NFL Week 10 Five Takeaways

The strange season of the NFL gets even stranger in week 10.

1. Honestly, I am not even sure where to start this week so let’s travel back to last Thursday where the Bills upset the Jets. By the way the Jets had been playing this season I thought it was an easy conclusion to make that the Jets will be the number two team in the AFC East but the Bills have reminded us that no team can get to comfortable this season. In what was once a three team wildcard race, the Bills may have knocked the Jets out and took their place. The Bills blew a big lead in the fourth quarter and after the Jets forced a botched punt deep in Bills territory, the comeback was just about complete. Buffalo had other plans though and played the best four downs of the game by keeping the Jets out of the end zone and crushing New York dreams.
2. Ben Roethlisberger is having a storybook like year by bouncing back from injury, twice in three weeks. He wasn’t even supposed to really play against the Browns but when Landry Jones went down with a brutal ankle injury, Big Ben stepped in and picked up where he left off. The Steelers continue to fight through injuries which has to be a big confidence booster as they move on to the tougher part of their schedule.
3. The Arizona Cardinals have just about proven they are one of the best teams in the NFC. There is no shame in blowing their lead against the Seahawks in Seattle, but like the truly resilient teams this season, the Cardinals fought them off and finished off a brilliantly played offensive game. Even though the Seahawks defense scored 14 points off turnovers, Carson Palmer continues to ignore his age and play with the agility and play style of a young buck but the experience of the leader he has turned into. While I am admiring the Cardinals, their receiving core has some of the best hands in the league. Palmer has the confidence in his receivers to get the ball close and knows they will reel it in. This offense is the epitome what chemistry looks like.
4. It’s not like the Patriots need any more good luck on top of the unmatched talent on the team but the Giants curse is officially broken. New York played as tough as they could but yet again, poor clock management led the Patriots to have more than enough time to get into field goal range. It’s like this team has never seen New England perform a two minute drive. As soon as they got the ball back just under two minutes, everyone knew how the game was going to go. Even when they were at 4th and 10, it was obvious Tom Brady was going to lead the charge down the field. It seems the Patriots have trouble with teams from New York, if they can get past the Jets one more time, this may be the second time they finish the regular season without a loss.
5. Not sure what happened to the Packers the last three weeks but they have had a turnaround in the worst way. The Broncos destroyed them, the Panthers shut down the comeback attempt and the Lions embarrassed them. This was once the top team in the NFC, even going as far as being an early Super Bowl prediction. Now however they are currently second place in the division who may not even get a home playoff game. The Vikings are flourishing against teams many would consider their equal, and really setting themselves apart from the rest of the pack. These two teams are going opposite ways on the momentum track, if Green Bay doesn’t fix their woes soon, Minnesota might already be in the playoffs waiting.