Tag: NFL Week 10

WATCH: Saints share the perfect Twitter response to NFL expert doubters

The New Orleans Saints had the perfect rebuttal to doubters who picked the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to defeat them in Week 10 of the NFL season.

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Only 15% of experts around the NFL’s orbit picked the New Orleans Saints to defeat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 9, which looks awful in hindsight. But no one came out of this looking worse than the on-air personalities who crowded pregame panels and sports talk radio in the hours leading up to kickoff.

“We’re in trouble, though,” said NBC Sports analyst Chris Simms on Sunday night after he and all of his colleagues turned in unanimous picks for Tampa Bay to win. “We’re gonna get trolled by New Orleans if things don’t happen this way.”

And he was right — the Saints put together a supercut of that TV spot and several others after winning 38-3 in Tampa Bay, set to the iconic outro tune from “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” the Larry David vehicle specializing in awkward social mishaps. It’s a great social media jab from New Orleans.

But it wasn’t received well by Simms and his NBC Sports colleague Mike Florio. Simms and Florio spent a substantial chunk of their Monday morning-after NFL coverage criticizing the Saints for singling them out, putting on a great display of self-seriousness.

“I understand players use motivation, whatever. But this is not a motivational tactic, and I’m with you (Florio), I’m sick of it,” Simms bemoaned. As one of NFL media’s most notorious hot take artists, it sounds like the kitchen got a little too heated for him this time. Maybe he should take a break.

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Saints roster exemption for Kwon Alexander expires, LB eligible to play Week 10

New Orleans Saints linebacker Kwon Alexander is eligible to play against his old San Francisco 49ers team after his roster exemption ended.

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The New Orleans Saints were granted a one-week roster exemption for linebacker Kwon Alexander after acquiring him in a trade with the San Francisco 49ers, which expired on Monday per the NFL daily transactions wire.

This means Alexander is now on the Saints’ 53-man roster and immediately eligible to play in Week 10 — against the same 49ers team that just traded him. While there will probably be a bit of a revenge game narrative at work here, the parting was at least amicable on San Francisco’s part with 49ers general manager John Lynch sharing a nice sendoff for Alexander.

Of course, Alexander first has to prove he’s healthy and ready to play. He was limited on the 49ers injury report prior to being traded, having missed three games with a high-ankle sprain. But if he’s healed up and can quickly pick up the Saints’ defensive system, there’s little reason he should not start next to Demario Davis on Sunday.

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Fantasy football free-agent forecast: Week 10

The top fantasy football waiver wire targets for Week 10 and beyond.

Free-agent recommendations refer to 12-team leagues, unless specifically stated otherwise. FAAB $ amounts are based on a $100 budget.

Bye weeks: Atlanta Falcons, Dallas Cowboys, Kansas City Chiefs, New York Jets

Fantasy football waiver wire targets

Quarterbacks

1-week plug & play

Alex Smith, Washington Football Team at Detroit Lions

With Kyle Allen (ankle) done for the year, Smith will get the start after playing in his stead this past weekend vs. the New York Giants. The positive — 325 yards was a personal best in his 12 appearances in Washington — will be rightfully overshadowed by an uncharacteristically sloppy, three-INT outing. Smith completed 75 percent of his passes, which is more like him, and this week he faces a Detroit defense that has only five picks on the year. Quarterbacks have averaged a modest 23.9 fantasy points against the Lions, but stability should be the takeaway for gamers looking to get bye this week at the position. All eight opponents have gone for at least 20 PPR points vs. Matt Patricia’s group this year.

Availability: 87%
FAAB: $1-2

Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins vs. Los Angeles Chargers

For anyone who follows my “Gamble of the week” series, I was a week premature on my love for Tua. Nonetheless, he showed he is ready for the pressure and spotlight, but he may have to go forward without WR Preston Williams (foot). Los Angeles has given up 16 passing touchdowns in eight games and also three more on the ground. The quality of the opponent has mattered vs. LA, so understand this is a somewhat risky recommendation. As recently as Week 8, though, the relatively inexperience Drew Lock was able to post 24.3 fantasy points. Tagovailoa may be asked to put the team on his back if the running game cannot get it going.

