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 Week
If you can only watch one full game in its entirety, watch this one:
Detroit Lions vs Los Angeles Chargers
Nobody should be surprised that this was a fun game of football. Both of these two teams have the mouth-watering combination of a very good offense and a fairly mediocre defense, which always makes for an exciting matchup. This was about as locked in a shootout as you can see on a weekly schedule, and it didn’t disappoint.
I couldn’t recommend you watch it more. Lots of highlights, lots of points, and lots of fun!
Other games to watch back
Houston Texans @ Cincinnati Bengals
Cleveland Browns @ Baltimore Ravens
Washington Commanders @ Seattle Seahawks
Upset of the Week
Denver Broncos 24 – 22 Buffalo Bills
When I started writing this column on Monday I couldn’t choose a clear ‘Upset of the Week’ from the games thus far. That won’t be an issue, now. On Monday Night Football, the Buffalo Bills fell to the Denver Broncos. Not only was this a huge upset, the way it happened was pretty upsetting, as well. Even after a terrible performance from Josh Allen, including two interceptions, the Bills still had the game all but won, when Denver tried to be smart, and forced their FG-kicking unit to rush and kick with a running clock – and missed. However, the Bills defense had 12 men on the field. This penalty gave Broncos kicker Wil Lutz a second chance and he nailed it, winning the game. What a ridiculous way to lose.
I will give Denver some credit for the win, although it is very clear that Buffalo bottled it, especially on one play. Courtland Sutton’s touchdown reception was a thing of true beauty. Russell Wilson threw an incredible pass while switching his footwork and avoiding a sack. According to Next Gen Stats it was the last likely completion in the history of their catch probability metrics, at a 3.2% chance of success. Epic.
Winners and Losers
Winners
Chicago Bears (3-7)
Indianapolis Colts (5-5)
Houston Texans (5-4)
Minnesota Vikings (6-4)
Pittsburgh Steelers (6-3)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-5)
San Francisco 49ers (6-3)
Cleveland Browns (6-3)
Arizona Cardinals (2-8)
Detroit Lions (7-2)
Dallas Cowboys (6-3)
Seattle Seahawks (6-3)
Denver Broncos (4-5)
Losers
Carolina Panthers (1-8)
New England Patriots (2-8)
Cincinnati Bengals (5-4)
New Orleans Saints (5-5)
Green Bay Packers (3-6)
Tennessee Titans (3-6)
Jacksonville Jaguars (6-3)
Baltimore Ravens (7-3)
Atlanta Falcons (4-6)
Los Angeles Chargers (4-5)
New York Giants (2-8)
Washington Commanders (4-6)
Buffalo Bills (5-5)
Teams on Bye
Kansas City Chiefs (7-2)
Los Angeles Rams (3-6)
Miami Dolphins (6-3)
Philadelphia Eagles (8-1)
Standout Individual Performers
Keenan Allen, WR, Los Angeles Chargers
11 receptions on 14 targets for 175 receiving yards and 2 TD’s.
The Chargers may have been on the wrong side of our game of the week, but superstar receiver Keenan Allen still dominated. It feels like every week he’s good for 8+ receptions and 70+ yards. This week he was even better than normal, though. In his best performance of the year so far, he pulled in 11 receptions for a whopping 175 receiving yards and a brace. Those two TD’s put him at 6 on the season so far. Allen would have preferred the win, I’m sure, but this performance was as impressive as any all week.
CeeDee Lamb, WR, Dallas Cowboys
11 receptions on 14 targets for 151 receiving yards and a TD, plus 14 rushing yards and a TD.
This week CeeDee Lamb claimed that he is the ‘top receiver in this game’ right now. Honestly, I don’t think I’m prepared to argue with him on that. Dallas’ WR1 is absolutely destroying defenses this year. This Sunday it was the New York Giants who were at his mercy, and they didn’t enjoy it. Lamb caught 11 of his 14 targets for 151 receiving yards and a touchdown. Plus, just for good measure, he took his one single rush attempt 14 yards for a rushing TD.
Dak Prescott, QB, Dallas Cowboys
74.3% completion rate, 404 passing yards and 4 TD’s with 1 INT, plus 17 rushing yards and a TD.
Lamb is up there as one of the best, but he can’t do it without his QB. Dak Prescott has many doubters, but nobody can deny his performance in his dismantling of the Giants defense. He had a reasonably modest 35 pass attempts, but completed 26 of them (74.3%) for an impressive 404 passing yards and 4 TD’s, with 1 INT. He also rushed for 17 yards and had a touchdown of his own, on the ground.
Justin Herbert, QB, Los Angeles Chargers
67.5% completion rate, 323 passing yards and 4 TD’s with 1 INT.
As Lamb’s big game was the product of Dak’s, Keenan Allen’s quarterback also had himself a day. Justin Herbert threw 323 passing yards on 27/40 passing, breaking 300 yards for the third time this year. He threw an interception in the first quarter, but then he turned it around and threw 4 touchdowns after that. Unfortunately for LA, it wasn’t quite enough, but their shortcomings weren’t the fault of their young QB.
Brandin Cooks, WR, Dallas Cowboys
9 receptions on 10 targets for 173 receiving yards and a TD.
While CeeDee Lamb is obviously the premier talent in Dallas’ offense, this week I have to say he was far from alone in the dominance. Veteran speedster Brandin Cooks had an incredible performance, too. Cooks saw 10 targets and caught 9 of them for 173 receiving yards (which ties his second-highest-ever total) and a touchdown. His TD came on a shifty redzone TD, which isn’t what you usually envision when you think Brandin Cooks, but he played brilliantly this week, as he tries to demand more involvement in the offense.
