.@Lj_era8 ? @MichaelVick ?
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) November 12, 2019
via @nflthrowback pic.twitter.com/CK92yWK3b7
The Baltimore Ravens were supposed to win at Cincinnati. The Bengals are winless, and hapless. That’s not the story here. It’s the process of how Baltimore QB Lamar Jackson hit them with the flawless victory. And sure, the rushing is the eye candy, but I meant flawless.
For the second time this season, Jackson went into another team’s stadium and left with a perfect passer rating. I do NOT care if it was Miami and Cincinnati. This man was supposed to be a WR, remember?! Joe Flacco threw two incomplete passes to Jackson last season! No team has scored more points than the 300 that Baltimore has posted through nine games; keep in mind that the Ravens have already had their week off. Baltimore fans remember what it was like to not score 300 points in an entire season.
Ah, now, we even remember the Ravens winning in Seattle and knocking the Patriots from the ranks of the undefeated. But Seahawks QB Russell Wilson had a road game in San Francisco, and he made his latest MVP statement in a game where he actually saved his second INT of the season in overtime and in the red zone. Yikes!
The Seahawks even got another chance after San Francisco missed a game-winning FG, but rookie WR D.K. Metcalf dropped what would have been a 3rd down conversion, forcing the Seahawks to punt inside the two minute warning. San Francisco went 3-and-out, however, and Wilson had other ideas while the nation braced for what would have been a scandalous tie. 3rd and short in Seattle territory, and Wilson runs for 18 yards. Three plays later, Seattle became the first team to beat San Francisco, via a 42-yard field goal by K Jason Myers.
Wilson and Jackson had the most memorable performances of Week 10 – but can you really discount Kansas City QB Patrick Mahomes, especially after he came back from a dislocated knee and did everything except kick field goals and stop the run in Tennessee? Green Bay QB Aaron Rodgers has had multiple MVP seasons and this one isn’t up to those standards – but his team is 8-2 and he has a 17:2 TD-INT ratio. And there’s Houston QB Deshaun Watson, who is elevating talent on a division leader as well.
As usual, apologies to all non-QBs who are balling, like Carolina RB Christian McCaffrey, New England FS Devin McCourty, and Minnesota RB Dalvin Cook.
TEAMS OF THE WEEK:
MIA, BAL, TEN, OAKPHI, GB, TB, SEA
TOP PERFORMERS:
OAK offensive line (QB Derek Carr)CHI pass rush (ILB Nick Kwiatkowski)
BAL pass offense (TE Mark Andrews)
CLE run defense (DE Chad Thomas)
ATL run offense (RB Brian Hill)
NYJ run offense (RB Le’Veon Bell)
TB run offense (RB Peyton Barber)
TEN special teams (FS Joshua Kalu)
MIA special teams (K Jason Sanders)
GB pass rush (OLB Preston Smith)
PIT pass rush (FS Minkah Fitzpatrick)
MIN offensive line (QB Kirk Cousins)
SEA run offense (RB Chris Carson)
Looking ahead to Week 11
Open Dates – Green Bay, New York Giants, Seattle, Tennessee
The Packers are 8-2, which is already their most wins in a season since their 2016 NFC Championship loss at Atlanta. RB Aaron Jones has been a revelation this season with 14 total TDs, the most by a RB in an Aaron Rodgers offense ever already. The Giants should be better at defending the run with the defensive line talent they have. New York spent a 2017 2nd round pick on Dalvin Tomlinson, a 2018 3rd round pick on BJ Hill, and a 2019 1st round pick on Dexter Lawrence – and they’re renting 2015 Jets 1st rounder Leonard Williams. The rest of the season should be spent figuring out how to use that rookie contract talent effectively. The Seahawks have an effective trio of RBs, led by Chris Carson and including Rashaad Penny and CJ Prosise. But it is concerning that those three players have as many total TDs as fumbles (8) this season. The Titans are the last AFC South team to get a bye, and that’s the tightest division in the league. Tennessee will hope to get DT Jurrell Casey (shoulder) back after a week off.
Steelers at Cleveland: I’m not sure why I’m wasting time with what is sure to be the next installment of #ThursdayNightBeatdowns. The Steelers lead the AFC in sacks, while Cleveland QB Baker Mayfield leads the AFC in INTs. The Browns did defend the run well in Week 10, while the Steelers have been a bottom-10 rushing team this season. That just means that we’ll get a slogfest of a game that will result in another infuriating Browns loss.
Texans at Baltimore: The Texans are coming off a week off. Baltimore has never lost a home game to the Texans. This game will come down to how well the Texans defend the tight ends, something Houston does well for the most part. Three of Baltimore’s top five most targeted receivers are TEs Mark Andrews (the team leader in all targets, receptions, receiving yards and receiving TDs), Nick Boyle and Hayden Hurst.
Patriots at Philadelphia: Philly Special!!!!! Both teams are coming off Week 10 byes, while the Patriots lost their last game. Don’t expect a repeat of the offensive showcase of Super Bowl LII. The Patriots are going to struggle to run the ball in Philadelphia, but the Eagles are going to be grinding out possessions against the New England pass defense.
Bears at Los Angeles Rams: When the Bears hosted the Rams on a Sunday night in December last season, they put together their best defensive performance of the season. The Los Angeles offensive line is even worse this season, though the weather should be better for mid Los Angeles QB Jared Goff. The top matchup should feature Chicago DT Nick Williams (6.0 sacks this season) against a Los Angeles interior front that needs to replace injured C Brian Allen.
Chiefs at Chargers: The Chargers will be hosting a game in Mexico City, which is honestly better for them than hosting Chiefs fans in Carson, CA. Chargers DEs Melvin Ingram and Joey Bosa got multiple QB hits in Week 10, but Los Angeles failed to force a turnover in Oakland. They’ll be similarly hardpressed to make splash plays against Kansas City’s offense. Neither team will want this to come down to special teams, but expect a wild one south of the border. After all, the Chiefs scored 51 points in a Week 11 Monday Night Football road loss last season.