Availability: 38%
FAAB: $1-2

Watch list

Jake Luton, Jacksonville Jaguars

Luton should get the start in Week 10 at Green Bay while Gardner Minshew (thumb) heals. It was a good but not great showing in the rookie’s Week 9 debut, finishing with 304 yards, one touchdown and an interception through the air. He added a rushing touchdown. It was nice to see he wasn’t afraid to push the ball down the field, and the game wasn’t too big for him. The Packers will pose a much tougher matchup, so if he plays well, consider him a roster-worthy matchup play.

Availability: 78%

Running backs

Priority Free Agent

Kalen Ballage, Los Angeles Chargers

This one really isn’t top-level priority, and it is largely dependent on the injury status of at least Justin Jackson (knee). He exited early in Week 9 without registering a fantasy point. The Chargers had elevated Ballage to the active roster after learning of RB Troymaine Pope’s unavailability, which also could factor into the recommendation of Ballage. All of that put aside, Ballage generated 84 yards and a touchdown on 18 utilizations in Week 9 vs. the Las Vegas Raiders. Any back with that kind of workload belongs on a roster, so keep tabs on the updates for Jackson and/or Pope before deploying the former Dolphin and Jet. Los Angeles face Miami this week, so he’d be a likely fantasy option in the event at least Jackson is out of commission.

Availability: 94%
FAAB: $5-6

1-week plug & play

Duke Johnson, Houston Texans at Cleveland Browns

David Johnson was knocked out of the Week 9 game with an apparent concussion, so his status for Week 10 is fully the driver behind this recommendation. Should the former Cardinal be unavailable, it will be Duke Johnson likely to see the bulk of the touches. He finished with 73 total yards and a score on 20 touches in Week 9. The matchup with Cleveland isn’t even all that enticing statistically, it’s just the reality of a versatile back having an increased workload with a chance for a TD vs. an opponent that has yielded seven in eight games is worth the risk.

Availability: 47%
FAAB: $4-5

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Wide receivers

1-Week Plug & Play/Grab & Stash

Allen Lazard, Green Bay Packers vs Jacksonville Jaguars

Lazard (core) was close to returning last week, even making the trip with the team, as he works his way back from abdominal surgery. He was shaping up to be among the best fantasy flex weapons of 2020 prior to the injury. Don’t be put off by Marquez Valdes-Scantling scoring twice last week — he had two months to be effective and whiffed with regularity. Lazard will assume that role and should pick up where he left off vs. a Jaguars defense that has given up a wealth of big plays in the last several weeks. Most recently, three receivers have scored a TD in the last two games alone, and four players have at least 83 yards — a pair on just two grabs apiece.

Availability: 60%
FAAB: $3-4

Tim Patrick, Denver Broncos at Las Vegas Raiders

Seeing the field in Week 9 after missing one game, Patrick returned to form with a line of 4-29-1 … not exactly “run to the wire and grab this guy” material, but he was targeted nine times and now has a career-high 42 looks over just seven games into his third year. Patrick has at least seven targets in three of his last four games, and no fewer than four in any outing of the season. The matchup is friendly enough for a start, and Patrick belongs on rosters in all 12-team PPR formats. The position has scored once every 12.3 catches this year, and 10 receivers in eight games have made it into the double-digit territory for fantasy points.

Availability: 40%
FAAB: $3-4

1-Week Plug & Play

David Moore, Seattle Seahawks at Los Angeles Rams

Moore continues to get it done, scoring in consecutive games and posting at least 8.8 PPR points in five of his last seven games, including three of the last five with 13 or more. While his six targets in a Week 9 comeback bid marked a season high, he benefits from the increased odds of finding the end zone. Los Angeles will be laser-focused on slowing the explosive duo of Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf, a factor working in Moore’s favor.

