NFL Week 10: Bears Hammer Lions; Seahawks, 49ers Pull Out Wins

So staring down the barrel of what would’ve been three-game losing streak, the Patriots looked like one of the best teams in the NFL. It was a crucial statement game, and if you don’t believe me, just look at exhibit A, where we have Bill Belichick breaking character. From the New York Post:

NOTE: If there’s any justice in the world, that quote will be blown up and run on sports shows all week, just for the entertainment value of watching commentators fumble the profanities and/or take to the pulpits to moralize about Belichick’s lack of respect.

Through 10 weeks of the 2011 NFL season, I count 20 teams that are still legitimate contenders for a playoff spot. The NFL is all about parity and that’s playing out this season as six of the eight divisions have at least one team within a game and a half or less of the division lead. With only two divisions, the NFC North and NFC West, can you safety pick the division winner at this point.

Lots of things happened but let’s start with one of the most improbable.

There’s a bit of a catch here, though. He didn’t sustain the injury during this game. He actually picked up the injury against Denver, then played this week. He was listed as probable with an injured finger on the injury report, so this isn’t a terribly stunning revelation, but it seemed like the injury was affecting him during the game.

Stafford threw the ball an astonishing 63 times in this game with an injury that the coaching staff knew about. Jim Schwartz will probably catch a bit of criticism for this during the week.

The result moves both teams to 6-3 on the season.

Panic may have played a part in that: the Ravens trailed 10-0 after the first quarter, 19-7 at halftime, and 22-7 in the last minute of the third quarter.

The win moves Seattle to 3-6 on the year, and the Ravens fell to 6-3 with the loss.

The Seattle Seahawks lost wide receiver Doug Baldwin to a head injury late in the second quarter of a home game against the Baltimore Ravens. Ravens cornerback Chris Carr collided with Baldwin who was being targeted on a deep throw from quarterback Tarvaris Jackson. Baldwin left the game. His return is questionable.

Baldwin caught a highlight-worthy 50-yard pass from Jackson earlier in the game. It was his only catch of the day. Despite just one catch, Baldwin’s 50 receiving yards are tied with running back Marshawn Lynch as the most for any Seattle player in the game so far.

See for yourself in the video.

Cutler actually batted the ball forward after Avril forced the fumble on the sack. The Bears missed a field goal a few plays later before packing it in for the locker room.

Gore struggled in the first half. He went into the locker room with zero yards on six carries through the first two quarters of the game.

Gore was nursing a sore ankle after San Francisco’s win over Washington last week. The team did not believe it to be a serious injury, but they did take an X-ray just to be sure.

The Dolphins improve to 2-7 with the win. The loss drops the Redskins to 3-6.

The win moves Houston to 7-3 on the season, and drops the Buccaneers to 4-5.

And the Chiefs’ once-vaunted running game was largely abandoned on Sunday, despite success: no Kansas City runner had more than nine carries, despite the Chiefs averaging over five yards per rushing attempt.

The win moves Denver to 4-5 on the season, and drops the Chiefs to 4-5.

The Eagles capped off the drive with a field goal that gave them a 17-14 lead over the Cardinals.

The Eagles announced that Vick just had the wind knocked out of him and will return to the game. See the Vick hit right here.

The win moves Pittsburgh to 7-3 on the season, and drops the Bengals to 6-3.

It’s a nice moment, even if it does seem a bit awkward. The cheerleader doesn’t seem to know quite what do do with the football, as it’s not a prop she can readily use. She also got a nice little hug for her troubles. You do have to wonder if this is necessarily a good thing for her, though, as fraternizing with the enemy tends to be frowned upon.

For more on this game, be sure to check out Bills blog Buffalo Rumblings and Cowboys blog Blogging the Boys.

But just how long has it been since Denver completed a pass? Check this out:

Tebow > Passing.

Arizona Cardinals quarterback John Skelton connected with wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald for a 10-yard touchdown pass. That score tied their game with the Philadelphia Eagles at 7-7. It also put Larry Fitzgerald in the history books.

With that catch, Fitzgerald tied Roy Green for the most touchdown catches in the history of the Cardinals franchise with 69.

This is one of those Madden-Glitch receptions that needs to be seen to believed. Here’s the video of the highlight catch before it gets sent to NFL Films to be set to terrific cello music.

Kissing Suzy Kolber’s Mike Tunison said it best: “This Jonathan Baldwin catch won’t be on the stat sheet, so we’re gonna have to build a statue for it or something.”

For more analysis and insight into this game, be sure to check out Texans blog Battle Red Blog and Bucs blog Bucs Nation. Also visit SB Nation for more NFL coverage.

Denver has already lost starting running back Willis McGahee to injury earlier in the game. McGahee hurt his hamstring and his return is questionable.

Tebow scored the first touchdown of the game on a 7-yard run. Tebow’s eighth rushing touchdown of his career is the second-most in Broncos franchise history.

Speaking of Romo, you just gotta love this guy if you are a fantasy football player. Regardless of his real world value, he seems to put up huge numbers almost every week. In the first half, he already has three touchdowns and 179 yards. He’s also 11 of 11 passing, in case you were wondering.

The Rams can’t catch a break, losing two key members of their secondary early against the Browns. From the team’s official Twitter account:

Considering the Browns are without Peyton Hillis and his primary backup Montario Hardesty, they probably entered this game with plans to rely on the passing game — and now, that just got easier.

The touchdown was Green’s sixth of the season and this might be his best one. He did come down awkwardly, which put a bit of a scare into the moment, but he was able to walk off the field under his own power and appeared to be fine.

The St. Louis Rams expected to get something going on offense after trading for wide receiver Brandon Lloyd. So far, it’s paying dividends. On their second possession of the game, Brandon Lloyd’s hands made all the difference for the Rams.

Then, Bradford found Lloyd in the end zone to put the Rams on the board. It was just Bradford’s fourth touchdown of the season. The Rams used up five minutes of clock time on the drive that bled into the second quarter with the touchdown pass. It was a 69-yard drive with 10 plays, including Lloyd’s highlight catch, the kind of plays the Rams have been sorely missing all season.

For Redskins’ fans take on the move, or to see Ground Zero for football fan anger if the Skins fall to the Dolphins, visit Hogs Haven. The Phinsider is the spot for Dolphins fans.