T.J. Hockenson, TE, Minnesota Vikings
11 receptions on 15 targets for 134 receiving yards and a TD.
There were question marks about whether T.J. Hockenson would play on Sunday. Even just a couple of hours before the kick off it was suggested that he was going to be on a snap count and only used when necessary. Well, clearly he was very necessary! Despite playing while banged up, Hockenson had his best game of the season, pulling in 11 of his 15 targets from Josh Dobbs for 134 yards and finding the end zone. He took some hard hits, but kept getting back up and continuing to ball out in this impressive Minnesota win.
Sheldon Rankins, IL, Houston Texans
5 solo tackles, including 3.0 Sacks and a forced fumble.
Sheldon Rankins has been in the league since 2016, and has been a solid defensive tackle over his career. Previous to this week, he had only had one multi-sack game before, back in 2018. Then, in the epic Texans victory in Cincinnati, he dominated and had a new career-high. Of his 5 solo tackles, three made for a hat-trick of sacks on Joe Burrow.
Dayo Odeyingbo, DE, Indianapolis Colts
4 solo tackles, including 3.0 Sacks.
While the fans seemed to have an epic time, singing their hearts out for much of the game, the football on the field in Frankfurt this week was fairly poor – from an offensive perspective at least. In the Colts’ low-scoring victory, one defensive player balled out above the rest. Third-year defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo had a huge day, recording 3.0 Sacks.
Foyesade Oluokun, LB, Jacksonville Jaguars
6 solo tackles and 3 assists, including 2.0 Sacks.
Having been an absolute tackle monster throughout his career, Foyesade Oluokun is no stranger to being very involved in the game. This week, though, he left his fingerprints in the backfield, too. The Jags linebacker finished their loss with 9 combined tackles, 6 of which were solo tackles, and landed himself 2.0 Sacks. When you consider the fact that these only put him on 9.0 Sacks for his entire career, it’s a pretty big day for the six-year veteran. This was the first multi-sack game ever. Jacksonville’s offense did absolutely nothing, but I can’t ignore this stellar performance on the other side of the ball.
Brian Robinson, RB, Washington Commanders
8 carries for 38 rushing yards, plus 6 receptions for 119 receiving yards and a TD.
The Washington Commanders were the unfortunate losers in one of the many close-fought games that ended on a walk-off kick this week. However, in their loss, running back Brian Robinson did his part. He carried the ball just 8 times (despite leading the team in rush attempts) for just 38 rushing yards, which isn’t particularly impressive. His performance in the passing game was impressive, though, amassing 119 receiving yards on 6 catches from as many targets, including a huge 51-yard touchdown on the first drive of the game!
Jahmyr Gibbs, RB, Detroit Lions
14 carries for 77 rushing yards and 2 TD’s, plus 3 receptions for 35 receiving yards.
Any time I can even somewhat justify writing about Jahmyr Gibbs I’m going to do it. This kid is electric. Every time he touches the ball he looks like he could break off a long TD. The rookie’s rush attempts dropped from last week’s 26 down to 14 thanks to David Montgomery’s return, but he still rushed for 77 yards and found the endzone twice. Plus, he added a further 35 receiving yards on his 3 catches.
Kyle Hamilton, S, Baltimore Ravens
8 solo tackles, plus a pick-six.
The Baltimore Ravens were unable to secure the win over their division rivals as the Browns visited this week, but Kyle Hamilton had an impressive performance nonetheless.On just the second snap of the entire game, the second-year Safety came downhill on a blitz and deflected a pass from Deshaun Watson up to himself for an 18-yard pick-six! He then added 8 solo tackles to his name, but it wasn’t quite enough to hold on for the all-important divisional victory.
Stat Leaders Through Week 10
Passing Yards – Sam Howell WAS, 2783
Passing TD’s – Josh Allen BUF and Tua Tagovailoa MIA, 19
Rushing Yards – Christian McCaffrey SF, 747
Rushing TD’s – Raheem Mostert MIA, 11
Receiving Yards – Tyreek Hill MIA, 1076
Receiving TD’s – Tyreek Hill MIA, 8
Total TD’s – Christian McCaffrey SF and Raheem Mostert MIA, 13
Tackles (combined) – Zaire Franklin IND, 117
Sacks – Myles Garrett CLE and Danielle Hunter MIN, 11.0
Interceptions – Geno Stone BAL, 6
Week 11 Preview – What to watch
Teams on Bye
Atlanta Falcons
Indianapolis Colts
New England Patriots
New Orleans Saints
Week 11 Best Games
Philadelphia Eagles @ Kansas City Chiefs
Cincinnati Bengals @ Baltimore Ravens
Pittsburgh Steelers @ Cleveland Browns
Tyler’s Bold Week 11 Prediction
The Bengals will bounce back in a big way and beat the Ravens on the road on TNF.
Week 11 Storylines
Cincinnati and Baltimore battle it out in one of the best TNF matchups of the season. Bengals @ Ravens, TNF
A heated rivalry continues, with both teams sporting a 6-3 record. Steelers @ Browns, 6pm
Can a resurgent Las Vegas team turn their momentum into an upset in Miami? Raiders @ Dolphins, 6pm
Jacksonville need to bounce back after having their 5-game win streak snapped violently last week. Titans @ Jaguars, 6pm
Will C.J. Stroud continue his MVP-level form or will Kyler Murray continue to ruin the draft pick that they need for his replacement? Cardinals @ Texans, 6pm
Can Buffalo bounce back after a shocking mistake-ridden loss? Jets @ Bills, 9:25pm
Josh Dobbs on Primetime, what more can I say? Vikings @ Broncos, SNF
The best Monday Night Football matchup you could possibly ask for… Eagles @ Chiefs, MNF
