Two of the league’s best teams needed late-game heroics on field goals to stay atop the conference standings.
Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Leo Chenal blocked a Wil Lutz 35-yard attempt as time expired to preserve a 16-14 victory over the Denver Broncos, keeping his team unbeaten this season.
For the Detroit Lions, Jared Goff threw a career-high five interceptions and his team trailed by 16 points at halftime. But the Lions rallied, and former UFL kicker Jake Bates drilled 52-yard field goal at the buzzer, allowing Detroit to escape with a 26-23 victory over the Houston Texans on the road to stay atop the NFC conference standings at 8-1. Bates also made a career-high 58-yarder in the fourth quarter.
The Chiefs and Lions remain on a collision course to meet in the Super Bowl. Their razor-thin victories occurred during a week when five games were decided by 10 points or more. The blowouts featured two teams with preseason Super Bowl aspirations — the Dallas Cowboys and the New York Jets — who played like they’ve packed it in for the season.
Taking the field without quarterback Dak Prescott due to a hamstring injury, the Cowboys were humbled at home by the Philadelphia Eagles 34-6. And even with 10 days of rest, Aaron Rodgers and the Jets laid an egg on the road, getting boat-raced by the Arizona Cardinals 31-6.
Let’s take a closer look at who’s hot and who’s cold for Week 10.
WHO’S HOT
Ricky Pearsall, WR, 49ers
Making his second start in place of Brandon Aiyuk, who’s out for the remainder of the season with a knee injury, the rookie out of Florida scored his first NFL touchdown on a 46-yard run and catch in his team’s 23-20 road victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Just 10 weeks after Pearsall suffered gunshot wounds to his chest as the victim of an attempted robbery, the first-round pick finished with four receptions for a season-high 73 yards on six targets.
However, it wasn’t all gumdrops and rainbows for San Francisco on Sunday. Deebo Samuel and long snapper Taybor Pepper got into a heated exchange on the sideline after kicker Jake Moody missed his third field goal in his first game back from an ankle injury.
Moody would go on to make the winning field goal from 44 yards out on the next drive. And Christian McCaffrey finished with 107 scrimmage yards in his first game back from Achilles tendinitis. The 49ers have won consecutive games for the first time this year and have improved to 5-4 on the season, moving to just a half-game behind Arizona (6-4) in the NFC West.
Tom Brady breaks down 49ers’ impressive win over Buccaneers
Mike Williams, WR, Steelers
In his first game with Pittsburgh after a trade from the Jets, Williams scored the winning touchdown in a 28-27 victory over the Washington Commanders. Pittsburgh has won four straight and leads the AFC North with a 7-2 record.
It was the only catch and target in the game for Williams, who no longer has to worry about his quarterback throwing him under the bus for reportedly running a wrong route.
Camryn Bynum, FS, Vikings
Bynum is here to take the ball away and entertain us. The Minnesota defensive back who brought us the Usher celebration in Week 3 after a pick was back this week with a celebration inspired by Australian breakdancer Raygun’s performance in the Paris Olympics. Raygun retired from competition last week.
Bynum broke out his new dance after a game-sealing interception in Minnesota’s 12-7 road victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars. He even provided a side-by-side cut-up on social media, which we appreciate.
Daiyan Henley, ILB, Chargers
One of the leaders of the best defense statistically in the league, Henley finished with a game-high 13 combined tackles and his first sack this season. He leads the Bolts with 77 combined tackles. The Chargers finished with seven sacks as a team in a 27-17 win over the Tennessee Titans and have held opponents to a league-low 13 points per game.
Under new defensive coordinator Jesse Minter, the Chargers have not allowed a team to score more than 20 points this season. L.A.’s 6-3 record is the team’s best start since 2018.
Kyler Murray, QB, Cardinals
Murray showed full command of Arizona’s offense in a runaway win over the Jets. He finished 22-of-24 passing for 266 yards and a touchdown for a 126.7 passer rating, completing a franchise-record 17 consecutive passes at one point during the game.
Murray also ran for two touchdowns and finished with 21 rushing yards. The Cardinals enter the team’s bye week as the surprising leaders of the NFC West, riding a four-game winning streak.
WHO’S COLD
Daniel Jones, QB, Giants
The Giants have lost five straight games, the latest a 20-17 setback in Germany to the Carolina Panthers, who most NFL observers consider the worst team in the league.
Jones had another poor performance, finishing 22-of-37 for 190 passing yards, with no touchdowns and two interceptions for a 50.5 passer rating. Jones consistently was off target or missed open receivers down the field.
According to FOX Sports Research, since New York’s playoff win against the Vikings in the 2022 season, Jones is 3-14 as a starter with 10 passing touchdowns and 14 interceptions. In those 17 games, the Giants are averaging just 13.6 points per game.
It’s time for the Giants to give Drew Lock a long look.
Aaron Rodgers, QB, Jets
New York’s 40-year-old signal-caller finished with a season-low 151 yards and is now 3-7 as a starter for the first time in his 20-year NFL career. According to Next Gen Stats, only one of his passes traveled more than 10 yards in a loss to the Cardinals.
Interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich is now 1-4, so New York firing Robert Saleh to jump-start the team was a failure. So was the trade for Rodgers’ security blanket in Davante Adams, who has 20 receptions for 206 yards and a touchdown in four games since forcing his way out of Las Vegas.
But even though they have lost six of their past seven games, the Jets remain just two games out of the last wild-card spot in the AFC behind the Broncos (5-5).
[READ MORE: 2024 NFL Playoff Picture: Nine teams are near-locks; Bears, Bucs fade away]
Cooper Rush, QB, Cowboys
Subbing for an injured Prescott, Rush struggled in his first start of the season. He threw for just 45 yards, lost two fumbles and led Dallas on just two scoring drives, both field goals.
The Cowboys punted six times and finished with 146 yards of total offense in a loss to the Eagles. Dallas gets an extra day of rest before hosting the Texans next Monday. Head coach Mike McCarthy will have to decide whether to stay with Rush or start developmental prospect Trey Lance, who played in garbage time on Sunday.
Eric D. Williams has reported on the NFL for more than a decade, covering the Los Angeles Rams for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Chargers for ESPN and the Seattle Seahawks for the Tacoma News Tribune. Follow him on Twitter at @eric_d_williams.
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