Welcome to another installment of my weekly NFL Column. My goal is to watch everything so that you don’t have to. I will present to you the best games to watch back; the craziest moments; the best individual performances and the season-long stat leaders and records. I will also be previewing the upcoming gameweek, too.
If that sounds like something you’re interested in, check in each week.
Not everybody in the UK has the ability to watch almost 20 hours of live NFL every week, but I’ll make sure you don’t miss anything you’d wish you didn’t. Without further delay…
This is what happened This Week in the NFL.
Game of the YEAR
If you can only watch one full game in its entirety, watch this one:
Yeah, I renamed the whole segment for this game.
Minnesota Vikings @ Buffalo Bills
Go and watch this game immediately. In the longest form you’re able.
No seriously, this is game of the season so far. Watch it.
No more chances…
Minnesota Vikings 33 – 30 Buffalo Bills / OT
I honestly don’t want to dive into this fully, because I genuinely want everyone to watch this game. But, I have to give at least a bit of a rundown. This was a battle. A back-and-forth war, with each team trading scores, turnovers and absolutely insane catches.
Let’s mix those in real quick. I don’t usually do this, but you need to see these two catches if you didn’t watch the game.
Stefon Diggs made an absolutely amazing catch. But when Justin Jefferson saw that catch, he decided that he had to one-up him.
I am not exaggerating when I say I consider this to be the best catch in the history of the NFL.
That incredible play happened on a 4th and 18, with the score at 23-27. It was a magical moment, that helped to keep the Vikings’ final drive alive. That final drive got all the way down to the one-yard-line before a failed 4th-down QB sneak. However, this put the Bills right on their goal line.
Josh Allen needed to sneak for a single yard and they would have won the game. But, that’s not how you make a game of the year! A bad QB-center exchange put the ball on the ground and linebacker Eric Kendricks launched through the line on top of the loose ball for a touchdown, making it 30-27.
Then the Buffalo Bills went down to the other end and kicked a field goal. They went 69 yards in 39 seconds to set it up and tie the game and take it to OT.
Overtime was just as dramatic as the insane fourth quarter. The Vikings marched down the field and scored a FG, then the Bills made it into the redzone with the same type of success. But, then Josh Allen threw his second redzone interception of the game, both to Patrick Peterson.
What a game.
Other games to watch back
Dallas Cowboys @ Green Bay Packers
Detroit Lions @ Chicago Bears
Upset of the Week
Washington Commanders 32 – 21 Philadelphia Eagles
Yes, you’re reading that correctly. The Eagles’ undefeated season is over. The Washington Commanders put in a hearty performance and, on the back of fan-favourite QB Taylor Heinicke and a great performance by the defense. Jalen Hurts only mustered up 175 passing yards and their running game failed to break 100 yards.
This Commanders defense is serious – and it needs to be noted, they don’t even have arguably their best player, edge rusher Chase Young, right now. They intercepted Jalen Hurts once, but also forced two more turnovers (plus the ridiculous one at the end to finish the game and pad out the score a bit).
Someone finally did it. They killed my segment!
Winners and Losers
Winners
Carolina Panthers (3-7)
Indianapolis Colts (4-5-1)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-5)
Minnesota Vikings (8-1)
Detroit Lions (3-6)
Tennessee Titans (6-3)
Kansas City Chiefs (7-2)
Miami Dolphins (7-3)
New York Giants (7-2)
Pittsburgh Steelers (3-6)
Green Bay Packers (4-6)
Arizona Cardinals (4-6)
San Francisco 49ers (5-4)
Washington Commanders (5-5)
Losers
Atlanta Falcons (4-6)
Las Vegas Raiders (2-7)
Seattle Seahawks (6-4)
Buffalo Bills (6-3)
Chicago Bears (3-7)
Denver Broncos (3-6)
Jacksonville Jaguars (3-7)
Cleveland Browns (3-6)
Houston Texans (1-7-1)
New Orleans Saints (3-7)
Dallas Cowboys (6-3)
Los Angeles Rams (3-6)
Los Angeles Chargers (5-4)
Philadelphia Eagles (8-1)
Teams on Bye
Cincinnati Bengals (5-4)
New England Patriots (5-4)
New York Jets (6-3)
Baltimore Ravens (6-3)
Undefeated Watch!
It’s over, ladies and gentlemen.
I already went through how it went down, so here I will just pay my respects.
RIP to the Philadelphia undefeated campaign.
Hello to their playoff run. The key thing now is for them not to lose momentum. We won’t be directly tracking their season anymore, but this is a fun football team and I’ll be rooting for them to make it out of the NFC and recapture some of that magic from a few years ago.
The sun finally set in Philadelphia, but their season still has a long way to go.
Standout Individual Performers
Justin Jefferson, Minnesota Vikings
10 receptions on 16 targets for 193 receiving yards and a TD. Plus the best catch I’ve ever seen.
