NFL Week 10 Recap: Northern Exposure

When the Green Bay Packers lost in Week 9, we were knocked of the top spot in the NFC, but we still led the division because the Lions lost. However, a look at Week 10's schedule left me cold. The Bears were at home against the Giants. Yikes. The Lions were on the road against the Commanders, which would have made me feel better... if Jayden Daniels wasn't sidelined. The Vikings hosted the Ravens. That was the only one of the three I had confidence in. As for us, we would end the week hosting the defending champs.

Funny thing: the Bears were actually losing by quite a bit. I was prepared to have a laugh at the Bears, but the Giants decided to, well, be the Giants. Bears won, because of course they did. Vikings lost at home because of course they did. The Lions dismantled the Commanders (or what was left of them) in the late window. Now it was up to us. Our game was messy, very messy. Both sides didn't know what to do, and it resulted in the game being scoreless at halftime. Eagles scored first with a field goal, but after our offense continued to stall, Philly found the end zone finally. We did, too, but our last two chances fell flat--the worst of them a 64-yard field goal attempt that was nowhere close.

So with the results, the Packers are now out of first place in the North. Back-to-back losses--both at home, too. We're not behind by much, but we're behind two teams. The Lions are always a concern, but I never thought I'd have to watch out for the Bears, too. Vikings are doing what I expected them to do. Even so, we have some climbing to do. The Lions will be in Philly, thank goodness. Bears and Vikings face each other in Minnesota. As for us, we'll be on the road against the Giants.

Speaking of the Giants:

They did it. Did it have to be done? The signs say yes. But the Giants need to do more. So Brian Daboll was let go as the Giants' head coach after a 2-8 start to his fourth year with the team. It still baffles me that the Giants fell so far after a surprisingly good 2022 season. That year was Daboll's first at the helm, and it saw the Giants finish 9-7-1 and actually make the playoffs. The Giants won on the road over the Vikings in Wild Card Weekend, giving us yet another reason to laugh at Minnesota, but the road ended in Philly in the next round. Sadly, the Giants followed up their 9.5 win season with winning a grand total of 11 games in the last 2.5 seasons. Daboll won Coach of the Year in 2022, but now he's out. Again, it kinda had to be done, but honestly, more people need to be canned.

Remember when the Pittsburgh Steelers had the AFC North on lockdown? It's been a month since then and all of a sudden, the Steelers are feeling the walls close in on them. On Sunday Night Football, the Steelers fell hard to the Los Angeles Chargers (who also needed to get back on track), 25-10, with Pittsburgh's lone touchdown coming very late. When it comes to sports, I'm a "count my blessings" type. This week was horrible for me on Fantasy Football, but I still have some great teams this year. One is 9-1, another is 8-2, and one is 7-3. Some Steelers fans should do the same. They're still in first place. It's ugly and messy, but it's a division lead. Yet what has been the aftermath? A bunch of White supremacists saying "Fire Tomlin." Yikes.

Frauds seemed to take over the early parts of the schedule. Week 10 kicked off with the Denver Broncos winning so ugly over the Las Vegas Raiders, and the game in Berlin saw Jonathan Taylor carry the Colts to an OT win over a Falcons team they should have blown out, and the Bills--coming off their obligatory meaningless regular season win over KC--got blasted by a dying Dolphins team. Get this: someone on the Bills staff blamed the heat for the loss. Never mind the fact that the Patriots were also in Florida and managed to win over the Bucs. The Bills (and their fans) and making BS excuses always go hand-in-hand. Speaking of the Bills, they were the only AFC East team to lose in Week 10, as even the Jets won over the Browns. On the flipside, the Saints were the only NFC South team who won, as they defeated the Panthers.

The NFC West dominated the late window, with the Rams facing the Niners while the Seahawks faced the Cardinals. Both games were blowouts, and they were in favor the Hawks and Rams. Once again, the NFC West continues to be very interesting. The Seahawks and Rams are tied for first place and guess what? They face each other this Sunday in SoFi Stadium. Oh wow!!

Week 11 will kick off with the New England Patriots hosting the New York Jets in an AFC East battle on Thursday Night Football. We will see the last international game of the season when the Washington Commanders and the Miami Dolphins face off in Madrid. On Sunday Night Football, the Philadelphia Eagles host the Detroit Lions, and on Monday Night Football, the Dallas Cowboys will be in Vegas against the Raiders.

Speaking of the Cowboys:

We were hit with two NFL-connected tragedies this past week. On Sunday, the news broke that former NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue passed away; Tagliabue was the commish during my childhood and teen years--the last one before Roger Goodell came in. Before this, we were all stunned by the news that Marshawn Kneeland, who was part of Dallas' defense, passed away at only 24. Kneeland's death came just two days after he scored Dallas' only TD in that Monday game against the Cardinals. It was reported that Kneeland took his own life that Wednesday, November 6, and it came out that he had been suffering with mental illness. The NFL honored both men league-wide, and the Cowboys will definitely spend the next two games doing so, as they are on the road in Week 11, before returning home in Week 12.

I will end this story with this amazing image of Kneeland's TD: