There’s no such thing as an NFL weekend without excitement and surprises, and this week was no exception. To show you just how unpredictable this league can be, here are the headlines coming out of Week 10.
Unhappy Return
The Chiefs got Patrick Mahomes back on Sunday, but it wasn’t enough to get them a win in Tennessee. The Titans staged a most unlikely comeback and then blocked a last-second field-goal attempt to win 35-32.
The silver lining is that Mahomes looked to be back to his normal self, completing 36 of his 50 passes for 446 yards and three touchdowns. He certainly didn’t like someone just a few weeks removed from a dislocated kneecap, although the Chiefs are now just a half-game ahead of the Raiders in the AFC West.
Big Easy Upset
The NFL experienced the biggest upset of the season on Sunday, as the Falcons took down the Saints 26-9. New Orleans entered the game 7-1 and 13.5-point favorites at home over the 1-7 Falcons. But Matt Ryan and company weren’t buying it.
All of the things the Falcons have struggled to do all season, like run the ball and play defense, they were able to do in New Orleans. The Falcons nearly doubled their total number of sacks on the season by getting to Drew Brees six times while holding the Saints to just three field goals on the afternoon.
Late Scratch
For the first time in 137 games, the Lions were without Matthew Stafford on Sunday. Stafford missed Detroit’s 20-13 loss to the Bears because of fractured bones in his back, an injury that reportedly dates back to last season. Before Sunday, Stafford had the second-longest active streak in the NFL for consecutive starts with 136.
Jeff Driskel started in his place but led the Detroit offense to just one touchdown, which came when the Lions were down 14 points in the fourth quarter. Despite outgaining the Bears by over 100 yards, the Lions dropped to 3-5-1 on the season.
Hurting
Giants running back Saquon Barkley could be dealing with another injury after his team’s 34-27 loss to the Jets on Sunday. Giants coach Pat Shurmur described Barkley as “banged up” after he had just one rushing yard on 13 carries against the Jets. Barkley went into the X-ray room at MetLife Stadium after the game but declined to say why when asked by the media after the game.
Mr. Perfect
Lamar Jackson continues to make a compelling case for league MVP honors. During Sunday’s 49-13 win over the Bengals, Jackson had a perfect passer rating of 158.3, doing so for the second time this season. Other than Ben Roethlisberger in 2007, Jackson is the only quarterback to have two games with a perfect passer rating in the same season. He completed 15 of his 17 passes for 223 yards and three touchdowns. Just for good measure, he also had seven carries for 65 yards rushing, including an electric 47-yard touchdown run that looked straight out of a video game.
