NFL Week 10 Recap: Hail to the Commanders

This is my second year writing week-by-week NFL recaps, and I've never started with Monday Night Football. Of course, it's not every Monday that the last unbeaten team loses on that day. The Philadelphia Eagles hosted the Washington Commanders on Monday Night Football, and upon looking at the matchup, a thought entered my mind. The last time Washington faced off against an undefeated Pennsylvania team? Washington won. They defeated the 11-0 Pittsburgh Steelers two years prior, and interestingly, that was a Monday game (due to COVID outbreaks postponing the game). So could this team do it again?

The Eagles did strike first after a turnover, but the Commanders quickly tied it up. It was 14-10 Eagles during the second quarter, but interestingly, that lead would be their last. Brian Robinson, Jr's touchdown would give the Commanders their first lead, and after a Joey Slye field goal, it 20-14 at the half. The 2nd half saw the Eagles fall apart. Three turnovers committed, offense mostly stalled. The third turnover resulted in a touchdown that was scored at the final seconds, but at the time, the game was settled. The Commanders won, 32-21, and the Eagles lost for the first time in 2022.

So per tradition, the surviving members of the 1972 Miami Dolphins pop the champagne for another year. This was a huge win for the Commanders, a road division win on Monday Night Football against the last unbeaten team left. As for the Eagles, they now find themselves only one game up in the NFC East, as the New York Giants defeated the lowly Houston Texans.

What I'm about to say disturbs every fiber of my Green and Gold being, but it has to be said. The Minnesota Vikings are scaring the shit out of the league right now. They entered their big matchup against the Buffalo Bills at a possible disadvantage, because the status of Josh Allen was up in the air. Despite his elbow problems, Allen started for the Bills, and I figured, "Well, that's that. Vikings will get killed." The game ended up close, and the Vikings were threatening in the fourth quarter down four points, but Kirk Cousins was stopped on 4th and Goal. So that's that, game over, right?

Yeah, not quite.

Josh Allen attempt to sneak out of his own goal line and avoid a safety, ended with a fumble and a recovery by the Vikings defense in the end zone. So the Vikings ended up with a touchdown anyway, but the Bills managed to get in field goal range, make the kick, and force overtime. Minnesota had the ball first, and nearly went all the way, only to kick a field goal instead. So Josh Allen actually got the ball in OT, and as a Packers fan who has seen losses in OT without Aaron Rodgers getting the ball, I understood them. The Bills had that OT loss looming over their heads, and their belief was the same: "If Josh Allen had the ball, we'd have a chance. If Josh Allen had the ball, we'd win." Knowing Josh Allen, those statements are usually true, and he was on his way to a potential game winning drive. Then his pass ended up intercepted by Patrick Peterson. The Vikings won, 33-30, in overtime. They are 8-1. For years, the Vikings were a team who snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. This year, they seem to find ways to win. The Vikings are dangerous. I think we should take them quite seriously.

Week 10 kicked off with the Carolina Panthers defeating the Atlanta Falcons, 25-15, in a tight NFC South matchup. Later on, the NFL went to Germany for the first time ever, as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers faced off against the red hot Seattle Seahawks. The Bucs were coming off defeating a sputtering Los Angeles Rams team, but that was apparently enough for them to get their groove back, as they won a close affair over Seattle, 21-16, and regained sole possession of first place in the NFC South. Staying in the division, the New Orleans Saints fell to the Pittsburgh Steelers, 20-10, so they dropped to 3-7, the same record as the Panthers, yet they're only two games out in the division.

"Run the Table 2022" is on! The Green Bay Packers hosted the Dallas Cowboys in a very, very interesting game for both clubs. For one, this marked Mike McCarthy's return to Lambeau after four years, and secondly, this was a do-or-die game for the Packers. Dallas did strike first, but the Packers scored twice to go up 14-7, only for the Cowboys to tie it before halftime. Dallas went on to lead 28-14 and took that lead in the fourth quarter, but that's when the clutch Aaron Rodgers that I've watched for so long emerged. Two TD bombs to Christian Watson--who had three TDs in the game--tied the game at 28, and after both teams stalled, the game went to overtime.

Dallas won the coin toss, but that's where things got kinda kooky. So Dallas was in field goal range, and after failing to convert on 3rd and 3, it was 4th and 3. McCarthy opted to go for it, but the play fell badly short. Packers took over, and on 3rd and 2, a pass to Allen Lazard placed the Packers in field goal range. Aaron Jones' run put the team in a 1st and Goal situation due to a face mask penalty, but the TD was not in the cards. Mason Crosby's chip shot field goal won it for the Packers, 31-28, ending their five game losing streak, easing the minds of Packers fans everywhere (myself included), and putting the Packers at 4-6--the same record they had in 2016 before the "Run the Table" speech. Side note: the Cowboys entered that game with a record of 195-0 when leading by 14+ points in the fourth quarter.

You know, a lot of things made me happy this past Sunday. The Steelers won, the Packers won, the Toronto Argonauts won and advanced to the 109th Grey Cup, and the Chicago Bears lost at home to the Detroit Lions. Losing at home to the Lions isn't done, unless you're the Bears. This was Detroit's first road win since 2020, and that was in the Windy City. However, the loss was certainly not the fault of quarterback Justin Fields, who had another blockbuster performance! How amazing was it? Let's look at the numbers.

Fantasy scoring for quarterbacks goes like this: 1 point per 25 passing yards, passing touchdowns are 4 points, but interceptions are a 1 point deduction. Standard rushing rules apply. Fields threw for 167 yards (6.68 points) and two touchdowns (8 points), but threw one interception (1 point deducted), equalling 13.68 points. That's not all. Fields also ran for 147 yards (14.7 points) and two touchdowns (12 points), giving Fields a grand total of 40.38 fantasy points! Fields led all QBs in fantasy points in Week 10, just over eight points more than Patrick Mahomes, who led the Chiefs to victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The hiring of Jeff Saturday as the Indianapolis Colts' interim head coach was quite controversial. After all, Saturday, who played nearly all of his career as part of the Colts' offensive line, had absolutely no head coaching experience in the NFL, and because of this, the hiring has drawn side eyes from many who know full well about the lack of opportunities Black coaches get--regardless of experience. Even so, we can be happy for Saturday, as he received his first win in his HC debut, with the Colts defeating the lowly Las Vegas Raiders, 25-20. The loss has added even more ridicule to not only the Raiders, but their own head coach, Josh McDaniels, whose hiring was questioned by many NFL fans. The Raiders are now 2-7, and next week, they face the Denver Broncos, who lost to the Tennessee Titans this week. McDaniels vs Nathaniel Hackett. One has to think that the loser gets fired.

So we are 10 weeks down, and things have become quite interesting. For one, the Eagles and Vikings are now tied for the NFC's best record, but the Eagles have the head-to-head edge. The Bills' loss dropped them from first place to third place in the AFC East, one game behind the Miami Dolphins, who blasted the Cleveland Browns, and behind the New York Jets via tiebreaker. The Packers remain alive in the playoff race with eight weeks left, though the Commanders and the San Francisco 49ers' victories have made things a bit difficult. As for the Rams, they're in the bottom of the NFC West after losing to the Arizona Cardinals. The defending champs are in big trouble.

Week 11 kicks off with the Green Bay Packers hosting the Tennessee Titans on Thursday Night Football. On Sunday Night Football, the Kansas City Chiefs will face the Los Angeles Chargers in an AFC West battle, marking the Chargers' second straight appearance on SNF. On Monday Night Football, the San Francisco 49ers and the Arizona Cardinals will face off in an NFC West battle in Mexico City--the last international game of the 2022 season.

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