Things I Noticed: Week 10

Spoiler alert!  Every team in the NFL has now won at least one game this season.  Welcome to the club Jacksonville and Tampa Bay.  Seems only fitting that the two worst teams would win in the same week, crushing the hopes of millions of people in Eliminator Pool leagues.

Bye weeks: Cleveland, Kansas City, New England, New York Jets

Here are some things I noticed this week:

• Christian Ponder made a diving attempt to stretch across the goal line on a 15-yard scramble at the end of the 3rd quarter, but came up less than a yard short.  Adrian Peterson would punch in the winning score on the next play, but Ponder wouldn't be on the field to hand it off to him, as he had dislocated his shoulder on that previous play.
• Peterson (75 yards, 2 TDs) now has 9,635 career rushing yards.  Only four players in league history
  
  have had more rushing yards through their first 7 seasons in the league and Peterson's season is barely half over.  With 7 games left, it's not out of reach for him to pass LaDanian Tomlinson (10,560) for first on that list.
• Robert Griffin III (281 yards, 3 TDs) led one last drive to attempt to tie the game, driving all the way to the Vikings four yard line with 38 seconds left, when Minnesota coach Leslie Frazier bizarrely called a time out that nearly cost his team the game.  He later defended the decision by saying he needed to give his defense a breather and leave some time left to comeback in case Washington scored.  By doing so though, he gave Washington at least an extra play or two.  RGIII threw an incomplete pass on the next three attempts to turn it over on downs, so the timeout would not come back to haunt Frazier.  On 4th down Santana Moss caught a pass in the end zone, but only managed to keep one foot in bounds. Minnesota was literally one foot away from blowing the game on a play Washington never would have had time to run if they hadn't called that time out.
• Marshawn Lynch went into Beast Mode to plow through the Falcons for 145 yards (at a whopping 6.0 yards per carry!) and a score.  Lynch is now 2nd in the league in rushing and leads all running backs with 48 runs for a first down.
• Remember when we thought Atlanta finally upgraded their running game by replacing the aging Michael Turner with Steven Jackson?  Looks like next year we'll be talking about how the Falcons are replacing the aging Jackson with someone else.  Not only has Jackson missed the majority of his team's games this season, but he hasn't been effective since he returned.  Sure, Seattle has a great run defense, but 11 yards on 9 carries?  That's not getting it done.
• Calvin Johnson caught two TD passes to lift the Lions over the Bears.  That gives Megatron 63 career TDs, which sets a new franchise record for Detroit.
• Trailing by 8 late in the game, Chicago got one last chance to run their two minute drill, but would have to do so without Jay Cutler.  The Bears QB missed the final drive of the game with an ankle injury, forcing them to rely on a cold backup coming off the bench.  Tough spot to put Josh McCown in, but he responded by connecting with Brandon Marshall for a TD with 40 seconds left.  It turned out not to be enough, as they failed the two point conversion that would have tied the game, falling just short of the comeback.  
• Cutler suffered a high ankle sprain, which puts his availability in doubt for the near future.  The Bears are considering him week-to-week for now. 
• So I guess last week wasn't a fluke.  No, Nick Foles didn't throw 7 TD passes again, but he did throw 3 more to lead the Eagles over Green Bay.  Foles now has 16 TD passes this season without throwing an interception.  
• We new life without Aaron Rodgers would be rough for the Packers, but things went from bad to worse when Seneca Wallace exited early with a groin injury.  You'll be forgiven if you don't recognize the name Scott Tolzien, considering he was just signed off the practice squad this week and thrust into action for the first time in his career.  All things considered, the rookie wasn't terrible, but for cheese heads that have spent over two decades watching Brett Favre and Rodgers run their offense, it has to be quite a shock.  Now you know how fans in Cleveland must feel.
• The Jaguars won a game!  The Jaguars won a game!  A team that struggled to average double digit points won by scoring 29.  Ok, so it wasn't the offense putting up all those points.  The winning score came when the defense returned a Ryan Fitzpatrick fumble for a TD and the difference in the narrow two point win came from a safety, when the Titans were called for a holding penalty in their end zone.
• Anyone counting on Jake Locker to have a big day against Jacksonville came away sorely disappointed.  Locker threw a pick and lost a fumble before exiting with an injury.  It was later reported that he suffered a season ending foot injury.  That also likely ends any chance the Titans had of making a run at a Wild Card spot, but any team that loses to Jacksonville probably shouldn't get in the playoffs anyway.
• Perhaps an even bigger shocker than the Jaguars actually winning a game came when the Rams blew out the Colts in Indianapolis.  We know Andrew Luck is at his best when given the chance to come from behind, but that plan doesn't work so well when you spot the opponent 38 points first.  Luck wasn't in top form this week, throwing three INTs and losing a fumble.
• Not that the Colts were getting any help from their running game either.  Trent Richardson manged only 2 yards on 5 carries, which somehow made him the team's leading rusher (aside from Luck, who scrambled for 17 yards).  We've all heard the jokes about how Richardson should be nicknamed Trent Richardson 3.0 based on his yards per carry.  How long until we have to change that to Trent Richardson 2.0?  After this miserable effort, he's down to averaging 2.8 yards per carry since moving to Indy.  Not exactly what they envisioned when they gave up a 1st round pick for him.
• It's about time the Rams figured out how to use Tavon Austin.  The rookie used his blazing speed to
  
