Saints, Rams win convincingly
NFL Week 10 report 3-4C; standings
The 40 things we learned from Week 10 of the NFL season.
1. On Sunday, the NFL deemed a report from ESPN “nonsense” amid claims that Commissioner Roger Goodell is seeking $49.5 million annually, lifetime use of a private jet and lifetime health insurance for his family as part of his next contract. Gotta start negotiations somewhere, right? Surely Goodell would reasonably settle for $40 million a year and permanent first-class gratis airline fares.
2. And now you have some idea why it takes soooooo long for the league and players union to agree on anything, especially when it comes time to hammer out a labor deal ... a headache Goodell is scheduled to face in 2021 and the primary reason his compensation is off the charts.
3. Welcome back, Teddy Bridgewater. The Vikings quarterback was in tears just before kickoff Sunday in Washington, the first time he’d been active for a non-preseason game since the 2015 playoffs. A horrific non-contact knee injury in practice just prior to the 2016 season jeopardized Bridgewater’s career while sidelining him from meaningful football for 442 days.
4. However, the Vikings don’t seem like they’ll need Teddy B.’s services any time soon. Case Keenum went off for a career-best four TD passes against the Redskins, keeping Minnesota (7-2) in control of the NFC North.
5. The Vikings continue their mastery of touchdown celebrations. This week, WR Adam Thielen’s secondquarter score set off a game of leapfrog.
6. Thielen, remarkably consistent with at least five catches in every game of 2017, finished with eight grabs for 166 yards. It was his second game this season with more than 150 yards, joining Pittsburgh’s Antonio Brown and Indianapolis’ T.Y. Hilton as the only players to do that multiple times in 2017.
7. Prayers and warm thoughts for New Orleans RB Daniel Lasco, who was taken off the field in Buffalo in an ambulance after suffering a scary back injury during a kickoff. Lasco waved his hand on his way off the field, and the Saints later said he had feeling in his extremities.
8. Lasco’s injury was the only concern on a day when the Saints otherwise maintained first place in the NFC South after steamrolling the Bills 47-10. Amazingly, not one of New Orleans’ points came courtesy of a Drew Brees TD pass, though he did run for one. Since Brees arrived in New Orleans in 2006, the team had been 4-11 when he didn’t toss a TD and had never scored more than 27 points.
9. If the Saints stay this hot — their winning streak is now at seven — they can start thinking about at least one playoff game at the Superdome. But they should feel good about their chances of winning in January — even in, say, a Philadelphia snowstorm — given how well they’re running the ball and playing defense.
10. WR Kelvin Benjamin caught three passes for 42 yards in his Bills debut. He did not snare the game’s only TD pass, which naturally came off the right arm of Buffalo rookie QB Nate Peterman.
11. Time to stick a fork into the notion that the Bills might be ready for their first playoff appearance since 1999? After “defending the dirt” so well, they got their first home loss under rookie coach Sean McDermott in dramatic style, surrendering 482 yards (298 on the ground) in addition to those 47 points. Buffalo did nothing on offense and was penalized eight times. Not a good omen for a team that still has to face the Patriots twice.
12. Sunday was the type of performance the Packers have been waiting for from QB Brett Hundley, who channeled his inner Aaron Rodgers with his gamewinning, 19-yard fourth-quarter touchdown pass to Davante Adams against the Bears. Hundley rolled to his right out of the pocket, planted his feet and threw a perfect back shoulder pass to the end zone.
13. Expect discussions next offseason regarding the rule that turns a fumble at the pylon into a touchback after it cost another team a score Sunday. This time it was the Bears, when officials determined RB Benny Cunningham lost control of the ball as he dived for the py- lon after a 23-yard catch. Instead of a touchdown — or even a ruling that Cunningham was out of bounds at the 1-yard line — it was called a touchback, and possession reverted to Green Bay. (Bears coach John Fox, however, deserves plenty of blame after challenging the initial call — out of bounds shy of the end zone — and the result of the challenge, after officials had time to review replays, was the touchback.)
14. Much of the focus on Cleveland’s ineptitude has shifted to the front office recently after the Browns’ botched attempt to acquire Bengals QB AJ McCarron. But after watching the team’s “execution” as QB DeShone Kizer attempted a 2-yard sneak for a TD at the end of the first half with time winding down and no timeouts — Kizer was stuffed by Detroit as the final 15 seconds ticked off and Browns RB Duke Johnson was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct — Hue Jackson must shoulder plenty of the blame for this team’s lack of preparedness. That’s exactly what Jackson did after the game, though many Browns players said Kizer audibled to the sneak.
15. The Browns are now 1-24 during the Jackson regime. The franchise’s last road win came on Oct. 11, 2015.
16. And with the 49ers breaking through for Kyle Shanahan’s first win Sunday, Cleveland is now in the driver’s seat for the No. 1 overall draft pick. Again.
17. The Niners handled the Giants, who also have just one win this season, Sunday. Since Dec. 6, 2015, San Francisco hadn’t beaten any team except the Rams. Have fun with that, Ben McAdoo.
18. Steelers WR JuJu Smith-Schuster, 20, is the NFL’s youngest player. He scored six points (7-yard TD catch) in Sunday’s win over the Colts.