Availability: 72%
FAAB: $1-2

Watch list

Cam Sims, Washington Football Team

The undrafted, 6-foot-5 rookie caught three of four targets for 110 yards in Week 9. Alex Smith took over from the injured Kyle Allen (ankle) and figures to be the guy the rest of the way. Sims offers size and downfield skills to help complement Terry McLaurin in an offense that is pleading for someone to step up opposite the second-year standout. Keep an eye on Sims in Week 10 at the Detroit Lions in most conservative situations, but there’s a hint of appeal for gamers willing to take one of the wildest of fliers — at least the matchup is strong for TD efficiency.

Availability: 100%

Tight ends

1-Week Plug & Play/Grab & Stash

Irv Smith Jr., Minnesota Vikings at Chicago Bears

We’ve seen seven touchdowns by the position this year come against the Chicago defense, and Smith snared two of his own in Week 9. The downside is those were his only catches, but he has at least four targets in three of his last four games. The matchup sits inside of the top 10, and given Chicago’s relative strength vs. receivers, Kirk Cousins could be forced to look Smith’s way more than usual. He’s the future of the position for Minnesota, so there’s no reason to let him toil away behind Kyle Rudolph, which offers potential for more work down the stretch.

Availability: 56%
FAAB: $2-3

Kickers

1-Week Plug & Play

Jake Elliott, Philadelphia Eagles at New York Giants

Philly returns from its bye and should be a little healthier. The Eagles have been so battered that it’s tough to properly gauge how they would have fared in terms of offering field goal opportunities. Elliott has been afforded fewer than two in all but one of his last five games. The Giants, on the other hand, have been an improved defense that has done a respectable job of limiting opponents on New York’s side of the field. Kickers have attempted at least two three-pointers in five straight contests and all but one game this season. The Giants have yielded 6-for-6 kicking in the last two games alone, and Elliott attempted a pair of kicks in the Week 7 meeting.

Availability: 83%
FAAB: $0-1

1-Week Plug & Play/Grab & Stash

Daniel Carlson, Las Vegas Raiders vs. Denver Broncos

The former Viking is probably owned in most competitive formats, given how consistently productive he has been. There is a chance he could get dropped after kicking only one field goal this past week, and gamers in more casual settings should look for Carlson on the wire. Just two teams have given up more field goal attempts in 2020, and both of them have played in more games. The Broncos have allowed the second-highest average per contest behind Chicago. Hang on to him if he’s indeed available.

Availability: 48%
FAAB: $0-1

Defense/specials teams

1-week plug & play

New Orleans Saints at San Francisco 49ers

It won’t be a total drubbing like we saw vs. Tampa Bay, only because what happened with the Bucs was one of those games in which the stars align to create the worst possible outcome. San Fran is so ravaged by injuries that we should expect plenty of opportunities for mistakes from a bevy of backup players. New Orleans has been good only twice this year in fantasy, so it’s not a slam dunk, but seeing this unit come to life in Week 9 at least offers the comfort of timing being on its side.

Availability: 65%
FAAB: $0-1

Lions 2019 rewatch: Week 10 notebook from Stafford-less game vs. Bears

Lions 2019 rewatch: Week 10 notebook from the Lions vs. Bears, the first game without Mathew Stafford at QB for Detroit

The film review of the 2019 Detroit Lions season continues into unchartered territory in Week 10. This is the first week where another QB other than Matthew Stafford started for the team in almost 10 years.

Jeff Driskel got the nod in Chicago against the NFC North rival Bears. Stafford was shut down due to a back injury suffered sometime in the heartbreaking Week 9 loss in Oakland. The Lions enter the game at 3-4-1 after their impressive 2-0-1 start. Chicago has lost four games in a row after starting the season 3-1 and ranks 28th in scoring offense entering the game.

Pregame notes

Stafford is the most notable Lions out and not on I.R. Safety Tracy Walker and DEs Da’Shawn Hand and Romeo Okwara are also out with injuries. Sam Martin is still punting but has ceded the kickoff duties to kicker Matt Prater due to a minor injury.

Carl Cheffers and his crew are the officials. Game time temp at Soldier Field in Chicago was 40 degrees with a fairly steady 10-15 MPH wind blowing left to right across the field.

First quarter

The Lions come out playing up-tempo and aggressive on offense, playing to Driskel’s strengths. Ty Johnson gashes the Bears for 10 well-blocked yards on the first play, and then quick passes move the ball nicely.

