard (1991) and Charles Woodson (1997)
- The 1970 Chiefs: Billy Cannon (1959), John Huarte (1964)² and Mike Garrett (1965)
And in case you were wondering, there have been five other teams with two Heisman winners in the regular season (Not counting seasons where any of the above trios were duos):
- The current Titans: Marcus Mariota (2014) and Derrick Henry (2015)
- Dallas (1977-1979): Roger Staubach (1963) and Tony Dorsett (1977)
- Oakland/LA (1982-1986): Allen and Jim Plunkett (1970)
- Dallas (1986-1987): Dorsett and Herschel Walker (1982)
- Detroit (1990-1993) Barry Sanders (1988) and Andre Ware (1989)
And three honorary mentions:
- Tim Tebow (2007) and Sam Bradford (2008) were both in training camp with the Eagles in 2015.
- The Lions drafted Larry Kelley (1936) and Clinton Frank (1937) in back-to-back years. Both passed on pro football careers - a common thing in the NFL's early years. In fact, the first three winners (Jay Berwanger, Kelly and Frank) passed on pro football. The fourth, Davey O'Brien, only played two years (though he was an All-Star both years).
- Ricky Williams (1998) and Eric Crouch (2001) were members of the CFL's Toronto Argonauts in 2008.
And the quest for 0-16: The Threequel continues!
He's been in the league that long?
Technically he counts, though he was just Len Dawson's caddy, seeing action in a whopping TWO games for KC.
Bills 16, Browns 19
If Stephen Hauschka doesn't have a Very Bad Day, y'all lose this game.
You realize this, right, Browns?
When you have 12 plays inside your opponent's 3-yard line and you come away with 3 points, you tend not to win. Nor do you deserve to.
But you got a gift from the Football Gods this day. Don't let it be a one-off.
Chefs 32, Titans 35
This is what happens when you keep settling for field goals.
With the help of the Titans special teams, Ryan Tannehill kept the hot streak going, pulling of a major upset vs. the Chefs. They were bailed out late by a bad snap on a Chiefs attempt (That turned into Intentional Grounding, as the holder just launched the ball to the sideline, rather than try and salvage the play). And then, with KC attempting a game tying FG, reserve safety Joshua Kalu saved the day with a block.
The loss spoiled the return of the Cheat Code from injury, as Mahomes threw for a season high 446 yards and 3 TDs. But with KC settling for six FG attempts, the Titans were able to keep pace and preserve the win in the end.
Derrick Henry spearheaded the Titans attack with 188 yards rushing and 2 TDs.
Falcons 26, Saints 9
Where the hell was this in the eight previous games?
The Falcons looked like the team we thought they would be at the start of the season, battering the Saints on defense, sacking Breesus six times (The Falcons had seven as a team coming into Week 10) and shutting down Alvin Kamara (24 yards rushing).
THey also battered the Saints on offense, rushing for 143 yards as a team, keeping the clock moving and the Saints' time on offense minimized.
Won't be enough to save Dan Quinn's job as this was pretty much a Super Bowl or Bust type of season. A theoretical best 9-7 ain't gonna cut it.
Giants 27, Jets 34
Apparently, New York didn't want Dallas to be alone in the shame corner. How generous of them.
Saquon Barkley got absolutely shut down (13 rushes for 1 yard, along with 5 catches for 30), leaving Danny Dimes to try to pick up the slack. He was game and stepped up (308 and 4 scores), getting help from Darius Slayton and Golden Tate (216 yards and 4 TDs between them).
Unfortunately for them, the Jets took advantage of every misstep, getting a Jamal Adams TD return on a strip sack and scoring the go-ahead TD after a 38-yd pass interference call.
This was only the 14th time the Jets and Giants have played each other (an average of once every 3 and a half seasons). This was the worst combined record for both teams when playing each other.
Cardinals 27, Bucs 30
The Bucs kept the sputtering ember of their playoff hopes alive, holding off Kyler Murray and the young Redbirds.
And that's all the shine I'm willing to give this game. No1cur. Moving on.
Dolphins 16, Colts 12
Well, that was ugly with a capital "UG."
The treads officially fell off the tank with the Lolphins¹ second win in a row. The Fish scored thirteen points off three Colts turnovers and basically clowned backup QB Brian Hoyer (18 of 39 for 204 and three picks).
