Good games between high-quality teams were few and far between in Week 10 with most of the NFL’s top teams matched up against opponents that shouldn’t be able to compete. That could have made for a week of blowouts, or it could have meant surprising upsets. In the end, it was both.
NFL scores 2015: Follow all the Week 10 action from Sunday
The first slate of games on Sunday didn’t feature many compelling matchups, but the second half of the day provided some intrigue.
With so few headlining matchups, no games in particular drew a large majority of national coverage. The rivalry game between Steelers and Cleveland Browns drew extra interest thanks to the guys under center. Johnny Manziel, who made his fifth career start, faced off against Landry Jones until Jones left early in the game due to an injury. That forced Ben Roethlisberger to play most of the game on a bad foot -- and he still destroyed the Browns.
The Browns dropped to 2-8, just barely behind the 2-7 Ravens in the AFC North. Baltimore had a win nearly secured until Elvis Dumervil’s facemask penalty at the last second gave the Jaguars a chance to hit a game-winning field goal. They did, winning their first road game since 2013.
The Detroit Lions were trying to earn their first win at Lambeau Field since 1991 when they visited the Packers. Despite a series of events that almost blew the game for Detroit, the Packers missed a potential game-winning field goal as time expired, giving the Lions the elusive win.
Elsewhere in the NFC, the Panthers improved to 9-0 with an easy win over the Tennessee Titans, and the Cowboys lost their seventh straight game after Bucs quarterback Jameis Winston scored a last-minute touchdown on a bootleg.
In the second slate of games, there is a reprieve with some more compelling matchups. The 4-4 Oakland Raiders and 6-2 Minnesota Vikings have been a pair of surprising teams in 2015 with second-year quarterbacks leading the way, and in a very important game, it's Teddy Bridgewater that led his team to victory.
On CBS, most of the East Coast got a game between the undefeated New England Patriots and the team that has been the thorn in their side since 2008, the New York Giants. In 2008, the Giants won the Super Bowl and handed the Patriots their only loss of the year and fought off New England's revenge tour in 2012 as well. With a win in the regular season in 2011 as well, the last time the Patriots beat the Giants was 2007.
That is, until Sunday, when the Patriots narrowly beat the Giants, 27-26. It was a rough day for Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos when they played the Kansas City Chiefs in the afternoon as well. Manning was benched and the Broncos lost by multiple touchdowns.
But the biggest game of the day is the finale, when the Arizona Cardinals look for legitimacy on the road against the Seattle Seahawks. Despite a 6-2 start, all of the Cardinals' wins have come against teams with losing records. A win against Seattle would also count as a win over a team with a losing record, but the Seahawks are the back-to-back reigning NFC champions and have played well against tough competition despite not finding the wins to match.
A win for the Seahawks would mean they are back in the hunt for the NFC West title, while a win for the Cardinals would essentially wrap up the division race and legitimize Arizona as a legitimate Super Bowl contender.
Below, we’ve got all of the Week 10 games, with scores updated throughout the day.
Final scores so far for Sunday (All times ET):
Buffalo Bills 22, New York Jets 17 (Thursday)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 10, Dallas Cowboys 6
Carolina Panthers 27, Tennessee Titans 10
Detroit Lions 18, Green Bay Packers, 16
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 @ Seattle Seahawks, 8:30 p.m. ET, NBC
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.
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