NFL Game Recaps: Week 10, 2024

NFL Game Recaps of previous weeks and seasons can be found via links at the bottom of the page.

Ravens 35, Bengals 34

The Bengals had three separate double-digit leads against the Ravens in the first meeting between these teams. Thanks to a crucial turnover and in-game mismangement by the coaching staff, Baltimore was able to mount a comeback and win in overtime, 41-38.

Cincinnati got off to another hot start again in this matchup, going up 21-7. The Ravens couldn’t move the ball at all, and they wasted some crucial timeouts on the opening defensive drive. They had no answer for Ja’Marr Chase either. However, the Bengals gave the Ravens some life when Chase Brown fumbled while up two touchdowns. On an ensuing drive, there was some questionable play-calling when the Bengals turned the ball over on downs because they took deep shots on third-and-2 and fourth-and-2. Cincinnati repeatedly gave the Ravens short fields due to this sort of decision-making.

Soon enough, the Ravens were up 28-21, but Cincinnati struck back with a deep touchdown Joe Burrow touchdown to Chase. The Ravens responded with a touchdown drive of their own when they were trying to run out the clock. Lamar Jackson found Rashod Bateman in the end zone to go up 35-28, but left too much time for the Bengals. Burrow responded by throwing some strikes to Chase again, and with the help of three Baltimore penalties, it took the Bengals less than 90 seconds to have possession inside the Baltimore 10-yard line. Once there, Burrow found Chase in the back of the end zone for a touchdown. The Bengals went for two, but Burrow’s pass to Tanner Hudson fell incomplete with missed defensive holding and roughing the passer calls ultimately deciding the game.

The Bengals fought hard against the Ravens for the second time this year, but once again fell short. They’ve lost the two games against the Ravens by a combined four points. They’re now 4-6, so they’ll need to pretty much run the table to reach the playoffs. The good news is that they won’t have to battle Baltimore again the rest of the way.

The Ravens improved to 7-3. They looked dead in the first half, and the fans even booed them heavily at one point. Yet, they rallied and prevailed, as Jackson strengthened his claim to win MVP for the third time.

Panthers 20, Giants 17

The Giants were favored by 6.5 points in this game, but based on this performance, they won’t be laying anywhere near that many points in a long time.

This was a truly pathetic performance by New York in all facets. The defense had issues containing the Panthers, particularly in the opening half. Chuba Hubbard ran all over the defense, while Bryce Young was able to move the chains consistently prior to intermission. The offense was far worse, as the team was guilty of four turnovers. Daniel Jones was picked twice – with one interception coming off a tipped pass – and took too many bad sacks, including one on a third-and-1 flea-flicker attempt. Jones, for whatever reason, refused to look for Malik Nabers until very late in the game. Nabers had an amazing matchup against a defense that has surrendered many big performances to No. 1 receivers this year, but he and the coaching staff seemingly forget about their top wideout.

Despite Jones’ incompetence, the Giants put themselves in position to win. They tied the game at the very end of regulation, forcing overtime. However, Tyrone Tracy, who was guilty of a fumble in the second half, coughed up the ball once again on the first play of the extra session. This set up an easy field goal for the Panthers.

The Giants lost this game and may fire Brian Daboll as a result. However, this was the best thing that could have happened to them, as the defeat will boost their draft positioning against another team in the mix for the top pick.

Carolina hurt its draft positioning, but the development of Young is important. Young had some nice moments in this game, but missed some throws he should have completed. Still, it’s a step in the right direction.

Bills 30, Colts 20

The Bills and Colts took turns trying their hardest to lose this game. Indianapolis went first. Joe Flacco was pick-sixed on the initial drive on an underthrown pass. On the next possession, Flacco heaved another interception on a screen play to set up a field goal for Buffalo, putting the Bills up 10-0. Flacco bounced back to lead the team down the field, but Josh Downs dropped an easy catch that would have given him a touchdown.

