And then there were two.
NFL scores and more, Week 10: What happened on Monday Night
Cincinnati was expelled from the ranks of the unbeaten on Monday Night Football by the Houston Texans, a shocking upset of the ten-point home favorites.
Houston held on to win the game 10-6 to move to 4-5 on the year, now tied for first place in the AFC South with the Indianapolis Colts. It was an ugly, boring game for the most part, but an amazing one-handed touchdown grab by DeAndre Hopkins in the first minute of the fourth quarter ended up being the difference in the game. That key pass, which put the Texans up 10-6 and back into the lead, came from backup quarterback T.J. Yates, who had been forced in in relief after Brian Hoyer left with a possible concussion.
The Bengals had a chance to take the lead back on four subsequent drives but those possessions amounted to just 61 net yards and ended in three punts and a lost fumble. That fumble by A.J. Green -- which came on a 4th and 6 from the Houston 33 yard line with 50 seconds remaining -- would seal the deal for the Texans and rob Cincinnati of the chance to take a few shots into the endzone for the win.
A lot of credit should go to Houston in this one, as they put together a solid defensive performance, limiting Andy Dalton to 22 of 38 passing for 197 yards and an interception while holding the Bengals’ run game to 73 yards on 21 carries. The Bengals, who came into the game ranked third in the NFL in points scored and sixth in yards, could muster just 256 total yards and two field goals.
The Bengals are still in control in the AFC North but the fact that bad Andy Dalton showed up for the first time this year has got to be a little concerning for fans in Cincy. Of course, three drops by Tyler Eifert didn’t help matters, nor did that A.J. Green fumble, so naturally you can’t put all the blame on the Red Rifle (AKA , the Red Ryder BB Gun).
As for the Texans, it’s been quite a turnaround after a tumultuous start to the year. They’ve benefitted from a bad division and now have a shot at the playoffs, particularly with the way their defense played on Monday night.
----
It was another wacky day of NFL action on Sunday, one that saw nine Vegas upsets in the 13-game slate and provided some wild finishes across the board. Six games ended with one-score deficits and the Patriots-Giants and Packers-Lions games both came down to last-second field goal tries. Big picture, a few teams continued to emerge at the top of the NFL's power structure, while the rest just keep beating the hell out of each other.
Detroit got things started by knocking off the Packers in Lambeau Field for the first time since 1991(!), holding off a Green Bay comeback with the help of a missed Mason Crosby field goal attempt as time expired. Detroit tried their damndest to blow this game -- they nearly did after Calvin Johnson misplayed a Packer onside kick with 36 seconds remaining -- but held tough to force that 52-yard shank by Crosby. Overall, the Lions defense was surprisingly stout against Aaron Rodgers and the Packers offense, and a couple of late touchdown passes by Rodgers weren't enough to make up for the first three quarters of futility. In the course of three weeks (all losses), Green Bay has gone from an undefeated favorite to second place in their division and struggling to put points on the board.
SB Nation presents: The wild, unexpected ending of the Packers-Lions game
Meanwhile, Minnesota took over sole possession of first place in the North with a convincing 30-14 win over the Raiders in Oakland. Adrian Peterson got stronger as the game went on, rushing for 143 of his 203 yards in the fourth quarter alone, including the final nail in the coffin in the form of an 80-yard dash for six with 1:50 remaining. Peterson was a clock-grinding workhorse that helped the Vikings control the ball for nearly 11 of the game's final 15 minutes. The Vikings moved to 7-2.
The Panthers stayed perfect with a dominating 27-10 road win in Tennessee. The Titans went all internet commenter and were upset with an elaborate Cam Newton touchdown celebration dance, but Newton's response after the game was perfect: if you don't like my dancing, keep me out of the end zone. Tennessee didn't do a lot to limit the MVP candidate in that area, and Cam finished 21-of-26 passing for 211 yards and a touchdown while adding 23 yards on the ground with a rushing touchdown for good measure. Carolina took another step forward in their quest for a perfect season by winning their 13th regular season game in a row. It's been nearly a full calendar year since Carolina lost a regular season game.
The Patriots also stayed perfect but did so in slightly more stress-inducing manner, riding a last-second Stephen Gostkowski field goal to narrowly defeat the plucky Giants. New York continues to show that they know how to play New England, but a few mistakes down the stretch cost them the chance at ruining another Patriots' run at a perfect season. Landon Collins looked like he'd intercepted a severely under-thrown Tom Brady pass with 1:47 remaining, but the ball popped out of his hands when he hit the ground, giving New England new life, something that Brady and company took advantage of. Nine plays later, Brady had driven the Pats into field goal range, and Gostkowski took care of the rest with a 52-yard game-winner.