  score on a 98-yard punt return and added two long TD catches.  He's only the third player ever to have 3 scores of at least 50 yards in a game at the age of 22 or younger.  Pretty much every time he touched the ball, the Colts struggled to catch up to him.  Makes you wonder why they don't use him more often.
• Andre Brown made his season debut after recovering from a broken leg he suffered in the pre-season and the Giants wasted little time in relying on him to carry their struggling running game.  Brown shouldered a heavy load, carrying 30 times for 115 yards and a score to lift the Giants over Oakland.
• After starting out 0-6, the Giants have won three straight and improbably find themselves within a game of the NFC East leading Cowboys.  The playoffs once looked like a long shot, but keep in mind that Washington started 3-6 last season before rallying with 7 straight wins to end the season with the division title.  Do these Giants have a run like that in them?  The NFC East is wide open right now.  I'd consider the Eagles as the favorite right now, but you can really make a case for any team in the division.
• Andy Dalton launched a Hail Mary from near mid-field with two seconds left in the 4th quarter.  The ball was tipped multiple times before AJ Green came up with it to tie the game and send it to OT. James Ihedebo made a poor play by volleying the ball up toward Green rather than swatting it to the ground.  It's the last play of regulation!  Trying to make a play for an interception does you nothing and an incomplete pass ends the game.  Swat the ball down!
• The Bengals opened the extra period with the ball, but their offense stalled right on the edge of field goal range.  Rather than try a long kick or punt it away, Marvin Lewis made the bold decision to go for it on 4th and 2.  Not only did they not succeed, but once Giovoni Bernard saw his path cut off, he tried to cut back to go around the other way and ended up losing 11 yards on the play, setting up the Ravens with fantastic field position for the game winning field goal drive.
• Will Ben Roethlisberger ask for a trade after the season?  NFL.com's Ian Rapoport reported that Big Ben is frustrated with the direction the franchise is going and could seek a trade.  His agent is denying the rumors, but if they are true, it would be tough to blame him for wanting out if they can't piece together an offensive line capable of protecting him.  Despite getting a win against Buffalo this week, Roethlisberger couldn't have felt great about getting sacked four more times.  He's been sacked 35 times already this season, second most in the league behind Ryan Tannehill (37).
• So much for CJ Spiller's big break out last week.  He's reportedly healthier than he's been all year, but it didn't show on the field, as he managed only 23 rushing yards on 8 carries.
• It's looking like this Panthers team is legit after all.  Their steak of beating teams by 2+ TDs ended after four games, but they'll take a 1 point win over a fellow contender like the 49ers.  Carolina still has not allowed a TD in the first quarter this season and have allowed a total of only 8 first quarter points.  They currently find themselves only one game back of the Saints in the NFC South race and now own a tie breaker over the Niners for the top Wild Card spot.
• San Francisco's passing game was essentially non-existent.  Colin Kaepernick completed only half of his 22 passing attempts for 91 yards and threw an INT.  After taking the league by storm last year, Kaepernick has regressed in his first full season as a starter.  He finds himself outside the top 20 in passing percentage and passing yards.  Since exploding for 412 yards in a Week 1 shootout against the Packers, he's topped 200 passing yards in a game only one other time.
• Arizona's defense sacked Case Keenum on the first play of the game, stripping the ball loose and returning the fumble for an early score in the Cardinals victory over Houston.
• The Texans disappointing season got even worse with the news that Arian Foster will require season ending surgery to repair his injured back.  With Foster out, Ben Tate got his 4th career start.  Despite being contained by a tough Cardinals run defense, the Texans are better equipped than most teams to handle the loss of a Pro-Bowl running back.  Since 2011, Tate is 4th in the league in yards per carry (4.9).  That trails only CJ Spiller, Adrian Peterson and Jamaal Charles.
• Houston's prized off-season acquisition Ed Reed is being released following comments he made after the team's latest loss that were critical of the coaching staff.  Which contender will be the first to scoop him up?  We know Bill Belichick is a fan...
• Demaryious Thomas caught three of Peyton Manning's four TD passes and Julius Thomas (no
  
