NFL Analysis
11/10/24
9 min read
Biggest Winners, Losers From 2024 NFL Week 10
The Sunday early afternoon slate featured several one-score games that came down to the final drive. That wasn’t the case for the late afternoon action, as all three games were blowouts and not all that much fun to watch.
However, there were some bigger winners and some ugly losers coming out of another fantastic week of NFL action.
Honorable Mentions
Winner: Brock Purdy, QB, San Francisco 49ers
Loser: Aaron Rodgers, QB, New York Jets
Winner: Marquez Valdes-Scantling, WR, New Orleans Saints
Loser: Mike McCarthy, HC, Dallas Cowboys
NFL Week 10 Winners, Losers
⬆️Winner: Kyler Murray, QB, Arizona Cardinals
Don’t look now, but the Arizona Cardinals are 6-4 and have a 1.5-game lead over the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC West. A big reason is that Kyler Murray is playing at an MVP level. He saved his best performance of the season for Week 10, slicing through the Jets' defense with ease.
Murray completed 22-of-24 passes for 266 yards and one touchdown, averaging 11.1 yards per attempt. He also added 21 yards on the ground with two rushing touchdowns as the Cardinals scored 31 points against the Jets on Sunday afternoon. Murray made history against the Jets. He was the first quarterback in league history to complete 85 percent of his passes with 250 passing yards and two rushing touchdowns.
This has been the best version of Murray we’ve seen in the NFL. He isn’t turning the ball over (three interceptions this year) and is beating defenses with his arm and legs. Arizona’s rushing attack is one of the best in the league because defenses have to honor Murray’s rushing ability on every snap.
It also helps that the Cardinals have not allowed a touchdown in three straight games, which is shocking considering the talent level of that unit. And with Murray playing at the highest level of his career, the Cardinals look like legit contenders in the NFC.
⬆️Winner: Chuba Hubbard, RB, Carolina Panthers
Fresh off a new contract, Chuba Hubbard was dominant on Sunday against the New York Giants. Hubbard has been one of the league’s most efficient backs all season, and that continued in Week 10, when he averaged 5.5 yards per carry on 28 rushes. He finished the game with 169 total yards and one touchdown, helping lead the Panthers to their third win of the season.
The most impressive part of Hubbard's performance was his ability to create chunk plays despite playing behind a shaky offensive line. Hubbard had three runs of 20 or more yards on Sunday, and his explosive play ability gave Carolina plenty of chances to win. While the overall offense leaves a lot to be desired, it has been a functional unit in the last few games in part because of Hubbard's effectiveness.
The Panthers drafted Jonathon Brooks in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft with the hopes that he would be their back of the future. However, after the way Hubbard has performed through the first half of the year, there is no reason to rush him back onto the field.
Hubbard is one of the league’s best running backs, and he seems to be getting better as the season goes on.
⬆️Winner: Taron Johnson, SCB, Buffalo Bills
Most players who receive All-Pro votes are widely known across the NFL. However, that’s not the case for Buffalo Bills slot CB Taron Johnson.
He is anything but a household name. In fact, if you asked most die-hard football fans, they probably couldn’t even tell you which team Johnson plays for. Still, Johnson is one of the most reliable and electric defenders in the NFL, who just so happens to go under the radar during the season.
Johnson makes Buffalo's defense go as an every-down player for Sean McDermott. Playing out of the slot, the Bills ask him to do a lot of the dirty work for the defense, including taking on tight ends in the run game and covering some of the league’s best receivers. Sunday was a good reminder of the impact that a quality slot cornerback can make in a big game.
Johnson started the game with a pick-six to give Buffalo a 7-0 lead. He undercut a route by Josh Downs to make the interception, and of course, he found his way to the end zone, outrunning the entire Colts offense.
That wasn’t the only play that Johnson made on Sunday. He recorded a sack on Joe Flacco, coming down from the slot to make the splash play. He also recorded two other pass deflections and another quarterback hit in one of the best performances of the season by a defensive back.