Miami falls to the fifth pick in the 2020 draft with the win. But with teams 2-4 (Washington, Giants, Jets) looking to be set at QB, this doesn't seem to have hurt their chances at nabbing their QB of The Future²
$1 to Urinating Tree.
Volume 15.
Panthers 16, Packers 24
In a game that at least looked the part of a classic Lambeau game (weather-wise), the Pack got a last-second stop of Run CMC to preserve the win over Carolina. Green Bay took advantage of Panther miscues, scoring 10 points off Panther turnovers.
Aaron Jones had another monster game (93 yards and 3 TDs on 13 carries), becoming the first Packer since Sterling Sharpe in 1994 with multiple 3+ TD games in a season and the first Packer running back to do so since Jim Taylor in 1962.
McCaffrey finished the day with 108 yards and a TD, alond with 33 yards receiving.
The win puts Green Bay solidly in the #2 playoff spot in the NFC.
Rams 12, Minkah Fitzpatrick 17
Remember when everybody thought trading a first rounder for Minkah Fitzpatrick (4 tackles, 2 passes defended, 1 INT, 1 fumble return for TD) was lunacy? Yeah, me neither.
*laughs nervously*
Vikings 28, Cowboys 24 (SNF)
There are times where, no matter what the scoreboard says, you didn't lose - you got whooped.
The Cowboys got whooped on both sides of the line of scrimmage: Zeke Elliot was held to 47 yards on 20 carries. Dalvin Cook continued his campaign for All-Pro (97 and 1 TD rushing, 7 for 86 receiving). This shouldn't have really been a factor, since Dak Prescott and his receiver corps were carving up the Vikings' D (Prescott had 397 and 3TDs. Amari Cooper and Randall Cobb both had over 100 yards receiving, with Michael Gallop adding 74).
Except, in the crunch, with the Cowboys needing a TD and time running out, decided to lean on Zeke in the Red Zone. The same Zeke Elliott who, as noted, had been shut down (His longest run of the day was for six yards). The Result? No gain, 3-yard loss, shotgun dump off to Elliot that fell incomplete.
While so many in Cowboy Nation brought the hate for OC Kellen Moore in this instance (and he deserved some heat, no doubt). But this "Go away from what's worked for 90% of the game at the last minute, only to be stunned that it doesn't work" routine is a hallmark of Jason Garrett's tenure as Cowboys HC.
And that shit's got to stop. Like Andy Reid, he's spent his entire tenure making the same mistakes. Unlike Reid, he has no other strong points to make up for it. Seriously: Name one element of the Cowboys game over the last decade that says "That's a Jason Garrett move."
Check that: Name a positive element.
By itself, losing at home to Kirk "Prime Time Is My Kryptonite" Cousins should be enough to get the axe.
Seahawks 27, 49ers 24 (MNF/OT)
It's late into Overtime. You have the ball on your own 20. 01:50 left on the clock. You've already gagged one chance at the win with a missed FG off an INT. But all you need here is a field goal to win. Plenty of time to run your offense. With a spike or two, you can run the ball a couple of times and/or take a couple of shots down the middle of the field on passes. You've got options.
Or. fi you are the Niners, you can go shotgun for three straight plays and throw three straight incompletions, gaining no yards and running only 26 seconds off the clock. And then punt and cross your fingers.
I would say, at that point, you deserve to lose. Twice.
Fortunately, you only get one loss at a time, as Seattle kicked a 42-yard game winner with 4 seconds left to knock he Niners from the ranks of the unbeaten.
"72 Dolphins" immediately started trending on Twitter.
Somewhat lost in the drama of overtime is the fact that the Seahawks' D played their best game of the season. By which I mean "Jadeveon Clowney played the game of his pro career.¹"
Also somewhat dimming the glow of victory is the fact that George Kittle (the Niners top passing target) sat out the game with an injury and Emmanuel Sanders was knocked out in the first quarter with a rib injury. Missing his top two targets couldn't help but make things harder for Jimmy G.
But the Seahawks aren't going to give back that win, I'm betting.
5 tackles, 1 sack, 5 QB hits and a fumble return for a TD
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