28 teams played in week 10, 13 won, 13 lost, 2 tied. History was made when the Rams and the 49ers played to the first tie since 2008. It was a game where the Rams showed us why they couldn’t make the next step into being a playoff contender this season, and its the same reason why they missed the playoffs in 2010; they just can’t finish. They basically had two different game winning plays in overtime, and both we’re called back because of two stupid penalties that shouldn’t have happened. Fisher has a young team with a lot of bright spots and a lot of holes, and it’ll be interesting to see how is era unwinds in St. Louis. As for San Francisco, we learned that they may not be the best team in the NFC. A VERY mediocre Rams offense had a great day against their great defense, and the offense was nothing great, especially without Alex Smith. I still like the 49ers to go deep into the playoffs, but they are very vulnerable.
The major headline of week 10 was four starting quarterbacks going down with injuries, and four teams praying for their return. Chicago looks to be in the best shape, going from Jay Cutler, an inconsistent quarterback who can be Peyton Manning some games and Ryan Leaf in other games, to Jason Campbell, a guy who’s proven he can win in this league, and can control the game. Campbell has little upside, but you can count on him to be a little bit above average most of the time and never outrageously terrible. The Steelers and the 49ers are in a small bit of trouble, but seeing as both teams are very run heavy, I still like their chances. Kaepernick has a lot of upside and is very dangerous with his legs, but is unproven, and we don’t know whats going to happen there, although I do like him a lot. Leftwich, on the other hand, had a few good seasons early in his career, but hasn’t been very good since, and I don’t think he will be very good in Pittsburgh, but they don’t need him to be very good. The Eagles are in a world of trouble. Happy Eagles fans? You get to see Nick Foles! Wonder how your opinion on Vick is now! A rookie backup, and not a marquee rookie at that, behind a terrible offensive line is the recipe for disaster. Maybe they’ll leave him in and just tank the rest of the season, who knows!
Last week I wrote about how the Falcons we’re not the best team in thee NFL despite having an undefeated record. I guess I was right, since the Falcons are no longer undefeated, and nobody thinks they are the NFL’s best. The Texans showed how elite their defense was with an impressive 13-6 victory over Chicago. Now that’s the NFL’s best team. Its hard to believe that a franchise that has only won one playoff game can win every one they play this year, but if any squad is up for the test, its this year’s Texans. They we’re a serious contender last year until Schaub went down, and still managed to get a playoff victory without him. They didn’t miss a beat when he returned this year, and now Houston is 8-1 and sitting pretty atop the NFL standings. I wouldn’t want to play them in January.
The Michael Vick Award for Best Performance goes to Adrian Peterson. It was a toss up between him and Calvin Johnson, but Peterson’s Vikings took home the W in their matchup this week, so I’d say he earned it. Peterson had 27 carries for 171 yards and a touchdown, which are just your typical Peterson numbers. Did anyone think Peyton Manning had any challenge for the comeback player of the year award? Because possibly for the first time ever, it will be an awesome race to see who wins this award.
The Kyle Orton Award for Worst Performance goes to Rashad Jennings. If this season has settled one thing, its the fact that we can now say Rashad Jennings will never be a good running back in this league. It was his time. He’s had plenty of chances to prove he could start for somebody, and has failed every single time. This week, Jennings carried the ball 11 times for 27 yards. Its a shame that guys like this can’t make the most out of these great opportunities to prove themselves.
The Golden Tate Award for Most Deceiving Performance goes to Joe Flacco. Flacco had a great game, but come on. He played Oakland. I could have a field day throwing against the Oakland defense. Flacco has shown this year, after looking great in the opener, that he is NOT an elite quarterback, and I don’t think he ever will be.