Just when it looked like the Bills would run away with an easy win, they began making mistakes. Allen was intercepted twice, with one pick occurring when he didn’t see linebacker E.J. Speed. The turnover allowed the Colts to go up 13-10.

The Bills, however, bounced back with 10 more points leading into halftime, and they then took advantage of another Flacco interception. Buffalo dominated the second half, eventually going up 30-13 before the Colts scored a touchdown with seconds remaining to make the final score than the game actually was.

The Bills could have easily looked ahead to the Chiefs, but they came up with a great effort against the Colts. They’ll have a chance to inch closer to the top seed if they can beat Kansas City next week.

The Colts should consider going back to Anthony Richardson. Flacco was considered the safer quarterback, but he threw some bone-headed interceptions in this game, which is precisely what Richardson was doing.

Vikings 12, Jaguars 7

It’s hard to believe that Sam Darnold was once considered one of the early-season MVP front-runners. The Vikings got off to a 5-0 start, and many in the media were hyping up Darnold to be considered the most valuable player in the NFL, despite the presence of Justin Jefferson on his own team. Still, Darnold was playing extremely well, so the argument was made.

Darnold’s performance has completely fallen off a cliff. He beat the Colts last week, but made several bone-headed mistakes. Those crucial errors continued in this game without the positive plays. Darnold was intercepted twice in the opening half of this game, with both turnovers occurring in Jacksonville territory. The second pick was especially brutal, as it occurred on a shot into the end zone on a telegraphed throw. The Vikings should have scored at least six points on the two drives, so Minnesota trailed 7-3 heading into halftime, as Mac Jones did what Darnold wasn’t capable of doing, which was engineering a touchdown drive.

Things continued to trend poorly for Darnold in the second half. He drove down the field into the red zone, but was picked once again at the goal line on an underthrown ball. Fortunately for Darnold, he was bailed out by the defense creating turnovers and setting up possessions deep in Jacksonville territory. Darnold continued to fail to convert, though he stopped throwing picks after the third. The Vikings couldn’t do anything but kick field goals, but with Jones struggling, the Jaguars couldn’t score at all to challenge Minnesota.

The Vikings prevailed, but they really have to be worried about Darnold’s regression. Darnold had a dream matchup against a dreadful Jaguars defense, but could only lead the team to a 12-point output. His sloppy play cost the Vikings anywhere between nine and 21 points.

This was a great result for the Jaguars. They entertained their fans, yet still lost to preserve their draft standing, as dumber bad teams prevailed this week.

Steelers 28, Redskins 27

The Steelers have largely been defined by great special teams plays in the early stages of the season, but this game began with a poor play on fourth down. Pittsburgh, up 7-0, inexplicably called for a fake punt on its own 15-yard line. The pass fell incomplete because of a drop, allowing the Redskins to easily tie the game at seven. Danny Smith’s special teams unit was able to redeem itself, however, as the Steelers recovered an Olamide Zaccheaus muffed punt. This time, the Steelers turned the short field into a touchdown to go up seven.

The Redskins recovered from their special teams gaffe, as Jayden Daniels hit some big plays. He launched a couple of deep completions to Terry McLaurin, setting up three short touchdown rushes by his running backs, with two coming from Austin Ekeler. The Redskins led by three at halftime and six entering the fourth quarter. It looked as though the Steelers would take the lead, but Jaylen Warren lost a fumble near the goal line.

All hope wasn’t lost, however, as the Steelers were able to retain possession. This time, Russell Wilson took matters into his own hands. He got out of a long-yardage situation with two completions and then launched a deep shot while under pressure to his newest teammate, Mike Williams, who caught the touchdown to put Pittsburgh ahead by one. The Redskins had one more chance to re-take the lead at the end, but a Daniels pass to Zach Ertz was shown to be inches shy of the line to gain, giving the Steelers the upset victory.

The Steelers are now 7-2, but they’re about to begin the tough part of their schedule. They’ll be tested beginning next week when they host the Ravens.