  relation) caught the other, as the Broncos took down the Chargers.  Manning now has 33 TDs this season, putting him on pace for a record shattering 58.  The Thomas twins (seriously, they are not related) and Wes Welker all have 9 TD catches, tying them for second most in the league.
• Danny Woodhead caught four passes, including one for a TD as the Chargers attempted a second half comeback.  Woodhead leads all running backs in receptions with 53 this season.
• The Saints offense crushed the Cowboys with 625 total yards that led to 49 points.  They also set a new league record with 40 first downs in the game.  Several of those first downs were picked up by Mark Ingram, who had a career day with 145 yards and a TD.  The former Heisman winner has been a disappointment in his three year career and has missed most of this season with an injury, so this kind of a break out performance was badly needed.
• The Cowboys defense fell apart after losing leading tackler Sean Lee to a hamstring injury.  His absence opened up plenty of room for Drew Brees to pick apart the middle of the field and opened running lanes for the Saints three headed backfield.  It wasn't just Ingram getting in on the fun, as Pierre Thomas and Darren Sproles both scored on the ground and through the air.
• New Orleans made it a point to take Dez Bryant out of the game, using press coverage to disrupt his routes and often sending double teams his way.  Tony Romo made an adjustment at the line of scrimmage to move Bryant into the slot on the play leading to Bryant's only catch, which went for 44 yards.  Too bad they couldn't find more ways to get creative with their top receiver, as Romo struggled when he was unable to rely on Bryant.  He completed only 10 of 24 passes for 128 yards.
• The Cowboys fired defensive coordinator Rob Ryan after last season to make him the scapegoat for another year without a postseason appearance.  Since last season, Dallas has dropped from 19th in yards allowed all the way to last in the league, while giving up slightly more points per game. Meanwhile, the Saints defense has improved from setting a record for the most yards allowed a year ago to 7th in yards allowed, while giving up over 10 points per game less than last year.  Maybe Ryan wasn't the problem in Dallas last year after all.
• Tampa Bay became the last team in the league to finally pick up their first victory by beating Miami on Monday night.  After blowing a 15 point lead, the Bucs came back with a 4th quarter rushing TD from Bobby Rainey to win the game.  After the offense suffered a devastating loss to Doug Martin earlier this year, Mike James took over in the backfield and had become somewhat of a savior for the team's running game lately.  After getting off to a great start, with 41 yards on only five carries in the first quarter, James went down with an ankle injury.  It's feared to be a fracture, which will rule James out indefinitely.  
• Facing 3rd and goal from the 1 yard line, Tampa lined up with an extra offensive lineman.  The Bucs faked a power rush to the right.  Donald Penn, lined up on the left end of the line, pretended to block for a moment, before slipping behind the defense, unnoticed.  Mike Glennon lofted a pass to the uncovered Penn for an easy touchdown.  Sweet play.
• When the MNF crew went over their scouting report for the Dolphins early in the game, they referred to Miami's "unsettled offensive line."  Talk about an understatement!  This Jonathan Martin story just won't go away, as it seems new aspects of the story come out every day.  First, teammates came to Incognito's defense, with some even expressing they were upset with Martin for making this a public issue instead of handling it in the locker room.  Maybe not everyone on the team is against Martin, but it's clear that Incognito is by far the more popular player.  This may make it impossible for Martin to come back to the team at this point.  Richie Incognito finally made his first public comments to defend himself, stating that the messages between he and Martin that became public were overblown and not to be taken literally.  Well sure, we didn't actually think Incognito was serious about wanting to kill Martin, but that doesn't mean it's ok to say.  I'm also skeptical that Incognito ever had any intention of taking a crap in Martin's mouth, because that would be pretty weird if he tried... and also gross!  Who even says that anyway??  Incognito claims that's just the way the guys in the locker room talk to each other and Martin is guilty of such talk as well.  Is Martin a hypocrite for feeding into this type of behavior, then playing the bullying card when it gets turned against him?  Or is Incognito really so oblivious to his actions that he honestly didn't realize the impact they were having on his "friend" and teammate?  Either way, this is far from over, as the league looks to crack down on hazing to prevent a media firestorm like this from embarrassing them again.  Don't expect Martin or Incognito to suit up for the Dolphins anytime soon - if ever.