The Cardinals asserted themselves as the dominant power in the NFC West with a big win in Seattle, riding 363 yards passing and four touchdowns from Carson Palmer to move to 7-2. Arizona got 30 first downs and dominated time of possession in this one, but a few big plays by the Seahawks' defense allowed them to hang around and even take a lead in the fourth quarter. The Cardinals showed their resiliency marching down the field with an 8-play, 80-yard fourth- quarter drive that culminated in the game-winning score, a Jermaine Gresham touchdown catch from Palmer with 1:58 remaining.
The Chiefs put themselves back into the AFC playoffs conversation with their third straight win. This week they beat the struggling Broncos. Charchandrick West had a big game, mixing 69 yards and a touchdown on the ground with 90 yards and a touchdown through the air. It was not as good of a day for Denver and Peyton Manning. Manning surpassed Brett Favre for the top spot on the NFL's all-time passing yards list early in the game, but was unceremoniously benched later after completing just 5 of 20 passes for 35 yards and four interceptions, a quarterback rating of 0.0. Kansas City moves to 4-5 on the year with the win, not far off in the wildcard race. Don't count the Chiefs out just yet.
Elsewhere, the Steelers whipped the Browns to improve their position for the top AFC wildcard spot, getting a surprising and effective performance from Ben Roethlisberger, who came off the bench in relief of Landry Jones only a week after spraining his foot. Washington got a big win over the Saints to move to 4-5, just a half-game off the lead in the wide-open NFC East.
Win the water cooler
Arm yourself with a few interesting tidbits from Sunday’s action so you can impress your coworkers around the water cooler.
Downfield passing was a problem
We got treated to some pretty amazing quarterback play on Sunday, but there was some pretty ugly throwing going on out there, too. Rams quarterback Nick Foles had a day to forget as he finished 17-for-36 for 200 yards and one pick, but throwing vertically was virtually impossible for him. Foles finished 0-for-12 on passes further than 10 yards downfield, the highest number of attempts on such passes without a completion in the last 10 seasons, notes Nick Wagoner.
The safety dance
The Dolphins kept their playoff hopes alive and well with a nice comeback win over the Eagles in Philly, but things didn't start out smoothly for Miami. Walter Thurmond blitzed off the edge with 8:38 remaining in the first quarter, blindsiding Ryan Tannehill and forcing the fumble in the end zone, which was recovered by the Dolphins. With that safety, Miami has now somehow managed to allow a safety in each of the last three weeks, joining the 1980 Seattle Seahawks as the only teams in league history with that dubious streak.
Hurns keeps streak alive
I highlighted Jaguars receiver Allen Hurns last week for his quietly torrid pace this year, and Hurns came up big again this week. The second-year pro caught a touchdown in Baltimore on Sunday, his seventh straight game with a score, the longest active streak alive in the league.
Jaguars’ road woes are over for one week, at least
The Jags’ 22-20 win over the Ravens was their first road victory since Week 13 of the 2013 season, an ignominious streak that lasted 714 days. More importantly, Jacksonville moves to 3-6 and are still somehow in the AFC South playoffs picture.
Super Cam
Cam Newton's been criticized for what looks like a sub-par stat-line this season, so let's just take a minute to admire one hell of a performance on Sunday. Newton started out the game a perfect 10-for-10 for 115 yards and a touchdown, which helped push the Panthers out to a 14-7 lead, and he finished the half 12-for-13 (92.3 percent), the best first-half completion percentage of his career (per ESPN Stats and Info).
Newton finished the game with a passing touchdown and a rushing touchdown, marking the 30th time in his career he’s done that. He joined Pro Football Hall of Famer Steve Young (31) as the only players in NFL history to have at least 30 such games. Think about that.
SB Nation presents: Cam Newton taunts the Titans after a rushing touchdown
We like that!
Kirk Cousins absolutely went off on Sunday, picking apart the Saints' defense to the tune of 324 yards and four touchdowns on 20-of-25 passing. That's a perfect 158.3 quarterback rating. He became the first Washington quarterback with 300-plus yards passing and a 150-plus passer rating in a game since Hall of Famer Sammy Baugh in 1948. Pretty incredible efficiency.
Bears offense no longer offensive?
So, the Bears' offense seems pretty good of late, and have gotten some excellent performances from some unlikely characters. Jeremy Langford, in relief of an injured Matt Forte, rushed for 73 yards and a touchdown while adding 109 yards receiving and a touchdown through the air against the Rams on Sunday.
Tight end Zach Miller, who caught the game-winning touchdown last week against the Chargers, came up big again for the Bears. The lesser-known journeyman tight end has emerged out of Martellus Bennett's shadow, and caught another two touchdown passes on Sunday.
Don’t look now, but the Bears are averaging 28.3 points per game over their last four contests.
What can Brown do for you?