The Redskins lost their third game of the year, but they weren’t at full strength and were looking ahead to Thursday’s big game against the Eagles.

Chiefs 16, Broncos 14

The Chiefs have the No. 1 adjusted EPA defense this year. They have a three-time Super Bowl MVP at quarterback. But what about the special teams? Kansas City’s special teams aren’t discussed very much, but the unit made a huge play in this game to preserve the team’s undefeated record.

This looked like a sure loss for the Chiefs. The defense uncharacteristically had issues getting off the field, allowing Bo Nix to complete a high percentage of his throws. Thanks to Nix’s sharp accuracy, Denver was 7-of-13 on third down. The Chiefs, conversely, weren’t as efficient. Patrick Mahomes missed some throws in this game, including one deep shot to a wide-open Xavier Worthy that drifted out of bounds, and a routine pass into the end zone that would have given the Chiefs a larger lead than two in the final minutes. Instead, the Chiefs had to settle for a field goal, which put them up 16-14 with six minutes remaining.

The Broncos had no intention of relinquishing possession to the Chiefs. They converted three third downs on the ensuing drive, including a 13-yard completion to Courtland Sutton to move the sticks on a third-and-6. Denver successfully drained the clock all the way to set up a 35-yard Wil Lutz field goal to win the game at the buzzer. With Mahomes and Travis Kelce looking dejected on the sideline, Michael Danna blocked the kick to help the Chiefs improve to 9-0.

If the Chiefs end up going undefeated, Danna’s blocked field goal will go down in history as one of the most iconic plays of the season. The Chiefs did not play well, but Danna saved them.

This was a complete heartbreak for the Broncos. They had the Chiefs beaten, but saw their field goal blocked. NFL head coaches seem to think that these field goals are safe, but they most certainly are not.

49ers 23, Buccaneers 20

The 49ers welcomed Christian McCaffrey back into the lineup for the first time all year. They didn’t waste any time getting the ball to him, as Brock Purdy targeted McCaffrey right away. However, McCaffrey didn’t have many total touches in the opening half. When asked why, Kyle Shanahan noted that it was too hot.

The weather must not have been much of a factor in the second half because McCaffrey’s touch share rose. Of course, a catalyst for this must have been that the 49ers surrendered a touchdown to the Buccaneers on a muffed punt. San Francisco was up 10-3, but the turnover allowed the Buccaneers to tie the game. The 49ers put themselves in position to score multiple times after that, but couldn’t convert. Despite McCaffrey’s return to action, the red zone offense didn’t improve. Making matters worse, San Francisco couldn’t even score threes because Jake Moody missed a trio of field goals.

The 49ers could have been up by much more than 20-17 in the final minutes had Moody not struggled, but that’s what the score was when the Buccaneers had their final chance. Thanks to two face mask penalties – one call was completely botched – and another infraction, the Buccaneers moved deep into San Francisco territory, but they settled for a field goal. Baker Mayfield was heroic on the drive, but left too much time on the clock. With 41 seconds remaining, the 49ers moved into field goal range, thanks to 14- and 13-yard receptions by Ricky Pearsall and Jauan Jennings, respectively. Moody had a chance to redeem himself with a 43-yard kick, and he converted to give San Francisco the win.

This was a rough beat for 49ers bettors. They outgained the Buccaneers, 413-215, but won by just three points because of special teams. The final nail in the coffin was Moody making a kick to negate overtime (and a potential push at -6) when any of his previous kicks would have allowed the 49ers to push or cover.

The Buccaneers once again fought hard, but lost in the final seconds against one of the Super Bowl teams from last year. At some point, they’re going to run out of gas, though the bye week will help.

Patriots 19, Bears 3

The Bears looked great ahead of their bye with some blowout victories. They were 4-2, coming off a lopsided London affair with the Jaguars. They lost their first game following a bye, but did so on a Hail Mary. They lost to the Cardinals last week because they were deflated and unprepared to play in Arizona hail. They then lost this game because of many factors.

Caleb Williams had a get-right situation against a poor New England defense ranked 30th in adjusted defensive EPA. Instead, Williams continued to regress. His accuracy was all over the place in this game, as he threw for just 43 yards in the opening half on 6-of-13 passing. Meanwhile, the defense showed an inability to stop New England’s dreadful offense. The Patriots scored on three first-half possessions to open a 13-3 lead heading into intermission.

It only got worse for the Bears after intermission. They didn’t score a single point after halftime, with their offensive line having severe problems protecting the inaccurate Williams. The defense, meanwhile, had issues getting off the field. The Patriots outgained the Bears, 328-142, and they were 5-of-14 on third down, while Chicago was 1-of-14.

This truly was an eye-opening performance by the Bears. They were down their top two tackles, but they got Ryan Bates back from injury. They should have been much better than this.

The Patriots had a Pyrrhic victory, as this win ruined their draft positioning with so many teams in the mix for the top pick. On the bright side for them, Drake Maye was solid, save for an interception where he didn’t see T.J. Edwards.

Saints 20, Falcons 17
By Charlie Campbell – @draftcampbell

EDITOR’S NOTE: I get Jake Moody sucking, but what happened to Younghoe Koo? He used to be automatic, and now he can’t hit anything!

After firing Dennis Allen, the Saints seemed to receive a jolt of energy under interim head coach Darren Rizzi. Rizzi had been coaching New Orleans special teams, and the failures of Atlanta’s special teams and kicker Younghoe Koo cost Atlanta this game. The Falcons are still in a good position to win the NFC South at 6-4, but this was a game they should have won. While the Saints enjoy ending their seven-game losing streak, this win does hurt their draft positioning for 2025.

Early in the first quarter, a screen pass to Tysom Hill went for an 88-yard touchdown, but it got called back as the officials made a horrible call with a nonsense holding on Foster Moreau. The drive totaled zero points as the Falcons’ defense stopped a fourth-and-2 for no gain at their 5-yard line. New Orleans got the ball back and produced a field goal drive to start the scoring. Atlanta put a drive together, but Koo missed a long field goal.

Early in the second quarter, Carr aired out a perfect deep ball, and Marquez Valdes-Scantling hauled it in for a 40-yard touchdown to put the Saints up 10-0. Atlanta got down to the 1-yard line, keyed by a few completions to Darnell Mooney. On fourth-and-goal from the one, Bijan Robinson dove over the goal line to make 10-7. A couple of plays later, Carr threw a dime to Valdes-Scantling for a 66-yard completion to the 3-yard line. On third-and-goal, Carr connected with Valdes-Scantling in the back of the end zone for their second touchdown. With just seconds remaining in the second quarter, Koo had a field goal blocked, and the score remained 17-7 at halftime.

In the third quarter, the Falcons produced a field goal drive to make it a one-score game, but the Saints responded with a three-pointer of their own to make it 20-10. Kyle Pitts made a superb catch to move into Saints territory, and on the next play, Robinson ran through the New Orleans defense on a 36-yard touchdown run to make it 20-17 entering the fourth. Just past the midway point in the fourth quarter, Koo missed a 46-yard field goal. Right before the two-minute warning, Cousins tossed a poorly located pass, and Tyrann Mathieu picked it off.

On the ensuing third down, Kamara got wide open deep down the field for a game-winning conversion, and Carr made a perfect pass, but Kamara dropped the ball. That caused a punt, and the Falcons had one more chance with 1:35 remaining. A strip-sack by Chase Young caused a huge loss of yards that essentially ended any comeback drive and clinched the win for New Orleans.

Chargers 27, Titans 17
By Charlie Campbell – @draftcampbell

EDITOR’S NOTE: We won this five-unit pick, but how did Will Levis not throw an interception? How did he misfire only five times?

The Chargers avoided a trap game with a win over the rebuilding Titans to improve to 6-3. Tennessee protected their draft positioning, and the Chargers kept pace in the wild card race in the AFC.

