*NFL WEEK 10 RECAP (2021 Season)

An outstanding win for Washington; nobody gave us a chance, and we rocked the NFL world.

Our offensive line held up pretty nicely against Tampa Bay’s edge rushers, allowing just a handful of hits on Heinicke. The Buccaneers’ defense threw everything they had on us, but Washington’s offense adjusted well. 

There was plenty to like in this game from the offense; Antonio Gibson was effective running; he had 24 carries for 64 solid yards and a couple of catches. Terry McLaurin made some tough catches. Deandre Carter is now a legit red zone threat. I dig how they are slowly but surely getting John bates and Dax Milne more involved in the offense. 

Masterful final scoring drive in the 4th quarter; going the field’s length with 19 plays for 10 whole minutes, followed by a bold, riverboat Ron 4th and 1 call to put the game away with a TD. Amazing stuff! 

Defensively, this was the best game of the season for this unit. Tom Brady never looked comfortable and even began to whine and get frustrated like he usually gets when things don’t go his way. He is such a sore loser. 

It felt like things came together for our defense, and they played like a cohesive unit. Casey Toohill filled in for Montez Sweat nicely, and Jamin Davis seems to be coming into his own as a linebacker. In addition, William Jackson III looked more comfortable, and the rest of the secondary had a terrific game. 

Losing Chase Young for the season is a bummer. Plus, Ricky Seals-Jones got banged up and is now listed as questionable for next week. I really hope we get Darryl Roberts, Curtis Samuel, and Logan Thomas on the field soon. 

Next week, Ron Rivera returns to Carolina with Cam Newton as the starter. This will be a tough challenge for Washington; neutralizing Cam and Christian McCaffrey will be crucial for any chance to win this game.

A victory against Carolina could potentially set Washington up for a late-season run, especially with 5 divisional games remaining in the schedule. Advantage, Washington. 

WFT 29 — BUCCANEERS 19

COWBOYS 43 — FALCONS 3

Another lucky break for this overrated team. The subplot here was the return of former head coach Dan Quinn to the team that fired him. I don’t really put any stock on this win. Next up, 7-2 Dallas visits an improving 6-4 Kansas City team. Advantage, Kansas City Chiefs.

The Falcons are an enigma; they look formidable one week and awful the following week. Next up, Atlanta host New England on Thursday Night Football. Advantage, New England Patriots. 

EAGLES 30 — BRONCOS 13

Jalen Hurts slowly but surely, coming into his own as a duel threat QB; He constantly finds solid chunks of yards when scrambling. As a result, defenses have to come up with specific game plans to contain him better. Next week, Philly hosts New Orleans. Advantage, New Orleans Saints. 

The main story for Denver should be the absence of OC Pat Shurmur due to Covid. The Broncos did not look like the same team from week 9 without Shurmur calling plays. Next week, Denver has their bye week.

49ERS 31 — LA RAMS 10

Man, San Francisco looked formidable here. The defense was dominant, pressuring Matt Stafford and making him uncomfortable for most of the game. The offense was on fire; Elijah Mitchell carried the ball an impressive 27 times for 91 yards. Debbo Samuel was unstoppable with 2 TDs for a combined total of 133 yards of both rushing and receiving. Next week, San Francisco visits a scrappy Jacksonville team. Advantage, San Francisco 49ers.

The Rams could not get anything going offensively — and for some strange reason, they got away from the run game for a combined 9 carries and 51 yards for both Sony Michel and Darrell Henderson JR. No reason to panic…yet. Bad games such as this one are bound to occur from time to time in the NFL. Next week, the Rams have their bye week

CHIEFS 41 — RAIDERS 14

This game was closer than the final score suggests. It was 17-14 midway through the 3rd quarter until the Chiefs exploded all over the Raiders, scoring 24 unanswered points. And on top of all of the offensive firepower, Kansas City’s defense also stepped up big-time. This was a crucial divisional win, and it might just be the turning point for the Chiefs this season. Next week, Kansas City will host overrated Dallas. Advantage, Kansas City Chiefs.

The Raiders have lost two games in a row and are finding themselves in a tough spot in their AFC WEST division. However, they still have 3 divisional games remaining and a shot at making the playoffs as a wildcard. Next week, Las Vegas hosts the 5-4 Cincinnati Bengals. Advantage, Las Vegas Raiders. 

PANTHERS 34 — CARDINALS 10

Cam Newton returned and scored 2 TDs back to back in the 1st quarter. Carolina seemed inspired by the mere presence of Cam in the lineup. The Panthers are now 5-5 and could potentially make a late-season run for a wildcard spot. Next week, Carolina welcomes back Ron Rivera. Advantage, the Washington Football Team. 

Colt McCoy could not duplicate his success from week 9 against San Francisco. Carolina had a solid game plan, and Arizona could not adjust or establish their run game to give McCoy a better chance to make things happen. Next week, Arizona visits the 3-6 Seattle Seahawks. Advantage, Arizona Cardinals.