Chicago quickly ascertains that when FB Nick Bawden is in the game and offset, it’s going to be a run. Bawden and T.J. Hockenson both land nice blocks but the formational giveaway still results in a pretty easy stop for Chicago’s impressive LBs, two plays in a row.

Driskel catches Chicago’s defense in a pre-snap state of confusion and quickly strikes, hitting an uncovered Marvin Jones to get into the red zone. That’s the kind of quick snap we don’t see enough of with Stafford under center. Matt Prater nails the FG when the drive sputters inside the Chicago 10 and it’s 3-0 Lions on the road.

Lions defense comes out in a straight 4-3 scheme that morphs with Christian Jones playing EDGE on 3rd down. As the FOX broadcast crew notes, they are focused on making Mitchell Trubisky beat them with his arm and decision-making. He can’t on the first drive, missing an easy 3rd down throw high that gives Mike Ford enough time to recover and make a stop short of the conversion.

The Lions finally run play action with Bawden offset and it works. Would have worked even better if Bawden didn’t get caught inside too far before releasing as a safety valve, but it’s still nice to see self-awareness from the Lions. They haven’t done this in several weeks.

The second Detroit drive ends with a gimmick that I wish the Lions would have actually followed through. Lined up to punt on 4th-and-7 at the Chicago 40, TE Logan Thomas slides up under center. He was a QB at Virginia Tech and played some for the Cardinals before switching to TE. The Bears don’t bite on the potential trick play, and looking at who the Lions have on the field it’s easy to see why; the wideouts are backup safety Cory Moore and reserve CB Dee Virgin. Rookie safety Will Harris is the motion/slot receiver. It’s an obvious attempt to simply draw the Bears offside to get some extra yards into field goal position. Sam Martin ultimately punts and the Lions net just 30 yards on the exchange against an offense that is struggling badly. Should have followed through on the fake/play…

After some nice run defense by the interior DL (notably A’Shawn Robinson and Trey Flowers) the Lions defense sacks Trubisky on the final play of the quarter on what can best be described as a coverage sack. It’s aided by a truly awful schematic design by the Bears; there are no receivers shallower than 30 yards down the field and none anywhere near between the hashes when Devon Kennard smashes Trubisky into the ground from behind.

Second quarter

Driskel’s limitations as a passer are on display. He doesn’t have the pinpoint accuracy Stafford does on the shorter throws and it forces a stalled drive. Worth noting the line is doing a very good job at nullifying Khalil Mack to this point. He’s lining up on both sides and both Detroit tackles are handling business.

The Soldier Field crowd goes crazy when Trubusky completes a designed rollout pass to his left to Allen Robinson. His inability to go to his left is legendary enough that the home fans mock Trubisky for it.

The defensive front is showing some creativity. A third down throw (dropped by Taylor Gabriel) sees Jahlani Tavai twisting behind Kevin Strong on a 2-man line. The Bears OL screws up the transition and Strong nearly gets a sack out of it. Christian Jones attacking RT Bobby Massie’s inside shoulder is consistently successful. Jones playing the JACK more against his old team than he has all year.

The teams trade punts twice (with excellent coverage by Dee Virgin on both for Detroit) on uneventful drives. It’s more bad offense than good defense, particularly when the Bears have the ball. Dating back to their Week 9 loss to the Eagles, Chicago has managed just 11 first downs in 15 offensive possessions, one in their first four today. Trey Flowers, Mike Daniels in limited reps and Christian Jones are all dominating up front and Trubisky is quite clearly not as good as Driskel at playing QB. That is not meant as an endorsement of Driskel either…

Note: Tyrell Crosby has taken over for Rick Wagner at RT. Wagner appeared to get injured on the final play of the first punt drive.

Detroit manages a long Prater field goal after an uneven drive that began at midfield. A Golladay drop (difficult high catch but he got both hands on it) and an utter lack of vision from RB Paul Perkins on runs stymie a couple of nice throws by Driskel. Crosby lines up too far off the line of scrimmage on 3rd down for a penalty as well. It’s 6-0 Lions with just over four minutes in the half.