The Chargers got on the board first with a field goal drive, but the Titans quickly took the lead with Will Levis lofting in a deep ball to a wide-open Calvin Ridley for a 42-yard touchdown. Los Angeles answered with a field goal to make it 7-6. The Titans moved into Charger territory, but Nick Folk missed a field goal. Los Angeles quickly went down the field before Justin Herbert darted into the end zone on a quarterback draw. Shortly later, the Chargers added a field goal. Just before halftime, Los Angeles got lucky that a Jeffrey Simmons strip-sack that was returned for a touchdown by Roger McCreary was ruled to be an incomplete pass. It easily could have been ruled a score for Tennessee, but the Chargers held a 13-7 lead at halftime.

In the third quarter, the Titans put a field goal drive together, but the Chargers came right back, with Herbert leading them down the field before he connected with Quentin Johnston for a 16-yard touchdown to go up 20-10. Midway through the fourth quarter, the Chargers put the game away with a ground-and-pound drive that was capped by Hassan Haskins plunging into the end zone. In garbage time, Levis and Ridley connected again for a touchdown.

Eagles 34, Cowboys 6

The Eagles were criticized for goofing around and nearly losing to the Jaguars last week, but they were all business in this game. They dominated the Cowboys in a statement victory in which all the previously injured players, save for Jordan Mailata, returned from injury.

Save for a couple of drives, Dallas couldn’t do anything against Philadelphia’s defense. The Eagles smothered an overwhelmed Cooper Rush in the backfield, who didn’t get off to a good start when he lost a fumble on a shotgun snap. This was the first of five turnovers by the Cowboys, and the first of Rush’s three. Rush lost three fumbles and was close to being intercepted on multiple occasions. Rush didn’t get much help from his supporting cast, namely Ezekiel Elliott, who fumbled into the end zone. However, Rush’s poor ball security and checkdown tendency gave the Cowboys no chance to win. Trey Lance wasn’t much better either, as he was intercepted toward the end of the afternoon.

Dallas’ defense kept the team in the game for a while, with the Eagles scoring just 14 points in the opening half. Micah Parsons’ return had a major impact in the early going. Dallas sacked Jalen Hurts five times, including one occasion in which he lost a fumble as a result of a Micah Parsons strip-sack. However, the Cowboys couldn’t compete defensively for too long, with fatigue setting in the second half. They surrendered some big plays to A.J. Brown and Hurts on the ground. Before long, Kenny Pickett was on the field in the middle of the fourth quarter.

Philadelphia is 7-2 despite the criticism entering the week. Thursday’s matchup against the Redskins looms large, as it’ll give one of the teams temporary control of the division.

Dallas played like a team that knew its season ended last week when Dak Prescott was lost for the year. It shouldn’t surprise anyone if Mike McCarthy is fired following this latest embarrassing defeat.

Cardinals 31, Jets 6

The Jets entered this game as favorites. They were underdogs to begin the week, but sharp bettors piled tons of money on New York, anticipating the team’s fourth victory of the year. Instead, this game resembled a funeral for the Jets, who now have to somehow dig out of a 3-7 hole if they want to reach the playoffs.

The Jets had major problems on both sides of the ball. Offensively, they didn’t complete a pass of more than nine yards until the halfway point of the fourth quarter. This was truly remarkable, as the Jets have a Hall of Fame quarterback and two extremely talented receivers at his disposal. Rodgers didn’t get much help from his offensive line, despite the return of Alijah Vera-Tucker. On one sequence while down 24-6, Davante Adams dropped a ball in the end zone, and then Rodgers lost a fumble on a strip-sack.

Defensively, the Jets were an even bigger mess. They could not get off the field, as they struggled to tackle and cover. There was one play that epitomized this horrible defeat, and that’s when Sauce Gardner gave a poor tackling effort on Trey McBride, who muscled out of the potential tackle and then hurdled over another defender for a gain of 23 yards. This reception was just one of many great ones for Kyler Murray, who attacked the disappointing New York defensive backfield with precision passing. Murray tied the Cardinals all-time franchise record with 17 consecutive completions to close out this one-sided affair.

