NFL Week 10: What We Learned from each Sunday game

FULL BOX SCORE

Jeremy Bergman’s takeaways:

1. Carolina’s cast of characters comes through. No Diontae Johnson, traded to Baltimore. No Adam Thielen, sidelined again. No Jonathon Brooks, still not active. No Miles Sanders, injured midgame. No problem for Bryce Young, Chuba Hubbard and the pesky Panthers. Carolina secured its first winning streak since the first three weeks of the 2021 season — and the first of the Young era — with a gutty win in the trenches in Germany. Hubbard, fresh off signing a $33.2 million extension, ran for a career-high 153 yards (+71 over expectation) and a score on 28 carries, pacing the Panthers’ attack from start to finish; his only blemish was a reflexive fumble late in the fourth quarter that thankfully led to zero Giants points. Young’s 126 yards on 15-of-25 passing won’t impress in the box score, but the embattled second-year QB looked more self-possessed and elusive Sunday than he had all season. He was sacked just once and picked up 30 rushing yards on two scrambles. (Lost in the fourth quarter chaos will be Young’s third-and-7 conversion to rookie Xavier Legette, a perfectly placed ball toward the sideline while under pressure.) Hubbard and Young were matched on the defensive side of the ball by D.J. Wonnum, making his Carolina debut, and A’Shawn Robinson. Wonnum was a menace, earning six QB pressures in 48 snaps. Robinson wasn’t far behind, tallying four in 51 and logging the all-important forced fumble on Tyrone Tracy Jr. to start overtime. Eddy Pineiro‘s ensuing field goal sealed the win for Carolina, a team effort from an undermanned unit.
2. Time’s up for Dimes. As the Giants inch closer, loss by loss, to being eliminated from playoff contention, so goes Daniel Jones, moving closer, misfire by misfire, to the bench. The sixth-year QB’s 10th start of the season may have just been his last in New York, but it wasn’t unfamiliar to Giants fans. There were misreads, underthrown balls in the middle of the field, overthrown passes along the sideline, hapless sacks and, of course, interceptions. Jones (22-of-37 for 190 yards) had three critical errors in Sunday’s slog in Munich. His first: Midway through the second quarter, Jones was sacked on a third-and-1 flea-flicker, missing two open receivers downfield. Next: With New York marching into the red zone on the ensuing drive, Jones’ second-and-13 pass was deflected by Jadeveon Clowney and intercepted by Xavier Woods, another opportunity squandered. Last: After a Hubbard fumble in the fourth quarter set Jones and Co. with a chance to take the lead, the QB misfired behind Tracy in the flat, leading Josey Jewell, draped on the RB in coverage, to corral a pick. New York’s loss wasn’t all Jones’ fault. The QB did, after all, help lead three scoring drives in the second half; Graham Gano missed a second-quarter field goal; and Tracy’s fumble on the first play of OT sealed the deal. But Jones is not elevating the players around him. Another loss after the bye will basically assure another postseason-free winter in East Rutherford, and a Jones benching, for reasons on the field and in his contract, should follow.
3. Giants, Panthers flip places at top of draft order. Forget the playoff picture. The loser of Sunday’s game was the real winner, at least in terms of draft positioning. Carolina entered the proceedings with the No. 2 pick. Now at 3-7, the Panthers will likely exit Week 10 near the bottom of the top 10. Meanwhile, the Giants, at 2-8, are more likely to begin Week 11 with the top pick in the draft than a mid-range selection. With its QB position as curious as ever, New York would prefer to be on the clock sooner rather than later, especially with time running out on their playoff hopes in 2024.

Next Gen Stats Insight for Giants-Panthers (via NFL Pro): Bryce Young completed 10 of 12 passes against zone coverage for 85 yards, including his first career touchdown against such coverage. Entering Week 10, Young had thrown zero touchdowns and nine interceptions on 444 attempts against zone coverage.

NFL Research: Chuba Hubbard is the third player to have at least 150 rushing yards and one rushing TD in an international game in NFL history (Chris Ivory in 2015, Travis Etienne Jr. in 2022). Hubbard (born in Edmonton, Canada) is the first foreign-born player to have at least 15 rushing or receiving yards in an international game in NFL history.