A crushing kick coverage tackle by Jalen Reeves-Maybin gets the Lions defense fired up. Trubisky tries to kill WR Anthony Miller with a hospital ball. Yet the Bears still gamble and go for it on 4th-and-1 from their own 30. And they (barely) make it; Damon Harrison makes a nice play but the help from Robinson and Jarrad Davis didn’t quite make it on time.

The successful conversion seems to wake up Trubisky and the Bears offense. Detroit’s defense goes primarily zone behind a 4-man rush and Trubisky is finding holes and making quality throws. He’s aided by an iffy defensive holding call on Tavon Wilson that negated an offensive hold where Flowers absolutely annihilated James Daniels.

Chicago hits paydirt on the next play when Will Harris gets beaten in coverage by reserve TE Ben Braunecker. It’s not a good route but it might be Trubisky’s best throw to beat Harris over the top with the plodding 3rd-string TE. Eddy Piniero makes the extra point and it’s 7-6 Bears going into the half.

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Lamar Jackson nominated for FedEx Air Player for Week 10

Thanks to another perfect passer rating, Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson has been nominated for another FedEx Air Player of the Week award

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson had a perfect game in Week 10 against the Cincinnati Bengals. No, seriously — Jackson had a perfect 158.3 passer rating. That has him in the running for the FedEx Air Player of the Week award.

It’s the second time this season Jackson has been nominated for the FedEx Air award, winning it in Week 1 for his other game with a perfect passer rating. But Jackson has also won the FedEx Ground Player of the Week award this season — making him the only player ever to win both awards in a single season.

Jackson has some tough competition this week, going up against Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones. While Jackson has half the passing yards of Mahomes and fewer touchdown passes than Jones, he was the only player with a perfect passer rating in Week 10.

Jackson completed 15-of-17 passes against the Cincinnati Bengals for 223 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. While Jackson technically threw two incomplete passes in that game, one was a spike to stop the clock before halftime.

With how much criticism Jackson has gotten for his passing ability in his short career, it’s a little redeeming to see him up for yet another award specifically due to his arm.

Ravens reach top spot in USA TODAY Sports’ power rankings after Week 10

The Baltimore Ravens dismantled the Cincinnati Bengals 49-13, putting them into the top spot on USA TODAY Sports’ power rankings.

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The Baltimore Ravens are officially the best team in the league. At least if you’re to believe USA TODAY Sports’ latest power rankings, which place them in the No. 1 spot.

“NFL’s most explosive offense deserves its accolades. But ascending defense is first to record TDs of 65-plus yards in three straight games since 1970 merger.”

As I noted elsewhere, the offense has gotten a lot of credit for where Baltimore sits, but it has been the ascension of the defense in recent weeks that has put them over the edge. While the defense still sits near the middle of the pack after nine games in both yards and points allowed, they’re creating big plays from even the best quarterbacks and helping out an offense that was already on fire.

Considering how they took down the Seattle Seahawks, New England Patriots and now the Cincinnati Bengals; the Ravens might be the most complete team in the NFL right now. That’s a scary proposition considering this team is really built for the cold-weather football we’re just starting to get into.

Baltimore has a tough few more games on the schedule. In the next three weeks, the Ravens will play the Houston Texans, San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams. For as well as they’ve played, all three of those games will be tough sledding for Baltimore and will either prove them to be the best team in the league or muddy the waters a little bit. Regardless, it seems like the Ravens are destined to get their way into the postseason once again, where they can wreak havoc in the AFC.

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Ravens Week 10 snap counts: Some interesting substitutions going on

The Baltimore Ravens made some interesting substitutions against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 10 according to the snap counts.

The Baltimore Ravens beat up on the Cincinnati Bengals so bad, we got the see the backups enter the game and play nearly a full quarter. In their 49-13 drubbing of the Bengals, the Ravens managed to score both on offense and defense, throwing some new wrinkles on the field for future teams to have to gameplan against. When looking at the snap counts for Week 10, we see some interesting changes occurring on both offense and defense.