Antonio Brown is one of the most talented and prolific receivers in the NFL so it's really no surprise when he puts together monster games, but he has really outdone himself over the past two weeks. With another 10 catches on Sunday, he's now caught 27 passes in his last two games, just two short of the NFL record held by Clark Gaines of the 1980 Jets (via Elias Sports). Brown, especially with Ben Roethlisberger throwing him passes, has been historically good.
Close, but no cigar
Ameer Abdullah opened up the second-half of the Packers-Lions game with an amazing kickoff return that took him well into Packers territory before he was tackled just short of the end zone at the 1-yard line. This set up an eventual Matt Stafford touchdown pass to Brandon Pettigrew that gave the Lions a 9-3 lead. The 104-yard return, while unsatisfying in that he was tackled at the 1-yard line, made history, as it tied Percy Harvin's mark for the longest non-touchdown kick return in NFL history.
I'm guessing that Danny Amendola has similar feelings this Monday after being tackled by his own teammate 82 yards into his winding, explosive punt return against the Giants. Amendola out-sprinted every Giants defender but was tripped up by his teammate just yards short of the end zone. The Patriots would end up scoring a few plays later, but seriously, come on.
The Patriots are good, in case you didn’t get that memo
The Patriots scored in all four quarters against the Giants this week, to become the first team in NFL history to score points in 35 consecutive quarters. The only quarter the Patriots have not scored in this season, in fact, was the first quarter of their first game. That’s some consistency.
Speaking of consistency, by pushing their record to 9-0, New England guarantees itself a winning record this year and becomes just the fifth team in NFL history, and first since the 1983-1998 San Francisco 49ers (16) with at least 15 consecutive winning seasons.
All Day
Adrian Peterson has certainly hit his stride, in case you were wondering. He’s now rushed for 100 yards in three straight games, the longest streak alive in the NFL right now, and more impressively, after rushing for 203 yards on Sunday, he notched his sixth career 200-plus yard rushing day. This mark ties O.J. Simpson for most in NFL history.
Peterson now has rushed for 11,151 yards and 91 touchdowns in 113 career games, joining Hall of Famer Jim Brown as the only players in NFL history to rush for at least 11,000 yards and 90 touchdowns in the first 113 games to begin a career. That’s pretty good company.
Final Scores for Week 8:
Buffalo Bills 22, New York Jets 17 (Thursday)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 10, Dallas Cowboys 6
Carolina Panthers 27, Tennessee Titans 10
Jacksonville Jaguars 22, Baltimore Ravens 20
Detroit Lions 18, Green Bay Packers, 16
Miami Dolphins 20, Philadelphia Eagles 19
Pittsburgh Steelers 30, Cleveland Browns 9
Chicago Bears 37, St. Louis Rams 13
Washington 47, New Orleans Saints 14
Minnesota Vikings 30, Oakland Raiders 14
Kansas City Chiefs 29, Denver Broncos 13
New England Patriots 27, New York Giants 26
Arizona Cardinals 39, Seattle Seahawks 32
Biggest Moments:
Now Todd Gurley is out there hurdling Bears.
Johnny Manziel threw the ball backwards on his first play against the Steelers. Later, he got his head twisted backwards and then made a spectacular play to nearly score a touchdown.
For the third week in a row, the Dolphins gave up a safety.
Cam Heyward gave Cameron Erving a "welcome to the NFL" moment.
Ravens safety Will Hill body slammed a Jaguars receiver, WWE style.
The Dolphins beat the Eagles, in part thanks to this touchdown that was tipped about 30 feet in the air.
Avery Williamson busted out the Drake dance, but he was not a fan of Cam Newton's post-touchdown troll dance.
Greg Olsen makes one-handed catches look so easy.
After Kirk Cousins' four-touchdown game in a blowout win against the Saints, his teammates are adopting his "YOU LIKE THAT" catchphrase.
Apparently Odell Beckham Jr. can make impressive catches with TWO hands.
But ... sometimes the NFL rules catches aren't catches because rules.
T.J. Ward got ejected for punching Jeremy Maclin while falling. Whoops.
Giants players take each other out, spring Rob Gronkowski for a big TD.
This fan is lucky he tripped, honestly.
Danny Amendola was tackled by a teammate as he was about to score a punt return touchdown.
Kirk Cousin's dad is battling cancer, but attended Sunday's game and received the game ball.
Major Injuries:
Landry Jones left in the first quarter against the Browns with a left ankle injury. Ben Roethlisberger, who was only supposed to play in case of an emergency, replaced him.
In the third quarter against the Dolphins, Mark Sanchez took over for Sam Bradford, who headed to the locker room to get X-rays on his left shoulder. The X-rays were negative, but Bradford did not return to the game and was diagnosed with a concussion.
Julian Edelman exited in the second quarter against the Giants with a foot injury.
See More:
