Vincent Frank
Our NFL Week 10 grades are now live with a look at how each team did during Sunday’s NFL games. It started in Germany with the Indianapolis Colts taking out the New England Patriots in an ugly game.
Later Sunday afternoon, the San Francisco 49ers and Cleveland Browns made statements in huge wins. Meanwhile, the Dallas Cowboys laid into the New York Giants.
Speaking of the Giants and Patriots, they miserably failed tests in ugly all-around performances. The same thing can be said about the Washington Commanders and Los Angeles Chargers. Here are our NFL Week 10 grades for each team.
Related: NFL Week 10 power rankings
Indianapolis Colts: Mediocre (C)
Indianapolis did just enough to dispose of a bad Patriots team in Germany Sunday morning. Unfortunately, fans in Frankfurt did not witness the best brand of football that the NFL has to offer. At 5-5 after Sunday’s 10-6 win over New England, these Colts are the definition of mediocre.
New England Patriots: A 2-8 failure (F)
“Obviously it was a disappointing game. Similar theme that we’ve had to other games this year,” Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said after Sunday’s 10-6 loss to Indianapolis in Germany. Ya think? New England put up 340 total yards of offense, but also turned the ball over two times. The Pats have scored all of 141 points in 10 games. They stink. It’s that simple.
Houston Texans: Surprise, surprise (A)
Houston now finds itself at 5-4 on the season following Sunday’s dramatic 30-27 win over a previously red-hot Cincinnati Bengals squad. Rookie C.J. Stroud (23-of-39 passing, 356 yards) looks like a legitimate NFL MVP candidate. He led Houston down the field for a field goal as time expired, sending the Texans to their fifth win over the past seven games. Here’s a team that won seven combined games over the previous two seasons. It’s now a legitimate playoff contender in the AFC.
Cincinnati Bengals: What a mistake (D)
Cincinnati entered Sunday’s game against Houston having won four consecutive and feeling good about itself. The team then laid a complete egg at home in a 30-27 loss. Its defense gave up north of 500 total yards and 28 first downs. Joe Burrow (10 TD, 2 INT past four games) threw two picks. Both came with the Bengals eyeing points and on the Texans’ side of the field. Ouch!
New Orleans Saints: Another mediocre team (D)
The Derek Carr injury aside, these Saints look like one of the most mediocre teams in the NFL. Their defense allowed Joshua Dobbs to throw for 268 yards in a 27-19 loss to Minnesota on Sunday. Meanwhile, Jameis Winston’s two interceptions in Carr’s stead doomed the Saints. Now at 5-5 on the season, average is the best way to describe Dennis Allen’s squad.
Related: NFL Week 10 offense rankings
Minnesota Vikings: On a roll (A)
Kirk Cousins or Joshua Dobbs. Doesn’t matter. Minnesota earned its fifth consecutive win during NFL Week 10, defeating the Saints by eight points. Dobbs continued to do his thing by completing 23-of-34 passes. T.J. Hockenson added 11 receptions for 134 yards, too. Just wait until Justin Jefferson finds his way back next week against the Denver Broncos.
Related: Josh Dobbs Magic finally fades but Vikings hang on to beat Saints
Pittsburgh Steelers: worst 6-3 team in the NFL (C)
Kenny Pickett threw for just 126 yards. Fullback Connor Heyward was Pittsburgh’s second-leading receiver (three catches, 32 yards). But it was still enough for the Steelers to move to 6-3 on the season with a 23-19 home win over the Green Bay Packers. It wasn’t pretty by any stretch of the imagination. But a strong running game (126 yards) and opportunistic defense (two late interceptions) enabled Pittsburgh to come away with its fourth win in five outings after starting 2-2.
Green Bay Packers: No longer a love affair (F)
Jordan Love was playing pretty darn good football during NFL Week 10. In fact, he was mistake free until the final 200 seconds of the game. Unfortunately, Love’s turnover proneness came back to haunt Green Bay in a big way. He threw interceptions on the Packers’ final two drives, both with the offense driving deep inside Pittsburgh’s territory. This doomed the Packers as they fell to 3-6 on the season.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Making the most of little (B)
Like pretty much the rest of the NFC South, these Buccaneers are pedestrian. Unlike others in the division, they are doing a lot with very little. Sunday’s 20-6 win over the Titans added another layer to this. Tampa’s defense got to Will Levis with four sacks. Baker Mayfield put up a workmanlike performance (18-of-29 passing, 278 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT). Mike Evans did his thing (6 receptions, 143 yards). It has the Bucs at 4-5 and just one half game back in the NFC South heading into Week 11.
Tennessee Titans: Rebuild, rebuild (F)
The good feelings that came with Levis’ four-touchdown debut back in Week 8 are now a thing of the past for Tennessee. This team was handed a reality check during NFL Week 10 with its offense putting up 209 total yards and 14 first downs in the 20-6 loss. At long last, it’s time for the Titans to start anew with a rebuild. Whether that means Mike Vrabel is the man to lead it remains to be seen.
San Francisco 49ers: Back on top (A+)
Talk about a statement win for San Francisco. Mired in a three-game losing streak heading into its Week 9 bye, this was a completely different team in Jacksonville Sunday. The 34-3 win over the Jaguars was not indicative of just how much the 49ers dominated. Brock Purdy missed on just seven of his 26 attempts while throwing for nearly 300 yards with three touchdowns and zero picks. Led by the tandem of Nick Bosa and Chase Young, the 49ers got to Trevor Lawrence for five sacks and two interceptions. The end result was San Francisco putting the remainder of the NFC on notice.
Jacksonville Jaguars: What a stinker (F)
Riding a five-game winning streak heading into NFL Week 10, the Jaguars had to feel good about their chances at home on Sunday. This was a statement game for Doug Pederson’s squad. About that? Jacksonville turned the ball over a whopping four times. Its defense allowed the 49ers to put up 437 total yards. In reality, the Jags proved on Sunday that they are a notch below the elite AFC teams heading into Week 11.
Cleveland Browns: What a win (A)
Whether it was Deshaun Watson doing his thing late in the game or an opportunistic defense, Cleveland made a major statement by defeating the division-rival Ravens in NFL Week 10. A pick-six from cornerback Greg Newsome in the fourth quarter set the stage. Watson leading the Browns down for the game-winning field goal as time expired acted as the curtain call. The end result was a 33-31 road win and a 6-3 record on the season.
Baltimore Ravens: Blowing in the wind (D)
Lamar Jackson’s two interceptions doomed the Ravens against Cleveland on Sunday. The first one didn’t necessarily harm Baltimore. However, a pick-six on a tipped pass midway through the fourth quarter with Baltimore up 31-24 changed the dynamics big time. Jackson had been playing at an MVP level leading up to this one. Unfortunately, he came up small against one of the NFL’s best defenses.
Arizona Cardinals: The Kyler Murray impact (A)
With Kyler Murray sidelined since Week 14 of last season, the Cardinals had posted a 1-12 record. The team entered NFL Week 10 with a 1-8 record and being outscored by an average of 10 points per game. Despite all of this, Murray does not believe that the Cardinals are a bad team. At least for one day, he showed this. Returning from a torn ACL, Murray was dynamic in a 25-23 win over the Atlanta Falcons. That included the former No. 1 pick completing 19-of-32 passes for 249 yards while adding 33 yards and a touchdown on the ground. Not too shabby for a team that put up less than 60 total yards last week.
Atlanta Falcons: Wasting away in mediocrity (D)
Taylor Heinicke suffered a hamstring injury early Sunday afternoon and was replaced by Desmond Ridder under center. The second-year quarterback proceeded to complete just 4-of-6 passes for 39 yards as Atlanta put up 70 net passing yards in a two-point loss to a bad Cardinals team. The only saving grace here was the performance of rookie running back Bijan Robinson, who went for 106 total yards on 23 touches.
Related: Is Los Angeles Chargers’ Justin Herbert having a down season?