Offensively, we’re beginning to see tight end Hayden Hurst dip into Mark Andrews’ snap counts at times. The same thing happened last week where Hurst played 40% of the offensive snaps compared to Andrews’ 34%, compared to Week 10’s 57% to 51%. As previously predicted, Hurst offers value as both a pass catcher and blocker, allowing offensive coordinator Greg Roman to use more misdirection and catch defenses off guard rather than lining Andrews up and tipping off the play.

It’s also interesting to see how the wide receiver snap counts adjusted this week with Chris Moore inactive and a gameplan that favored the tight ends. By looking at the box score, it seemed pretty obvious the tight ends got far more looks in the passing game, catching 12 of Lamar Jackson’s 18 completions. Naturally, they got far more playing time than the wide receivers to fit that narrative.

Marquise Brown seems to still be on a limited snap count as he returns from injury, playing just 40% of the offensive snaps. But fellow rookie Miles Boykin supplanted Seth Roberts this week, getting the second-most snaps behind Willie Snead. Though Boykin didn’t get targeted in this game, it could point to the team’s growing comfort level with him in the lineup. Given his size and speed, he seems like a natural for cold-weather football to help spell both Moore and Roberts down the stretch.

Ravens offensive snap counts:

Player Position Snaps Snap %
Bradley Bozeman G 47 100%
Orlando Brown T 47 100%
Matt Skura C 47 100%
Nick Boyle TE 36 77%
Ronnie Stanley T 36 77%
Lamar Jackson QB 36 77%
Marshal Yanda G 36 77%
Hayden Hurst TE 27 57%
Mark Andrews TE 24 51%
Mark Ingram RB 23 49%
Willie Snead WR 22 47%
Miles Boykin WR 21 45%
Marquise Brown WR 19 40%
Patrick Ricard FB 18 38%
Seth Roberts WR 18 38%
James Hurst G 14 30%
Justice Hill RB 12 26%
Robert Griffin III QB 12 26%
Gus Edwards RB 11 23%
Patrick Mekari G 11 23%

Click on the next page to see the defensive snap counts and analysis on what it means.

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AFC South recap: Texans watch Colts lose, Titans win

While the Houston Texans and Jacksonville Jaguars took a bye week, the Indianapolis Colts lost and the Tennessee Titans won in Week 10.

The AFC South was not at full-power in Week 10. Half of their division took a bye week, with the Houston Texans and Jacksonville Jaguars recovering after a Texans win in London. Nevertheless, the division continued to bring drama by way of the Indianapolis Colts and Tennessee Titans.

With the Titans picking up a win and the Colts losing, the official AFC South standings heading into Week 11 have the Texans on-top. Here are the standings:

AFC SOUTH
1 Houston Texans 6-3
2 Indianapolis Colts 5-4
3 Tennessee Titans 5-5
4 Jacksonville Jaguars 4-5

After the bye, Houston will face the 7-2 Ravens in Baltimore. The Jaguars will host the Colts.

Ryan Tannehill leads the Titans to a comeback win over the Kansas City Chiefs

Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

His stats aren’t gaudy, his game isn’t flashy, but Ryan Tannehill is starting to establish himself as “the guy” in Nashville. In his third game as the starter, the former Texas A&M Aggie had his first signature win as the starting quarterback of the Tennessee Titans.

In a back and forth affair, Tennessee’s win over the Kansas City Chiefs — with Patrick Mahomes— got wild in the fourth quarter. Up by five with less than two minutes left, the Chiefs attempted a field goal. It wound up mismanaged, giving the Titans ideal field position to string together a win.

Tannehill drove his Titans down the field on a four-play, 61-yard drive that took 58 seconds off the clock. The last score came on a decisive 23-yard touchdown pass to slot receiver Adam Humphries. That score decided that Tennessee still has a fighting chance in the division.

The Titans will enjoy a bye week before facing the Jaguars in Week 12.

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Ravens hitting their stride at the right time

The Ravens are hitting the point of the season where championship-caliber teams differentiate themselves, and they’re only getting better.

The Baltimore Ravens were supposed to beat the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 10. With Cincinnati winless and having a rookie quarterback getting his first NFL start, it seemed obvious that Baltimore was going to move to 7-2. But the beating the Ravens put on the Bengals proves they’re hitting their stride at the best possible time.