The Jets still have an outside shot to make the playoffs, but they’ll need to run the table in their final seven games. There’s no reason to expect that to happen.

This summary was mostly about the Jets, but it must be emphasized how impressive Arizona has been. The Cardinals have endured the NFL’s toughest schedule, and yet they’re in first place at 6-4.

Lions 26, Texans 23

The Texans dominated the first half in this Sunday night battle. They created turnovers on what seemed like every Detroit offensive drive. It began when they picked Jared Goff off a deflection to set up a Joe Mixon touchdown. Another Goff interception was deflected by Denico Autry. Goff was intercepted three times prior to intermission and five times in total. This was tracking to be the worst performance of his career in what appeared to be a humiliating loss. The Texans were up 23-7 at intermission, and all hope seemed lost for the Lions.

Dan Campbell did not feel hopeless. Coming out of the tunnel, he told the NBC sideline reporter that his team needed some take-aways. As he was speaking, the Lions intercepted C.J. Stroud when the defender jumped the route. This was one of two picks Stroud threw following intermission. Stroud also fumbled, but recovered. Houston had no points in the second half, but they were inching toward getting three on the final offensive drive. Stroud couldn’t quite get there though, with Houston needing to settle for a 58-yard field goal by Ka’imi Fairbairn. The kick was wide left.

The Lions took over in great field position, but needed to pick up a first down. They did so on third-and-6, with Goff finding Amon-Ra St. Brown for an 11-yard gain. Jake Bates, who hugged the right upright on a prior field goal of 50-plus, had to attempt a 52-yarder for the win. Bates hugged the left upright this time, as the Lions completed the comeback, scoring 19 unanswered points.

Detroit fought hard and never gave up despite the ugly deficit. Goff really struggled until the fourth quarter, throwing five interceptions and skipping passes into the ground, but he completed some clutch throws to get the win.

The Texans blew a 23-7 lead, but before their fans get too dejected, this game didn’t really matter all that much for them. Houston won’t be getting the bye, and it’s also comfortably ahead of every other team in the AFC South.

Dolphins 23, Rams 15

During the halftime interview, Sean McVay was asked how he could climb out of a 10-6 deficit. He told the sideline reporter that his team had to stop shooting itself in the foot. He was right, but at the time, both teams were crushing themselves with mistakes. In fact, there was one sequence early in the second quarter when Tua Tagovailoa was intercepted on a telegraphed throw, which was followed by a Kyren Williams lost fumble, and then a Tagovailoa strip-sack.

The Dolphins cleaned up their act in the second half, though that was thanks to some incompetence by the Rams. Tagovailoa was asking to be intercepted, as he threw two potential picks that should have been caught by Los Angeles players, but were dropped. Meanwhile, the Rams continued to ruin their chances with dumb errors. For instance, a high snap led to a sack, ruining a promising drive. They had to settle for a field goal, which was drilled from 52 yards. However, a false start moved the kick to 57 yards, and the attempt was no good.

This missed three-pointer came up huge at the end. The Rams trailed 23-12 on their final offensive drive. They needed a touchdown and a field goal, so they settled for the latter prematurely so they’d have more time upon converting an onside kick. Had they converted the earlier 52-yard field goal, they could have taken more shots at the end zone and potentially tied the game. Instead, they kicked a short field goal and then failed to recover the attempt.

This was a very disappointing loss for the Rams. They appeared to be coming on with both of their receivers returning. They also had two talented offensive linemen back from injury. Yet, they just repeatedly shot themselves in the foot. McVay’s teams don’t often look like this, so perhaps they’ll rebound next week against the Patriots.

The Dolphins needed to win this game to stay alive in the playoff race. They’re now 3-6, and they can make a run with Tua Tagovailoa healthy.

For more thoughts, check out my updated NFL Power Rankings, which will be posted Tuesday morning.

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