Best And Worst: Week 10

by Andrew Pasquini – Sports 1140 KHTK

Upsets were the theme of Week 10 with teams like the Titans, Browns, and Cowboys picking up surprising victories on Sunday. While none of them qualified for the best, here’s the best and worst from the NFL in Week 10:

Best: Andrew Whitworth and the San Francisco 49ers

It has been a tragic week for the state of California with the mass shooting in Thousand Oaks and as wild fires burn in both northern and southern California. Los Angeles Rams offensive lineman Andrew Whitworth donated his entire game check from Sunday’s victory against the Seattle Seahawks to the Ventura County Community Foundation’s Conejo Valley Victims, a fund to help with the relief of the families of the 12 victims who were killed in the shooting last Wednesday. The San Francisco 49ers invited the Paradise High School football team to their game on Monday night and will hold an auction selling autographed game worn jerseys from their game against the New York Giants with the proceeds going to the North Valley Community Foundation,which is helping provide relief to the victims of the Camp Fire.

Worst: Derek Carr

The Oakland Raiders have been a “Worst” for a majority of the NFL season but quarterback Derek Carr summed it all up on a fourth down play. Trailing by 14 late in the fourth quarter with the ball inside the red zone, the Raiders went for it on fourth-and-5 when the Chargers would blitz Carr, resulting in Carr throwing the ball into the ground, giving the ball back to the Chargers. The Raiders still had a chance to make something happen and be in a position to win the game but with the mental mistake by Carr, the Raiders would lose, 20-6.

Best: The Pittsburgh Steelers

While the Steelers entered their game Thursday night with a 5-2-1 record, they didn’t have a statement win that gave a belief that they were one of the top teams in the NFL. That all changed with a 52-21 thrashing of the Carolina Panthers. The Steelers jumped out to a 21-0 lead at the end of the first quarter and at halftime led 31-14, which proved to be enough but they tacked on 21 more points in the second half leading to the 31 point blowout. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger threw for 328 yards and five touchdowns en route to a perfect passer rating and the Steelers defense was able to sack Cam Newton five times. In just one game, the Steelers went from a playoff team to a legitimate Super Bowl contender in the AFC.

Worst: The Atlanta Falcons at the goal line

The Falcons suffered their worst loss of the season on Sunday, falling to the 3-6-1 Cleveland Browns, 28-16. At the start of the fourth quarter, the Falcons trailed 28-10 with the ball at the Browns six-yard line. Matt Ryan hit Austin Hooper for a gain of one on first down and Tevin Coleman got the ball to the one-yard line on second down. That was the closest they got to the end zone on that drive as on third down Coleman was stuffed and the line and on fourth down Ryan threw an incompete pass.

The Browns couldn’t do anything with the poor field position and punted the ball away. The Falcons found themselves with another first-and-goal situation, this tine with the ball at the one-yard line. First and second down resulted in an incomplete pass and on third down, Coleman was stuffed once again. The Falcons finally broke through on fourth down when Ryan found Hooper in the end zone but they couldn’t convert the two-point conversion. Atlanta ran nine plays inside the ten-yard line on back-to-back drives and could only find the end zone once.

Best: The Chicago Bears defense

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: the Chicago Bears defense is really good. This weeks victims were the Detroit Lions. The Bears defense beat up the Lions defense the tune of six sacks, two interceptions, three forced fumbles, and one fumble recovery. Khalil Mack had another stellar day, finishing with two sacks and five tackles. If the Bears can sneak their way into the playoffs, their defense is good enough to make some noise.

Worst: The New York Jets

It’s hard to win in the NFL but if there’s any time where winning could come a little easier, it would be a home game against the Buffalo Bills. Unfortunately for the Jets, it isn’t that easy. The Bills lit up the Jets on Sunday, defeating their AFC East counterparts 41-10. Matt Barkley, who started his first game since 2016, threw for 232 yards and two touchdowns, including one to offensive lineman Dion Dawkins. It doesn’t get much easier for New York because after their bye week, the New England Patriots will be visiting Metlife Stadium to take on the now 3-7 Jets.

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