VIKINGS 27 — LA CHARGERS 20

The Vikings save their season yet again by getting more aggressive with their offense. Kirk Cousins finally found ways to spread the ball around to his receivers, especially to 2nd-year receiver Justin Jefferson who ended up 143 yards. Also, Dalvin Cook ran effectively for 94 yards and 1 TD. Next week, Minnesota has a season-defining game hosting Green Bay. Advantage, Minnesota Vikings.

The Chargers are having a hard time putting together back-to-back wins as they did early in the season. At 5-4, they are starting to lose ground in the AFC WEST. Next week, LA hosts a Pittsburgh team with the possibility of no Big Ben. Advantage, LA Chargers.

BILLS 45 — NY JETS 17

After a stinker on week 9, Buffalo had a huge bounce-back game against a divisional foe. Josh Allen was impressive, spreading the ball around to receivers Stefon Diggs and Gabriel Davis for a combined 267 yards. Nest week, Buffalo hosts 5-5 Indianapolis Colts. Advantage, Buffalo Bills.

Mike White mania came to an end after throwing 4 picks and struggling to get anything going. Joe Flacco came in late in the game to finish up a scoring drive; maybe Flacco should get a chance to start the next game. The Jets are a complete mess and have no clue who will be starting at QB on week 11. Next week, the NY Jets hosts divisional rival Miami. Advantage, Miami Dolphins.

PACKERS 17 — SEAHAWKS 0

Anti-vaxxer Aaron Rodgers returned as the starting QB — Rodgers was shaky for most of the game; he had to rely heavily on the run to move the offense. AJ Dillon ended up with 168 yards and 2 TDs to carry Green Bay to victory. Next week, Green Bay visits a needy 4-5 Minnesota team. Advantage, Minnesota Vikings.

Russell Wilson was obviously rusty throwing 2 costly picks and struggled to get his offensive weapons involved. It was an ugly and messy game for a 3-6 Seattle team sitting at the bottom of the NFC WEST. Next week, Seattle hosts 8-2 Arizona. Advantage, Arizona Cardinals.

PATRIOTS 45 — BROWNS 7

I did not see this coming, New England dominated Cleveland in all aspects of this game. Mac Jones had one of his better games of the season with 3 TDs. New England is now right in the middle of a playoff hunt. Next up, New England visits a banged up 4-5 Atlanta Falcons team. Advantage, New England Patriots.

Cleveland could not protect Baker Mayfield for most of the game — Baker was under fire for most of the game and exited due to injury after sustaining multiple hits. This was an embarrassing loss for this Cleveland team with Super Bowl aspirations. Next up, Cleveland should bounce back hosting winless Detroit. Advantage, Cleveland Browns.

DOLPHINS 22 — RAVENS 10

The Dolphins are officially on a two-game winning streak, and they are getting things done mostly on defense. This is the version of Miami I expected to see this season. Tua has moments of solid QB play but continues to be inconsistent. The remaining schedule looks positive for Miami, and they could potentially make a run at a wildcard spot. Next week, Miami visits their division rival NY Jets. Advantage, Miami Dolphins. 

The Ravens were ineffective in all areas of this game. Miami constantly pressured Lamar Jackson. Plus, Baltimore’s running game was never a factor. Next week, Baltimore visits Justin Fields and the 3-6 Chicago Bears for what should be a very close game. Advantage, Baltimore Ravens.

TITANS 23 — SAINTS 21

I cannot overstate how impressed I’m with Tennessee, their six-game winning streak, and how well they have adjusted to life without Derrick Henry. The Titans are a dangerous team that continues to find ways to win tight games. Next up, 8-2 Tennessee hosts 1-8 Houston. Advantage, Tennessee Titans.

Trevor Siemian is actually playing pretty well for New Orleans, but the absence of Alvin Kamara and Michael Thomas has affected the overall offensive outlook of this team. The remaining schedule for New Orleans is a mix of some very tough games and some winnable games. Next up, New Orleans visits 4-6 Philadelphia. Advantage, New Orleans Saints.

COLTS 23 — JAGUARS 17

The Colts need to continue to ride Jonathan Taylor into the post-season; Taylor has been the driving force behind the Colts’ recent success and their two-game winning streak. However, those victories came against pretty awful teams. Next week, 5-5 Indianapolis visits 6-3 Buffalo. Advantage, Buffalo Bills.

The Jaguars took Indianapolis to the limit and made this game close. Jacksonville is slowly finding a rhythm and will probably finish the season feeling better about their future. Next week, Jacksonville hosts a resurgent 4-5 San Francisco team. Advantage, San Francisco 49ers. 

LIONS 16 — STEELERS 16

We had our first and hopefully our last tie game of the season. Detroit cannot catch a break, and it must be heartbreaking for their fandom to see their team winless this deep in the season. The thing is, the Lions are actually not as awful as their record suggests. Next week, Detroit visits a deeply wounded and vulnerable Cleveland team. Advantage, Cleveland Browns.

Mason Rudolph filling in for Big Ben has been good but not great. The Steelers need to focus on the running game until Roethlisberger returns. Next week, Pittsburgh visits Justin Herbert in LA. Advantage, LA Chargers.