Get Caught Up on All the Action From NFL’s Week 10
We’re more than halfway through the 2024 NFL season, and teams are prepping for their playoff pushes. If you missed any of the action on Sunday, we’ve got you covered with the NFL week 10 scores and highlights that you’re looking for.
An Early Game in Munich
As part of the NFL’s ongoing effort to reach an international audience, Sunday got an early start as the New York Giants and the Carolina Panthers battled in Munich, Germany. Statistically, this game featured one of the league’s worst offense against one of the league’s worst defenses, but points weren’t all that easy to come by.
Both squads came into the game at 2-7, but it was the Panthers who put together their second straight win. It will be interesting to see what moves, if any, the Giants make following the loss.
After the Saints lost to this same Panthers team last week, they fired head coach Dennis Allen. Giants coach Brian Daboll has been on the hot seat all season, and this could have been the final nail in the coffin for him, as a 10-point third quarter wasn’t enough for the Giants who fell 20-17.
Not So Sweet Home Chicago
The Bears started this season with optimism, which has been a common theme over the last few seasons. With Caleb Williams as the new franchise QB, Chicago got off to a solid start to the season and has already exceeded last season’s win total.
However, the team has struggled in recent weeks and came into this weekend 4-4 with all four of their wins coming at home. A game against the rebuilding Patriots looked like the perfect opportunity for Williams and the Bears to right the ship.
It was anything but. Caleb Williams was sacked nine times, highlighting an ongoing problem with the Bears, who have had more questions than answers along the offensive line for years.
The Patriots put up 20 points while Chicago managed to kick a field goal in the second quarter for their only three points of the day. The Bears were certainly never going to be a championship contender this season, but or a team that started out so well, the last few weeks have been a massive letdown.
A Close Call in KC
Division rivalry games are always hard to predict, and that’s especially true when discussing games between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Denver Broncos, two franchises that have hated each other for years. The Chiefs came into the game as the last undefeated team in the league, looking poised to make yet another Super Bowl run, but the Broncos had different plans.
As the game went to halftime, Denver was up 14-10, and Bo Nix looked like anything but a rookie. Nix ended the game 22-30 for 227 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions, but ultimately, Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs did what they’ve done all season: they won.
With time winding down, Denver lined up for a 43-yard field goal that would have given them a one-point lead. Kansas City broke through, blocked the field goal and moved to 9-0 on the season, continuing their march toward what will likely be another AFC West title.
Flacco Struggles in Defeat
After last week’s loss, the Colts announced that they would continue starting Joe Flacco at quarterback, keeping second-year QB Anthony Richardson on the bench following his controversial decision to pull himself from a game against Houston.
Flacco got his second consecutive start this week and once again struggled mightily against the Bills. While Flacco threw for a respectable 272 yards, he had three interceptions which outnumbered his two touchdown passes.
On the other side, Josh Allen also had a couple turnovers, but managed to do enough good to outweigh the bad. Allen, who threw for 280 yards on the day, didn’t pass for any touchdowns but he did run one in, and ultimately the Bills knocked off the Colts 30-20.
It will be interesting to see if the Colts revert to Richardson at QB to try to save this season, or if the rumors that the team had lost faith in the young signal-caller are true and the team sticks with Flacco. The Bills have very quietly moved to 8-2 on the year while the loss knocked the Colts to 4-6.
Rizzi Moves to 1-0
Following the team’s embarrassing lose to the Carolina Panthers last week, the Saints fired Dennis Allen early Monday morning. The team announced that special teams coach Darren Rizzi would be replacing Allen ahead of the team’s divisional game against the Atlanta Falcons, who came into the game on a bit of a hot streak.
The Falcons’ offense had started to fire on all cylinders over the last few weeks, and few gave the Saints much of a chance.
The team rallied around Rizzi, including a 17-point second quarter that put them firmly in the lead. The true star of the game was Marquez Valdez-Scantling, who joined the team during the season.
MVS, who has long been criticized for his inconsistency, put his blazing speed on display, ending the day with three catches for 109 yards and two touchdowns. Bijan Robinson played well for Atlanta, posting the team’s only two touchdowns, but they weren’t enough as Darren Rizzi moves to 1-0 in his head-coaching career.
A Purdy Good Day for the 49ers
The biggest news for the San Francisco 49ers ahead of Sunday’s contest with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was the return of Christian McCaffery. CMC took over the lead-back duties in San Francsico, tallying 13 carries, but he only got 39 yards on the ground.
