Week 10 NFL Results

Chiefs 17, Bills 13

The Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs came into this game with high playoff hopes, and while this game wasn’t a must win, the winner would get a jump on not only their opponent, but the rest of the AFC in a heated playoff race.

The Bills (5-4) did all they could to give this one away, and in the end the Chiefs (6-3) would take them up on their offer, and sneak out of Orchard Park with a 17-13 victory.

The Bills shot themselves in the foot the entire game, and even though they outplayed the Chiefs, they still found themselves on the wrong end of this one, a late-game meltdown loss that looks all too familiar to those in Buffalo.

Two key turnovers really cost Buffalo the game.  A Bryce Brown fumble early in the second half was the first.

Brown was literally two steps from a touchdown when the ball got popped out and tight end Scott Chandler failed to recover it in the end zone.  It would be a touchdown back, and instead of a 17-3 lead, it was Kansas City ball.

The biggest turnover came later in the game, when Leodis McKelvin fumbled  a punt return with a little over nine minutes left in the game.

Kansas City turned that turnover into the game winning Alex Smith touchdown run.

Ravens 21, Titans 7

The Baltimore Ravens kept their playoff (and possible division title) hopes alive with a 21-7 victory over the Tennessee Titans.

The Ravens (6-4) got 112 yards rushing and two touchdowns from Justin Forsett and played an inspired game on defense to secure the win, and stay in the race in a very competitive AFC North.

For the Titans (2-7), it was just another day at the office for their forgettable season.  They couldn’t get anything going with rookie quarterback Zack Mettenberger (179 yards passing), and despite heading into the half with a 7-7 tie, got nothing in the second half to lose their seventh of eight games.

Jets 20, Steelers 13

Maybe a change at quarterback earlier in the season could have been enough to save the New York Jets season.

The Jets (2-8) played one of their best and most complete games of the year and got two touchdown passes and 39 yards rushing from quarterback Michael Vick in their 20-13 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Jets defense played all out, and shut down one of the hottest quarterbacks in the league in Ben Roethlisberger.

Turnovers were also a big point in this one, as the Jets finally overcame their turnover problems and forced four turnovers off their own (two interceptions and two Antonio Brown fumbles).

Pittsburgh’s (6-4) biggest standout was rookie Martavis Bryant, who is continuing his run of breakout games.  Bryant caught 4 passes for 143 yards and a touchdown.

New York was able to stop an eight-game losing streak with the win.

Broncos 41, Raiders 17

And you thought Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos were going to drop one to the winless Oakland Raiders?

Coming into this game, that thought would have been insane, but after two early Manning interceptions, the Raiders were able to jump out to an early lead and it got you wondering at least a little bit.

It was 10-6 Oakland with 3:00 minutes left in the second quarter before Manning hit CJ Anderson, who turned a dump-off play into a beautiful 51-yard touchdown.

The Broncos wouldn’t look back again.

Manning hit Emmanuel Sanders with another score right before the half ended, and the rout was on.

Manning would throw for 340 yards and 5 touchdowns when it was all said and done, with all five touchdowns coming in about 17 minutes of actual game time.

Anderson also added 90 yards on the ground to go with his 73 yards receiving in taking over for Ronnie Hillman.  Sanders and Julius Thomas each added two touchdown receptions of their own, and Demaryius Thomas went over the 100-yard receiving mark again in the Broncos (7-3) win.

The Raiders are still looking for their first win of the season in falling to 0-9.

Lions 20, Dolphins 16

In one of the most entertaining games of the day, Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford found Theo Riddick for an 11-yard score with 29 seconds left to lead his team to victory over the Miami Dolphins.

The Lions (7-2) have now won four in a row, and have done so in dramatic fashion.  Their past three victories have been by a combined total of six points, and all three have finished with a four quarter comeback.

Calvin Johnson returned from his ankle injury in a big way, as had seven catches for 113 yards and a touchdown.  On the opposite side of the field, receiver Golden Tate added 11 receptions and 109 yards of his own for Detroit.

The Dolphins (5-4) didn’t get much going on offense, and missed a golden oppurtunity to stay atop the AFC playoff race.  The loss drops them to being one of the many teams on the outside looking in.

Cowboys 31, Jaguars 17

Quarterback Tony Romo returned from injury, and helped his team snap a two-game losing streak, as the Dallas Cowboys pounded on the Jacksonville Jaguars 31-17 in a game that was never really close.

Romo, who injured his back two weeks ago in a loss to the Washington Redskins and sat out last week, finished the day 20 of 27 for 246 yards and three touchdowns.

Running back DeMarco Murray continued his strong, breakout season in rushing for 100 yards on just 19 carries (the third straight week in a row the back finished with that many attempts).

Another standout for the Cowboys (7-3) was Dez Bryant who was uncover able in finishing the game with 6 receptions for 158 yards and two scores.  Jason Witten also added five receptions and a touchdown catch of his own.

Jacksonville (1-9) got two rushing touchdowns from Denard Robinson, and 119 receiving yards from Cecil Shorts in the losing effort.

49ers 27, Saints 24

When the 49ers needed plays it seemed like there was always someone there to step up and make it.

The 49ers (5-4) saved their season with a 27-24 win over the Saints (4-5), and needed heroics from just about everyone at the end of the game to escape with a victory.

Quarterback Colin Kapernick completed a 51-yard pass on 4th down with 1:34 left late in the fourth quarter to sustain their game-tying touchdown drive.  The drive would end with a Phil Dawson 45-yard field goal to force what we thought was a sure overtime.