19. Colts K Adam Vinatieri, 44, is the NFL’s oldest player. His field goal and two extra points Sunday weren’t enough against Smith-Schuster’s Steelers.
20. Don’t sleep on the Jags when they punt. Corey Grant stung the Chargers by dashing and darting 56 yards for a TD after taking the snap as the up-back on a fake — the exact surprise that Jacksonville hit the Ravens with for a 58yard gain in London during Week 3.
21. Grant’s big play made him Jacksonville’s leading rusher Sunday. Playing for the first time since Oct. 15, Leonard Fournette had just 33 yards on 17 carries after beginning the day leading the NFL in rushing yards per game (99.3).
22. The Jags entered Sunday with a league-high 35 sacks, making them a threat to break the single-season record held by the 1984 Bears (72). However Jacksonville didn’t take down statueesque Chargers QB Philip Rivers once.
23. In a day full of dumb penalties (see: Burfict, Vontaze), Jaguars WR Marqise Lee might have had the dumbest when he was flagged for taunting after he thought he’d drawn an unnec- essary roughness penalty — he hadn’t — in the end zone late in the fourth quarter. Blake Bortles was intercepted on the subsequent third-and-25 play.
24. However the Jags survived in overtime after CB A.J. Bouye’s 51-yard return of a Rivers interception set up K Josh Lambo’s game-winning 30-yard field goal. The Chargers cut Lambo before the season.
25. Losing at EverBank Field was nothing new for Chargers DC Gus Bradley, who was 14-48 in three-plus years as the Jaguars head coach.
26. First-place Jacksonville is now
6-3, the first time it’s had that many wins in a season since going 8-8 in 2010.
27. The Titans are tied with the Jags atop the AFC South after squeaking by the Bengals 24-20. Tennessee has won four in a row, but its last three victories have come by a total of 10 points.
28. Titans rookie CB Adoree’ Jackson would make Chuck Bednarik proud. Jackson started on defense, made two tackles and broke up two passes. He also ran the ball three times for 30 yards, brought back three punts for 17 yards and returned three kickoffs for 71 yards. Ask for overtime pay, Adoree’.
29. Did we mention Vontaze Burfict earlier? Yes? Almost forgot since he didn’t play much Sunday. The Bengals’ resident bad-boy backer was penalized for a late hit on Titans RB DeMarco Murray and for making contact with an official in the span of three plays. Burfict was in the showers before halftime.
30. So much for the upstart Jets heading into next week’s bye at 5-5. Sunday, they lost 15-10 to old “friend” Ryan Fitzpatrick and the Jameis Winston-less and Mike Evans-less Bucs, who snapped a five-game skid in a defensive struggle that didn’t produce a touchdown until the fourth quarter.
31. Giants QB Eli Manning made his
208th consecutive start Sunday, tying brother Peyton for second place on the Ironman list behind Brett Favre (297). Peyton’s streak ended because of injury in 2011. Could Eli lose his during this season if McAdoo decides it’s time to evaluate rookie QB Davis Webb?
32. Atlanta’s Matt Ryan became the
19th quarterback in NFL history to pass for 40,000 career yards. But he needed only 151 games to do it, making him the quickest player to reach the milestone.
33. Apparently the Cowboys missed LT Tyron Smith far more than suspended RB Ezekiel Elliott. With Smith out with a groin injury, Falcons DE Adrian Clayborn sacked QB Dak Prescott six times, one shy of Hall of Famer Derrick Thomas’ single-game record. A sevenyear vet, Clayborn had exceeded six sacks in a season once.
34. Without Elliott, the Cowboys scored a season-low seven points in their 27-7 loss to Atlanta.
35. Rams WR Robert Woods has four TD catches in the last two games. During his first four NFL seasons, all in Buffalo, he had four TDs in a season just once. Woods scored twice and had a career-best 171 yards in Sunday’s win over Houston.
36. But even though the Rams have become the NFL’s darlings courtesy of their top-scoring offense — they trounced the Texans 33-7 — they’ve allowed just 57 points over the last five games.
37. Let’s hope Larry Fitzgerald has at least one more season in him despite the disappointment of the current campaign. The Arizona receiver went over the 15,000-yard mark Thursday night and now needs 869 more to jump from sixth place on the all-time list (15,066) to second, where Terrell Owens (15,934) currently resides waaaay behind Jerry Rice.
38. And if you don’t know much about Fitzgerald personally, set the DVR to record A Football Life, the latest installment of the NFL Network documentary series and one that does a masterful job at revealing the deep layers of the best player in Cardinals history.
39. A real shame that a ruptured Achilles tendon will force perennial Seahawks Pro Bowler Richard Sherman into missing the first games of his career after he’d played 105 consecutively since being drafted in 2011. (You and Joe Thomas should have a beer together, Sherm, and celebrate your interrupted longevity.)
40. With Sherman gone and free safety Earl Thomas hurting, Seattle now faces an uphill battle to retain its hold on the NFC West crown. A depleted Legion of Boom draws Julio Jones and the Falcons next Monday night and will see the Eagles, Rams and Cowboys in December.