He tagged on six receptions for an additional 68 yards, as Brock Purdy put the 49ers’ offense on his back and carried them to victory. Purdy carved up the Bucs’ defense for 353 yards through the air with two touchdowns.
One of those touchdowns went to rookie wideout Ricky Pearsall, who the 49ers took in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft. Pearsall was shot in the offseason and recently made his debut. The rookie speedster out of Florida picked up his first career touchdown Sunday.
Baker Mayfield didn’t have that type of luck. As the Bucs continue to look for offensive output with Mike Evans and Chris Godwin out, Mayfield was only able to pick up 116 yards through the air to go with his one touchdown pass. Ultimately, this game did remain close, but Tampa ultimately fell 23-20.
An Ugly Game in Jacksonville
While most people assumed that the Vikings would handle business against the Jaguars on Sunday, few predicted that the game would look like it did. In a game that some argued set offensive football back 50 years, the only touchdown of the game came in the first quarter when Mac Jones scampered into the end zone, giving Jacksonville a 7-3 lead.
The Jaguars picked off Sam Darnold three times, marking the worst start of his Vikings career. However, the Jags’ lethargic offense, led by Mac Jones who was filling in for an injured Trevor Lawrence, couldn’t do anything with the turnovers.
They didn’t score after that first-quarter TD. Minnesota managed to win 12-7, picking up the W in a game where they didn’t score a touchdown.
As a note of interest, with Tampa Bay and Jacksonville both losing, along with all of the FCS and FBS teams in the state of Florida losing on Saturday, this weekend marked the first time that every NFL, FBS, and FCS team that calls Florida home lost on the same weekend.
A Rush to Judgement
On Saturday, the Cowboys announced that Dak Prescott would miss the rest of the season following surgery on his injured hamstring. The team turned to veteran backup Cooper Rush who made his first start of this season against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Rush and the Cowboys’ offense struggled to put together anything resembling a meaningful drive, settling for a pair of field goals in the first half. That would be the entirety of their offensive output for the day.
On the other side, the Eagles offense soared behind Jalen Hurts who passed for 202 yards and a pair of touchdowns. When the final whistle sounded, the Eagles had destroyed the Cowboys 34-6. There are already rumblings that the Cowboys may turn to Trey Lance, who the team acquired from the San Francsico 49ers.
The Jets Fail to Launch
Last week, it looked like we got a glimpse of what the New York Jets’ offense could be, as Aaron Rodgers found both Garrett Wilson and Davante Adams for touchdowns. This week was a completely different story, as the team couldn’t find any sort of offensive rhythm against the Arizona Cardinals.
Rodgers struggled in a game that saw him sacked three times, only passing for 151 yards. Rodgers currently has the longest active streak in the NFL when it comes to games without passing for 300 yards.
Meanwhile, the Cardinals offense looked to be firing on all cylinders behind Kyler Murray, who found rookie wideout Marvin Harrison Jr. for the first-year receiver’s sixth touchdown of the season. The win moves the Cardinals to 6-2, right in the mix for the NFC West crown.
Meanwhile, the Jets fell to 3-7, all but ending the team’s playoff hopes that were alive and well to start the season.
Sunday Night Football
Sunday Night Football saw the red-hot Detroit Lions head to Houston to take on CJ Stroud and the Texans. The Lions were coming off a huge win over the Green Bay Packers, and Jared Goff has been firmly in the MVP conversation.
Sunday Night’s performance will either further those conversations or end them, depending on which side of the aisle you land on.
To say that Jared Goff didn’t play well would be an understatement. Goff threw five interceptions, the most he had ever thrown in a game coming into Sunday night’s contest. Houston went into the second half with a 23-7 lead, and by all accounts, it looked like things were going to go their way.
That’s when Detroit put together a comeback of epic proportions, erasing that lead by outscoring the Texans 19-0 in the second half.
Stroud certainly do anything to help those second half woes, throwing two interceptions within six minutes. This game was the first time in six years that we’ve seen a game with seven total interceptions.
However, it all came down to Lions’ kicker Jessie Bates, who was born and raised in the Houston area. Bates kicked a 58-yard field goal, the longest in Lions history, to tie the game. Detroit then turned back to Bates as time ran down, as he kicked a 52-yard field goal to seal the comeback. Detroit, winners of its last seven games, moved to 8-1 on the season, while Houston fell to 6-4.