The Saints got one last chance in regulation and at mid-field Drew Brees would launch up a pass to Jimmy Graham in the end zone, and he came down with it for the apparent win.  The problem was that he clearly pushed off, so we got to see the very rare pass interference on the offense penalty in the end-zone which would send the game to OT.

Both teams had a chance with the ball in overtime, and on their second possession, Saints quarterback Drew Brees was sacked and stripped by linebacker Ahmad Brooks deep in their own territory.  San Francisco would recover the football and would waste no time in attempting the game-winning field goal on the very next play.

Dawson’s kick from 35-yards out knuckled through the uprights and snapped a two game skid for San Francisco.

It will be scary to think about the boost the 49ers defense is going to get once Aldon Smith, NaVorro Bowman and Patrick Willis return to the lineup.

Just in time for a playoff run.

UPDATE 10/11 at 2:40 PM (eastern): Just learned 49ers LB Patrick Willis is out for the remainder of the season due to his toe injury… Aldon Smith was activated from his 9-game suspension today, and participated in the team’s walk through.

Falcons 27, Buccaneers 17

The Atlanta Falcons finally got out of the losing column, as their victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers ended a 5-game losing streak for the underachieving Falcons.

Atlanta (3-6) got big days from Julio Jones (8 receptions for 119 yards), Roddy White (6 for 72 and a touchdown) and Steven Jackson (81 yards rushing and a score) in downing the 1-8 Bucs.

Two of the Falcon’s three wins this season have come against Tampa Bay in what has been a disappointing season.  Barring a strong finish (and even that might be too late) look for Atlanta to make some major personnel and coaching changes in the off-season.

Josh McCown made his first start since September 18th, and threw for 301 yards and 2 touchdown for Tampa Bay (1-9).

Seahawks 38, Giants 17

Marshawn Lynch went off for a season-high 140 yards rushing and scored a career-best four touchdowns in helping Seattle get their season back on track with their win over the New York Giants.

Seattle (6-3) finished with a franchise record 350 total rushing yards which helped overcome ineffectiveness by quarterback Russell Wilson (10 of 17 for 172 yards, two interceptions and one fumble, but did add 107 yards rushing).   It was the most rushing yards in a game for a team since the Cleveland Browns rushed for 351 yards back in 2009.

Eli Manning was very good in this one (29 of 44 for 283 yards and a touchdown), but didn’t get enough help from his running game or defense as the Giants dropped another one (3-6).

Cardinals 31, Rams 14

Sometimes getting a win isn’t always the most important part of Sundays.

The Cardinals figured this out the hard way as they got a 31-14 victory over the St. Louis Rams, but might have lost their starting quarterback Carson Palmer for the season in doing so.

It is believed that Palmer (241 passing yards) tore his ACL, and will be lost for the rest of the season.  After leading his team to a NFL best 8-1 start, the Cardinals will be forced to turn to backup Drew Stanton.

In Stanton’s defense, he stepped up big in this one in his limited time, including hitting rookie John Brown for a 48-yard go-ahead touchdown with just 7:40 left to play.

It will be a tough hole for the Cardinals to fill, as they will need their running game and defense to really step up in Palmer’s absence if they still want to make a long playoff run this season.

The Rams (3-6) saw how good that defense could be, and got shut out in the second half by the talented group.

Packers 55, Bears 14

Aaron Rodgers was doing his best Peyton Manning impression, and threw for a franchise tying 6 touchdowns in the Green Bay Packers blowout of the Chicago Bears.

Rodgers finished the day with 315 yards passing to go along with the six scores.  Green Bay was up by four touchdowns early in the second quarter, which caused Rodgers to watch most of the second half from the sidelines.

Jordy Nelson (6 receptions, 152 yards and 2 touchdowns), Randall Cobb (4 for 72), Eddie Lacy (68 yards receiving, to go with his 50 yards on the ground), Andrew Quarless and Brandon Bostick all caught touchdown passes in this one for the 6-3 Packers.

The Chicago Bears (3-6) continue to do very little with their extremley talented roster, and got another bad performance from quarterback Jay Cutler (two interceptions and a fumble lost).  It looks like their season is already over.

Eagles 45, Panthers 21

The Philadelphia Eagles proved that it was possible to win without your starting quarterback, at least for one week, as they dominated the Carolina Panthers in every aspect of the game to win 45-21.

Mark Sanchez was making his first start since 2012 in place of the injured Nick Foles (who is lost for the season) but the Eagles (7-2) offense looked like it didn’t miss much of a beat with a new starter at the helm.

He finished the day with 332 yards passing, two touchdowns and zero interceptions in a promising start.  Remember, this is a player who helped lead his old New York Jets team’s to two AFC championship games.  If the talent is around him (like it is on the Eagles), who knows, maybe a more experienced Sanchez can go on another playoff run.

If the Eagles defense (nine sacks, three interceptions, three forced fumbles, one interception returned for a touchdown, five total turnovers) and special teams (65-yard Darren Sproles return for a touchdown) continue to play dominant football like they have this year, it really won’t matter if they get huge performances from their quarterback or not.

For the Panthers (3-6-1), it was a game that they will want to forget.  The offense looked shaky all day, and really didn’t do much of anything until garbage time.

The loss drops the Panthers right back into the middle of the pack for the race for a wide open NFC South.  The Saints currently lead the division at just 4-5.