Before kickoff, I noted that this could be a trap game for Baltimore. While they were clearly the superior team on paper, we’ve seen the Ravens embarrass themselves previously under similar circumstances. In fact, it’s a familiar hole they’d fallen into too many times under coach John Harbaugh right as they looked to be on a roll and near the top of the league. But not this week and not this season apparently.

Baltimore’s offense got off to a quick start and never relented, finding room on the ground and through the air against the hapless Bengals. Quarterback Lamar Jackson had another brilliant game, going 15-of-17 for 223 yards, three passing touchdowns and a perfect 158.3 passer rating. He also torched Cincinnati on the ground to the tune of 65 yards and a touchdown, including his highlight-reel 47-yard run. It was a finely tuned game from the starting offense that saw them hang five total touchdowns before putting in backups in the fourth quarter.

The defense got in on the action as well, shutting down the Bengals offense. They pressured quarterback Ryan Finley, largely held running back Joe Mixon down and made two big plays, returning an interception and a fumble for touchdowns. What had been the worst unit on the team earlier this season has quickly turned around into an explosive and dangerous defense.

And that’s really the look of the entire team right now. They’ve gotten better with each and every game. They’re stronger than they were in Week 3 and far more dynamic both on offense and defense. They’ve beaten up on the top teams in the league and are now destroying the teams they should be beating. For as easy as that sounds in theory, look at how the Indianapolis Colts, Los Angeles Rams, Buffalo Bills, New Orleans Saints and Kansas City Chiefs all lost in Week 10 to teams with no better than a .500 record.

This is the point where championship-caliber teams start to differentiate themselves. Injuries have piled up on all 32 teams, and there’s more than enough game film to establish weaknesses and mismatches. Yet Baltimore is the only team actually getting better right now.

With everything coming together on defense and opponents having no answer for Jackson and this unique offense, Baltimore is unquestionably one of the best teams in the league right now. And considering they’re built for cold-weather football, the Ravens are looking really scary. If they can keep this level of play up, there’s no reason to think Baltimore shouldn’t be a front-runner for the Super Bowl.

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AFC North standings: Ravens sweep Bengals with Week 10 win

The Baltimore Ravens sweep the Cincinnati Bengals to keep their lofty lead in the AFC North standings through Week 10.

The Baltimore Ravens handled their business and beat the still-winless Cincinnati Bengals 49-13. It’s Baltimore’s first sweep of Cincinnati since the 2011 season and it marks another big win within the AFC North standings for the Ravens.

Baltimore will now finish no worse than 3-3 within the division, an important step to winning the AFC North. With a final game against the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns left on the schedule, the Ravens appear to have an insurmountable lead over the division at this stage.

Behind Baltimore is Pittsburgh, with their Week 10 win over the Los Angeles Rams. While they’re surging themselves, owning a four-game winning streak now, they still sit firmly behind the Ravens.

The Browns picked up a big win of their own, defeating the Buffalo Bills in the final minutes of the game to get their third win of the season. Though they remain well behind the Ravens within the division standings, there’s still plenty of season left to completely count them out.

The Bengals, on the other hand, are done. Having moved to 0-9, they’re now guaranteed to have a losing season. Though the AFC North isn’t exactly the toughest division in the league this year, it seems almost certain that a winning record is going to be needed to sit at the top of it. And with the playoffs firmly out of reach, Cincinnati has clearly moved into figuring out what talent they have on their roster and perhaps if rookie coach Zac Taylor will return in 2020.

Let’s take a look at the AFC North standings after Week 10.

AFC North standings:

Team Record Division Record Conference Record
Baltimore Ravens 7-2 3-1 5-2
Pittsburgh Steelers 5-4 1-1 4-2
Cleveland Browns 3-6 1-0 3-3
Cincinnati Bengals 0-9 0-3 0-5

The Ravens effectively hold a three-game lead over the Steelers in the AFC North standings after Week 10, thanks to their current head-to-head and division-record tiebreakers. Their Week 17 game looms in the horizon if Baltimore were to lose half of their next six games.

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