WHAt wE LEArNED FrOM WEEK 10
A Hail Mary into triple- coverage. A 98- yard touchdown run. A roughing- the- passer call that handed a team a win.
It was a week of big plays and last- minute changes in fortune, and it shook up the NFL’s best division, as the NFC West now has a three- way tie for first place.
Here’s what we learned:
Dopk0ns 0s mAg0C
Buffalo had just scored a gutpunch of a touchdown to take a 30- 26 lead in the final minute of the fourth quarter and Arizona, after the ensuing kickoff, had just 34 seconds to go 75 yards to score a winning touchdown.
Undeterred, Kyler Murray and the Cardinals were methodical. Murray, the second- year quarterback, completed passes of 14, 9 and 9 yards to put Arizona at Buffalo’s 43- yard line, and that was all the space he needed.
On his fourth pass of the drive, Murray launched a Hail Mary into triple- coverage in the end zone and DeAndre Hopkins, acquired in a trade this offseason to unlock Murray’s potential, managed to outjump and outmuscle all three Buffalo defenders for the ball.
The remarkable catch is the type of highlight that will be replayed for years, and it gave Arizona a thrilling end to a 32- 30 win.
Thanks to a Seattle loss to the Los Angeles Rams, it also gave the Cardinals a share of the division lead in the NFC West.
Eones wad po0nt to prove
After Tampa Bay set an NFL record by running the ball just five times in a humiliating loss to New Orleans last week, the Buccaneers remembered Ronald Jones II existed and the running back helped carry them to a laughable 46- 23 win over Carolina.
Jones ran for 192 yards on 23 carries, but one play stood out. In the third quarter, with Tampa Bay clinging to a three- point lead, Jones took a handoff at his team’s 2- yard line, sliced right through a pack of Carolina defenders, and raced 98 yards for a touchdown, just the fourth rushing touchdown of 98 or more yards in NFL history, according to Pro Football Reference.
According to the NFL’s Next Gen Stats database, Jones hit 21.19 mph on the run, gaining 94 more yards than expected on the play.
Havens aren’t r0gwt
Baltimore has lost two of three games since its Week 7 bye and have not looked nearly as explosive on offense.
In Sunday night’s rain- soaked 23- 17 loss to New England, Baltimore was limited to 115 yards rushing, with running back Mark Ingram getting just 5 yards in his return from an ankle injury, compounding his bad day by losing track of the snap on a wildcat play in the third quarter that resulted in a turnover on downs.
It’s far too soon to say the league has figured Baltimore out, but this is the closest thing to a slump the Ravens have had in the Lamar Jackson era.
F0am0’ s uture 0s now
The Dolphins’ decision to switch from Ryan Fitzpatrick to Tua Tagovailoa at quarterback raised a few eyebrows — most notably Fitzpatrick’s — since Miami was playing well and was on the fringe of this year’s playoff hunt.
The move was rationalized by most as the right play for the team’s future, but Tagovailoa has quickly changed that narrative by winning the first three starts of his career.
In Sunday’s convincing 29- 21 win over Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers, rookie running back Salvon Ahmed led the way, and the team’s defense withstood a late surge from Herbert.
Tagovailoa’s statistics haven’t been eye- popping, but getting him much- needed experience while inching closer to a wildcard spot is a major case of a team having its cake and eating it, too.
Seattle can’t blame A
The Seahawks’ Achilles’ heel all season has been its porous defense, but in a devastating loss to the Rams, the offense pulled a disappearing act.
Russell Wilson had his worst game of the season with 248 yards passing and two interceptions, D. K. Metcalf had just two catches on four targets and Seattle, which has lost three of its past four games, fell into a threeway tie with the Rams and Arizona for the lead in the NFC West.
The Seahawks host the Cardinals next week in what appears to be a crucial game for both teams.
Loung needs to apolog0ze
There were fewer than 10 seconds remaining in a tie game between Detroit and Washington when the Lions’ Matthew
Stafford threw an incomplete pass at his own 35- yard line, making overtime seem like a foregone conclusion.
But Chase Young, a rookie defensive end for Washington, came in late and tossed Stafford to the ground, earning a flag for roughing the passer.
The 15- yard penalty, plus a 6yard pass from Stafford to Marvin Jones, got Matt Prater just close enough for a 59- yard field goal as time expired. That Washington had fought back from a 24- 3 deficit to tie the game, only to have it fall apart because of such a ridiculous mistake, will certainly sting.
W0g week or k0ckers
Detroit’s Matt Prater got most of the attention for a three fieldgoal game that included a 59yard game- winner as time expired, but he was far from alone.
With one game remaining in Week 10, the league’s kickers have already connected for 11 field goals of 50 or more yards, tying a record set in Week 13 of the 2012 season.
The longest field goal Sunday belonged to Seattle’s Jason Myers, who hit a 61- yarder in the Seahawks’ loss to Los Angeles. But the best day, beyond Prater’s, belonged to Buffalo’s Tyler Bass, who connected on field goals of 54, 55 and 58 yards, setting a new career long on three consecutive kicks.
There have been 71 field goals of at least 50 yards this season, which according to the NFL has already broken the league’s record for the first 10 weeks of the season, which was set in 2017 when there were 67.