NFL Week 10 - It's all about the Chiefs

I don't know what the issue was, but the Chargers didn't play well against the Raiders. Luckily it was the Raiders. Rivers had a so-so day against a secondary that wasn't able to cover anybody last week against 49er QB Nick Mullens who threw 3 TDs in his first ever start. Rivers did enough, leading an 91 yard TD drive at the end of the 1st half. Rivers should have been picked in the first drive when he threw into coverage, but got lucky when the tipped ball found the ground. He was picked in the 3rd when he floated a jump ball into double coverage against Keenan Allen. Despite tossing 2 TDs, I thought this was Rivers' worse game this season.

The stat line will look good for the defense with the Raiders only scoring 6 points, but the Raiders moved the ball well. A goal line stand, strip sack, and bonehead play by Derrick Carr (he threw the ball away on 4th down) kept the Raiders out of the end zone. This game could easily have been a lot closer.

They did enough to improve to 7-2 and with the Pats losing to the Titans, the Chargers have the 2nd best record in the AFC. Unfortunately they happen to be in the same division as the Chiefs, who have the best record at 9-1.

Still wondering when Joey Bosa will be back. He's back in practice this week, but may not see game action until week 12.

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The Cardinals defense actually played very well against the Chiefs holding them to 26 points. Cards had their chances to win with the score 20-14 until a 4th quarter interception setup the Chiefs last TD for the 26-14 final score (Chiefs went for 2, but were unsuccessful). Mahomes threw 2 more TD passes, but was held to under 300 yards, ending his streak of 300+ yard games. Cards D sacked Mahomes 5 times. Did someone find a way to slow the Chiefs down or was it that the Chiefs were looking ahead to next weeks showdown against the Rams?

Saints are looking as unstoppable as the Chiefs and it seems like everyone is forgetting that they are also 8-1. Interestingly their only lost came from the Bucs, who outscored them 48-40, similarly to how the Chiefs lost to the Patriots 43-40. The Saints are the only team to beat the other 8-1 team, the Rams, 45-35. The NFL has been tweaking the rules to promote scoring and we're seeing the desired result. Saints would get my vote for the best team in the league right now.

Recent rule changes make it harder on (or call a penalty on); 1) CBs that battle WRs in tight coverage; 2)  any defender that makes contact with WRs running free across the middle; 2) defenses trying to combat the "legal " offensive screens used to pick defensive players in man coverage; and 4) anyone who even touches a QB after he releases the ball. I don't see the NFL going back as everyone seems to love these high scoring games. To me it's frustrating to see a defender make a good play only to be flagged for it.

Julio Jones became the fastest receiver to put up 10,000+ receiving yards this week. Jones did it in 104 games, topping the previous record of 115 games by Calvin Johnson. Coincidentally, this week Larry Fitzgerald moved into 2nd all-time in receiving yards with 15,939, trailing only Jerry Rice who has an incredible 22,895 career receiving yards. Despite being the fastest to 10,000 I can't see Jones playing long enough to break Rice's record. Jones is in his 7th season and would have to keep this pace for another 8 seasons to catch Rice.

Pats 34-10 loss to the Titans is further proof that this New England team isn't the same despite the 7-2 (now 7-3) record. Pats had zero turnovers in this game, but suffered their largest margin of defeat since Brady took over as QB.

Bear's kicker Cody Parkey hit the goal post 4 times Sunday. A feat that I would bet that Parkey couldn't duplicate if he tried. Luckily the Bears took care of the Lions easily and Parkey's 2 missed FGs and 2 missed extra points didn't matter.

With Seattle putting up 31 points against the Rams in a loss, I'm putting more stock in the Chargers' 25-17 win over the Seahawks last week.