Johnson’s ability to do everything at a high level is what makes him a special player. And with Buffalo’s defense really starting to come together in the last few weeks, they have the look of a Super Bowl contender that might finally be ready to take down the Chiefs in the AFC.
⬇️Loser: Joe Flacco, QB, Indianapolis Colts
The Colts are now 0-2 since inserting Joe Flacco into the starting lineup in favor of Anthony Richardson.
It certainly isn’t all his fault, as the Colts played two of the best teams in the league (Vikings, Bills), but Flacco has not helped. He was horrendous on Sunday, throwing interceptions on his first two drives. In fact, the Colts' first play of the game was a pick-six to Johnson to give the Bills an early lead.
On Sunday, Flacco threw three interceptions and took four sacks as the offense struggled all day long. A late touchdown to Alec Pierce made the final score look a lot closer than it truly was. Flacco has not produced the desired results for Shane Steichen that he was hoping for, and the offense continues to be in a funk.
The Colts are now 4-6, and the season is starting to get away from them, and it’s happening with a 39-year-old quarterback under center. The Colts will travel to New Jersey to take on the Jets in Week 11, and another loss by Flacco in that game should force Steichen to put Richardson back into the starting lineup.
⬇️Loser: Doug Pedersen, HC, Jacksonville Jaguars
It’s hard to win in the NFL with a backup quarterback. The Jacksonville Jaguars learned that last year when Trevor Lawrence was on the bench with a high-ankle injury.
That was the reality for the Jaguars in Week 10 when they faced the Minnesota Vikings without Lawrence. Mac Jones got the start, and he is one of the better backup quarterbacks in the NFL. Yet, didn't do anything all day.
The Jaguars put together a nine-play, 70-yard touchdown drive early in the first quarter, and that would be their only points of the day. Their other nine drives totaled 93 yards, with six failing to gain a first down. Jacksonville’s defense did its part, forcing three Sam Darnold interceptions and allowing just 12 points.
Still, the offense couldn’t put together a single drive in the second half of more than 40 yards. In fact, it had just one drive of more than 15 yards in the second half, and it ended with an interception.
It's hard to put too much blame on Jones because it’s his first start with a new team, and this is one of the most aggressive defenses in the NFL. Instead, Pedersen deserves all of the heat as the head coach who is in charge of the offense.
Scoring only once (at home) with a veteran backup quarterback is inexcusable, and it shows just how poorly designed and called this offense has been all year. With the Jaguars sitting at 2-8, it’s only a matter of time before they move on from Pedersen. His offense just doesn’t work in today’s NFL, and it’s clear that his time is up in Jacksonville.
⬇️Loser: Shane Waldron, OC, Chicago Bears
When you watch other rookie quarterbacks around the NFL, you can see that they are quarterback-friendly offenses that protect their young passers. It’s why Jayden Daniels, Drake Maye, and Bo Nix have all had success right out of the gate. But that hasn’t been the case for Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears.
There were a few games early on in the 2024 season where Williams looked fantastic. However, the offense has regressed in a major way after a few injuries on the offensive line. As a result, Williams has seen his progress halted, and the Bears' offense has completely tanked. That is the fault of Shane Waldron, the offensive coordinator.
He’s not putting Williams in a position to make plays, and there are far too many five-man protections that leave him exposed.
Sunday was a perfect example of that, as Waldron couldn’t design anything to help beat pressure. Williams was sacked nine times and averaged just 4.0 yards per attempt on 30 attempts. They couldn’t do anything on offense, scoring just three points (at home!) against the 2-7 Patriots. Chicago finished the game with just 142 yards of offense, averaging 4.2 yards per play.
It’s pretty clear that Waldron isn’t the long-term answer at offensive coordinator, but who can they attract for that spot with Matt Eberflus installed as the head coach?
The options will be limited, and it’s not the most attractive job. Instead, the Bears might have to move on from Eberflus and enter the head coach market to find a long-term solution to work with Williams. Because this clearly isn’t working.