I’ve already shown you the catch, so you should have no further questions about why Justin Jefferson has the first spot on this list. However, I think I’m ready to put him atop another list, too. I believe that this weekend he officially ascended. I believe Jefferson is the WR1 in the NFL, right now. Against an incredible Buffalo defense, he dominated. Truly dominated. He was targeted 16 times and hauled in 10 of them, including literally the best catch I’ve ever seen. He had 193 receiving yards and a TD in that absolutely epic battle. My favourite JJetta stat this weekend, per @NextGenStats on Twitter:
Christian Watson, Green Bay Packers
4 receptions on 8 targets for 107 receiving yards and 3 TD’s.
Last week we randomly had loads of players go nuts and score 3 TD’s or get 3.0 sacks, but this Sunday only one man stepped up for the hat-trick. Christian Watson had his breakout game – and not a week too soon – in a hard-fought OT win hosting Dallas. The rookie had struggled through the first half of the season, but this time out he went crazy. He caught just 4 passes and 3 of them were touchdowns. He put up 107 receiving yards and demonstrated some of the potential that got him drafted at the beginning of the 2nd round. To score 18 points single-handedly in a game where your team won in OT sounds like a pretty standout performance to me.
CeeDee Lamb, Dallas Cowboys
11 receptions on 15 targets for 150 receiving yards and 2 TD’s.
The Dallas Cowboys may have taken a tough L this week at Lambeau Field, but CeeDee Lamb had an amazing performance. The 23-year-old star receiver caught 11 of his 15 targets and turned them into a very impressive 150 receiving yards and a brace. Unfortunately it wasn’t enough to get the Cowboys over the line, as they lost in OT.
Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
74% completion rate, 331 passing yards and 4 TD’s.
It is incredibly difficult to have a passer rating of 130 even when you throw an interception, but Patrick Mahomes is so ridiculous that even when he makes a mistake he has one of the best performances in the league that week. He completed 26 of 35 pass attempts (74%) and put up 331 passing yards and 4 TD’s, even further cementing his lead of the NFL in passing touchdowns. The Chiefs comfortably defeated a Jags team that has put up a fight each week but struggled to convert the effort into W’s.
Justin Fields, Chicago Bears
60% completion rate, 167 passing yards and 2 passing TD’s, plus 13 carries for 147 rushing yards and 2 rushing TD’s.
Back at it again, Justin. This guy just won’t stop running – even after Mike McDaniel insisted he should. After breaking the regular season record for rushing yards in a single game by a QB, he had another amazing performance. And he wasn’t far off doing it again this week. His record-breaking game was a 178-yard day. This week he put up 147. He also contributed four touchdowns, two passing through the air and two taking it in on his own, including a very impressive play where he broke what looked like a certain sack and then scrambled for 6. He also threw 167 passing yards, but that’s just a bonus at this point.
Jonathan Taylor, Indianapolis Colts
22 carries for 147 rushing yards and a TD.
The Indianapolis Colts began Week 10 in a pretty wild way. They got a new Head Coach, who had basically zero coaching experience. And they still beat the Las Vegas Raiders. They did so on the back of Jonathan Taylor’s brilliant rushing performance. The 23-year-old running back carried the ball 22 times and put up 147 yards on the Raiders fragile defense. He also scored a key third-quarter TD in a closely contested win.
Saquon Barkley, New York Giants
35 carries for 152 rushing yards and a TD.
The New York Giants amazing start to the season has been largely built around their ability to dictate the pace of the game with Saquon Barkley and their rushing attack. This week he got handed the ball an impressive 35 times, the most of any running back this week. He was able to run pretty efficiently, putting up 152 yards and scoring a TD in yet another win for the 7-2 New York Giants. What a year for the NFC East!
Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers
70% completion rate, 224 passing yards and 3 TD’s on just 20 pass attempts.
This is such a weird entry to write. Aaron Rodgers is coming off the back of two back-to-back MVP seasons. And yet, this week, they had him playing a game-manager role, and attempting just 20 pass attempts. However, the success he had on those minimal pass plays was very impressive. He completed 14 of his attempts (70%), for 224 passing yards and 3 TD’s. It was also great to see his rapport with Christian Watson seemingly start to click.
Aaron Jones, Green Bay Packers
24 carries for 138 rushing yards and a TD.
Now, I feel it’s worth saying, it isn’t always a bad thing for Rodgers to hand it off. Aaron Jones is an incredibly good running back – which you need to be, if one of the greatest QB’s ever is going to hand the ball to you instead of throwing it. In Week 10, the Packers running back ran 24 times for 138 rushing yards, and a TD. This was his second best game of the season, and it’ll feel good for Jones to make it back into the endzone again. Sunday’s TD was only his second rushing score of the year and his 5th total score of the year.
Dalvin Cook, Minnesota Vikings
14 carries for 119 rushing yards and an epic 81-yard TD.
Time to get back to that absolute chaos from the Minnesota @ Buffalo game. Justin Jefferson made the insane highlight-reel catch, but he didn’t have the longest play of the game. His teammate Dalvin Cook can celebrate a victory on that one. He broke a massive 81-yard run for a TD, which started a huge shift in the game. After this long score, Josh Allen threw an interception on the next drive and then Minnesota scored another TD after that. I already spoke in depth about the chaos that came next, so you can understand how huge this TD was. Cook only had 119 total rushing yards, but that very important play lands him on this list.
Patrick Peterson, Minnesota Vikings
4 combined tackles, 2 red zone INT’s, including the game-winning INT.
Justin Jefferson wasn’t the one wearing the W chain on the flight home, though! That was Patrick Peterson. While #18’s catch was the best play of the game and the most impressive, nobody had a bigger impact than Peterson. The veteran cornerback only had 4 combined tackles but he snagged two interceptions and boy, were they big. Both of his picks came inside the redzone. The first came in the middle of Minnesota’s comeback, allowing the Vikings to fight their way back to take it to an extra period. The second interception then came in that Overtime period, to clinch the game. Two picks, both in absolutely huge moments, on one of the best QB’s in the league. Yeah, Pat P earned that W chain.
Eric Kendricks, Minnesota Vikings
10 combined tackles and an epic late-game fumble recovery TD.
You can see what I’m doing here, I’m sure. That absolute banger of a game had many magical moments, and the most exciting one was that of Eric Kendricks. His epic goal line fumble recovery TD pushed us into OT. When Josh Allen was unable to corral the snap, Kendricks dived in to make a play that ultimately won the game for them. He also had 10 combined tackles, but who cares, that incredible, chaotic finale is going to stay in the memory of NFL fans for years.
Rudy Ford, Green Bay Packers
4 solo tackles and 2 Interceptions with 68 INT-return yards.
Someone who doesn’t play for the Vikings now, but another outstanding defensive performance. Rudy Ford of the Packers had himself a day. He made 4 solo tackles as well as a pair of interceptions. On his two interceptions of Dak Prescott, he was able to put up 68 return yards. Both of these came in the first half, helping to keep the game close, and eventually get the win after an intense overtime period.
Alex Highsmith, Pittsburgh Steelers
5 combined tackles, 2.0 sacks and a forced fumble.
The Pittsburgh Steelers defense was lacking T.J Watt for weeks and their team was destined to fail without him. However, his return finally came, and that had a notable impact. For the first time in ages, an offensive line had to focus on the elite edge rusher and it let Alex Highsmith get to work. People who have read this column every week (I appreciate it), you’ll remember that early in the season, Highsmith was leading the whole league in sacks. After Watt got injured he cooled off, but now it’s time to go crazy again. This week he sacked Andy Dalton twice and forced a fumble. I would expect to see more from Highsmith soon, now that his partner is back.
Frankie Luvu, Carolina Panthers
12 combined tackles and 2.0 sacks.
Getting two sacks is cool, but getting two sacks when you’re not an edge rusher, that’s impressive. Frankie Luvu of the Carolina Panthers isn’t exactly a household name, but he is having a really solid season. Luvu is a linebacker, and he had himself a game on Thursday Night Football. He made 8 solo tackles and also had 4 assists, plus 2.0 sacks. The brace of sacks is impressive for an off ball linebacker and the 12 combined tackles on top of that makes this a truly awesome performance.
Stat Leaders Through Week 10
Passing Yards – Patrick Mahomes KC, 2936
Passing TD’s – Patrick Mahomes KC, 25
Rushing Yards – Saquon Barkley NYG, 931
Rushing TD’s – Nick Chubb CLE, 11
Receiving Yards – Tyreek Hill MIA, 1148
Receiving TD’s – Davante Adams LVR and Travis Kelce KC, 8
Total TD’s – Nick Chubb CLE, 11
Tackles (combined) – Jordyn Brooks SEA, 104
Sacks – Matt Judon NEP, 11.5
Interceptions – C.J. Gardner-Johnson PHI, 6
Week 11 Preview – What to watch
Teams on Bye
Miami Dolphins
Seattle Seahawks
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Jacksonville Jaguars
Week 11 Best Games
Kansas City Chiefs @ Los Angeles Chargers
Cincinnati Bengals @ Pittsburgh Steelers
Dallas Cowboys @ Minnesota Vikings
Tyler’s Bold Week 11 Prediction
T.J Watt will get 2.0 or more sacks this weekend against the Bengals.
Week 11 Storylines
Can Green Bay build some real momentum and stop the bleeding after a bad start? Titans @ Packers, TNF
Will Justin Fields rush for 140+ yards for the third game in a row? Bears @ Falcons, 6pm
How do Philadelphia handle the set back of their first loss against a resurgent Indy? Eagles @ Colts, 6pm
After already having a rough start, Los Angeles have now have Cooper Kupp on IR – and Matt Stafford is in concussion protocols. Rams @ Saints, 6pm
Pittsburgh finally have their defensive line back at full health and Cincy’s O-Line is in for a rough weekend. Bengals @ Steelers, 9:25pm
Two AFC West teams off to awful starts face off – is the winner of this game really a winner? Raiders @ Broncos, 9:05pm
A battle between the two top teams in the AFC West on primetime. Chiefs @ Chargers, SNF
A battle between two middling teams in the NFC West, also on primetime. 49ers @ Cardinals, MNF
