Analysis
11/16/20
5 min min read
NFL Week 10 Quick Hitters
Time to dig into the stat reports to see how teams earned a victory in Week 10 of the 2020 NFL season:
Detroit 30, Washington 27
After falling behind big in the first half, Washington scored three straight second-half touchdowns to even the score at 24. After both teams kicked field goals with under three minutes to go, Detroit got the ball back with just 16 seconds left. An awful late hit by rookie DE Chase Young on Matthew Stafford pushed the Lions to midfield before an additional completion set up Matt Prater for a game-winning, 59-yard field goal.
After starting the year with 2.5 sacks in two games, Young has just one sack in his past five games. Washington also recorded 11 sacks in the previous two games but just one on Sunday.
New York Giants 27, Philadelphia 17
Carson Wentz continued to struggle, consistently missing open receivers high. The Eagles kept Wentz in the pocket for almost the entire day, outside of two big third-quarter completions on the run. Wentz only had two carries for four yards, his lowest rushing output since Week 1. The Eagles did welcome back Miles Sanders, who added 85 yards on just 15 carries. Sanders came into the day second in the NFL in yards per rush (6.1), just behind Kyler Murray (6.9).
The Eagles running backs (Sanders (15-85), Boston Scott (3-63) and Corey Clement (1-5) averaged over 8 yards a carry but collectively just saw 19 attempts while Wentz was 21-for-37 for 5.6 yards per attempt. Costly penalties hurt the Eagles all day.
For the first time in his career, Giants QB Daniel Jones has gone two straight games without a turnover. He completed 75% of his passes, averaging nearly n9 yards per throw. Jones also added 64 yards and a TD on 9 carries.
Tampa Bay 46, Carolina 23
After a brutal showing last week against New Orleans, Tom Brady was nearly perfect against Carolina. He completed 71.8% of his passes and averaged 8.7 yards per attempt with 3 touchdown passes and no interceptions. Mike Evans also had his most productive game in over a month, catching 6 balls for 77 yards and a score. After a few weeks in the program, Antonio Brown is also establishing himself as a threat for Tampa. He was second on the team in targets and added 7 catches for 69 yards. Chris Godwin caught all six of his targets for 92 yards. Ronald Jones saw the bulk of the work for Tampa’s backfield and broke through for a 98-yard second-half TD run to give the Bucs a two-score lead. Overall, he rushed for 192 yards on 23 carries.
Carolina QB Teddy Bridgewater struggled against a very good Bucs defense. While he did complete 75% of his passes and throw 2 touchdowns, he added an interception and averaged just 5.7 yards a throw. After not averaging below 7.3 yards an attempt in his first eight games, Bridgewater has gone two straight weeks with under 6.5 yards an attempt. Late in the fourth, Bridgewater was hit low and suffered an MCL sprain. He was pulled from the game and his status for next Sunday is uncertain.
New Orleans 27, San Francisco 20
For the fifth time in six weeks, Drew Brees led a TD drive after getting the ball back with under two minutes to go in the first half. After giving the Saints a 17-10 halftime lead, Brees exited the game with a rib injury. In the first half, Brees continued to throw the ball short. While he was 8-for-13, he averaged under six yards an attempt with an average depth of target of only 5.6 yards. Of his 76 passing yards, 46 belonged to Alvin Kamara. After replacing Brees in the second half, Jameis Winston was 6-for-10 for 6.3 yards an attempt, without a turnover. The Saints continue to incorporate Taysom Hill into the offense. Hill added 45 yards on 8 carries. He did fumble late, giving the Niners a sliver of hope down 14.
Arizona 32, Buffalo 30
In the play of the year in the NFL, DeAndre Hopkins continues to prove his worth to the Cardinals. Kyler Murray was also excellent for Arizona, completing 69% of his pass for 7.7 yards per attempt. He also added 61 yards and 2 touchdowns on the ground. Murray’s 6.9 yards a rush continues to lead the NFL. In his first game back from injury, Kenyon Drake rushed for 100 yards and over 6 yards a carry. He did have a costly third-quarter fumble that allowed Buffalo to take a two-score lead.
For Buffalo, Josh Allen had an up-and-down game after picking apart a bad Seattle secondary. He completed just 65% of his 49 passes for under 6 yards an attempt. While he did have a touchdown reception and two touchdown passes, including a go-head score to Diggs, Allen threw two second-half interceptions. Cole Beasley (11 catches, 109 yards, TD) continues to have his most productive year. Through 10 games, he already has 642 receiving yards, which is on pace to break his career high of 833 yards in 2016 with Dallas.
Los Angeles Rams 23, Seattle 16
Jalen Ramsey held DK Metcalf (28 yards) to one of his lowest producing games of the season. In his 30 coverage snaps against Ramsey, Metcalf only saw four targets and was held to just 2 catches, tying his season low.
Jared Goff was efficient through the air against the worst passing defense in the NFL. After three straight weeks of under seven yards an attempt with 3 interceptions in that span, Goff completed 73% of his passes and averaged 8.2 yards per attempt. Goff did not throw a pick, but Jamal Adams did force a strip-sack. Josh Reynolds led the team with 8 catches on 10 targets, but the Rams had four receivers with 6-plus targets.
Miami 29, Los Angeles Chargers 21
In the battle of top 10 QBs, Tua Tagovailoa was the more efficient rookie passer, improving his record to 3-0 as a starter. After a fumble set up a 1-yard Miami touchdown, Tua led an 88-yard, 13-play drive to take a two-score lead. Overall, in the first half, Tua completed only 53% of his passes but averaged seven yards an attempt. Fellow rookie Justin Herbert averaged only 3.5 yards a pass in the first half. The Chargers also ran on 64% of first-half first downs for only a 36% success rate. On their 17 first half runs, L.A. averaged 3.1 yards a rush.
Miami’s secondary continues to be impressive. A week after Xavien Howard held Arizona’s Hopkins to only two catches, the Miami secondary combined to hold Mike Williams to 2 catches and Keenan Allen to 3.