Los Angeles Chargers: No defense for Week 10 (F)
Brandon Staley has to be on the hot seat after what we saw from this defense in a 41-38 home loss to the Detroit Lions. Detroit gained 533 total yards and had 23 first downs. The duo of Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack did not get to Jared Goff for a single sack. Meanwhile, the Lions went for 200 yards on the ground as Los Angeles dropped to 4-6 on the season. When is enough going to be enough in Southern California?
Related: NFL Week 10 defense rankings
Detroit Lions: On the prowl (A-)
Detroit’s offense picked up its defense in NFL Week 10, going for north of 500 total yards. David Montgomery’s 75-yard touchdown run in the second quarter set the stage for an epic performance from this unit. Jared Goff completed 23-of-33 passes for 333 yards with two touchdowns. Amon-Ra St. Brown caught 8-of-9 targets for 156 yards. Rookie running back Jahmyr Gibbs tallied 112 total yards in the 41-38 win. Yeah, these Lions are a well-oiled machine. NFL Week 10 proved that to a T.
New York Giants: Hapless in Jersey (F)
At halftime of Sunday’s humiliating loss to the Dallas Cowboys, New York had 27 total yards. The problem with this is that Dallas had 28 points. We knew it was going to be hard for the Giants to compete with both Daniel Jones and Tyrod Taylor injured. But the product we saw in Week 10 didn’t even remind us of an NFL team. New York’s defense allowed 49 points, 32 first downs and 640 total yards. Its offense went for 172 yards. Heads are going to turn after yet another brutal showing in a 32-point loss to a hated division rival.
Dallas Cowboys: In another league (A)
Dak Prescott was flinging that ball around Big D on Sunday, completing 26-of-35 passes for 404 yards with four touchdowns. CeeDee Lamb and Brandin Cooks combined to catch 20-of-24 targets for 324 yards. Dallas’ defense got to an overmatched Tommy DeVito for five sacks as the Giants put up 61 net passing yards. Sure, the Giants are a bad football team. But this was a statement for Prescott and Co.
Washington Commanders: Riverboat drowns (D)
The task was simple. Washington’s defense needed less than a minute to run off the clock without allowing the Seattle Seahawks to get into field goal range. It came after the Commanders tied this up via a Sam Howell touchdown pass to Dyami Brown. Boy, did the Commanders’ defense come up small. They let Seattle drive down the field 50 yards for a game-winning field goal. Just a disastrous last-minute effort from Ron Rivera’s defense. And in reality, it was the difference between a 5-5 record and a 4-6 mark.
Seattle Seahawks: A win is a win (C+)
It has not been pretty for the Seahawks this season. But they come out of NFL Week 10 with a 6-3 record and looking very much like a playoff team. After struggles earlier in the campaign, Geno Smith played a vital role in Sunday’s 29-26 win over Washington. He completed 31-of-47 passes for 369 yards with two touchdowns. DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett (15 combined catches) went off for the first time all season. Despite all of this, needing a late field goal against an average Washington team at home lowers the Seahawks’ grade a tad.
New York Jets: Middling without Aaron Rodgers (D)
Following Sunday night’s 16-12 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders, New York has not scored an offensive touchdown since the first quarter of Week 8. That’s 11-plus quarters of football. The Jets thought they were going to end that streak late in the fourth quarter before Zach Wilson threw an interception to pretty much put the game on ice. At 4-5, the Jets are going nowhere fast despite boasting one of the top defenses in the league. Aaron Rodgers simply can’t return soon enough.
Las Vegas Raiders: It’s Antonio Pierce’s world (C+)
Pierce is now 2-0 as the Raiders’ interim head coach following the firing of Josh McDaniels. Sure, both of the wins have come against struggling Jersey-based teams. But you can only play who is in front of you. Sunday night’s four-point win over the Jets was ugly. Even then, the Raiders’ defense came up big time in forcing three Jets turnovers. Rookie quarterback Aidan O’Connell also avoided the big mistakes. It has Vegas at 5-5 on the season and firmly in the AFC Playoff picture.
